Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the characters in this story.**

A war just finished and even though one side has the rights to call themselves victors, no one was rejoicing in the end. The amount of suffering and death to innocent lives could not account for the glory of victory. Nobody thought this war was coming, it all hit them in the face hard and they didn't had enough time to get back on their feet. What triggered the war was a political matter. The world was at peace but there are others out there who desire the opposite. Then, in a blink of an eye, Hiruzen Sarutobi found himself laying on the floor in a pool of blood with a bullet hole in between his brows. The five great nations separated into two sides with Konohagakure finding itself with only one ally, Sunagakure, fighting against three big nations. Soon after hell broke loose.

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><p>A small, but rich fishing village near the eastern coast of Konohagakure caught most of the heat from the Konohagakure's eastern opponents. Mostly from the legions coming from Iwagaukure in the Northeast and Kirigakure in the east. They will get raided and looted. Their women and children were kept hostage while they force the men to labour. And those who opposed were shot on site with no regard for human life. But despite all of that, the village held its ground and stayed strong and together they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Now they are looking to rebuilding their town and staying optimistic about the future.<p>

"Did you get the herbs I asked for Ino?" Inojin asked his daughter who just walked past the hallway and into the kitchen just outside his office. Inojin was a local healer and physician well-known for his kindness and generosity in the village. During the war, he was the one who kept their village alive. Everyone was dispensable except for him due to his skill in medicine. He bargained his services to the invaders in turn for the lives of the villagers. Although he hated being in a hopeless situation with no other choice to do their opponents dirty work, he did what he had to do to keep his family alive.

"Sorry dad….." Ino replied as she made her way back halfway down the hallway. "I had to help a few children on the way…. I only managed to bring back this much since I had to use some to heal their bruises….."

"No need to apologise Ino! I couldn't be any happier for your intiative actions!" Inojin said with a tear escaping the corner of his eye. He caught it immediately with a finger but his actions only made it more obvious to Ino.

"What's wrong dad?"

"…..Nothing Ino…..Its just…..your mother would be proud of you. I know I am!"

"…..Stop it dad…." Ino said blushing.

Ino was a cheerful girl always brining smile to the faces of the villagers. Even though her family's financial status was above the rest, she never regarded anyone as someone lower than her. She would help out whenever she can and, she always made it a point to invite a family over to their house for dinner to strengthen the relationship. She was so relatable and often would get praised as beautiful as her mother and as kind as her father, especially the boys who would freeze on the spot at the sight of her silky blonde hair and mesmerising blue eyes. As popular as she was, one would think she would have at least one boyfriend already. Even her father was a little worried whether she was a tomboy but whenever she gets asked the matter, she would reply:

"I just haven't met the right person yet"

Houses were roughly patched up, the repairs were mainly focused on the roof just so everyone can have a roof over their heads as they sleep through the wet weather of their village. The local butchers, bakers, etc. put together a nice warm stew to commemorate the day of hard work of everyone. The inn opened their door and fireplace for those who doesn't have a 'fixed' home yet. Ino made sure that everyone had a blanket over them whether they were sleeping in a bed up stairs or in front of the fireplace. At one time in the inn, when Ino was sitting with the children as she told them a bed time story, a shy boy about her age approached the little gathering nervously. He waited until Ino patted the last one awake to sleep before he slept.

"Umm….I –I" The boy stammered. "Thank you for what you did for my little brother earlier! You tended to his bruises"

"Oh! Please, you don't have to thank me!" He said awkwardly, she always felt awkward whenever someone praises her for her kind actions. "I'd do the same for you" she continued. The boy blushed almost bursting at the warm sensation his emotions gave him but he had no idea that Ino didn't mean it in a romantic way.

"Oh…..I….I never knew you felt…..that way…for me…" The boy said nervously. He thought this was his chance and all he needed to do was to be a bit forward with his feelings.

"Sorry?" Ino said abruptly. Immediately all hopes was crushed in the boy. He was sitting there stoned and some would say that they saw his weeping soul left his body. "Sorry, could you repeat that again? I didn't quite hear it the first time." Ino asked again wondering why the kind boy suddenly turned pale in front of her.

"Um….What I meant was I brought you a hot drink!" The boy placed the hot cup on the ground in front of the beautiful Ino who was watching the scene unfold in confusion. In the background, her father, Inojin witnessed the heart breaking moment for the poor boy who walked passed him weeping.

"(Sigh)" was all he could say as he slapped his forehead.

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><p>Later that night.<p>

When all the lights were out in the village and everyone was sound as sleep, on top of the hill that overlooked the village and the beach, Ino was sitting on a window frame watching the silent waves hit the beach then retreat back in to the deep blue in deep thought. What was in deep thought about? She wasn't sure herself. All she knew was despite her living a well off life, she felt half empty inside. She was staring at the bright full moon that night. Perhaps she will find her answer as she wondered in awe at the beautiful sight she thought.

'I'm probably just being greedy!' She thought as she slapped her cheeks trying to snap out of her delusional state. Once she had settled down and taken a deep breathe, she opened her eyes one last time to look at the moon before she went to bed. But what she saw sent a tingling sensation of panic down her spine.

She was pretty sure it wasn't there before….then she saw it again as the waves crashed on the beach sand then slowly crawled back. The waves carried somebody on the beach. From her vantage point she couldn't make out much but she thought that the 'boy', she presumed, was still alive and needed her help.

Ino jumped off the window sill and ran out her door grabbing a cloak on her way out to cover her night gown. She would usually be very quiet whenever she was sneaking out at night to take a walk and see what was the world like beyond the thick forest blocking their village out from the rest of the world, she but right now felt different. She felt like she needed to get down there as quickly as possible or she will regret it for the rest of her life.

It was a long running distance, well of a kilometre from her house but the adrenaline and the spur of the moment carried her to the beach and kneeling beside the pale boy. She examined the body after removing a couple of sea weeds wrapped around him. He was wearing ragged dark clothing even more so in its drenched state. The edges were torn and he wasn't wearing any footwear, probably they got lost in the sea. But the one feature that interested her the most was the dark hair that was covering the face.

She didn't quite understood what she was feeling. She felt excited and at the same time nervous as she tried to see the face underneath without lifting a hair in the caution of she might wake the boy. Her curiosity took the better of her and she slid the back of her hand under the hair then lifted it. She stared intently at the young innocent pale face. He had sharp features that she hasn't seen from anyone in the village before. His defined jawline and the sharp eyebrows were one of the few that took her attention. Then there was his lips…interesting she thought. Then she remembered one important detail that she saw but overlooked. The sand around the boy's mouth was moving indicating that he was still breathing.

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><p>'A ceiling….My head hurts….A curtain?A window?' the boy wondered as he was just gaining consciousness of his surroundings. 'What…..where am I?...' He scanned the room further for any clues but all the light coloured furniture and walls in addition to the brilliant sunlight coming from the window glared at him. He closed his eyes from the glare all the while, the door creaked and a pair of footsteps entered. When he opened his eyes again, a pair of deep blue eyes was staring intently at him.<p>

That woke him up. The boy instinctively, stretch his right arm for a weapon but his attempt was caught by Inojin who was sitting on the other side. The boy looked over to see a man, much older than the pretty girl on his left side. He decided that if he was going to die now, he'd rather leave with the something beautiful as his last memory. So he looked back at Ino.

The movements the he made his head hurted him. He winced and gritted his teeth. He pulled back his right arm behind his head to bring comfort to the area where it hurts.

"Don't move too much!" Inojin ordered. "You're hurt. You have a big bruise at the back of your head and…..three shots on your back….It's amazing you're still alive…"

The boy breathe heavily as he also felt the wounds on his back from all the shuffling.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you can't remember anything….." Inojin said. The boy looked at him in disdain, as if blaming him for his current state.

"Well it's good to see you're alive. I will leave you to my daughter. If you have any questions or need anything ask her. I will be tending to my other patients now" Inojin said as he left the room and gestured his daughter to follow him for a moment.

The father and daughter left the room to hide their conversation from the 'boy's' earshot.

"If tries anything funny, you tell me right away!" Inojin strictly told his precious daughter.

"Ok dad" Ino replied.

Ino entered the room once again to find the boy in an upright position looking out the window. He was clutching his abdomen but from the state of the bandages, the wound hasn't seem to have reopened. Then there it was once again, a strange feeling that swept Ino when stiff breeze from the sea entered her room and blew his hair off his face revealing the sharp features that she found 'interesting' earlier.

Noticing that Ino had entered the room, he turned to look at her and smiled. For some reason the girl seemed to be offended and looked away. Little did he know that it was only an act to hide her blushing face.

"I…I'm sorry…" the boy said.

"Oh!...it's quite alright!...no need to thank me…It was all my dad really!" Ino said as he searched for a way to sound cool. She quickly shook that thought away: 'I'm trying to impress him!' she thought. "All I did was haul you of the sandy beach and carry you back here!"

She was proud of that, she thought t sounded cool oblivious to the fact that it sounded like a guy. Nevertheless the boy returned a grateful smile which brought warmth to Ino's face once again.

"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be healed by your father"

"Well…. If you say so…" Ino said flattered who normally doesn't get flattered too easily. Especially if they're coming from boys. After moment of award silence, just looking into his dark eyes seeing nothing but a mystery, Ino decided to ask his name.

"Um….What's your name?" She asked innocently but was horrified by her actions as the question brought a frown on to the boy's face.

"…..I don't know…." He replied.

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><p>Just later that day, to everyone's surprise including Inojin who stopped in the middle of lunch to see the commotion going on outside. He stepped outside momentarily blinded by the sun. Once his eyes had adjusted, he could see a crowd surrounding Ino and what looked like the boy.<p>

A few diehard Ino fanboys boys were crying on the side weeping why they chose a dead body (indicating how pale the boy was) over them. Ino simply said:

"Oh he's not my boyfriend…or anything…! I just found him on the beach, we tended to him and he slept in my room last night!"

"He slept in her room!" the boys cried as they ran away completely defeated.

"Uh…" Ino was unsure why they acted that way. "Why are you guys running….?"

Inojin shuffled and squeezed his way through the crowd to get a better look at his patient.

"What do you think you're doing?! You should still be in bed!" Inojin was half panting from all the effort he exerted just to get through the crowd.

"Dad! Look! He's up and walking already!" Ino said in an excited cheerful tone.

"…..I can see that…." Inojin replied sarcastically. He moved closer to the boy who froze at the spot. 'He must be intimidated of me….' Inojin thought but he continued to inspect the nodded as he circled around him. The boy was standing straight showing no signs of weakness in his lower abdomen although there was red smudes of blood but it doesn't seem to be flowing. "How's your memories?" he whispered. He watched the boy's reaction then nodded when he saw the boy's head shake, meaning 'no'.

In the background Inojin could ear marching steps getting louder then before long a platoon of men emerged from the thick forest up the hill. He bypassed the boy then tapped him on the shoulder and said: "Don't strain yourself"

He walked up to end of the road where the town starts to talk with their 'guests'. The platoon split into two groups then spread to surround the town. And in the centre the captain of the squad remained holding a rolled up scroll in his hand. Each one of them wore dark clothing and a white mask with a distinct design on each one

"Can I help you gentlemen?" asked Inojin saractistaclly. He knew that this was more than just a town inspection.

"My name is Kabuto and I am here with a warrant of arrest for a man named Inojin Yamanaka. You know him, yes?" said the man form the centre who took off his mask then pulled out his spectacles.

"On what charge?" Inojin asked.

"By co-operating with the enemies from the east!"

"That is insane! They were going to kill everyone!-" Inojin protested.

"And imagine the count of the lives lost killed by the ones you 'helped'" Kabuto cutted him off. He was given an absolute order and no mercy was going to be given if he was to fail.

"My father didn't do anything wrong!" Ino called out from behind Inojin.

"Ino! Get away from here!" called out Inojin waving his arms indicating to Ino to get away from here as far as possible.

"Perhaps I can help you make a decision" Kabuto said. "Take her away!" he ordered two of his man. No matter how hard Inojin begged for Ino to run, the girl was just too stubborn and won't stand by while her father was taken away. Her only family left taken away.

"Let go off me!" Ino said as she tried to fight back but the two guys just overpowered her.

Inojin was powerless as he rushed at her. He himself was restrained by a couple of the masked police. "Ino!" he cried once more before his daughter was carried away from his sight.

"Please! I beg you! I will do what you say! Just leave my daughter out of it!" Inojin pleaded.

"Plead noted. But I think I'll keep her. For insurance of course" Kabuto said after walking up to the restrained man on his knees. Kabuto bent over until his face was inches from Inojin.

"…..Bastard…." Inojin sneered.

"(Sigh)…You know I really hate doing someone's dirty work…. So please co-operate" Kabuto said with a smirk. "Or…..I will lose my patience and kill everyone here…."

All Inojin could do was grit his teeth. He was looking straight into Kabuto's eyes and saw nothing but darkness. He saw no conscience and no regard for human life.

"Excellent!" Kabuto rejoiced and tapped Inojin's cheek a couple of times. "Kill everyone and search the town!"

"Wait! What! You said-!"

"I said I would kill everyone if I lose my patience….and I did…unfortunately for you…."

Kabuto's man pulled out their hand guns then swiftly dashed past Inojin like he wasn't even there. Inojin wept.

"This is on your hands…you brought this fate upon your people-" Kabuto looked to his right alarmed. It was a gunshot, and when Inojin heard it he covered his mouth at the thought of one of his family just got shot. But to Kabuto it was something else.

"Take him to base" Kabto ordered the two man holding Inojindown. "I just need to check on something..."

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><p>Sai was wathing the whole time. If Ino was watching, she would probably not recognised him. He wasn't wearing his kind smiling face but he was furious and angry. His sharp eyes watched the two masked men take Ino away.<p>

He left his standing position as soon as Ino was taken away from his sights. His mind was blank only rage controlled him. His muscles were acting upon the memory of their hard training. Sai scaled the house to his left with ease, landing like a feather as he flipped himself from the sidewalls on to the rooftop. The thought of 'how he can do this stuff' never crossed his mind. All there was, was Ino was taken away and he needed to save her.

His body was not up to their usual condition yet but luckily for him, the buildings were built closed together.

Sai followed by ear, he was too far to see Ino. Following Ino's groans and screams as she persistently faught. Then the sound stopped and he lost his target.

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><p>The two guys dumped Ino in the first alley they found. She made a soft thud on the wet ground from the heavy rain last night. Both man towered over the beautiful girl laughing with intention.<p>

"She is quite a looker isn't she!" One of them said.

"Hey don't get ahead of yourself! I saw her first! I get to do her first!" said the other.

Ino scrambled backwards taking advantage of the two guys arguing. She tunred on her fours to get up and make a run for it but her leg was pulled back and once again, she hit the muddy ground.

"Where do you think you're going sweetie?!"

"Look what you did now she all muddy!... still hot though!"

Ino kicked on the arm in the attempt to break free but of no avail. She screamed 'HELP!-' but was immediately cut off by the other guys he cuffed her mouth.

"SHH! Shh!" said the man. "Keep quiet or we'll go rough on you!"

The man holding her leg took off her things then ran his hand down her leg caressing her smooth skin. But that was as far as this 'event' got. Sai snuck behind the man at Ino's legs, grabbed his neck then twisted with ease like someone who had a lifetime of practice in the craft. There was a quick crack then all was over for the man. "You talk to loudly..." Sai said quietly.

The other man though was alerted. He let go of Ino then reached back behind him to grab his hand gun. Sai saw the action and reacted. He dashed over Ino then grabbed the right hand which was already holding the gun but Sai prevented him from swinging it around. The man swung his left fist across, but Sai's reaction was faster as he ducked then buried a right upper cut right on the man's ribs.

The let out a gasp of air as he was winded. Sai twisted the man's wrist and dislodged the gun from his grip. He swivelled around the winded man then without hesitation shot the back of the man's head.

Sai was still in killing mode until he saw Ino's pale face as the man between them dropped on the ground. She wasn't just traumatised from an almost rape scene but also the fact that a man's brains just got blown off in front of her. Sai took a moment taking anything of relevance from the two guys he just killed before tending to Ino. He took a spare ammo's and scrolls he found in their pockets.

"Are you hurt?" Sai asked as he knelt down beside her. He clasped both of her cheeks and directed her gave towards him. A moment of frozen silence then life came back to her eyes along with a flood of tears and her lunch out her mouth.

Sai patted her back as he gave her a moment to stomach everything in. He looked around warily for anyone who might come across as he clasped the gun tightly on his right hand. Then there it was, coming towards inside town. A miscalculated silent footstep just around the corner. Sai took no chances and swept Ino who was still looking limp.

He headed for the edge of town and into the forest. When he was content that the shadow of trees hid them he looked back at the alley he came from and he saw a dark silhouette of a man with the sun glaring of his glasses. He had no doubt that Sai saw him and Kabuto saw him as well. Then he looked at the town briefly gun shots and screams of the dead filled the air.

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><p>Kabuto stood in the alley frozen in fear and confusion. He couldn't believe what he saw or rather what he saw alive. He just stood there thinking, calculating whether he should attempt to chase them but against 'Sai' he stood no chance. If he waited for his troops to finish, Sai would already be gone like he never existed. 'I need to report this' Kabuto made a mental note and turned.<p>

He went into the centre of town where only a handful of civilians were kept alive. They were all weeping and discouraged from all the death around them.

"Did you guys find it?" Kabuto asked his troop that was closest to him.

"No, Sir. The civilians know nothing as well"

"Then why are they still alive!" Kabuto pulled out his troops hand gun and shot all of the remaining civilians dead. He handed the gun to its owner and said. "They not worth my bullets"

"He's taken it with him!" Kabuto said angrily. "We mustn't let him reach Konoha with that letter!"

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continued...**

**I've this story in my head for a while... I knew Sai and Ino were going to be Canon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the characters in this story.**

The city of Konoha was every bit you would expect from the capital of the most powerful nation in the word. It is an authentic twist of the word metropolis with the mixture of modern technology and the appreciation of historical buildings. Due to this authenticity, it has become the most popular city in the world whether it was by tourism or an academic excursions to see the historical buildings. For example the national library was still the same titan of a building since the village was first formed along with the hokage house which was once the home of the royal family that once ruled the lands. But the priced jewel of it all was the historical hokage mountain overlooking the modern city. It was a historical landmark with the faces of the first kings carved on the side of the mountain and also, one of the best pieces of art that nature has to offer.

Every year, university students on the last year of their courses, who aspire to be a historian or a teacher one day, often come to visit the city for their independent research project and right a report on the city's rich history as their final piece of assessment behind their final exams. This year, however, it seems only one lasted until their final year and lucky for the lucky student since he/she was the only one who survived the grinding and labouring of four year of long study got a special eye-to-eye meeting with the hokage himself.

The Hokage building wasn't too shabby thought the genius fourth year student from Sunagakure. It was evident that a family used to live here. In the lobby where she got asked to wait, the student presumed that it was once was the lounge room. The old fire place was still intact, repainted and redecorated with the emblem of Konoha. It wasn't being used anymore but it was a great piece of historical artefact and it was just pretty to look at. Through the front door, the spacious circular room with a high ceiling was the first room. The student read in a book that back in the day, houses were intentionally built like this just to give a welcoming feeling to guest with the first thing they see was the beautiful room. The high ceiling was beautifully ornamented with shells and the occasional shiny pearls. Being the coastal nation that Konoha was, shells and pearls were the peak of fashion. And there were pictures of the old Kings on the walls that surrounded the student. At the centre of it all there was a large circular rug with the Konoha emblem printed on it. Of course it wasn't the original rug but this replica was spot on the student thought.

Looking around the room, the student estimated the approximate size. 'Could fit a decent sized house in here'. Even so, the house still extended it all three directions via hallways into the kitchen, the second lounge room, and the other hallway extended to the private library of the mansion. The student was very close to falling to temptation of wandering around the history rich house. Just the thought of seeing the historical artefacts that the student had only seen pictures made his/hers mouth water. Even so at the thought that they were the real deal.

"It's Temari isn't it?" a voice called from somewhere around the room. The way the voice echoed made it hard to tell where the voice was coming from. Temari looked around until she saw a couple walking towards her. 'Vice-Hokage Naruto and his wife HInata' Temrai noted as she recognised the famous faces.

"….I thought was going to meet the hokage?..." Temrai said dryly as she shook the hand of the vice-hokage who was making such a cliché excuse.

"He's…Uh….busy….But I'm the next best thing!" Naruto said as he tried to give a genuine looking smile. The girl just got under his skin a little bit.

"I've your past essays and I must say… they are nothing shorter than brilliant!" praised Hinata. Natuto snuck little closer to Temari and whispered:

"You know….if you said more good stuff about me…. I might be the hokage now instead of Sasuke"

"HAHA! I'm a historian, vice-hokage! I only tell facts!" Temari said

'Damn this bitch!' Naruto hid under the grin on his face. "Of course! That's probably why you're chosen to be here." Naruto said in complete contrast to what he was thinking. The thing that annoyed him the most was the fact that Temari was showing cluelessness and the thought that she knows but was acting made his blood pressure rise even more.

Hinata, who noticed the slight twitch on her husband's forced smile quickly grabbed his hand and said:

"Well, we don't want to hold you back any longer. I heard this independent research of yours is important! It's a pleasure meeting you Temari-san. If you need anything just go ask Shikamaru." HInata said as she pointed to the figure leaning on the wall who seemed to have dozed off.

"Yeah….." Temari replied but her mind was on something else. 'Was he there the whole time? How come I didn't notice him before?'

"The pleasure's mine!" Temari continued after waiving her previous thought away. "It would have been better if I actually shook the hand of Mr. Hokage himself!" She blushed at the thought of laying eyes on the handsome leader let alone actually making skin contact made her feel like melting through the ground.

'That's it!' Naruto snapped but Hinata sensing that Temari has crossed line forcedfully dragged her husband away who was fighting to get free. "Let go of me Hinata! I need to hit that bitch and show her whose boss around here!"

"No can do! We have important jobs to do! And second….you're not the boss here…"

Temari watched the couple drag themselves away wryly. 'Spoiled' Temari thought. The couple was the same age as her if not younger but she assumed that they were those people who were bred for this kind of job. At an early age, they were probably not sent to school but started training to be the next leader of this nation. 'Doesn't know what life is like outside this 'dreamhouse' Temari thought as she looked at her supposedly 'guide' who was still dozing in the corner.

She walked up to the man, so she thought but after examining his face, he can't be any older than her. She clicked a couple of times inches but the man called Shikamaru still wouldn't budge. A naughty thought came across her mind as she grinned naughtily. Temari spreaded her right palm and pulled her right arm back. Then in a swooping motion, she heaved her palm across for an impactful slap across that face. 'This should wake this bastard up!' she thought but to her surprise he caught her sweeping hand and was now looking at her piercingly.

"OH! I thought you were sleeping! I thought I'd give you a little wakeup call!" Temari said as a matter of fact. She calculated the possibility that this douchebag was just faking his sleep and came up with an excuse if that was the case.

"(sigh)…I wouldn't mind a half attracting girl for once….." Shikamaru said in a bored manner. The next thing he knew, he was feeling a stinging pain across his right cheek as Temari snapped at what he said.

A little later when Temari and Shikamaru had finished their little dispute, Shikamaru was now leading Temari down a hallway across to the private hokage library. He was still nursing his 'swollen' cheek, maybe but it definitely had a red palm marking he thought as he felt a stinging pain at the softest touch.

"You're pretty soft for a body guard!" Temari said as she was watching Shikamaru in front of him rub his precious cheek and she probably even so a tear escape his eye.

"Body guard?" Shikamaru was startled by the out-of-nowhere question. 'What are you talking about?! I'm just a librarian!"

"Sure…. With your reflexes like earlier and the gun at your hip? You may be a bit over qualified to be a librarian…." Temari said as she gestured for the slight crease on Shikamaru's shirt in the shape of the handle of a hand gun.

"What are you talking about?! You managed to slap me! Look at it! It's bleeding!" Shikamaru stopped then faced backwards to the student. "Why would I let a brat like you hit me?!"

"Because you made a mistake!" Temari said back. "You caught my first slap but you realised that you probably gave away too much with your reflexes so you let me slap you a second. I know you saw the slap coming! I was watching your eyes!"

"And how would a normal student know any of that?!"

There was a rather long awkward silence between them. A moment too long for both of their likings.

"Are we there yet?" Temari asked changing the topic.

"We're right here" Shikamaru said gesturing to the double doors next to them. He gave a sigh of relief that the annoying girl finally got off his back.

Shikamaru unlocked the locks then pushed the double doors with a small grunt. Temari's eyes lit up as the massive collection was unveiled right before her eyes. This was perhaps the richest collection of books in the world, not to mention they were the original print unlike the ones at the National library.

"No normal students would get access to this library you know…." Shikamaru said as a matter of fact.

"Oh please! I know you already know who I am my family's influence. It is part of your 'job' to research isn't it? Mister 'Librarian'". She emphasized her sarcasm on the word librarian that put a soft blush on Shikamaru's face and made him look to the side when she winked at him.

"If there's anything you need. I'll be over there" Shikamaru gestured to a comfortable looking sofa just next to the double door entrance.

"Get me some coffee and….uh…some lemon cake! I heard the hokage loves those!" Temari said in a cheerful tone as she was already scanning the bookshelves looking for the book of her chosen topic.

"…..That's not what I meant…I'm not a maid…." Shikamaru said a tone of sarcasm.

"Really? I heard from the vice-hokage's wife's mouth that if there's anything I need just ask that lazy bumhole over there…." Temari said doing her best to replicate Hinata's words and actions. "Or perhaps you want me to tell them you weren't able to fulfil your duty?"

Shikamaru was red like a tomato with mixture of rage and humiliation. '…..This bitch… is a real pain in the ass!' he thought.

He let out a huge sigh to calm himself then said:

"As you wish!...Madame Temari…" he said sarcastically but also addressed the girl rightfully as she is daughter of the current Kazekage of Sunagakure. Her identity played a big part as to why someone of Shikamaru's calibre was chosen to be her body guard….so they said….

"Oh! By the way!" Shikamaru suddenly turned as he was exiting the massive library. "I heard rumours that the ghost of the last king still lingers in this room. It was his own personal collection and favourite room in the house….but I'm a smart girl like you don't believe in ghost stories….." Shikamaru said teasingly as he left with a grin on his face after witnessing the sudden change of expression on Temari's face. She was speechless.

* * *

><p>Sai and Ino were lying flat on their bellies as they listened and watched through the gaps between the leaves from the bush they were hiding from. They were well on their way out of town until Ino got a hold of herself and insisted, violently, that they return to the village to check up on the status of town. They were in their current position for a bit over half an hour now and they still heard and saw no signs indicating the presence of the 'police'. It was so quiet that they felt no sign of anyone. A red mark of Ino's right hand on Sai's cheek was a painful constant reminder to him their argument a little earlier for the better part of the hour they were hiding.<p>

"Do you reckon my dad is still alive?" Ino asked worriedly. Sai raised as eyebrow at her. One moment she was a raging bull, the next, she was as innocent as an infant.

"Maybe…but we probably should go…..it's too dangerous" Sai said in the motion of standing up but Ino was quicker and pulled him with her as she ran towards the closest alley way. "Are you crazy?!" but Sai's voice seemed to enter one ear then exited through the other as she continued to pull him. Although he hated to admit, it looked like it was relatively safe now. Before disappearing into the alley, Sai strained his neck backwards to look whether there still any vehicles left and he saw none.

Sai had no real evidence to prove it but he had the gut feeling that everyone in town was murdered and Ino would only find death instead of hope. He felt like he has encountered the same people before. His instincts and 'experience' were suggesting that that was the case here. They took a few turns before Sai smelt the seaweeds and spotted the sea, blue as ever. Then before long they reached the town square and Ino stopped in her tracks along with her heart. He saw the signs in the buckling of her knees and the sway of her head that she was about to faint. Sai leaned forward so that Ino's head would land softly on his shoulder. He immediately checked her pulse then her heart beat to check if she had a heart attack or just fainted. His findings told him the latter and he was relieved. Plus she still had the rosy cheeks and pink lips meaning there was still blood flowing therefore, alive.

He took the chance to examine the scene before him. It seemed like everyone was gathered into the town square or dragged, if found dead. Judging from the mass of the body, it seemed like it was everyone and just as he feared, they were all killed. He looked down the main road leading into the forest where he last saw Ino's father on his knees before a man with glasses. The same man he saw before they hid into the forest he thought.

Sai didn't spend enough time around these people to feel attached to them but he felt compassionate to those treated unfairly. These were innocent people. He took Ino into her house on top of the hill while he took the opportunity to look around. He already did a quick sweep of the town checking every house and building and to his surprise nothing was stolen. It's just they were scattered on the floor an obvious indication that those men were hear for more than the crimes of Ino's father. They were here looking for something and killed everyone for it except…Ino's father, Sai noted. He didn't see his body anywhere and the enemies had vehicles so it was a strong possibility that he was taken hostage for what he knows…..or doesn't know…Sai noted.

He returned after a couple of hours with food from the inn and a bag of rations as he prepared for the possible long journey ahead. Before unpacking and eating the food he found, Sai checked on the couch where he had left Ino and just as he expected she was not there. But he only had to look as far as her room. She was sitting on the sill looking aimlessly out the window holding with all hope gone from her eyes. It's going to take a long time before she gets over this he thought.

"Your may be father is still alive" Sai said softly not wanting to disturb her but he wanted her to hear it to inject some hope into those crying eyes. Ino looked at the mysterious pale boy she found on the beach. She had no reason to trust this boy, she didn't even know his name but for some reason she felt that everything was going to be alright.

"I see….how do you know?" Ino asked uncertainly. It was a pointless question she thought. She already made up her mind that she trusted him but she felt like she had to say something.

"From this" Sai held up a scroll he got from the two guys he killed that tried to rape Ino. It was a search warrant from Konoha's police department. At first, he had hoped that it would lead him towards his identity but it didn't even gave him clues, however it gave them an idea on where to find Ino's father. His identity can wait later he thought.

Once again Ino was lost in her thoughts and wasn't paying attention to what Sai said. Sai understood her situation for some reason and decided to leave her for now. "Get some rest Ino….we'll tomorrow morning". As Sai turned to leave the room, in the hallway, he accidentally knocked a picture frame. It fell of the table and smashed into the ground breaking the frame and shattering the glass. Sai collected everything that was still intact and examined the picture. It was a picture of Ino when she was very young with her father and….her mother he thought but that wasn't what alerted him. It was what he felt he held the picture. His fingers felt two different pieces. There was the picture, then there was an old folded parchment paper. Sai peered inside the room to check on Ino who seemed undisturbed. He gently unfolded the parchment. Careful not to rip the crusty paper. When Sai fully stretched it out, he recognised marks and emblems on the paper indicating it was an official document but whatever was written on it, it wasn't the language they speak today.

Sai looked around to see if anyone was watching. He had a funny feeling this might be the item those men were looking for.

* * *

><p>"Business you say?" Naruto asked his wife when he finally calmed down after being dragged away from Temari. Hinata pulled gestured around a dark corner where someone was waiting. Naruto leaned around the corner within earshot of a quiet conversation.<p>

"What is it?..." Naruto whispered.

"The 'Sai' is alive" said the man in the shadows. Naruto alarmed, replied:

"….If you got this information…Then 'He' got probably got hold of it as well….." Naruto said in deep thought strategizing a plan.

"…'He' probably already made a move…" the man said.

"…..We can't let 'He' get to him first….." said Naruto.

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto of the characters in this story.**

Chapter 3

"Who's the lucky girl?" asked Sakura, the head cook, with a hint of teasing to the man that just walked into the kitchen of the famous 'hokage' building. The kitchen certainly didn't let down of being the royal kitchen of the glorious royal family that once lived there. It was split in two rooms. Each being as big as the lounge where the 'guest' Temari waited just earlier. The first room was the actual kitchen. There was a long table in the middle of the room evenly divided into sixteen stations evenly by invisible divisions. The sixteen best cooks in the nation worked side by side showing discipline and precision by keeping with their 'invisible' borders. Around the perimeter, numerous supplies of stoves and ovens rested capable of producing mass amounts of food in a short amount of time. Of course being the royal house, once upon a time it was a popular destination of royal families from adjacent nations. If there was one thing that Konoha was famous for, it was their generosity when it comes to food. To top it all up, the second room was a storage room of all kinds of food from every corner of the world. It contained enough food to support the nation for half a year in a healthy ration.

Shikamaru snorted. "Psh! What are you talking about?!" Shikamaru said as he tried to hide the smile but it only made it harder the more he thought about it. "Do you have any lemon cake? And some coffee as well."

"Of course! There's always lemon cake in this house! Otherwise we'd all be fired" Sakura joked at how much the kings and those who succeeded the throne love the sweet baked dessert. "How do you like the coffee?" Sakura added. Usually it would be one of her young students to do the job but since this is a favour for an old friend, it's a different case.

"The usual" Shikamaru sai while noticing a few glances and smiles from the young cooks in training around the table followed by soft giggles as they turned to one another as they muttered 'girly' things to one another. He scratched the back of his head hiding his shyness but that seemed to have fuelled the fire more in the young girl's heart.

"He's so cute!" "I wanna marry him!" "Shut up! He'll here us!" were just a few phrases that Shikamaru caught. After a few moment of awkwardness, for Shikamaru anyway, Sakura returned with a slice of lemon cake and nice hot coffee.

"….What's this?!..." Shikamaru asked in a humourless tone. The creamy foam on top of the coffee was shaped into a love heart.

"Say hello for her for me!" teased Sakura.

"Look…I just had the unfortunate luck to stuck with a troublesome woman….I don't like her….or anything!" Shikamaru defended his case as he picked a teaspoon and stirred the coffee until the heart shaped foam disappeared.

"Sure! Sure!" Sakura said. "Denial is the first sign of love they say!"

Shikamaru sighed. "….Whatever…" he said as he left the kitchen. Now that he escaped the den of Sakura, Shikamaru realised that maybe Temari might like the coffee better with a heart on….. better presentation….'Don't be ridiculous!' Shikamaru thought to himself. To get to back to the library, he had to cross the lounge room once again head the opposite direction.

'(sigh)….Why does this house needs to be so frickin big!' he complained to himself. After the mighty effort of self-control instead of throwing the tray of snack he was carrying and quitting the job, eventually he got to his destination. He unlocked the double door once again then trotted across the room where a small desk was located. Looking around he noticed a few open books on the floor. He recognised a couple of them being 'The History of the Kings of Konoha' and the other 'The Death of the Family'. 'The Death of the Family' was probably the more interesting one as it reviews the time of the last king of Konoha, his death along with the annihilation of his heir. The motive was obvious, it was the 'who' that was the mystery. Speaking of mysteries…..'Where's Temari' Shikamaru thought.

The room seemed to be undisturbed but Shikamaru noticed the curtains swaying on one of the windows that lined the far wall indicating that the window was open. Cautiously, he pulled out his gun and lowered himself into a half crouch. He backed himself the shelves as he weaved himself, up the stairs on to the platform that ran around the perimeter and towards the window. It was three floors high. The option of Temari escaping through here was out and she definitely couldn't have gone through the door. He locked it when he left. Therefore there was only one reason that comes to mind why the window was open, someone else was in here.

From his vantage point, he could circle around the platform and see every corner of the bookshelves down stairs. He slowly shuffled minimizing the noise his leather boots was making on the wooden floor. Then he saw it, a shadow moving in between the bookshelves. He jumped over the rail and got on top of a bookshelf closest to where he last spotted the enemy. But he made the mistake of jumping and making contact with his leather boots on to the wooden frame of the shelf. Shikamaru kicked himself irritated of his carelessness, he wasn't usually like that…..perhaps the thought of Temari captured unsettled him…. His carelessness compromised him.

"What are you doing?!" Temari asked bluntly after hearing the echoed noise. The one thing that disturbed her was why was she hearing footsteps above her.

"Um…..I saw a rat…." Shikamaru said almost immediately trying to make it sound like not an excuse.

"A rat?...you're hunting a rat with a gun…." Temari said sarcastically.

"…Why was the window open….." as Shikmaru used the ladder for getting higher the books from the bookshelf to get himself down.

"…..Because it was getting stuffy in here….I imagine no one has been here for the past few years!"

"Sure you're the only here?" asked Shikamaru still in alert mode and ignoring her sarcasm.

"….Yes…" Temari said in a suspicious tone.

Shikamaru sighed."….Well… I brought your cake and coffee…."

"Oh thanks! But I don't want them!" Temari said as she reverted back to book hunting and scanning the shelves.

"What?! Then what was the point!" Shikamaru said irritatedly.

"I noticed a few crumbs on your shirt earlier. Judging from the colour and texture of the crumb and considering where we are, it was probably the famous 'royal' lemon cake….. and your breathe stunk with coffee…"

"What's that got to do with anything?..."

"I figured you might get bored babysitting me all day so….I got you something to kill time! Well 'you' got you something to kill time!" Temari said.

Out of nowhere, Shikamaru felt flattered and his cheeks was burning. He quickly turned around to hide the blushing and the uncontainable smile. "Just don't do anything suspicious or I'm gonna have to shoot you….."

"Yes sir" Temari said as she teased once again.

* * *

><p>Konoha was a long way away from the coast, a good ten hours' drive. Sai and Ino packed everything they might need spare clothes, food, money, etc. into the Ute that the innkeeper used to transport cranes of fresh food from the closest town about two hours away. They didn't took much with them as they didn't want to look too overloaded and plus it would just slow them down with their travel.<p>

Sai was driving, how he knew he could do that, he didn't know. Flashes of images and bits of memory flooded into him once he opened the driver's seat and the steering wheel, the chair, accelerator, etc. Ino was on the passenger seat next to him looking out the window and holding the family picture accidentally knocked over. It was not a good idea on Sai's case to give her that picture, it only resulted to more tears he thought. Now she looks more depressed than ever.

"Ino…Do you know a place where refuel?" Sai asked. Looking at the fuel bar in front of him, he could see the arrow just short of full but he thought he needed to give Ino a break and it was also an opportunity to gather information about Konoha. Maps, what kind of police system they have, population, etc. The way the man with glasses looked at him yesterday bothered Sai. He got a feeling that he just entered Konoha and he needed to plan this carefully.

"Huh?" Ino replied five seconds or more delaed from the question.

"It's….nothing…." Sai said noticing that perhaps he should just leave her alone.

"You still don't remember much?" Ino asked in a much cheerful tone. Kind of like just asking a normal question which startled Sai, it was out of nowhere.

"Um….No…." Said replied.

"It's kind of awkward talking to you and not knowing your name…." said Ino maintaining that clam and normal tone.

"Wel…..you can call me anything you want…I don't mind" said Sai half glances at her as he needed to keep his eyes on the road. It's not like he needed to. In fact there was no cars but their Ute travelling on this long country road.

"How about Inojin! I've always liked that name!" Ino said this time really sounding cheerful and excited. She turned and looked at him with life once again in those beautiful blue eyes of her.

'….That's an ugly as name….but how I could refuse that look…..' Sai thought. "…Sure! Why not!..." Then he made a mental note. 'When I get a kid one day…I'll do him a favour and not name him that…'

Up ahead Sai could see buildings perhaps of a town. But the closer they got, the more he realised that it was more like a stop and resting place for drivers on a long drive. There was a petrol station with a servo next to it and a small place next labelled 'KFC' where most people seemed to be. On the other side of the road there was a small grocery store, a small grass clearing with benches and tables and another small building that had 'information centre' on its front. Sai pulled over than parked parallel to the curve.

"Stay here, I won't be gone long" Sai said as he unstrapped his seatbelt.

"Where are you going?" Ino asked nervously as she saw Sai slid a gun under his shirt.

"Don't worry, I won't be gone long" Sai said halfway out the Ute. He grabbed a cap and pulled it over his face just to shade his facial features and also not to grab too much attention if he put on a full mask. He didn't stay for what Ino had to say next and close the door gently. Again he was careful not to grab too much attention and making loud noises will certainly draw a few pair of eyes towards them.

He walked slower than his usually rather fast normal walking pace trying not to look too tense. It was harder than it sounds especially when he was constantly shifting his eyes watching every inch around him. As he approach the double automatic sliding doors, Sai noticed a camera watching the coming in and out of everyone. He lowered his head and pulled out a blank piece of paper pretending to read something using the cover of the cap to hide his face.

Inside was another camera in the opposite corner, watching the information desk. 'Dammit!' Sai cursed in the inside as he looked straight into it. Letting his anger surface would only things more suspicious. He noticed it as he walked in and made the quick decision to not and keep the 'natural' flow of things. Sai walked over to a wall holding brochures of everything to be found in the nation of Konohagakure. He grabbed the split map brochure of northern and southern part of the village of konoha and a couple variety of brochures under tourist attractions. These tourists attractions might come in handy later as they would contain a mass of people, it would make escape easier he thought.

Sai had everything he needed in the brochures in his hand. He turned and looked around. There was a couple in the room and both of them huddled over a touch screen desk. Perhaps looking for a quiet corner where they could make out sight thought with a smile. Then there was the information desk a young woman hunched over her phone not giving a care to the outside world.

"Uh…excuse me….." Sai said awkwardly not knowing how to start a conversation.

"Yes?" the young woman looked up enthusiastically. Perhaps it was the first time someone actually went and talked to her in a while.

"Um…..I lost my little sister and….I was wondering where I can get help?"

"Oh do you want me to call 911?"

"Actually don't worry about it I just remembered where I left her!" Sai said remembering the number. It will come handy in the future he thought.

"Are you sure?!"

"Yes! Thank you" said Sai to the stunned girl with a 'What was that?' look on her face. He just got an unwanted attention he thought. If someone was to ask this girl now of anything out of the ordinary, he would be one of the first that would pop into her mind. "Um…actually…has anyone told you how…..pretty your hair looks?" Sai asked nervously.

"Oh!" the girl said flattered as she blushed and stroked her dark brown hair fashioned into Chinese style buns on either side of her head with short fringe bangs falling over her forehead. "Thank you….." she said nervously. "But I'm already taken! I'm so sorry…..!"

"Is that so!..." said Sai pretending to be startled. "That's a shame… it was worth a try!"

Sai waved a final good bye to the good looking girl with a genuine smile. He was glad that he erased the awkward attention he got before. More naturally now, he walked to the parked Ute. He opened the driver's door dropped the thing he picked up into the back seat and in the corner of his eye, he saw no one was sitting in the passenger seat. Sai also noticed the bag with all the money they collected was gone.

He stepped outside turned in every direction trying to find a trace of Ino but there was nothing. Sai wanted to punch the Ute but then again that would draw attention. He got back into the car and closed the door heavily, his anger getting the better of his self-control. He'll just have to make do without the money he thought. He still had a mission he set himself that he needed to accomplish. Find his indentity. He inserted the key then twisted. The engine revved then the hum of the engine settled after a second. Sai was about to release his right foot of the brakes then step onto the accelerator when he heard a knock on the passenger window.

Sai turned to look and he saw Ino with a 'What the hell' bewildered look. Ino entered hugging a brown paperback.

"I thought I told you to stay in here!" Sai scolded. Ino opened her mouth to speak but Sai's anger was too overwhelming. He noticed that Ino was on the brink of crying so he spoke on a lower tone. "Where did you go anyway?..."

"…..I thought I'd buy you some KFC…You must be pretty tired from canned foods all the time…" Ino said sulkily while she pushed the brown paper bag towards Sai. "Here…."

Sai was lost for words. He didn't know if he was angry or grateful. His mind raced of an infinite possibilities where all could go wrong. But an overwhelming feeling swept his anger away. A warm feeling that put a smile on his face instead and made him forgive Ino's rash actions. Probably just overreacted Sai thought.

* * *

><p>The girl with the Chinese buns watched every move of the capped man from the moment he walked into the room until the moment he drove away with a blonde girl she noted, probably irrelevant as she didn't recognised her. It all of her mental prowess to connect the dots. She recognised the pale boy, not very well disguised she thought. Her phone beeped with a big 'Game Over' across the screen and that was when she connected the dots.<p>

She waited until the giggling of the couple died and waited further until the lovebirds left the place. There were automatic metallic screens that would come down over the automatic double door and the glass panes as walls. She closed the information centre for the day at a press of a button then hurried to the small back room where spare boxes of brochures lay, a first aid kit hanging on the wall. It was just a small room that didn't contain much. She hurried to her backpack while dialling a number and plugging in her earphones so she could operate with two hands.

"It's me" said the girl as she opened the bag and pulled out a leather vest with a couple of gun holders. She fastened the vest around her torso then pulled out two unloaded guns.

"Yes. I'm sure it's him" She said as she loaded the two guns and strapped them in.

"I'm on my way" said the girl. She put down the phone then strapped a belt hand gun magazine and gun holders on each of her thighs. She reached into the bag once more to grab the two guns. She loaded and cocked each one making sure that they were ready to fire at a moments notice then carefully strapped into the gun holder on her grabbed the empty backpack then put it around her shoulder. On the way out of the door, she reached down and unzipped another bag, this time it was long. She checked the contents of the disbanded sniper rifle. Satisfied that the contents were complete, she zipped it closed, picked it up, walked out teh back door closing the lights behind her.

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you like! To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 4

Not a word was spoken between Ino and Sai after they left the small rural stop town. Ino was too busy sulking over Sai who didn't seem to appreciate much her actions earlier. She was only thinking about his sake, she thought. After all he has been driving for more than two hours, she only wanted him to regenerate his strength for the next part of the journey. The silence was giving her the impression that he was extremely upset, even though he hasn't uttered a word yet. Not even a gloomy thank you, just the agitated groans every now and then. But he seemed to have enjoyed the chicken Ino thought.

Another thing that was bothering Ino was how frequently Sai glances towards the rear-view mirror often followed by one of those irritated groans. She often looked back to see what was getting under his skin but everything seemed to be normal to her eyes. The outside looked more interesting that this gloomy boy Ino thought. She secured her elbow then leaned her chin on her palm and uninterestedly watched the trees and houses swept past her until she saw a certain old fashioned house with a beautiful lawn at front. A man was joyously mowing a lawn and gave them a little wave as they drove by.

"I think I've seen him before…" Ino said uncertainly as she craned her neck to keep her gaze towards him as he disappeared out of her sight.

"Yes you have. I went around the block twice" Sai said impassively.

"…Why?..." Ino asked sarcastically as she begun to wonder whether the boy she choice to follow was sane.

"We're being followed." Sai continued his impassive tone. "That black Porsche behind us followed us twice around the block"

"Maybe he just missed a turn and is now coming back around." Ino suggested as she craned her neck to look back at the vehicle Sai was talking about. Now that she actually payed attention, every time she looked back to wonder why Sai was so worried, she saw this black Porsche the whole time. She squinted her eyes and tried to see past the dark tainted window screen but only saw a very faint silhouette. 'Very suspicious indeed' Ino thought getting used this this whole business.

"I would have believe that if he hasn't been following us since the last town" Sai said keeping his cool emotionless tone. He looked at Ino for a second and saw those beautiful round blue eyes looking back at him, waiting for his orders. "Strap your seatbelt on"

Ino did so immediately while Sai eyed the red traffic light in front. The Porsche tailed right behind them. They had their whole conversation waiting behind a thick solid white line. There was traffic coming from both perpendicular direction. Before that, the right turn from their side and the opposite had their green arrow therefore its most likely that the next green light would be theirs and the opposite straight.

Sai loosned and tightened his grip on the steering wheel as got ready to accelerate. Their Ute had a pretty acceleration Sai calculated and the while mapping in his head the current location and his target location in his head. It was easy to memorise the layout of this town as he saw back in the information centre from the previous town. He sneaked a glance towards to his right and saw the light turn yellow. Any second now, Sai thought.

When the green light lit, Sai floored the accelerator across the crossroad and turned right beating the opposing traffic. They received a few honks and nasty words, but it was worth as they saw the black Porsche having no choice but to go straight ahead. It was only a few seconds where Ino actually thought they escaped until there was a series of car honks and tires screeching from behind them. She looked frighteningly towards Sai who already made a move and sped up. 'The Porsche must have cut across on the next turn' Sai thought as he constantly glanced towards his left where the Porsche would be looking to cut them off.

In terms of car prowess they were out leagued and the head start they managed to gain didn't last for very long. The Porsche was racing through the side streets parallel to the main road Sai and Ino were travelling on. Even though the Porsche could gun it and beat them on the next intersection, it chose not to. The driver didn't want to lose sight of the target once again and besides there was no rush. The side street he was currently on will bend into the main street in a hundred metres.

Sai knew that as he flashed images in his head of the road layout. For the most part the road looked like grid lines, making perfect squares. They can't turn towards right as it was a golf course with the entrance being about two hundred metres ahead. There was the option of turning left now and slip behind the Porsche but since the roads are in squares, it was fairly easy to get around and the Porsche will definitely make up the lost distance with the massive difference in speed. It was a checkmate, Sai thought but he was ruling out one option all this time as he didn't want Ino get hurt. The option of using their Ute's frame against the Porsche's slim and slick body. As gorgeous as the Porsche looked, it would get mangled when a bigger car crashes into it. Now that they have been driven into a corner, there was no other choice.

'Fifty metres' Sai muttered before the main road would cross with the side road. "Brace yourself" Sai said as his step on the gas and brought the Ute to full speed. 'thirty…..twenty…ten…..' Then intersection was coming in fast. No doubt the Porsche would be doing the same thing but Sai calculated the events. The Porsche would look to cut them off and halt them but Sai has made up his mind to run straight through if such a case happened.

Indeed, it was the case. The Porsche beat them to it by a couple of second. Its tires suddenly aggressively spun and screeched as it desperately tried to get out of the way after realizing that the Ute won't stop. It manage to get most of its body out of the way but its tail was clipped and the Porsche spun uncontrollably into the middle of the intersection earning itself some the heat of the displeased people and the provocative lurid honks.

"We should be able to slip past quietly now….." Sai said wiping a drop of sweat of his forehead with his backhand. "He should attract most of the heat"

Sai was talking to Ino but the fragile girl was looking nauseous. She probably had something close to a heart…she should have screamed instead of holding it all in… Sai thought. He took the next left into an underground parking for the town shopping centre. Wasting no time, Sai slipped of the car, grabbed the bag with the money from the back seat and supported Ino off the passenger seat. He could tell that she had jelly legs and understood her situation so he didn't aggravated her. He quickly but thoroughly wiped the car clean off their fingerprints then slowly walked into the shopping centre while letting Ino hold on to his arm for support.

It wasn't a grand shopping place. It didn't have the fancy places where you could get expensive items but it had the necessary shops for anything that everyone might need for their daily lives. Sai and Ino entered into a wide and straight corridor of shops on either side. At the far end they could a food court where most people have gather except for the few scattered in the corridor. The main attraction was the stairs in the middle that led up to the cinemas.

"Lean closer to me…..and smile…"Sai whispered to Ino as he himself leaned in closer to her. When people are faced in to an awkward situation they tend to look away especially when it was a couple smooching each other. Sai could see the effect working as everywhere seemed to turn away. And also, people tend to just pass them two as just another couple and forget about them by the next minute. Sai felt Ino's weight lessened on his shoulders and asked:

"Feeling better?" also noticing her face getting a red tint to her skin, especially around the cheeks.

"I-I'm fine…I-I think I got legs back now…." She stuttered. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know if it was from the tension of the moment or because she was so close to the grim but very good looking boy just inches away from her face. "…..What are we going to do now?..."

"We need to find another ride….. We got about fifteen minutes…." Sai said as he scanned the people around him particularly eyeing the pockets for a set of keys. Fifteen minutes because Sai estimated that it will take about ten minutes before the local police figured something was wrong and another five before they set up a perimeter blocking the roads. No one would be allowed to come in or out. As for the one chasing them, he's out of the picture now. Sai made sure to mangle his back will with that 'little' bump.

* * *

><p>"Damn!" Ten-Ten cursed under her breath as her black Porsche spun out of control. She tried accelerating but it seemed that one of her back wheels was damaged when the much bigger Ute clipped the back of her car. "For God's sake!" she scream irritatedly while slamming the steering wheel. Outisde her tainted window, there was a number of fuming drivers throw horrible words towards her. Of course she couldn't hear what they were saying inside the car and she couldn't less. She never wanted to get the police's help chasing a target but it couldn't be helped with her situation. She stepped and instantly her ears were full.<p>

"What do you think you're doing?!" a rather big and bulky man approached the young girl.

"Stay away….." Ten-Ten eyed and warned him.

"Only if you get your bloody car out of the road!" he continued to stride angrily towards her.

"I said…stay away old man!" Ten-Ten said this time showing her frustration as she pulled out a gun and pointed it straight between his eyebrows. It didn't take long for the sirens of the police cars to be heard. A few moments later a couple of cars entered the area and a few twitchy fingered cops exited the vehicles pointed their gun towards the most hostile looking person, which was Ten-Ten. 'Two over-sized, bored cops and their two rookies' Ten-Ten thought as she smiled at how amateurish the rookies held their gun.

"Drop the gun!" one of the rookies called out.

Ten-Ten raised her palms in the air in the indication that she meant no harm but she wasn't surrendering to these second rate cops. "I'm Secret Service!" she protested.

"Shut up! Drop your gun! Put your hands on your head!" the other rookie called out. They had the tone right Ten-Ten thought just lacked the experience. At least they would be better cops by far than the one who spoke next. She slowly placed the gun on the ground carefully not wanting to put a scratch on her precious. 'This is a waste of time!' She thought angrily.

"I'm Secret Service!" Ten-Ten said once again as she placed her head on the hood of her car.

"I said Shut up!" said the rookie who said it earlier with the tone of nervousness in his voice. One of the senior cop walked up to her and started searching her pockets. He pulled out a gun and to his surprise another gun.

"Hey! Watch where you put your hands! I'm still a woman!" Ten-Ten called out as he ran his hands down her legs in search for more weapons fighting the urge of killing this perverted man. Eventually he reached in to the pocket of her coat and pulled out a folded leather piece. He unfolded it and saw a metallic badge bearing the word 'ANBU' engraved on to it. The man looked back to his companions and showed what he found. Ten-Ten seeing the action stood up from her bent over position, snatched her badge out of the man's hand and picked up her gun. She walked towards a police car asking; "The keys inside?" glaring for an answer. They all nodded in unison.

"Stupid Cops!" Ten-Ten murmured under her breath as she continued her chase. She even cursed as she was driving along scanning the cars in front all around her. 'They're gone now!' again letting her out frustration on to the vehicle. Soon, she stopped at a red light. To her right she noticed a family standing in the middle of the outside car park of the shopping centre looking around helplessly. It was a brainer what was their problem. Their car was obviously stolen and Ten-Ten had a pretty good idea of who stole it.

She got of the car and approached the worried family hurriedly flashing her badge quickly.

"I'm a cop! Tell me what happened" she ordered. The father of the family looked on to her as if this whole thing was a joke. It was probably because Ten-Ten looked a bit young for her line of work but she continued to glare at him.

"Uh…..Our car was stolen…" He replied uncertainly.

"What was the make, model, colour of the car?" Ten-Ten asked emphasising her authority. Immediately the father's reaction change after hearing her demanding tone.

"It was a silver Toyota Camry"

"Plate numder?" Ten-Ten asked as her last question. After he gave her the plate number, Ten-Ten turned and walked away ignoring what the father was calling out behind: "What about us?!" he said but that was none of her business. She pulled out her phone while walking towards her police car.

"I lost him….but I've got a lead" she said impassively.

* * *

><p>"Hmm….so basically the royal family was murdered in one night?" Temari asked as she was collecting data for her report. She read that it was just after a war that expanded the borders of Konohagakure to what it is now. The great generals Madara and Hashirama who led the armies to victory was made heroes of war. The royal family took a private family vacation to the east coast but was murdered before they could reach their destination. The family ruled justly and the people were happy so no one understood why anyone would do such a thing. Soon after the killer was found to be bearing a letter from Hashirama with the order to kill them.<p>

Everyone was heartbroken when they heard the news. Their very own war hero committed treason and as the consequence, he was hanged. With the royal bloodline ended, there was no heir to take up the throne so the remaining generals devised a system were the people will get to vote their preferred leader. Madara was a war hero and popular to the population. He got the votes and was elected the first leader of the Republic of Konoha.

Temari tapped her pencil on the desk after taking down notes of the grimm history. "Never knew it was that dark….." She commented.

"…It was why I was wondering why you were so interested….." Shikamaru replied in boredom.

"…I just wanted to know more about the greatest nation in the world" Temari said as she stretched her arms behind her back then folded over the desk leaning on her folded arms. She groaned wishing the aching muscles to go away. "I wonder if anyone survived?"

"Huh?" Shikamaru was bewildered by her last question. "The assassin that killed them was Hyuuga Neji, the best assassin in the history of world"

"But there were no bodies found?" Temari backed up her case.

"That's his trademark" Shikamaru said. "He leaves no trace behind….. God knows what he's done to them but only one thing is certain, they're all dead….."

"I know….." said Temari tiredly. "But still….it would be cool it someone survived and continued the bloodline…What a story that would make!"

"Heh?...you're just day dreaming now-" Shikamaru was interrupted by his phone buzzing frantically in his pocket. "Excuse me….."

"OH! Someone's in trouble!" Temari teased. Shikamaru glared at her to shut up.

"…Right….I'll be right there…" Shikamaru said to the phone. "Ok 'princess', time to go home. I need to pick up some books. I can't have you here by yourself…."

"Drop me off to my apartment?" Temari asked enthusiastically and seductively.

"Not a chance!" Shikamaru glared at her attempt. "I got work to do!"

"Sure…Sure…." Temari continued her teasing campaign and she packed her pencil and piled her notes and books. Shikamaru was standing by the door waiting for the 'troublesome' woman to get out of the room so he could lock down.

"I could tell it was a girl" Temari was not yielding. She will tease him at every chance she got. "I could tell from the faint static sound from your phone! Give her some flowers for me!" Temari said as she waved good-bye to the 'librarian'.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's nothing like that….." Although he was quite enjoying being with this Temari. Being as annoying as she is, there was something about her that was very 'likable' Shikamaru thought. He gave that a quick smile before dismissing the thought and focusing on the job at hand. Sai is on the lose and he needs to get to him before 'They' does.

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 5

Shikamaru was waiting waiting by the traffic lights waiting for his pedestrian lights to go green. Temari was heading in an adjacent direction to his also waiting for her green pedestrian light. She would often throw teasing glances at the 'librarian' to kill some waiting time. Shikamaru would scratch his head in embarrassment thinking, 'why did she had to do that in pubic?' but eventually they went on with their separate paths with Shikamaru hiding a grin form Temari. 'Alright…time to go serious now….' He thought now that the distraction is gone. Ichiraku ramen was a popular restaurant in town. It may have started out small but it is now a big tie franchise boasting the title 'best ramen in the world' at a very affordable price. It is a place where all sorts of people, locals and foreigners, came and go, in Shikamaru's terms, a den of information.

The entrance was an open archway with banner hanging over the top part. Because of this open pathway, it already has that welcoming atmosphere that attracts more customer. Shikamaru lowered his head and pushed the banners above his head with his forearm. He stopped and let himself be swallowed by the festive atmosphere, was always a nice feeling her thought. Although it had a title of a restaurant, it was more like a pub than anything that serves ramen. The place was pretty spacious with a variety of round and long rectangular tables. The long tables were reserved for a birthday party evident by the birthday cake and people commending a fire year old boy a happy birthday. The round tables were filled with all sort of people, there a few guys having a friendly arm wrestling match, a couple on a date, some just passing the time then there was a group in the that Shikamaru was looking for, a group of policemen having chuckle to themselves. He walked over to them and addressed to the leader of the group: "Kiba….. what has your fat ass been up to?"

Although Shikamaru said that in a friendly tone, he meant every word. He never liked this spoiled brat who got a captain position in the police force out of high school straight away. All because his parents owns the place but that doesn't mean he was a good cop. In fact he was lousy. Him and his 'underlings', the guys who suck up to him because he's an easy prey. The kid is too naïve and have no clue of how the world runs. Well, Shikamaru can't exactly talk as he was also sucking up to the kid but for a different reason. The police force gathers information faster than any intelligence agency so long as it's within the Konoha city. After all, this police force was founded by the great Madara after the Hashirama betrayal. He made it a point to everyone that no one will get away with anything.

Being in a position of power, Kiba has access to those information, hence Shikamaru has access to them for a cheap price. All he has to do is act nice and try not to punch the guy in the face.

"Ah! If it isn't my favourite librarian!" Kiba gestured Shikamaru to take a seat with them but Shikamaru respectfully declined with a wave. "How's the trade lately? Seen any quick chicks that come by your library?" Kiba asked with a wink.

At the mention of a cute girl there was only one girl that filled Shikamaru's mind. "Uh…..just one….but trust me you wouldn't like her…"

"Ah! Perfect! Sounds like my kind of girl!" Kiba rejoiced.

Shikamaru sighed. 'Any girl wearing a school uniform is your kind of girl…'. Anyway, he decided to change the topic since he won't get anywhere with this brat. "Actually I'm here for a favour…."

"Anything for a friend!" Kiba said.

"I'm looking for a car with this specification" Shikamaru handed Kiba a piece of paper with the description of the car that Ten-Ten gave him over the phone. "And…..I'm looking for these two…." Shikamaru now handed him a few photos showing Sai and a blonde girl whom they can't Identify. The photos were taken outside the information centre by Ten-Ten's phone who was stationed there to act as a sentry but unfortunately the couple escaped her grasps. KIba took the photos and examined them 'carefully'.

'Acting cool again…' Shikamaru thought. "Let me know the moment you find something" Shikamaru said turning to leave.

"Did they failed to return overdue book loans or something?" Kiba asked innocently as he surveyed the pictures. Particularly taking a long time looking at Ino's pictures.

"…Something like that….." Shikamaru agreed. He left the Ichiraku ramen without ordering anything and felt bad when a waitress standing by the door greeted him: 'Thank you for coming! Please come again! And don't forget to donate! We're trying to help rebuild nearby villages, the war really took its toll on everyone….' Shikamaru normally ignores those kind of things but he was feeling generous today and it was the least he could do for not buying anything. Again he was greeted with a big thanks then he went on his way.

It was about noon then and the street suddenly became packed with people on lunch break from work. Especially that street with Ichiraku Ramen. Shikamaru, squeezed shuffled and sometimes pushed his way through to get out of the stampede. He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out his phone while continuing to walk casually.

"Shino….I need some gear….." He said quietly to the phone while darting his eyes from side to side watching out for anything conspicuous. After those few words, the message was conveyed. Shikamaru slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued to walk heading for his apartment three blocks from there. It took him about ten minutes to get home and when he got there, a black ford mustang was parked in his garage with a man leaning on the car. The man threw the keys of the car to Shikamaru who just turned the corner.

"Shino…..that was quick…." Shikamaru commented as he lifted up the boot of the car. There were several gun cases of different shape and sizes. He picked one of the smaller ones which he presumed contained a carry hand gun which he could conceal easily under his shirt.

"I was around the place…." Shino said in responcse to Shikamaru's comment. "I was following 'Roots' movements…..It seems something got them twitchy…. Is it related to this?"

"Mostl likely" Shikamaru said as he slipped the hand gun and a few magazines under his shirt. "Sai is on the loose" Said Shikamaru crisply which froze Shino's expression.

"…I see…" Shino said.

"Ten-Ten reported in last time she saw the target was half an hour ago at a town three hours from here"

"What makes you think he's coming here?..."

"If Root's got an itchy ass, then chances are he's heading here. Heck they probably have him followed and monitored for all we know. You understand what's at stake here right?" Shikamaru tested his colleague's resolve. Compared to Shikamaru, Shino was fairly new. Only a couple of months in the job but Shikamaru saw potential in this boy when he was still a cop following that Kiba-guy around. Shino nodded to his mentor in understanding although they are about the same age at 21-22. Shikamaru was one of those guys that didn't have a normal childhood. Like Naruto and Sasuke, he was raised to fulfil a role but instead of leading this country, his training was to be the Senju's advisor and protector.

Before Hashirama was killed, he created a secret group called ANBU to live in the shadow and protect his descendant so that when the day the truth comes out, his descendants will take the rightful place of leader. But Madara had the same idea to keep his power. He created another group called ROOT for the same purpose. Unfortunately for Hashirama his descendants were discriminated for their wrongly accused ancestor until Hiruzen Sarutobi, a decendant of Hashirama, became the Hokage. Then it was pretty obvious that there will be an assassination and a civil war, possibly a world war as ROOT is too obsessed with power and would choose world massacre just to keep it. It was rumoured that the voting was rigged this time round between Naruto and Sasuke, a decendant of Hashirama and Madara respectively, but no one called out for the sake of not triggering another world war.

"I need you to keep following ROOT and keep me up to date" Shikamaru commanded. "Set up camp on a high place where you can see everything". That was the reason Shikamaru hand-picked Shino, he's an uncanny deadeye shot with a rifle. "Keep your eyes on the South-east" Shikamaru told Shino where Sai was last seen coming from.

* * *

><p>Three hours of driving will certainly take its toll on your body. Your muscles with start to ache and cramp and your eyelids will feel oddly heavier than usual. Ino managed to knock an hour or so with short naps here and there but Sai was up and awake the whole time without showing no signs of fatigue, he was specially trained to withstand worse situations than this after all. They were on a five lane express way for about five minutes now indicating that a major civilisation was nearby. Green boards above showed arrows of exits and straight ahead the city of Konoha.<p>

Sai lifted of a hand off the steering wheel and nudged Ino gently. The sleeping beauty groans softly as she slowly opened her eyes and pushed back lost hair strands off her face. She looked at Sai who was pointing at something in the distance. She followed Sai's finger into the distance and saw a metropolis brightly reflecting of the noon sun's rays into striking sparkles that made the city a little magical touch. Ino pushed into her window as if to get a clearer view of the majestic city.

"Wow! The postacards I saw doesn't even do justice compared to the real thing!" Ino praised the city in awe. "Have you been here before….?" asked Ino who instinctively tried to finish off the sentence with the person's name but she remembered that she doesn't know and neither does he.

"I can't say I remember!" Sai wittily. Ino gave him a sly smile at his little joke.

"Well, I'm sure you won't forget this now!" she said further as she looked back at the metropolis.

They cut into the miles pretty quickly and eventually the expressway narrowed into two lanes under a much slower speed limit. There was a welcome billboard on their side of the road and a 'please come again!' on the other. For a moment both Ino and Sai forgot about their problems. The sheer atmosphere of the place was too overwhelming. Cars came and go into the city with half of them bearing a foreign plate number and usually they were long cars with evident camping gear in the back or caravan. Outside, the smiles of the people and the lively and colourful advertisements on big screen and banner were just too contagious that even manage to put a small smile on the grimm Sai's face.

"Oh look!" Ino pointed to a couple of young girls walking down the street with a crop top. "I want one of those!" Sai craned to look at what got Ino's attention and once he spotted the belly shirts the young girls were wearing he felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He tensed his abdomen and tightened his mouth to make sure he wouldn't puke. 'Seriously?!' He thought as he snuck a glance at Ino who was definitely enjoying her first city experience. Then all of a sudden flashes of images, people, and cars, a door with a number, shops and hotels flooded his mind in a split of a second. He winced at the sudden burst of information in his head, perhaps in was déjà vu or maybe the place just reminded him of memories he thought. Perhaps he really has been here before or maybe even lived here he thought after seeing the numbered door and the 'Konoha Hotel' banner.

"Ino could you look for 'Konoha Hotel' on the map?" Sai asked straight faced now that he got his mind back in the game. They stopped at a red light. The whole intersection was stopped then pedestrian lights turned in to a countdown of thirty seconds and everyone swarmed the intersection like a mass of ants. There a couple running, trailing behind as they tried to beat the last couple of seconds. Sai's consciousness came back to hi slowly, in terms of their purpose of being at this place. He became uneasy, all of a sudden feeling the gaze of everyone. Not that they took notice of them anyway but Sai was feeling the anxiety to get clear of this crowded part of the city as soon as possible.

"Um…Let's here….." Sai could here Ino in the background scramble for the folded map. "Where are we right now?" Ino ased as she unfolded the A3 sized map.

"First intersection of the southern expressway" Sai commented as he stepped gently on the accelerator.

"Okay…" Ino said as she searched for with her index finger. Once she spotted their intersection, she looked a little menu section at the bottom right corner for the 'attarctions, restaurant, hotels, etc.' "Ok...four blocks on your right….."

Even though it was a sixty kilometre zone area, they were running at about forty-fifty showing how dense at lunch time that place can be. Towards to their right, a cluster of people gathered in front of a place called 'Ichiraku Ramen'.

"Wonder what that's all about?" Ino asked. Eventually after a few more minutes of crawling through the traffic, they managed to take their right turn into a more spacious road although there was still a number of cars. With really vibrant neon lights, it was hard not to pick out the 'Konoha Hotel' with the letter 'P' and an arrow pointing downwards underneath it. It made sense Sai thought. Since the city was so populated, the only space to put the parking was underground.

They descended about ten metres into the ground before they approached a counter on their left hand side with spikes protruding set up in from of them. It was concrete all with a strip of fluorescent light running in the middle of the path and a couple above. It was dim but it gave it the cool, mysterious and futuristic feel. The counter to their hummed and offered them a ticket. The spikes inclined downwards and they followed the path led by the strip of fluorescent light. They came across a hump then after a short descent they reached a well lit up room, a massive well lit up room probably as big as the block above. There were thick concrete pillars scattered evenly with a double metallic door at its foothold. One opened, a set off people existed and another bunch waiting went in. The doors closed and the arrow pointing upwards above the elevator lit.

"Is these the parking lot for the block above?" Ino asked in wonder.

"I think so….." Sai replied as they pulled over into a free spot. Sai put on his cap and a black leather jacket while slipping a couple of guns in the inside pocket. Ino simply just put a purple sweatshirt over her pink tunic then strapped on her white sandals and she was set. Together, they approached the elevator with the logo of Konoha Hotel printed on the concrete pillar.

They got in to the elevator with nicely leathered walls. There was a welcoming automated voice of a girl saying 'Welcome to Konoha Hotel. Please press your floor level. If you have any problems please press the green phone button for assistance!'

Sai pressed the floor labelled 'G' and the metallic doors dragged closed with only the two of them inside. "So…..what are we doing here?..." Ino asked. She felt the elevator move under her feet and she instinctively looked up at the decorated ceiling. "Do you think they keep my father here?"

Sai was lost in his thoughts with a stressed face, a drop of sweat ran down his temple. Ino repeated again and she finally shook Sai into reality.

"Yes?...Uh…no your father's not here…" Sai replied with a tone of worry in his voice. "Um…..We'll be in town for a while so I thought might as well find a place to stay….."

"Oh…..is everything ok?" Ino noticed the uneasiness in Sai's expressions but the emotionless boy was back into his thoughts. Only the opening on the door woke him up next. They stepped into a shiny cream coloured marble floor decorated with black swirls. It was a pretty spacious lobby room due to the lack of people. Judging from the furniture, the floor, the walls and the fact that not many went into this place Ino realised something.

"Are you sure about this…?" Ino asked uncertainly. "I think we can afford this…It looks pretty expensive…." But Sai was still occupied by his thoughts. They approached the counter where a middle-aged man cleanly shaved and freshly waxed hair was waiting.

"Oh Mr. Sai! It's good to see you again!" The man greeted in joy as he held out a hand. Sai uncertain for a moment then went on ahead and shook it with a surprised grin on his face.

"Yes I am SaI! It's good to see you again!" Sai said. He didn't want to make any silly mistake so he kept his sentence pretty generic. Also rejoicing after learning his name, Sai.

"The usual room I presume?" The man asked as he tapped into a computer.

"Uh…..Yes the usual will do!" Sai replied. The man finished mashing the keyboard then held out a little device with a small square screen attached to a tablet. At that moment Sai panicked. The man expected him to know how to use it as obviously he's done it before, but he doesn't remember. He quickly looked around but there was an easy clue. There was still a faint mark of a thumb print on the screen before the man wiped it off with a white cloth.

"Whenever you're ready Sir" The man gestured towards the device. Sai already learnt what to do with it placed his thumb smoothly on the screen. A green strip ran from top to bottom and two sets of number flashed on the tablet. One labelled current balance and the other after the transaction. The screen under his thumb flashed green then the transaction was done and Ino didn't even have enough time to count the zeros in Sai's bank account. The man pulled the two devices away then presented a key with a numbered tag, the same number Sai saw in his memories.

"Always a pleasure ! Oh….someone tried to book the room a couple of hours ago but I told them it was already taken….." The man told them with a wink. "I had hunch you'll be back!"

"Thank You! I appreciate it!" Sai shook the man's hand once again before stepping back into the elevator room and pressing the floor number five. The elevator hummed as it lifted them.

"So….' '…..It looks like you were a regular….." Ino said sarcastically.

"Yeah…..guess so…" Sai replied. The elevator stopped mid-way and a janitor with his trolley walked in. It was as old man but he seemed to be happy he's alive and enjoying his job. The old man nodded at him in greeting and Sai returned the gesture. Another evidence that he has been here before. The elevator produced a 'ding' sound and the doors slid open into a red carpeted hallway. Sai and Ino walked down mid-way and stopped at the specified door number.

"This is it" Ino said. Sai slipped the key into the keyhole then twisted slowly as if he was killing his nerves if he went slower. Eventually the key clicked and the door opened. Ino took the initiative to push it open. The room was clearly an expensive one. There was a really soft and comfortable looking couch in front of a flat screen TV. In between there was nicely furnished a tea table with a champagne bottle resting in an iced bucket. There was a counter further down protruding from the wall to about halfway across the room. To the right were three doors, one for the bedroom and the other two were for the toilet and bathroom all three in five star class.

There were no words between the two of them. They each were looking in awe for their own reasons. Ino went ahead and touched everything that was in the room while Sai stood in a place and took in his surroundings. There was not much memory about the place but he had a sense of belonging to it.

Sai sat on the couch and placed down the money bag to the side. He looked at the tea table and faintly remembered occasions of the spot where he would often pick up his phone from on the tea table. He didn't think he used the TV much as the couch remained for the most part unused. Ino was scanning the kitchen admiring the expensive utensils and kitchen tools but the thing she liked the most was the big fridge. Sai smiled at the childish behaviour that Ino was showing. He noticed a window above the stove then moved closer and opened it. Sai stuck his head out and looked in all directions, he didn't know what got into him but he just had a feeling that they might need an emergency exit. Just a hunch. There was a knock on the door.

"I got it" Sai said to Ino was making her way already.

"Ok! Can I check the bebroom?"

"Go for it" Sai gestured to the bedroom while waiting towards the door. He looked through the peak hole and saw the old janitor with his trolley waiting patiently for a reply. Sai fastened the door chain then opened the door a small amount. "Can I help you?" Sai said through the gap.

"Just a little house keeping. That room hasn't been touched in years" The old man replied.

Sai was about to say no just to be safe but being in this place started to bring back memories that included this old man helping him out a few times. He was a trusted friend Sai thought. He unfastened the door chain then gestured for the old man to come in moving his body out for the body for the trolley at the same time.

"Oh! They left the champagne!" The man called out immediately. The old man walked up to it and picked it up. That was when Sai noticed something was wrong. The man's hand was shaking and he has this shaky voice that didn't register in his memory. That was when someone tumbled off the side of the trolley with a gun. Sai had a full second until the man got settled and could aim. Since he was already tensed form the suspicion he was able to react accordingly in time.

Sai threw a kick towards the assassin who deflected it with his off hand while aiming the gun with his right. It was a hurried shot and only skimmed Sai's left shoulder. The assassin extended a leg out and swept Sai of his feet while standing up and aiming the gun down in one motion. Sai tumbled then rolled just in time to the bullet that put an unattractive hole to the navy blue carpet. Sai used his rolling momentum to get back on his feet. The assassin was aiming another shot but Sai beat him to it. Sai caught the gun hand then slammed a tiger fist on the assasin's throat. The grip on the gun loosened then Sai pulled out and used it to blow a hole on the assasin's chest.

"Please! I'm just a janitor!" Sai heard a plead behind him. He strode towards the old man and forced him on his knees with the gun.

"Who sent them?!" Sai asked angrily.

"I'm so sorry! They pointed a gun at me! Please I have a family!" the old man pleaded further.

"What going on?-OH MY GOD!" Ino exclaimed as she peaked from the bedroom. Sai flipped the gun then slammed the handle on the janitor's head knocking him out. Ino warily stepped out of the room then hurriedly made it over to Sai circling away from the bloodied assassin on the ground.

"What's going on?!" Ino asked bewildered but she didn't pass out like the first Sai commended her at that.

"Just a janitor apparently…. We need to get out of here!" Sai said as he moved towards the door and peaked through the gap to watch the hallway. It seemed to be clear but the gun he used didn't have a silencer. This place would be swarming with cops soon. They also can't use the elevator of the front exit as this place would've locked down already. Sai looked around the room and only saw the window that's of relevance.

* * *

><p>Shino left to take his position leaving Shikamaru to wait out the next two hours by himself. He managed to get through two sticks of cigarettes then threw away half of the third one at the sight of Ten-Ten's car pulling over. "Where are they?" he asked.<p>

"They're in town I was following them the whole way but we got separated at a traffic light" Ten-Ten replied. "You got anything?"

"I just sent Shino to scout the town and I got the police force on to it as well…" Shikamaru said casually without a hint of worry in his voice.

"…..Have you been smoking again…..?"

"…No….." Shikamaru denied it but he was getting a raised eyebrow frown from Ten-Ten and his awkward reaction after that probably gave it away. Just like the old saying goes 'Saved by the bell' Shikamaru's phoned buzzed in his pocket just before he was about to get an hour or so lecture from Ten-Ten about how cigarettes is bad for you.

It was photos from street cameras showing the descripted car Shikamaru gave to Kiba, going into the Section C underground car-park. There was a text that followed shortly that read: 'I wouldn't go there if I were you….the is lockdown there was a shootout…..'

"Konoha Hotel!" Shikamaru said urgently to Ten-Ten who moved to action immediately. Shikamaru dialled his phone again as he got into the passenger seat. "Shino, watch Konoha Hotel. Let me know of every movement you see!"

It was true indeed what they say about the police force of Konoha. Within minutes the whole block of Section C was blocked off including adjacent roads. Shikamaru and Ten-Ten parked in Section B then walked the rest of the way to Section C only to receive a palm in their faces indicating to halt.

"You're not allowed to enter!" the police officer warned them.

"Let me speak with you captain…" Shikamaru was doing his best to manage his cool.

"Sir, this area if off limits to pedestrians. Please step away now!"

"I said….. let me speak to your captain!" Shikamaru was starting to get twitchy.

"Sir-!"

"Let me handle this" Kiba interrupted his underling and gestured him to walk away and something else.

"I thought I told you not to come…." Kiba said while winking at the beautiful brunette with Shikamaru. "Hey!"

"Just give me five minutes!" Shikamaru pleaded. Technically he had more power than this poofter but if he pulled out his badge now, he might lose Kiba's trust and overall lose a major source of information. The police force hated secret service agents, they think that their underestimating the police by having to create these personal body guards.

"Hmm….This is a crime scene….. but I could pretend I didn't see you walk in if you introduce me to your beautiful friend!" Kiba said excitedly. Ten-Ten glared at Shikamaru daring him not to agree to this worthless cop but the evil grin on Shikamaru's face said it all.

"Her name is Ten-Ten" Shikamaru said as he ducked under the crime scene barricade and power walked into the hotel.

"You definitely live up to your name. You're a ten-out-of-ten in my eyes!" Kiba seduced the simply not interested Ten-Ten. She rolled her eyes and decided to play along, trying to sound as flattered as possibly.

"OH!...Thank you….." Ten-Ten covered her face as if hiding a blush.

Shikamaru slipped past a couple of idling police officers. The elevator would definitely be shut down. He moved over to the counter, surrounded by crime scene strips, only to see a middle-aged looking man, cleanly shaven and waxed hair laying on a pool of blood. 'ROOT' has been here Shikamaru thought and moved the counter. A key rack was on the wall but there were multiple keys missing, impossible to tell. The computer was locked and it would take too long to work out the password. Then he heard the two police men idling in the corner talk about a room number and what a mess it was.

Shikamru swiftly ran up the stairs in to the respective floor. It was pretty easy to work out which room it was as it had multiple crime scene strips on the door. Inside the room, it was still pretty much untouched. He noticed the wind blowing through the kitchen window and walked up to it and scanned the outside. 'Too high' just outweighed all possible escape option through this window Shikamaru thought. If it was just Sai without the girl, it's possible. Then noticed railings on the far end to his left that leads up to the roof. Shikamaru snorted. 'Of Course…. the fire exit'. He pulled out his phone once again and called Shino: '…..' There was no answer... Shikamaru tried again just in case but same result.

* * *

><p>Temari reached her apartment exhausted. She dropped her bag on the floor then retreated to her bed face first. It was a fair amount of walking and she was usually a person who would choose the easy way out. But lately she been having this strange motivation to always look her best….to look fit….strange she thought. Again she wasn't one to fuss about her appearance. She just rolled her own and doesn't give at what people think of her.<p>

On the bed she left a couple of tourist vouchers. One of them was the famous Konoha hot springs thirty kilometres outside Konoha city. It was said that it was like a hotel but a mini town. Each room is its own house. She honestly didn't care at first but after working at the library for two days none stop, she needed a break she thought….and a bath too!

She packed a few clothes into a backpack then walked over to her desk to pick up her car keys but they weren't there. Temari sighed. 'Must have left them in the car…'She thought and turned, left then closed the door behind her failing to notice the shattered window hidden perfectly behind the curtain.

Suddenly she felt chilly for some reason like being in a horror moment where someone or something would jump out of nowhere and attack you. She took her steps warily cursing herself why did she had to close the curtains. Now it was dark and kind of spooky. Just around the corner her suspicions were revealed to her. It was revealed that she was wrong about leaving the keys in the car. A young cute looking boy about her age was holding the keys in a hand and in the other a gun pointed at her. She also noticed a worried looking blonde girl behind him but she had determination in her eyes Temari thought.

They were probably related to the 'Konoha Hotel' all over the news just a few minutes ago and were now looking for a way out. But they can't just steal a car as the owner could report the robbery and they will be followed. And if they killed the owner, police will find the body and still track the stolen car. They needed a way out they would leave no crumbs behind and the easiest way to do that is to take the owner with them.

Temari figured them is couple of seconds before Sai could even word his blackmail.

"-!" Sai was interrupted immediately at the opening of his mouth.

"Look…if you need a ride…..All you have to do is ask…." Temari said in a friendly gesture. The good-looking boy looked confused but Temari had already concluded that these two were harmless. The fact that he was protecting the girl and how they wanted to leave in peace were enough to satify her that they were in good in heart.

Also the more she looked at the blonde hair, blue-eyed girl the more curious she got. She just had that familiar look about her that Temari just can't quite place.

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 6

"Shino I need eyes….I lost them….." Shikamaru asked through a mouthpiece connected to his phone via Bluetooth as he examined the busted locked doorknob on the fire exit. It wasn't hammered open or anything but rather – it was busted open by a single gunshot. Shikamaru push slowly the creaky door. He was led into a small square platform – barely enough room to hold two people. Once again – he saw when he looked down and to the sides that there was no other way but up the stairs. "…And check the rooftops….." Shikamaru added. He climbed up the ladder on top one of the grandest building in Konoha – although it was not the tallest, it was famous second only to the hokage house.

Shikamaru looked at his watch – it was one o'clock on the dot. He could down what looked like a mass of ants flooding back into buildings to continue the second half of their working days. He smiled in awe – 'I wouldn't mind living like that….' Shikamaru thought. 'Just living life and oblivious to the real problems out there….' The sounds of steps in the rusty metallic ladder were sounds for Shikamaru to focus. He looked back to see a rather frustrated looking Ten-Ten.

"Appreciate it!" Shikamaru teased. "How'd you find our cop? He seemed to have taken a liking to you!

"…Don't even…I just want to forget I had a conversation with him….." Ten-Ten said disgusted. "Anyway….find anything….?

Shikamaru shook his head. "Just waiting for intel…." Shikamaru said as he gestured to the wireless earpiece.

Ten-Ten stood next to her friend following his gaze towards the streets below. It was a different feeling – certainly will give anyone a different perspective in life – just how care free and peaceful the people live their lives and take pride on how important their jobs were by keeping the order. At the same time – you would feel jealous of living normally, perhaps settle down and have a family somewhere when it's all over…..But that is out of the question – they know too many secrets – The only way out of this is by death. 'What I would give!' She thought, to swap places with any of them, to be born normally to normal parents instead of being born to train like an assassin and live in the shadows.

She looked over to Shikamaru's stern face. It was obvious that he was thinking the same thing. To get their moody sides out of the way, Ten-Ten changed the topic. "I wonder 'We' never happened?!" She asked teasingly. They had known each other since the moment they could talk –grew up together and grew tender feelings to each other.

"Cause' you'd kick my ass!" Shikamaru said with a smirk. "We both know it can't happen between…" He did feel a level of caring for the beautiful brunette. Growing up together really got Shikamaru to feel something for her but he always dismissed it as a sibling love – nothing more, nothing less. Besides in the kind of work they in…just can't do that.

"I guess it would be wrong to marry your sister!" Ten-Ten said. Shikamaru didn't need to express it much into words as they both knew that it just can't happen. It just became a little joke between them to pass the time.

"Exactly" Shikamaru responded. Apart from the main street around the block, there were narrow alley ways in between buildings. It was narrow enough to jump across and wide enough to scale down. For all he knew - They could be on the other side of town by now or mixed within the crowd down below.

"I got Root movement westbound- block F" Shino spoke through Shikamaru's earpiece.

"Where in block F…..?" Shikamaru asked warily. He was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"Block F1 apartments…I could see a car parked opposite the front entrance….. no one has stepped out yet…I can't see around the back but I'm assuming that's covered too….."

"Alright….keep updated on who comes in and out…..if Root moves….shoot them…we're on our way…." Said Shikamaru.

* * *

><p>Temari followed the hunch to peer through the window blinds first before stepping outside. It made sense since she just found two runaways in her apartments that someone – who were looking for them, possibly want them dead – had followed them here. It probably was just the neighbours though. She hasn't been there long enough to memories everything but in a situation like the one they were in – they can't be too careful. Especially when a black, slick, expensive car just pulled over.<p>

"We'll try the backdoor" Temari said as she pulled the two fingers she were using to make a gap between the blinds. "My car parked closer there anyways…"

"No" Sai said abruptly – He got the attention of the two blonde girls in the room. Like Temari – he was also watching the outside for any warnings. And also like Temari – He saw the same type of car pull over. Chances of being a neighbour were more than likely but it was the bad feeling that convinced Sai otherwise. Everything was confirmed when two dark clothed men with dark shades stepped out of the car – then acting casually, walked slowly towards the apartment like they meant no harm. They will most likely check into the front office three floors downstairs – That meant they would see everyone that comes in and out.

"We're trapped?!" Ino pointed out in anxiety. Sai waited for the two men to enter the front office and disappeared from view before stepping out to assess their situation.

"Keep watch at front" Sai pointed to Temari. He leaned over the rail – it was three floors high – calculated that he can survive the jump but will permanently be permanently lame. There were metallic columns spread evenly across the rail. He could scale it down but there were two problems – He's not sure if both girls will be able to get down alive – And it would be to slow. They will certainly be spotted and shot down at the spot.

Sai looked either side of him down the long balcony. There were stairs on either end - both will to the ground floor but to get to the car park, they would have to go through the front office where the two guys possibly with a twitchy finger when they see a blonde long blonde haired tied in a ponytail girl and a pale boy whose face they knew already, were waiting for them. It was just like what Ino said – they were trapped.

"Stay here" Sai told the two girls sternly. Both worried expressions on both girls froze as they saw Sai pull out a gun. He walked swiftly – His footsteps were very soft and the sound they made were next to nothing. The stairs were the typical zig-zag formation – so he kept his body against the inner rail – to conceal himself. Sai lowered himself as he carefully advanced down the stairs.

It was pretty quiet for a fully booked apartment. Most of the tenants were from surrounding villages looking for better fortune in the big city. They were most likely at work at this time of the day, noon – except for the few who brought their families with them – which explains the faint baby cry in the background. Also the silence made it easier for Sai to overhear the faint voices downstairs.

Sai reached the bottom of the stairs – then glanced around the corner towards where a couple of chuckles were coming from. The two guys were playing their act well and the innocent single lady behind counter has completely fallen for their lies and charms. 'No way! I beautiful woman like you! A single?!'

The sudden exclamation in the voice startled Sai. In response, he backed around the corner and slipped into the toilet. Before the suspended door fully closed – shutting the outside noise – Sai heard something: 'Is there a toilet around here?' Those words sent a controlled, calmed alarmed feeling to Sai – trapping himself in this long and spacious toilet but was feeling confident about his skills. He wanted a clean two shot take down but now it seems he would have to brawl.

It was a pretty simple order, toilets cubicles on one side and sinks on the other. Sai could hide in one of the cubicle but that be a disadvantage for ambush. The door inconveniently opens inwards which would get in his way if he were to immediately jump at his opponent. Time for thinking was over he heard echoing footsteps from the outside and a slight budge on the door as the man applied pressure on it. Sai quickly jumped to the blind side of the door.

A big mistake on his part. He failed to notice the floor to ceiling mirror on the opposite side. It was too late react as he was already busted. The man was quick on his gun but Sai anticipated the move. Sai grabbed the knuckle and the wrist then snapped it inwards – forcing the hand to open. The gun dropped – while in mid-air, Sai kicked it away which gave his opponent an opening. Sai really felt the force and weight of the man from a quick jab on his jaw – but the fight wasn't over.

The man threw an elbow aimed at Sai's face right after the jab. Sai was still off balance but he managed to block it with an arm. Again, the man was a professional killer and his attacks were seamless. He placed had a placed a solid footing behind Sai and with a stern push – Sai was easily flipped on his back.

The hard ceramic flooring of the toilet gave Sai a huge winding but he didn't lose focus. He quickly wrapped his legs around his opponents then rolled and twisted. The man fell hard on his face – possibly suffering a crack on his skull from the hard surface but Sai didn't take any chances. Sai pulled out the gun under his shirt and without a moment's hesitation – shot the man in the back of his head.

A sigh of relief proved to be too early to take for Sai. He noticed that the radio device on the man's belt had a blinking red light – which meant his group knew what just happened. Sai tumbled out of the way just in time after his realization. Five holes were blown through the door and smashed the mirror on the opposite wall. In the spur of the moment – Sai found himself tumbling towards the opening side of the door. A panicked feeling came over him as the door dislodged.

Sai cocked his gun upwards then shot the suspension holding the door. At the sudden release of pressure, the man was applying too much force and tumbled in. Mid-air while the door swung open. The man knew what was coming when he saw Sai sitting on the corner with a gun pointed at him. An ice-cold, freezing stare - gunpoint. With a quick flash from Sai's gunpoint. The man's vision went blank and his lifeless body thudded on the hard ceramic floor like a ragdoll.

A shot without a silencer would have been loud though. Especially when there was wide open plus the natural acoustics of the toilet – and that was the case. The office lady screamed in fear when she saw a pale skinned young man walked out of the bathroom with a bruised face – plus the blood smudges on his white shirt. Her voice was like a shrill alarm that it was time to go. She ran back into the office clicking the lock behind her. She would most definitely call the police and knowing the efficiency of the police force in this city, they will be here within the minute. There two hurried sounding footsteps rushing down the stairs to his right - It was Ino and Temari.

"We need to go! The two guys at front started to move in a hurry!" said Temari urgently.

* * *

><p>"Shino?! What's going on?!" asked Shikamaru after hearing a distressed noise from his earpiece.<p>

"I missed….. They started to move in!" Shino said through his own mouthpiece as he packed up his sniper rifle. It was time to change vantage points. "How far are you guys?"

"Just arrived!" replied Shikamaru. Both Shikamaru and Ten-Ten got out of the car – in perfect timing to a loud gunshot that seemed to echo. Moments later there was a loud shrill of a woman – it was now time to move. Shikamaru pulled out two hand guns while Ten-ten was finishing up with the assembly of a rifle.

Already there were signs of aggression. The double automatic doors with a huge welcome printed on it where smashed open. On the far wall, there were several a splats of blood – bloods of the unlucky office people that had their shift at that time. The hallway split in to two – left and right. They each took one and warily, but swiftly, trotted to cover the distance. For the most part there were no doors except for the toilets – they both quickly checked inside then confirmed clear through their mouthpiece.

"There's a blue sedan that just rushed out of the drive way" said Shino though their earpieces. He was now at a high location where he could see clearly what was happening on the back side of the apartment. Both Shikamaru and Ten-ten bypassed the stairs going up – they took the corridor next to it that would lead to the back.

Nearing the other side – Echoing voices suddenly entered Shikamaru's earshot from the wide open acoustics of the toilet where two men lay dead. He was light-footed and easily stopped on his tracks. Shikamaru approached the corner warily – the two were in the corridor around the corner from his position.

"We're too late…..they're dead and Sai escaped again…." One of them said.

The other said. "I asked the office lady what she knows. Apparently they left with a girl named Temari. She gave me all the details about her then I killed her of course"

Shikamaru cursed in his head. 'For crying out loud! Why would she help them escape?!' Perhaps his emotions caused him to subconsciously murmur those words. He saw a glimpse of the two men hesitate then turn to look at the corner but Shikamaru had pulled away just in time to escape their searching gazes – but that didn't cure their curiosity and Shikamaru could hear them walking towards him.

There was a single rifle shot then a thud. One of the men dropped right next to Shikamaru- the other turned down the corridor towards Ten-ten who fired the shot. Shikamaru used that opportunity to get behind the second man – placed the point of his gun against his back – then didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The gun shot was muted by the body and Shikamaru gently lowered the body with his own. He searched the pockets of both body then pulled out a few folded paper from a jacket pocket.

"Guys…..police…" Shino warned but wasn't much of a warning. They had already the both sides of the apartment and cops wearing the traditional flak jackets were flooding in the place.

"…seriously….not again….." Ten-ten winged on the moment as a couple of cops rounded behind her. She had already dropped her weapon and placed her hand up in the air but the cops insisted to cuffing her hands behind her head – standard protocol. Shikamaru was in the same state – the papers ripped form him and examined by one of the cops. Finally Mr. Hotshot showed up and was about to make a grand entrance but was bewildered at the sight of the two people they captured.

Kiba refused to believe it but there were dead bodies all around Shikamaru and Ten-ten were the only ones left standing – found with guns.

Shikamaru sighed. "I can explain…."

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 7

The room wasn't filled as much as it was just five minutes ago. There was just a conference about academics whether or not they should decrease the students' school span from grade twelve to grade ten. Since the whole nation was in rebuild mode, the industry would need as much helping hands as possible for a rapid recovery. A lot of the men in work force were forced to enlist in the war which resulted in less than half returning. Decreasing the years of study would mean the students' work load would compact which would result in an earlier start in the day and a later finish. There was a chart shown of a survey of results from a number students who were favourable of this ideads or not. Even though the graph showed negative results, it was still a valid argument to 'enforce' this new regulation. 'It was a necessary sacrifice for the better good' as the one presenting the idea said.

Sasuke tapped his finger on the desk rhythmically. 'What was that? The fourth? Fith conference in a row?' He just became a hokage a couple of months ago but he has probably been in more conferences that the previous hokage's combined in just those two months. Especially in their rebuilding state, there was a lot to be done internally and externally. Part of being Hokage after all was negotiating with other countries. He wasn't keen at all meeting the furious leaders of the other four nations but in the end they both agreed that enough blood was shed and peace was necessary….. 'For now'…... Those two words probably ran in each of the five kage's mind as they walked away from the five kage summit.

"Is that all for today Karin?" Sasuke asked he balled his fists together behind his back then stretched. He was hunched over in a sitting position for most of the day either sitting through boring conferences or in his office signing boring papers. Karin swiped at her touch, the glowing screen reflecting off her glasses.

"You have another one due in an hour's time...but-"

"Finally a break….." Sasuke involuntarily interrupted Karin in the middle of her sentence. Karin shuffled her glasses and hawked noisily. Sasuke recognised the gesture and motioned her to continue.

"Danzo-sama requested your presence….. Now…!"

"What does that old geezer want now….?"

Karin hawked again noisily. Sasuke got the point and his sluggish attitude turned tides into a serious and humourless expression. He stood up and unrolled his folded up sleeves. "Better get Naruto to see to the conference…." It was more of a strategic move than a plan b. In situations like this, they'd want to keep Naruto where they could keep an eye on him while Sasuke goes to talk to danzo about 'confidential' matters.

"Yes right away" Karin quickly tapped her touch screen pad and sent a letter to Hinata – Naruto's personal assistant like what she is to Sasuke. It was one of the few office romances that didn't end in tears – almost like straight of a movie Karin quoted. All of a sudden she felt enflamed and a warm sensation forming on her cheeks. "I…..Uh-…..uh…" Karin stumbled on her words even though she played it her head more than a hundred times already. Especially after Naruto and Hinata's wedding recently – she told herself that she should be more forward or she won't get anywhere. "Is…..there anything else I can do for you….? Perhaps coffee…?" Karin asked shyly.

Sasuke looked at her with curiosity. Karin was acting strange by her strange standards. "No. That won't be necessary."

It was like a stab in the heart. All hope was crushed with just one ice-cold line. They parted ways - Karin power walking, on the brink of bursting to tears while Sasuke was heading the other direction towards the back of the hokage house, oblivious. There was a huge metallic iron plated double-door at the far end of the house. There were no door knobs instead there was a green panel a small distance to the right. Sasuke placed his hand on the plate and waited for the device to process his identity. Once confirmed his clearance level and Hokage, the panel flashed green and the doors slid open for him into a tunnel. He stepped on to the moving walkway and let himself be carried slowly. The enclosure of the tunnel was mainly glass which provided beautiful scenery of the garden in the backyard, just to kill time while the slow moving walkway carried Sasuke to another protected door.

This was the entrance built for the legendary Danzo, a counsellor, who was a big part of the rapid rise of Konoha above all nations in the past five decades. And yes, he was an old man which explains the slow setting on the moving walkway. Sasuke scanned his hand on the panel once more then entered a special place where only privileged individuals were allowed to enter.

It was like stepping into the future compared to the outside world. There were a lot of white and glossy surfaces. Everything was rounded or roundish in shape and everything just looked neater ans slicker. There was a soft hum that grew gradually then around the corner, a man with a black patch on his right eye emerged, sitting on an electric wheelchair - followed by a much younger man which ash-grey and circular rimmed glasses.

"What is this about?" Sasuke asked solemnly. Growing up under this old man's guidance, he knew that Danzo didn't formalities – just cut straight to the point.

"We need to talk about Sai…." Danzo said in a croaking voice.

"He's dead. I took care of him just like you suggested" Sasuke replied.

"…..It seems that you have failed…."

* * *

><p>Naruto was standing in front of a mirror buttoning his shirt up while his wife was fixing his tie up.<p>

"If Sasuke has better stuff to do than do his hokage duty…why not just freakin step down?!" That wasn't the first where Naruto was dragged out of his sleeping in days to fill in for the very 'busy' hokage.

"I'm sure there's more to being hokage"Hinata worked on his hair now, a messy knot of yellow hair - he just got out of bed after all. "And you're not doing any better by being late….." Waking up Naruto proved to be a harder task than it sounded. The man was inseparable with his warm bed. Hinata pulled harder on one of her strokes to prove a point

"Ow!...OW…..Get it!...But it's like what they all say…..Better late than never!"

A muffled buzzing noise suddenly interupted which paused the two of them. They looked at each other - then down to the pocket on Hinata's blouse where a square of light was flashing on and off. Hinata pulled it out then handed it to Naruto after reading who the call was from, then moved away from earshot.

"What is it?" Naruto's animated mood turned humourless – particularly when he was getting calls from this untapped phone. There was only a number of people who knew how to call this phone and the rule was only he would make the call. That fact that Naruto was on the recipient end means there is an emergency.

"Ok….I got it….." Hinata came around the corner just in time Naruto finished with the call.

"Change of plans?" HInata asked.

Naruto smiled at her and placed his hands on both of Hinata's shoulder. "I need you to do something for me sweetie"

* * *

><p>Shikamaru was sitting in an interrogation chamber. A very dull box room with dark painted walls and the signature one way mirror on one side. His hands were cuffed to chains attached to the floor in the centre of the room – the chains ran on the table then through a hole in centre of the table. There was little slack on the chains. Shikamaru estimated that he only had about two rulers of lateral movement with his hands and a ruler of perpendicular movement – wasn't enough. He sighed. Ten-ten managed to 'sweet talk' her way to Kiba but unfortunately for Shikamaru, he didn't have the same charms of a girl.<p>

The lone door of the room finally opened. Shikamaru shot his eyes to the heaven when Kiba walked into the room. He was carrying a folder carefully flipping through the pages as if he understood all of it. Kiba pulled the chair opposite Shikamaru – he sat himself while chucking the file folder across the table Shikamaru eyed the folder meticulously then met Kiba's eyes – eyes filled with anger and sadness. Not surprising for someone who just found out his 'best friend' was the killer of possibly everyone in the apartment.

"Are you going to tell me everything in there is also lies?" Kiba asked sulkily.

"I thought we've been through this before…..I'm just your everyday friendly neighbourhood librarian…That….just happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time….."

"Are you also going to tell me this gun just happened to appear in your hands out of nowhere?" Kiba pulled out at emptied out gun and pussed it across the table. Shikamaru sighed as he looked at his gun. They undoubtedly swept the gun and found his fingerprints all over it – only his fingerprints.

"…..Look….. I know this doesn't look good…but you've got the wrong person in here…..!"

"I'm just glad that Ten-ten didn't become one of your victims…" Shikamaru shook his head. A tint of red lipstick was evident on Kiba's lips. He knew that this kid was a ladies man but he didn't expect to be this low…If anything Ten-ten should be the one in Shikamaru's sit right now – 'she was holding a bigger gun for crying out loud!' Shikamaru thought.

"…I thought I knew you bro…."

"….This is a misunderstanding…."Shikamaru sighed. "You're mum is watching behind that window…..I bet she won't be happy you're doing your 'good cop, bad cop' routine properly.

"This is not about that! This is personal!" Kiba slammed the desk with his fists.

"…..Look….Kiba…..I can explain if you'll just listen…."

"All this time you've been lying to me….What makes you think I'll believe any word you say now?!"

"Then how am I supposed to-?! Ah! Forget it!"

The door opened behind them breaking the pressure of the moment. Shikamaru took a sigh of relief – Kiba turned out around agitated. "What do you want mom?!"

"He's free" Kiba's mom said emotionless.

"What do you mean he's free?!"

"It means you'll remove cuffs right now or I'll feed you to the dogs!" replied his mom. Shikamaru milked the scenario and held his cuffed hands towards the furious Kiba and smirked.

Shikamaru rubbed his wrists where he was being held just a second ago. There were a number of parked cars along the kerb but for someone on his line of work – it was always the black slick expensive car. He walked up to the black Porsche, the only black Porsche lined up with the occasional average Joe's taking pictures of the beautiful car. He nodded an excuse me to the 'fans' and got in to the car.

There were three other people in the car. Ten-ten was in the back seat next to him. "Is that red lipstick you got on?"

"…I did what I had to do…"

"…..My respect for you just hit rock bottom…."

The other two people in the car were Shino, who was behind the wheel, and Hinata who was looking at Shikamaru with a much wanted smiling face. "Ma'am" Shikamaru greeted with a nod.

"I'd love to stay and chit-chat but time is of the essence…." Hinata said.

"I followed the car and managed to get details" said Shino. "It was rented from Konoha Movers about a week ago by someone named Temari"

No one noticed it but Shikamaru was panicking after hearing Temari's name. 'That troublesome woman! What is she doing getting herself in this mess…..!'

"Latest Intel shows the car leaving via west highway" said Shino further as he drove the car off the kerb. "I got Choji to hack the CCTV cameras…. We have about half an hour head start before Root breaks through."

* * *

><p>The hot springs was an inn wityh a mixed indoor and outdoor hot springs near an extinct volcano which adds to the 'tourist' poise to it – the water was naturally heated by the earth's crust. It looked like a small village built around the foot of the volcano. The housing held kept the traditional structure to them even the clerks wore traditional clothes in character. Sai, Ino and Temari were shown to one sing room and one double room. The girls shared the double room while Sai was given the privacy – being the only male among the company.<p>

Sai was taken aback by how simple the room looked but very elegant. There was a basket on the floor next to his bed with carefully folded bathing robes and towels and a small tub next to it containing clear water. The room didn't contain much but the simplistic wallpaper on the walls was very peaceful and relaxing.

For once in a long while, Sai didn't like someone was tailing his behind. He took a big sigh and let himself relax – he needed it. He lay down his coat and the bag of money to one side then took his sweaty shirt off. There was an empty basket next to the door which he presumed where dirty clothing would be placed. He washed his face with the refreshing clear water then changed into ont of the robes he found in a closet.

The place really lets your mind free. It was primitive compared to the technology the outside world holds. There no were TVs, CCTV cameras – just you, the hot springs and the nature. Sai walked over to where he placed his belongings on the ground. He unfolded his coat and emptied the pockets. A hand gun, they didn't bother checking for those – this place runs on trust. A couple of spare magazines then were the letter – a crusty envelope, its colouring fading into a yellow colour with age. The letter which contained an encrypted message he can't decipher. All of a sudden he heard footsteps approaching his room. His instinctive hands grabbed the gun.

The door slid open but no one entered, just a sweet and caring woman voice of one of the clerks. Sai relaxed his tensed muscles and replied on the same note - She was just there to collect his dirty clothes. He smiled at that – just how much they respect and value their guests.

There were another set of footsteps, this time it sounded hurried. It was Ino. She knocked on the door and her sweet gentle voice said: "Are you all settled Sai?"

Sai opened the door and gestured her to come in. She changed out of her outfit and was wearing a purple robe. "Yes, I'm all settled. It's a very nice place"

"That's good…..OH!"

"What's wrong?!"

"It's you've got a small bruise just under your lip…." Ino leaned in to examine the purple smudged under his lip when her foot got caught on the long robe and tripped. She fell on Sai's chest and together, they crashed on to the wooden floor boards.

"…..OW…"

"Are you ok Ino?"

"Yeah…." She didn't realise it but a moment's awkward silence between the two of them opened their eyes that Ino was on top of Sai muscular torso and his arms around her. Warm sensation formed on their cheeks quickly followed by an 'OOPS!' by a third party.

"Oops! Sorry to interrupt" said Temari.

"No! Not at all!" Ino hastily jumped of Sai's chest. "We were just….uh….."

"Don't worry I get it. I was just going to let you know that I'll be heading to the hot springs now. You're free to join me! And besides…..it seems that we have 'stuff' to talk about!" Temari said excitedly as she looked at Sai was looking oblivious and winked at Ino. "Not you though!" Temari pointed at Sai. "You go to the men's section on your own!"

Sai waved the two of them good-bye. As soon as that door slid shut and their silhouette walked away from behind the door – he suddenly got a bad feeling like a bird's sense for bad weather coming. All his serenity melted away as he eyed the hand gun under the folds of his jacket.

**Author's Note: Review, Favourite, Follow if you liked! To be continue...**


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Naruto, Drama, Suspense