It takes five seconds for a con man to plot, ten seconds for a con man to escape.

One.

Sasuke's fingertip brush along the edges of the poker cards, a lit cigarette dangles from his lips.

There's three other guys slumped around the green poker table, all in the finest of foreign suits, swirling glasses of whiskey in their calloused palms.

His dark eyes glance at the man to his right, tall and blonde, Uzumaki Naruto, his partner, his best friend.

Tonight he's a stranger though, they formally shake hands like businessmen and smile at each other like acquaintances.

And so it begins.

Two.

Gambling is risky, deception is riskier.

Fortunately, he's wickedly good at both.

Towers of chips, red and blue and white, are pushed into the middle of table.

No one sees him switch the deck, he's quick with his hands, seemingly manipulating time to their advantage.

Three.

Naruto shuffles the cards skilfully, tactfully and then deals them one by one.

There's a faint smirk on his lips and his fit body holds arrogance in such a flattering way.

Sasuke's more stoic in nature. He simply relaxes against his chair and waits.

They both know this will be over soon.

Four.

Hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars rest on this one game.

Sasuke looks up from his cards, briefly meeting his partner's blue eyes.

Con men speak with not their tongues, but their eyes, with their bodies.

And Naruto tells him, in one mere glance, that he's got five of a kind.

Five.

There are calloused fists banging on the poker table, saliva sprays into the smoky air and rage is everywhere.

Sasuke narrows his eyes at his partner and argues with him like a stranger, "That's fucking impossible."

Deception is a skill, one he's practiced over and over.

The other men around the table chime in, slamming down their glasses and mimicking Sasuke's disbelief.

Naruto's smiling an idiotically wide smile, white teeth shine against his sun tanned face and he shrugs, "I'm lucky." He reaches across the table and pushes the chips towards himself.

His blue eyes reach Sasuke once more and there's a different look this time, one more urgent.

The clock starts up again and it's time to escape.

One.

Naruto cashes in the chips, he's fast on his feet and pretends not to hear the grumbles of protest behind him.

The money's in thick wads, placed carefully into a leather suitcase and his partner grips it in his fingers like his life depends on it.

And it does.

Two.

Sasuke takes a long drag from his cigarette, feels the smoke fill his lungs.

"That wasn't luck. No one's that lucky." One of the men grumbles, his thick eyebrows furrow and his eyes move across Sasuke's indifferent face, "Hey kid, you know that blonde guy?"

"Nope," He replies thoughtfully, still holding the cigarette between his lips, "Wish I did though."

Three.

Sasuke takes another long drag of his burning cigarette and then smashes it into the ashtray to right of him, "Well gentlemen," The chair screeches on the marbled floor as he gets up, "It's been fun, but I'll be leaving now."

The men merely huff in response, still feeling burned from their losses.

Then something happens.

One of the shorter, chubbier men fidgets around with deck of cards, looks at them with his deep brown eyes and realization washes over his whole body.

He throws down the deck angrily and the cards fly everywhere.

Four.

"That bastard switched the cards!"

And then he's running.

Five.

Adrenaline courses through his entire body, pumping in his heart, flooding his veins.

They're chasing after him, he knows it, feels it in the pit of his stomach but it's not fear that pinches at his flesh, it's excitement.

Six.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

They're still screaming behind him when Sasuke feels someone tug at the back of his white dress shirt.

The silky material is balled into the hands of one of the gamblers and he's thrown down onto the ground, hitting the marble floor with an audible thump.

Seven.

He's back on his feet, dodging swift punches and then he swings his right fist across the gambler's cheek. Something cracks and crumbles and he's not sure if it's his own bruised knuckles or the man's busted face.

Eight.

The gambler's eyes roll up in pain, Sasuke sees nothing but white.

And then he's running again.

Nine.

Naruto's already in his black car, a smirk pulls at the corner of his lips when he sees Sasuke sprinting towards him.

The blonde leans over and pushes the passenger door open, laughing victoriously and smooth like honey.

Sasuke's breathing heavy, trying to get the words to spark in his throat, "Go!"

Ten.

The engine of the car hums to life and his best friend slams his foot on the gas.

They're gone.

Sasuke places the leather suitcase onto Orochimaru's desk, "We were successful."

The long haired man smiles, dragging his pale fingers across the top of the suitcase, he doesn't take his eyes off of Sasuke.

He opens the suitcase with a deep sigh of satisfaction, pale fingers brush against the thick wads of money, "Job well done," He purrs lightly, thin lips curling into another smile, "As expected of the two of you."

Sasuke ignores the empty flattery, spreads his hands across the front of Orochimaru's desk, looking him in the eyes, "When do we get our cut?"

Orochimaru shuts the suitcase, narrowing his yellow eyes, "All in good time, my boy."

Sasuke scowls in response, pushing his weight off the front of the desk.

"What?" Orochimaru asks, flipping his long black hair over his shoulder, "You don't trust me?"

"No. I don't."

The long haired man widens his eyes, feigning surprise, "How awful! We've worked together for years now."

Sasuke glares at the man, "I'm not going to ask again, when do we get our cut?"

"You'll get it once the big boss get his cut, until then you'll have to be patient." Orochimaru says with an exhausted sigh, "You're quite short tempered, you know that? That's exactly why I was hesitant about giving you this." He waves a thick folder in Sasuke's face, a devious smile on his pale lips.

"What mission?" Sasuke grumbled lowly, snatching the folder from Orochimaru's weak grasp.

He flips open the folder only to find a small picture of a middle aged man, furrowing his dark eyebrows he looks up at Orochimaru, perplexity beaming in his eyes.

Orochimaru crosses his arms over his chest, "Haruno Kizashi. The man behind Haruno Corporations, he's one of the wealthiest man in the Fire Country."

"You're going to assassinate him?"

"No," Orochimaru says plainly, "You are."

"What?" Sasuke questions as he stares down at Haruno Kizashi's photographed face, "Why me?"

Orochimaru's yellow eyes dart to meet Sasuke's, his thin eyebrows raise in surprise, "You...don't recognize this man?"

Sasuke shakes his head slowly, confusion washes through his tired body, "No?"

"Oh, you poor child." Orochimaru laughs wickedly, clicking his long tongue in disdain, "Haruno Kizashi is the man behind Haruno Corporations, and he is also the man behind the Yakuza."

Sasuke's black eyes widen at the name, he can suddenly feel his heart pounding in his chest, "You mean, he's the-"

"Yes," Orochimaru interrupts impatiently, "He's the one responsible for your family's murders."

Sasuke looks back down at Haruno Kizashi's photograph, anger swells through his veins and tears poke at his eyes, "How do you know for sure?"

Orochimaru simply shrugs, his long black hair falls over his shoulders like waves, "You joined us on the one condition that I would help you find the man responsible for your family's murders," A vile smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, "We've helped you, now it's time for you to return the favor." He struts back to his desk in long strides, "You want your revenge, don't you?"

Sasuke's jaw clenches, his fingers grip around the corners of the photograph, he doesn't say anything but Orochimaru knows his answer.

"As you know, Haruno Kizashi is one of the wealthiest men in the Fire Country, he's got more money than God." The smile on his grayish mouth gets bigger as he talks, "So here's the deal, the big boss wants all of that money and you, my dear child, want to take your revenge and kill him."

"Where is this bastard?" Sasuke speaks through gritted teeth, "I'll kill him now-"

"Stop talking." Orochimaru raises his voice, interrupting Sasuke once again, "You can't be impulsive! Haruno Kiazshi will not be an easy man to take down." He brings his pale fingers to rest at his beating temples, "He's got more guards following him around than you can deal with by yourself and on top of that, this man is highly publicized. He's on every news channel, every magazine and if you get caught, the big boss will kill you before you can even think about running away."

Orochimaru glares at Sasuke, taking a breath before continuing, "This will be a dangerous mission. It could takes months to even be able to see Haruno Kizashi, and even then, you may not be able to get through his security."

"So what exactly is the plan then?" Sasuke asks suddenly.

"Become apart of the company, become a confidant and guard to this man," Orochimaru speaks slowly, carefully, "Steal his financial records, his bank codes and anything you can get your hands on regarding his fortune. And then, kill him. Slit his throat, cut off his limbs, do whatever you see fit to satisfy your revenge. Just don't get caught and make sure no one traces it back to the big boss."

Sasuke nods in understanding, his whole body shakes with anger, with excitement and fury. His fingers stretch over Haruno Kizashi's photograph, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it beside him. He shuffles through the rest of the folder, files and files of background on Haruno Corporations make up most of the stack and that's when a flash of pink catches his eye. He grasps it, realizing it's a photograph of a girl.

Sasuke grips the photograph between his fingers, "Who's this?"

The girl's hair is chopped short, resting at the middle of her pale neck and it's pink. She's got almond shaped eyes, greener than emeralds and sensual full lips.

She's beautiful.

"Haruno Sakura. The only daughter of Kizashi and the single heir to Haruno Corporations." Orochimaru's yellow eyes stare down at her picture, "She's Kizashi's one weakness. Apparently she's a real awful girl, but she'll be a nice little pawn in our game. Don't you think?" His wicked laughter echoes across the dim lit room, the lines of his crows feet deepen and his pointy teeth flash under his lips.

Sasuke doesn't say anything, his dark eyes fixate on Haurno Sakura's photograph. Her bright, smiling face seems to mock him and he hates it. He hates how someone so beautiful, so pure looking could share the blood of a man so vile and evil.

"Well," Orochimaru suddenly taps his long fingers on his desk, "Do you want the mission or not?"

Sasuke closes his eyes, breathing in the air around him. His mother's smiling face appears behind his eyelids, the sound his father's stern voice echoes in his ears and the weight of his older brother is heavy in his heart.

"Yes."

And so it begins.

a/n: hello everyone! as i had said before, i have come back to this story but i wanted to make a few adjustments in the plot. I feel as though the changes I have made will make the story a much better read for you guys, as well as easier for me to write. also, i am aware that the Yakuza are a very infamous gang in japan but i just couldn't come up with a name for the gang that Kizashi is behind, so i chose that one.

hope you guys enjoy, please leave me a review and some feedback. thank you!