Believe it or not, here's an excuse that covers the whole duration of this slow updating period these few months. Okay, maybe not so short, but anyway. You know the C2 opposites attract something something? Well, they've been adding to the library like, hundreds of fics, and I've taken it my personal mission to read them ALL. And I have to say a lot of them suck. I mean, I know I ain't perfect either, but still.

So, I've been reading all those cute little SasuNaru fluff fics, and maybe I've even read your fic points at reader.

So blame yourself. Oh, and considering how long it's been, I would suggest you read a few chapters before this as well, so you'll actually understand who Ami is and stuff. I know you've already forgotten

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↑ That was the excuse four weeks ago. I admit it. I suck. Sorry.

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Byakuya

Chapter 38

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"I need to talk to the Hokage," Ami began explaining to the person sitting on the Hokage's secretary's table. It wasn't until the pink-haired girl who had been leaning over a huge book on seals? raised her head that she realized who it was.

Big forehead, the insult almost left her mouth before she had time to stop it, and Ami flinched, and judging from the angry face staring back at her, the pink-haired girl remembered her well. Ducking her head fast as to hide her brown eyes, Ami frowned. Since when had big forehead-girl been Hokage's secretary?

"I'm afraid the Hokage is busy right now," Sakura said, all melancholy disappearing from her eyes and turning into deep cold anger instead. After hearing of Naruto's tenant, the pink haired girl had been reading everything about seals that she could get her hands on. She already knew a lot of seals of course, having investigated quite the bit about them after Orochimaru put the cursed seal on Sasuke three years ago, but she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that it could be possible to seal a living being inside another.

Sakura gazed at the chuunin in front of her calmly, though inside she was a mixture of fear and anger. Sakura was strong now, the Hokage's apprentice, and she knew she'd never be insulted in the same way she had when she had been small by her schoolmates, but there was still that small seed of insecure fear inside. Her fear of her bullies had never really disappeared per say. She had just learned to hide it.

Ami had been several years older back in the academy days, beautiful with her blue hair and soft brown eyes. She'd been adored by both boys and girls who followed her every lead, thirsting to see that pleased glimmer in her eyes. All Sakura had known from those eyes was anger and disgust. Sakura could almost imagine the taunting sing-song voice in the back of her head, mocking, the same voice she ha heard for year every time she looked into a mirror.

"Big forehead, big forehead, what are you doing here? big forehead, you have such an ugly face. Thinking you're all smart and clever with those perfect scores of yours? Forehead, forehead! You should hide it!"

"But I'm sure I can pass along a message," Sakura said, careful to keep her voice calm. She failed horribly, and her voice came out unsteady and slightly snappish. Ami nodded, accepting. "Then would you please let the Hokage know that a boy was seen outside the village gates, looking quite haphazard and tired. While I and the other guard were talking, the boy disappeared without a trace. We should consider the possibility that he has slipped into the village." The older girl, woman really, told Sakura, her voice more trained and steady with the official tone that was gained by experience.

Sakura's green eyes gleamed with slight interest. "Anything special that caught your attention, Ami?" Sakura hissed her voice between her teeth like an insult, but Ami stood her place, gritted her teeth before answering.

"His hair… -it looked light blue."

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"Ohayo, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi greeted lazily, bringing his right hand up, professionally stopping himself before the involuntary flinch made its way to his face. With others he may have not worried as much about his image, but Iruka always had that uncanny way to see under the mask without actually seeing under the mask.

"Ka-Kakashi!" Iruka yelled out in shock, his brown eyes opening in shock at the sight of the bloody jounin before him. Rushing from the teacher's desk he had been righting some tests in before the silver haired ninja transported inside, Iruka ran his fingers carefully along the jounin's bones so as to check if anything was broken.

"Saa, it's all right," Kakashi began, his voice heavy with concealed pain. Iruka frowned.

"Don't start with me, Kakashi, "The teacher's voice was tense, and his eyes filled with a mix of anger and worry. "I can actually see that you're dripping blood all over. All over my classroom if I may add."

Kakashi shrugged. "It's just some cuts and chakra depletion. We've been having a lot more of those 'half-demons' or whatever they're called attacking random personnel. Or, rather, it seems like somebody has a list of every jounin or ninja of high statue or influence and has been ordering these half-demon to attack them alphabetically." Iruka guided Kakashi into one of the wooden chairs, all the while inspecting the slash wound across Kakashi's arms and thighs.

"It seems like the attack on Hokage-sama and Naruto's team were just the beginning and some sort of a signal for this horde of monsters get moving. They vary from skill all the way from a common dog to a sneaky jounin in a panther henge…" Kakashi muttered, fatigue getting to him and his eye starting to droop slightly as Iruka started to bandage his wounds.

"You're not making any sense, 'Kashi. How long did you use the Sharingan? 'Cause if you got so severe chakra depletion you're going to pass out, then—"Iruka began nagging, but Kakashi merely ignored him, making the chuunin flush with slight anger.

"Saa, did you know that there's been about twenty of them spotted already, each of them apparently locked into the scent of somebody, and following the pattern so far, they've only just began with A."

"A? What do you mean?" Iruka asked, his curiosity winning over his wish to stay mad at the jounin for ignoring him.

"Well, so far the one's that have been attacked have been jounin and chuunin whose last name has begun with an A. So far there's been attacks on the persons of Akadou Yoroi, Akame Iwana, Akamon Manabu and the Aburame clan, along with a couple of Akamichi's."

"Really?" Iruka asked, a bit surprised. The thought of somebody going about killing Konoha nin so… systematically was strange.

"Yea. Turns out this is the beginning of something. They've been collecting samples of sweat from too many Konoha nin for me to be really comfortable. You know how there's been small hassles around the border every now and then? Nobody worried about them in the beginning but now it seems as if the stones have started falling and we're looking at a landslide." Kakashi hissed as Iruka dabbed some cleaning liquid on a claw mark on his upper arm.

"You mean somebody has been getting sweat samples of Konoha nin and are now giving them to these half-demons so that they can track down their prey by scent?" Iruka frowned, before stilling a little in the middle of cleansing a shallower cut of Kakashi's cheek that had cut through his mask. "'Kashi…" Iruka began, as if slightly unnerved by the possible answer. "…You don't think… There will be a war will there?"

Kakashi's eye softened at the myriad of emotions on the pre-genin sensei's face. Sometimes Iruka was just too sensitive. He cared so much about the village, about his fellow nin and his students that Kakashi suspected that seeing a large part of them die in battle would be painful and even have the capability to break the soft-hearted chuunin. "Hey.." Kakashi whispered, stroking Iruka's cheek gently with the back of his knuckles, brushing some short strands of brown hair away. "Things are moving, yes. But we don't know anything for sure yet. You know the Godaime will avoid out-right war as long as she can."

Iruka nodded and leaned into Kakashi's touch, bringing his forehead to lie on the slightly taller man's shoulder. Kakashi wrapped his arms around Iruka and brought the brunette closer to him in a tight hug. Iruka startled at the caring movement and shifted a bit so that he was kneeling on the floor between Kakashi's legs so that they could embrace better.

Kakashi looked serenely down at Iruka, lost in thought and biting his lower lip under his mask. "There is something though that unsettles me." The silver haired ninja voiced his doubts and wondered if he should have stayed silent instead. Iruka turned to look at Kakashi, his brown eyes wide in slight horror.

"No matter what way I look at this, the first ones to be attacked were the Hokage and team 7. The Hokage is reasonable, without her Konoha would be gripped immobile for a while, but team 7… I'm afraid that Naruto seems to be in the middle of this… whatever this is."

Brown eyes looked at the classroom floor, before dulling slightly.

"I want to speak to Godaime-sama."

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"So, you going to tell me what the thing earlier with that pink-"Sasuke cut off his question in mid-sentence, staring over Naruto's shoulder. Not noticing, Naruto sniffed at the Uchiha confusedly. Why had Sasuke stopped so suddenly? Then suddenly the slightest sensation of earth and dust and chicken spread to his sensitive nose.

Chicken?

A hand landed on his shoulder and Naruto jumped at the unexpected contact.

"Hey, Hokage's looking for you." A voice spoke behind Naruto and the blonde shivered at the husky sound-waves caressing his left ear.

"Genma-san," Naruto breathed softly and a bit surprised, not having seen the older jounin since his initial return to Konoha. Turning around Naruto felt his body tingle with excitement when he noticed the jounin hadn't removed his hand from his shoulder. The warmth seeping through his black t-shirt (borrowed from Sasuke) made his eye-lids drop a level. He couldn't explain it, but something in the older nin (who was smiling at his quite lewdly) drew him to him.

"Damn. I'm almost disappointed," Genma began, finally letting his hand drop, skimming the side of Naruto's arm on the way down. "You look so much better in leather…" A slight blush covered his cheeks when his ears caught the slight rustle of cloth.

Oh, right, good Naruto, flirting with a jounin twice your age in front of Sasuke?

"Leather?" Sasuke's slightly amused voice asked from behind and Naruto's blush spread onto the top of his nose, still remembering the teasing he had gotten from Sasuke about the leather top and skirt he had been wearing when they had been laying about in post coital bliss. Not to even mention the shoes which had came along with several comments on how it was good he was wearing them so that Sasuke wouldn't have to swoop down to his level.

Genma bit his lower lip distractedly, like missing a senbon that wasn't there, and let out a bright laugh. "Uh, huh, "And Naruto could've sworn the smile became more perverted, that gleam Naruto knew well spreading to his eyes as well. "You should see him dance around a pole in nothing but black leather; it's like he was born to do it, with those thin legs and swaying hips of his," Genma continued, letting out a slightly exasperated sigh.

"Oh really?" And when Naruto turned around Sasuke's face was mixed with curiosity and his eyebrows were a tad higher than usual. "I'll have to see that sometime," The dark haired chuunin said suggestively and Naruto almost whimpered. It felt like the whole room was suddenly filled with sexual tension and suddenly his head was filled with the idea of the three of them doing all sorts of things on the kitchen table.

Then his thoughts turned to Gaara and the kitchen table in the Coven and he shivered in remembrance.

"Now, scatter along, Naru-chan," Sasuke said while making shooing motions with his hand. "The Hokage's waiting, after all." Throwing a half-glare at the brunette who was slouching while standing (and wasn't that a contradiction on itself?) , caressing seemingly lost in thought the spot in his neck where that soft dark hair of his began, the slightly open black silk shirt accentuating the high collarbone and strong tendons of his throat and neck.

Ignoring the tingle spreading to his fingertips (longing to brush through that gorgeous hair once more) Naruto grumbled to himself before nodding his assent to the jounin behind him.

Genma was still leering, and with a wink to Sasuke, the jounin slithered his arm around Naruto's thin waist and teleported them away in a swirl of leaves.

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Giggling slightly to himself, Yuki let the orange book from his hands to fall on the floor of Naruto's living room floor, the page's automatically resetting themselves on Yuki's favourite page, the one where 'Rokudaime' and 'Kazekage' had sex in the bathtub.

'Man, I'm bored.' The pink-haired nin admitted to himself, rolling his purple eyes towards the ceiling. He'd been entertained in Naruto's apartment for a while, he had to admit. There was actually a lot to do in the surprisingly roomy apartment. He'd gone through every drawer and box he'd been able to open (the boxes by the door he left alone, knowing by experience he would not be able to open them), he'd laughed at the assortment of condoms and lubes of every possible flavour in the kitchen drawer, and after pocketing some of the senbon as per his kleptomaniac tendencies, he read through the small pile of letters Naruto had in the drawer.

The only one he'd actually bothered to read, not just skim through, had been the one sent from one of the link-pins of Konoha. Smirking to himself at the sleazy love-letter, Yuki had then spotted several coloured markers in the drawer as well.

He'd entertained himself by drawing on the wall with all the pictures for quite some time, but had quickly grown bored with that as well. Even though by the usual boredom scale of apartments, Naruto's was quite amusing, there was still only so much you could do locked in suck a limited space.

Plus, he was feeling quite lazy. He supposed he should have been gathering information about Konoha and Naruto's friends as Kisho had suggested, but he wasn't an experienced spy and didn't really know where to begin.

Therefore it was a very pleasant surprise to the very bored Jinchuuriki when someone rang the doorbell. Ripping the door almost out of its hinges in his eagerness to open the door between bored and hopefully-not-bored, Yuki leaned out of the apartment and into the face of his visitor.

"Why hello!" Yuki eagerly greeted at the pink-haired girl on his door. Sakura looked a bit startled before looking behind Yuki hesitantly.

"You're Naruto's friend from the Wave aren't you? Is Naruto here?" The girl's voice wasn't rude per say, but she made it clear that she only wanted to know where Naruto was. Ignoring the pink-haired girl that didn't seem to going to entertain him in any way, Yuki ignored the Hokage's apprentice to look at the people behind her instead. The first one was a boy with long black hair tied into a thin braid that reached his face, his bangs framing the slender face that was only accentuated by the twin red triangles on his cheeks.

Slit eyes we're looking at him calculatingly and the boy, more like a man, Yuki thought to himself, was running his long fingers through the fur of a huge white dog that came up to his waist. On his face was an angry scowl and the huge dog was growling at Yuki.

And there, behind the guy with the dog was her. The beautiful (if a bit boring) girl Yuki had talked to earlier when Naruto had collapsed after falling onto that Sasuke guy.

"Nope, sorry, he's not in. He's having kinky hot gay sex with that friend of his," Yuki began, and was satisfied to notice that both the girl and the boy behind Sakura flushed slightly. Sakura looked confused. "You know, with that Sharingan friend of his? Sasuke something?" This made the pink-haired girls jaw drop.

"You're kidding me!" Kiba exclaimed, and Akamaru startled at the surprise in his owners voice.

"You can't be serious!" Sakura said after Kiba and Yuki almost rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Why are Konoha nin so damn stupid? And why the hell doesn't anybody believe a word I'm saying?

"Please, why would I do that? Though I enjoy tormenting Naruto a lot, I got more blackmail material on him than anyone else on the world. I would not need to make something like this up. And have you seen the looks they give each other? That's lust up and real close." The missing-nin leaned onto the door frame, making an effort to make himself especially enticing to his audience. Slowly, as if just realizing what he was wearing, the looks of the dog guy and the cute girl ran from his boots to his waist and to the silky smooth skin of his navel, before continuing up his chest and to his collarbones, before finally residing on his ass.

Sakura was still in a state of shock. Nothing made sense anymore.

"So… you're saying they like each other?" Sakura asked swallowing the sudden lump in her throat. The thought of Naruto, her loyal admirer (at least before he left the village with Ero-sennin) and Sasuke, her childhood crush, made her throat somehow constrict. It wasn't that she liked Sasuke anymore; more like she had the sudden feeling that she was being left out from something.

"Well, depends what you mean. Do they like each other like as in they're attracted to each other? Hell yeah, Sharingan dude has wanted a piece of Naruto's ass ever since he first saw him in anything but those formless ninja-clothes of his. Both of them actually," Yuki mused while thinking back to the elder Sharingan eyed man, wearing the black and red Akatsuki cloak.

Sakura's eyes flickered with something akin to fear, and Yuki dropped the act of un-interest.

"Met him, have you? The elder brother?" Purple eyes bored into green ones. Yuki realized with a start that Sakura was utterly petrified by him. The girl was shaking and her stance looked like that of a prey before a hungry wolf about to leap.

"Ahh, forgive me." Yuki realized with a start that he had let some of Rokubi's killing intent into the air. "That organization just has an effect on me." Yuki smiled coldly, and Sakura started to regain some colour, her eyes flickering between him and the two ninja behind her.

"What are you talking about?!" Kiba finally snapped. Sakura whirled around to face him like a bolt of lightning.

"Shut up Kiba!" The medic-in-training snapped, and startled at the fear on Sakura's face, he snapped his mouth shut. Akamaru however, continued growling. Annoyed at the dog, Yuki barked at it once with a voice that sounded like it came from somewhere between a wounded cat and a wet dog. Akamaru whimpered softly and covered his ears with his paws, backing behind Kiba, completely silent.

Kiba and the girls looked slightly surprised, but Sakura was looking extremely cautious now.

"I've heard of him, yes," Sakura finally admitted, offering the piece of information as a peace-offering of sorts. Yuki looked thoughtful.

"Well, everybody's heard of him. You really can't appreciate the man's pure genius until you've met him though. Simply… brilliant." The pink-haired male mused. Sakura's eyebrow ticked dangerously, and Yuki waited for a reaction eagerly.

None came. Instead the pink-haired chuunin swallowed her emotions and forced from between gritted teeth:

"Do you know where Naruto is or don't you?" Sakura hissed. Yuki rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I just told you, he's off screwing with that Uchiha or something. Last I saw of him, he was running like hell off somewhere. I don't know where he is exactly, and frankly, I don't care. He's going to do what he has to do and I'm going to wait for him here."

"Well, if you see him, tell Sakura was looking for him, all right?" Sakura frowned all the while going through her head all the places Naruto could probably be in. Ichiraku was always a safe guess.

"An annoying pink-haired chick was looking for him? Check." Yuki smirked, and Sakura hissed at him from between his teeth before turning abruptly and stalking away, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata leaving after her.

"Damn. There goes my entertainment." The pink-haired missing nin growled. Shaking the mild annoyance off, the Jinchuuriki let the door close behind him and stalked down the corridor after the leaf nin, whistling merrily.

I grow tired of this village, and the fact that Naruto doesn't seem to be too forthcoming with information isn't exactly helping. We really need to clear up this business about the Sanbi, now. And then I'll take him to the Coven and Kisho will be the one to punish him. You don't withhold information, Naruto, old friend.

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The alleyway was dark and filthy; the space between two high-story houses naught and almost completely filled with boxes and bags of trash, leaving only a slim path between the filth for one to walk along. The ninja crossing over always travelled the roofs, and the civilians knew better than to risk into this place all reason had abandoned.

Pipes under the ground rattled and complained loudly before the excess of hot steam erupted from a nearby man-hole, releasing its pressured underground gases with a high whistle, before the heavy lid fell down with a huge bang.

The filthy boy huddled between the filthy red-tiled wall and a green, even filthier trash container jumped at the sound. A couple drops of semi-clean water drizzled down from the rusted stairs above him, and the boy moved uncomfortably, slight tremors still running through his body.

It's hard. The boy thought suddenly, light sea blue eyes surrounded by black and purple marks of fatigue. Wrinkling his nose, the boy looked around thoughtfully. The last customer had refused to pay after his services and he still ached. The man had been a ninja, probably a chuunin, but in his weakened state, the boy dared not fight when the ninja had just walked away. Normally, Koichi was very strict about getting his payment, just because he wasn't a ninja didn't mean he didn't have a couple of tricks in his sleeve, but now, in his run-down state where his clothes were but a mere remnants of filthy fabric and where his body was weak with hunger, he didn't want to risk it.

Often, he got his payment without problems. After all, most of his customers were ninja or rich civilians, and he served well. They more then had the required money to toss around. It's just that I don't know anybody here, and I don't have a Danna anymore.

In the context Koichi used it; Danna was a loose term that actually had nothing to do with its original purpose. Geisha had Danna. Whore's had a Danna. A pimp, a protector, a meddler. The Danna also more often than not was the head of the local organized crime.

Well, I don't need one, either. I can't be picky about my customers now. All I need is enough money to get a bath and a change of clothes and some wire.

The thirteen year old boy, barely a teen, clutched the turquoise stone figurine tightly in his fist, hesitating before his eyes filled with determination.

I'm in the leaf village. Mika said Naruto is here. I'll just clean up and go to the police or whatever and say I lost my big brother.

"…why are we walking here? We could just as easily take the roofs, or even better, I could teleport us to the tower." A male voice sounded from the back of the alleyway, echoing slightly in the wet and grimy space. Koichi's eyes darted to the right, and peeked from behind the green container.

"I could teleport on my own just fine, Kakashi. I'm walking here, because I need to calm down before I talk to the Hokage." The brown haired man said, his voice strained and annoyed. Kakashi sighed and ran his arm along Iruka's.

"That's fine, but why are we walking through the slums?"

"It helps me calm down," The brown haired school-teacher admitted. "I used to spend a lot of time here when I was little."

Koichi looked the men from top to toes and smiled slightly. They were attractive enough and didn't seem to be low on money. Both of the tall males were wearing snug, spotless and practical clothing, revealing them as ninja… genin maybe, most probably chuunin. Brushing off some of the filth in his lower arms, the boy stepped forth from behind the trash container. Iruka gasped and stopped, making Kakashi almost walk into him.

The brown eyes were open in wonder, even as Koichi started to walk forward. Watching from behind half-closed eyes, erotically open, the lilac haired boy walked forward, swinging his hips temptingly. Secure that he had the males complete attention, the thirteen years old Jinchuuriki lipped his full lips, moisturizing them tantalizingly.

Kakashi let his hand drop down mutely, his eyes completely on the boy in front of them.

He's good. The copy-cat-ninja thought. Koichi stopped a mere foot from Iruka, who was still looking at him dazedly. Koichi raised a hand to caress the older mans cheek, when suddenly a hand shot out from nowhere and stopped his hand only centimetres from Iruka's tanned skin.

Startled, light sea-blue eyes darted to the silver haired man behind the brunette, and pouted.

"If you wanted to have a go first, all you had to do was to ask." Koichi smiled slightly, before somehow slipping past Iruka to rub his leg into Kakashi's. Iruka turned around, his eyes wide, revealing his confusion over the situation. Kakashi swallowed, feeling suddenly very old.

Has it really been so long since I was a part of the game? Why am I so affected by this kid, who compared to what I was once, is but a mere amateur?

Fast as lightning, Kakashi's hand twisted, bringing the boy down to his knees before him. Koichi's blue eyes opened in surprise, and Kakashi kneeled before the boy, leaning slightly forward on his heels, and poked the whore between his eyes.

"Foolish," Kakashi breathed out heavily on Koichi's face, making sure to let his eyes show the lust the boy had inflicted in him. Koichi's lustful gaze wavered and the boy's eyes darted around in fear, feeling he had perhaps taken on something bigger than he could deal with.

Kakashi's other hand poked him in the hip with a long finger, and laughed at the shock he now saw spread on the boy's face "Don't sell yourself that cheap, elite. A talented whore like you can surely do better than work in an alley like this," The silver haired jounin began. "Besides, we're off limits. You're not reading your clients. That's a risky way to live your life, elite."

"Who are you?" Iruka asked curiously. As far as he knew, these parts of the town weren't used that much and working girls or street walkers usually kept to the secluded, yet more populated areas with more potential customers.

Koichi turned his head to look back at Iruka, before turning back to Kakashi. When he spoke, his voice was slightly meek and extremely curious.

"Who are you?" The boy asked and as Iruka was about to open his mouth, Kakashi gave him a restraining glance. The chuunin looked annoyed, but closed his mouth never the less. The jounin considered the question a bit.

"I'm a Konoha jounin, Hatake Kakashi. And that is Umino Iruka, our resident pre-genin teacher. We are a bit curious of whom you are, seeing as it is a part of our ninja duties to guard the village. You don't look like you're from here," Kakashi explained, and then sniffed the air. "Nor do you smell like from here either."

Koichi turned to look at Iruka instead of answering Kakashi, his eyes looking a bit confused.

"Iruka, you say?" At the brunettes nod, the boy swallow hard and then continued. "You wouldn't know somebody called Naruto, would you?"

Had he not been shocked himself, Iruka would have thought the look of surprise on Kakashi's face to be comical.

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