This story just keeps wanting to Rev Hard to its' redline. Knightewolfe Creations brings you the continuing high-speed story of redlined love abandoned and rediscovered. It's Jiraiya vs. Tsunade in love and car chases. And so I present:

Konoha Transporters:

Chapter Two

Gamakichi's

[I wasn't planning to start writing this chapter until I'd done some work on two of my other fics. I just happened to be listening to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies song 'Shake yo Lovemaker' while reading another fic and one of the lines from that song struck me stupid and I started dancin' around with a look reminiscent of Naruto when he's playin' a prank and just HAD to start writing this chapter immediately. If you wanna know which line it was, get the cd, listen to the song, and you'll figure it out! (Hint: second verse of the song). Now on with the story!

It was 7:30 AM Friday morning when Jiraiya woke up alone (as usual) in his king-sized bed. It took him a minute to realize what day it was and what he had planned. Looking over at the clock that sat on his nightstand, the Icha Icha Master sighed and threw off the sheets covering him from the previous nights chill and inserted his feet into the old pair of toad-shaped house slippers his ex-wife had bought for his birthday three years into their marriage (Tsunade hated him walking around their house in a pair of tattered old socks). Feeling the familiar pangs of heartbreak as he thought back, Jiraiya climbed out of bed and headed for the exotic shower he'd requested when he'd had the house built several years ago when he received the royalties from his first book and started on his road of literary infamy.

Forty minutes later after a relaxing twenty-minute warm shower, Jiraiya sat in his kitchen reading the paper and sipping from a cup of coffee. Checking his watch, the former Toad Courier dropped the paper on the counter and swallowed the dregs remaining in his mug and put it in the sink. Dusting the crumbs of his toast and jam breakfast from his bright yellow polo shirt, Jiraiya stood and headed for the front door. On his way outside the fifty-six year old author opened a closet and grabbed his set of golf clubs before exiting his home (or as he called it 'The Lily Pad') and made his way towards his silver Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG convertible with the 'Icha Mstr.', personalized license plate and depressed the trunk button on his remote. Closing the trunk after gently placing his golf bag inside (a gift from his elite couriers Arashi, Kakashi, Asuma, and Guy several years ago) Jiraiya continued around to the drivers' side door. Climbing in the luxury sport coupe, the infamous author cast a glance at the dark green Maybach Mercedes Benz parked on the other side of his driveway and made a mental note to have Asuma take it out to be washed before this evening when he headed to his popular night club.

Starting the engine and pulling out of his driveway after shifting the automatic transmission into 'drive' Jiraiya pulled away and headed in the direction of the Konoha Country Club where he had a golf meeting with his publisher, lawyer, and accountant. The foursome was going to play a few rounds on the professionally-designed, par 5, PGA Tour capable golf course before Jiraiya left for his early afternoon lunch and friendly tennis date with the cover model from one of his books and her husband. Unlike most of the other authors of his acquaintance, Jiraiya kept in touch with the women who modeled for his books. In one case, the writer of superior erotic literary fare had introduced one of his models to her husband and had been grateful when the two had married and named him as godfather to their daughter and son.

Cruising down the highway with the windows and top down, Jiraiya adjusted his sunglasses and smiled as the wind blew through his silky white hair and the swing music from the cd in the player meshed with the rumbling 5.4 liter, supercharged V-8 engine to create an intoxicating orchestration that would, if he wasn't careful, lull Jiraiya into a light doze. Jiraiya loved that relaxing sound although he did miss the deep-throated roar of the old BMW M3 he used to have.

"That old M3 carried through my early days as an author. It did everything including: taking me and copies of my rough manuscript to every publisher in Konoha while trying to get my work published by anyone who would take a chance on an untested writer of erotica. It was hard breaking into the business since I was a man and not a woman, I'm just grateful that when my manuscript was finally accepted by that new publishing company it was as popular as I knew it was going to be. Old man Sarutobi, I thank you very much for risking everything on a young punk of a writer.", thought Jiraiya as he pulled his car into the elaborate and well landscaped 'members only' parking lot at the Konoha Country Club.

Shutting off his engine, Jiraiya climbed out of his car and made his way to the open trunk where his clubs nestled. Retrieving his beloved clubs, the author gave his car keys to the young valet with a fifty dollar tip and a request for the teenager to park his vehicle next to Sarutobi's crème colored supercharged Bentley coupe. The youth gave him a big grin and said okay before climbing into the silver beast, starting the engine, and gently easing the large vehicle forward. Jiraiya chuckled at the way the valet treated his car. If the valet wanted to hammer the throttle and pull away in a cloud of tire smoke, Jiraiya wouldn't mind. He often times did that himself to remember his youth. Borrowing a pen and a sheet of paper after asking the other valet for the kid's name, Jiraiya wrote him a note. Slipping another fifty dollar tip into the middle of the note as well as giving the kid an autographed copy of one of his books, Jiraiya gave the note and book to the other valet with strict instructions to hand it to the young man when he returned.

Chuckling at the wide-eyed valet as he agreed to do as requested, Jiraiya made his way over to the grey-haired old man wearing slacks, a casual short sleeved shirt, and smoking his pipe who was watching the actions of his main author with a funny glint in his eyes. As he got closer to the maverick publisher, Jiraiya grinned at how healthy and robust the older man looked. The famous author also noticed that old man Sarutobi was just barely keeping himself from ogling the chest of the statuesque caddie he'd been assigned. Jiraiya, acknowledged the older man's exquisite taste in women even though the old super lecher had been happily married for over sixty years and had raised two fine sons, one of whom now worked for Jiraiya as his assistant and driver. Raising a hand in greeting while slinging his golf bag over his shoulder, the author called out to his old friend.

"Hey old man, how's it going? You still cutting a swath through the local population of women?", teased Jiraiya.

"Hahaha; you young whippersnapper! I'm enjoying a few days away from the office. I was planning on eating lunch with my grandson Konohamaru today and decided that I might as well get a few rounds of golf in with my friends. What about you Jiraiya?", asked the seventy-six year old reputed playboy widower.

"Hehe, that's understandable, old man. When I received your call last night, it was a godsend. The only thing I had planned for today was a lunch and tennis date with one of my former cover models and her husband. I also gotta hit up the stylist so I can look clean when I make my appearance at Gamakichi's tonight. Before you ask, Asuma is doing fine. He's one of my hardest workers. In a few years I might turn the day to day running of the club over to him since he does the majority of it anyway. Last night I sent him home early so he could be with his fiancée and their unborn child. I'm laying odds that in seven or eight months, Konohamaru will have a little cousin and you'll have another grandson.", replied Jiraiya as he shook Sarutobi's hand.

The old man grinned and told his number one author that he'd rather have a granddaughter to spoil instead of another grandson. Jiraiya retorted good-naturedly and told the head of Konoha's largest publishing company that he'd have to take that up with his future daughter-in-law and giggled as he saw Sarutobi sweat-drop as he remembered the last time he visited his son Asuma and Asuma's bride-to-be Kurenai. Being the old lecher that he was, Sarutobi had inadvertently said something to the red-eyed cop that irritated her and she relieved her irritation by chasing the old man out of her house with a flurry of rapidly thrown knives. Jiraiya had felt sorry for both Sarutobis' and had sent the elder Sarutobi a signed gold edition copy of his third 'Icha Icha' book. Asuma had gotten a substantial bonus for falling on his sword and sleeping on the couch before Kurenai could banish him there.

The two men chatted a little longer as they waited for the other two members of their foursome to arrive so they could meet their tee time and get to some down and dirty golf.

While her ex-husband was waking up and starting his first round of golf, the pursuit queen was preparing to start her patrol of Konoha's streets in her Mercury Marauder.

Tsunade had woken up from a deep sleep and had reluctantly climbed out of her queen-sized bed where she had slept alone as usual. Taking a look at her clock and groaning when she saw it reading 6 AM Tsunade had risen from her comfortably soft mattress and had stepped across the master bedroom of her two story, modestly-sized ranch house wearing a large sleeping shirt that had caught her eyes the last time she'd been clothes shopping with Shizune and Kurenai. Entering the bathroom and seeing the large marble whirlpool bathtub, Tsunade decided that since it was early and she had to go to work, she'd take a relaxing whirlpool bath instead of her usual shower.

"Rank Hath Its Privileges! I don't think my girls would begrudge me a long bath and a fulfilling breakfast this one time. Since Commissioner Chiyo is out of town, I think I can be an hour or so late. Besides, I deserve this bath!", commented Tsunade as she stripped out of her sleepwear and started the water.

Now if the bathroom window hadn't been frosted for privacy and there was actually a guy looking in that direction (and risking a certain death from pummeling if the poor bastard had been caught), said male would've been able to prove what the men of the village had been wondering for the longest time. (indeed, brawls had been fought about this particular subject).

Tsunade, the Pursuit Queen and head of the S.K.P.F., wore nothing underneath her sleeping shirts.

Turning the water off when it reached the level she wanted, Tsunade climbed into the tub and settled her naked form into the rejuvenating and enticingly warm water. Giggling as the rose-scented bubbles from her favorite bubble-bath floated against her sensitive mounds of flesh, Tsunade reached out and opened the bathroom window a tiny bit to let some of the steam from the bathwater escape before using the waterproof radio remote to turn on the radio so she could hear the news. Crossing her arms around behind her head, Tsunade leaned back and listened to the news and music and allowed herself to relax.

Twenty minutes into her bath, Tsunade reached for the soap. As she did so, her smoky bluish-green eyes fell upon a box of 'toys' Anko had left after last time Tsunade had had one of her squads traditional Pizza and Beer nights at her place. The fifty-five year old cop blushed a deep crimson as she remembered all that happened that night (and the following morning).

"Damn that Anko! Is she perpetually horny! Does Kakashi know that his girlfriend has such a raging sex drive? Shit, Anko and her toys wore all of us out that night. Kurenai was so exhausted that she had to call Asuma to come and get her. Hell, Shizune couldn't even get out of bed. Even Ino and Sakura were worthless that weekend. The following Monday, Temari and TenTen were pissed about missing out and Anko had a big shit eating grin on her face all damn day! Next time, we're tying Anko up so we don't end up that exhausted again.", thought Tsunade as she grabbed the soap and started scrubbing her legs.

After rinsing off her soap covered body, Tsunade cast a guilty look at the toys before reaching for one of the larger objects in the box. Within her mind, Tsunade's libido waged a war with her practical side over the pros and cons of what she was contemplating. Deciding to just say 'fuck it' and go with the flow, Tsunade tossed her objections to the wayside and went ahead with her impulsive actions.

"Besides, I need my own release every so often. If I'm happy then my girls are happy.", mused Tsunade as she activated the toy and proceeded to ruin the angelic image everyone had of her.

Two hours later, a fully relaxed and rejuvenated Tsunade entered the headquarters for the Special Kunoichi Pursuit Force with a big grin on her face and a healthy glow to her skin. Spotting a grumpy looking Anko (who'd had night duty much to her chagrin), Tsunade went over to the deprived woman and bluntly told her to purchase a new box of 'toys'. The ones she'd left at Tsunade's house weren't hers any longer. Of course Anko grumped and started to protest but the exhibitionist caught the familiar glare from her boss and saw the glow coming from her skin and knew what her only answer could be.

Now preparing to pull out into traffic, Tsunade's glow had yet to fade and she was looking forward to her day. As each of her officers had come into work, they'd spotted their glowing boss and knew (or thought they knew) the reason for the Tsunade's glow. A contented Shizune (sporting her own glow) had arrived, took one look at Tsunade and gave one of her usual schoolgirl giggles before stepping into her office with a blush on her cheeks. Kurenai and Hana had arrived next and gave their boss knowing looks. Neither of them sported a glow of their own but both came to work happy for some reason.

Sakura and Ino had arrived next and sighed the minute they'd spotted their boss. The pinkette and the light blond looked normal enough but Tsunade's sharp eyes had spotted the tension at the corner of their eyes and recognized it for what it was. TenTen, Temari, and the new girl Hinata had shown up last. The chocolate haired girl and her bluenette haired friend laughed at their boss while the cornflower blonde snorted in amusement and muttered a relieved 'finally got your ashes hauled, huh bosslady?'.

Of course, Tsunade neither confirmed nor denied those accusations.

Merging into traffic in her six hundred horsepower beast, Tsunade decided to patrol where her whims carried her. She felt lucky and that meant all those punk and punkette couriers out and about better watch out.

The Pursuit Queen was out! And she was on the Prowl!

It was approaching noon and Tsunade was bored. Her patrol had been uneventful except for her writing a few speeding tickets and rousting a daylight attempt at a street race she'd suddenly come upon. The racers in question had been pissed at her arrival and had tried to start something until Tsunade had smashed the hood of one of the cars lined up to race with a minor punch when one of the loudmouthed teenagers had insulted her skills (of course the racers had peacefully departed after her display of temper).

Deciding to grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant she knew about, Tsunade drove away and headed for her destination. On the way, she heard TenTen and Hinata mention they were in pursuit of a dark purple Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X with a confusing personalized plate. Sighing to herself and wishing she could be there, Tsunade parked her Marauder and shut off the massive engine and entered the restaurant of her choosing. After placing her order, Tsunade chose to sit outside on the patio since it was a beautiful day.

Focusing her attention on the well manicured tennis courts across the way as she waited for her grilled chicken sandwich, Tsunade sighed again. When she was younger, Tsunade had been an avid amateur tennis player and often played tennis to keep in shape. Glancing down at the dark yellow tennis skirt she'd chosen to wear today, Tsunade wistfully wondered if she'd chosen to wear it because of her past love of tennis or for another reason. Letting it go, Tsunade settled in to wait for her meal. When it came, Tsunade got down to some serious eating. So involved with her meal, the head of Squad One missed the arrival of a silver Mercedes at the courts. Deciding to get caught up on some paperwork after she finished her lunch, Tsunade went to the manager of the place, flashed her badge and asked him if he'd mind her using the table she'd eaten at to do some paperwork. The kindly manager said it was no problem and would have one of his employees clean the table while she was getting her laptop out of her car. Tsunade thanked the man and gave him an extra hundred dollars for the trouble before walking out to the table and grabbing her briefcase and laptop and settling in. Pulling her cell phone out of her purse, Tsunade called Kurenai (who was semi-restricted to headquarters) and told her where she was.

"Okay boss, it's no problem. I'll pass on to Squad Four that you're 10-100 on the side and not to be bothered unless its extremely important.", answered Kurenai as she sat at her desk and checked her open cases.

"Thanks Yuuhi, I appreciate that. Anything I need to know about?", asked Tsunade as she turned her laptop on.

"Hmmm, let me see. Okay, Liao and Hyuuga got somebody pulled over on the other side of town. Temari is lurking over by the courier hangout, spotting possible couriers and passing their vehicle descriptions to headquarters. Anko went home to grab some sleep. Sakura and Ino are on highway patrol backing up the motorcycle pursuit force; Shizune still has her shit-eating grin and is working in her office on something. Hana is downstairs working out in the gym. Oh yeah Commissioner Chiyo called and told me to tell you to relax.", commented Kurenai as she flipped through her notebook with the information.

"Thanks, anything else?"

"Noooo…..oh wait, this is interesting. That bounty hunter, Rally Vincent; I have it on good authority that she's been seen in the company of a local named…..Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki. My source informed me that Ms. Vincent has been spotted on two occasions visiting Uzumaki's house and not leaving till early in the morning. My source also told me that each time Vincent had left Uzumaki's house, she was sporting a similar glow to the one you and Shizune had this morning.", teased the pregnant, red-eyed bride to be.

"Cut that out!", growled Tsunade as she blushed and bade Kurenai to continue.

"I had investigations run a check on Uzumaki and guess who he works for….."

Tsunade waited, refusing to rise to her subordinates baiting. Hearing the sigh on the other end of the line, the blonde knew her choice was the right one.

"Since you won't ask, boss I'll tell you. Uzumaki works for our old target: Kakashi Hatake."

"Oh. Vincent's working overtime trying to catch Roadbuster. I wonder if she is…..enjoying her job? Isn't she pretty talented at seduction? Oh well, never mind, I don't want to know.", commented Tsunade as she started working.

After a few more words (including, a guess at what or who gave Tsunade her morning glow this morning). Kurenai was a bit miffed when, after much teasing, her boss admitted to 'fooling around' with some of the 'toys' Anko had left at her place. Needless to say, Kurenai had to grab a Kleenex to keep her nose from spurting all over her desk when Tsunade started talking about her 'activities'.

A couple of hours later, Tsunade was caught up with all of her work and was just admiring the scenery and sipping on a large glass of lemonade the manager had brought over and kept refilled for her at no extra charge while Tsunade worked when she spotted the familiar stride of her ex-husband as he walked away from a pretty young lady standing by the tennis courts.

"What the hell was he doing there and who the hell is the woman?", Tsunade asked herself while tapping her full, pouting lips with a fingernail.

Tsunade ignored the slight pang of jealousy that burned within her as she watched the white hair she used to love running her fingers through during passionate moments bounce as Jiraiya hugged the woman in question. Deciding to follow the author and see where he went, Tsunade shut down her laptop and replaced it and her work in her briefcase. Rising to her feet, she thanked the manager again and dropped a few dollars in the tip jar by the cash register before heading out to her vehicle.

Lowering her sunglasses to her eyes as she put her things on the Marauders' back seat and climbing into the drivers' seat, Tsunade couldn't stifle the lustful looks she was giving her ex. He looked dashing and devastatingly handsome in his green shorts, striped, white tennis shirt, green cross-training shoes, and headband. His tan skin glowed against the colorful shirt and a part of her mind dredged up her actions from this morning during her bath for her to remember. In a flash, the memories of her bath were overlaid with memories of the happier times in her marriage and the toy she'd pleasured herself with that morning was replaced by the strong and firm body of her ex-husband as they moved against each other in a dance that was as old as time.

Tsunade shook herself outta of her self-indulgent trance when her sensitive nose caught wind of the familiar tangy scent her arousal. Groaning to herself and rolling down the window of her idling car, she waited for Jiraiya to start his car and pull out into traffic. When he did, Tsunade gave the silver Mercedes a couple of lengths before slipping in behind her ex-husband. Reading the license plate on the back of his car, Tsunade snorted in contempt as she translated the eight letters there.

"You always were a cocky bastard Jiraiya; now its time to see if that overconfidence will be your downfall. Wonder what you have in your trunk, my dear ex-husband? If it's what I think it is, then you're going down", thought Tsunade as she followed the SL55.

Picking the microphone for her police radio, Tsunade called her headquarters and asked the officer on duty if anybody from Squad One was able to back her up for a traffic stop of the infamous retired courier. She was informed that Captain Inuzuka along with Lieutenant Liao and her trainee Sergeant Hyuuga were available.

"Copy that, have Inuzuka, Liao, and Hyuuga converge on my position. Tell them to contact me when they're nearby and I'll proceed with the stop. Also, alert Major Kunai about my actions. We may need her…. err abilities to confirm if the suspect is carrying a load.", stated Tsunade before replacing the microphone on its holder.

The Squad Four officer who took Tsunade's call, acknowledged it, and made the calls ordered by the boss. Then she sat back and prepared to listen in on the fun.

As her boss continued to follow her target, Pursuit Sergeant Hinata Hyuuga cast a glance to her right and sighed at the scowl that still graced the exotic features of her friend and training officer, Pursuit Lieutenant TenTen Liao. TenTen had been like this ever since they'd pulled over the dark purple Evo X earlier that day for speeding only to find out that belonged to Hinata's cousin (and TenTen's ex-boyfriend and father of her daughter) Neji. Glancing up in the rear view mirror, Hinata saw the flashing lights of Captain Inuzuka's M5 followed by the burgundy Saab 9-3 Viggen of Major Kunai. All three vehicles were doing 90 miles per hour trying to catch up with the chief. The radio chirped for Hinata's attention and she picked up the microphone.

"Is she still being bitchy about the whole 'running-into-ex-boyfriend' thing, Hinata", came the cultured voice of Pursuit Major Shizune Kunai.

"Yeah, and her attitude is starting to drive me crazy. I mean, here I am driving her car because she was in a huff about seeing Neji again. Hell, I'm the one who should be pissed, he's my cousin and I haven't seen him in four years!", growled Hinata as she downshifted from fifth to fourth, spun the wheel to the right, and yanked the emergency brake to whip around another corner.

There was silence on the radio as the drivers of the other two vehicles imitated Hinata's reckless turn before three feet jammed down on their respective accelerators and pushed the engines to their redline again. Hinata heard a sigh over the airwaves and recognized it as coming from Captain Inuzuka. It was one of her all-in-one sighs that could mean a lot of different things.

In the four days since she'd transferred in, Hinata felt as if she was fitting in pretty damn well. She'd met all of her co-workers and been assigned a desk in the office she shared with Sergeants Haruno and Yamanaka. Hinata has also accepted the files compiled by her predecessor as well as being given security clearances equivalent to the clearances held by Sakura and Ino but one level below the clearances held by TenTen and Temari. During her in-processing (which took a couple of days), Hinata was tested on her driving skills and ability and had scored pretty high.

Hinata eased off of the throttle just a bit as she caught a glimpse of the silver car in question. Waiting for Tsunade's car to appear, she turned to her friend and gave her a lecture.

"TenTen quit acting like a little whiny bitch and get your head in the game! The boss is counting on us to help her with this traffic stop. Forget about my idiot cousin for now and concentrate on the present. We got a job to do!", snapped Hinata.

In the passenger seat of her own car, TenTen heard the venom in her friends' voice and trembled unconsciously. Truth be told, TenTen hadn't been thinking about Neji as much as she had been thinking about how she was going to break the news to her daughter, Mayuki; that TenTen had pulled over Mayuki's father. The five year old wouldn't understand that her father didn't know about her and would wonder why that was. It had been a big shock for TenTen to approach the drivers' side of the purple car and recognize the driver before she could even ask about his license and registration.

*****Flashback*****

TenTen Liao stepped back from the window of the Purple Mitsubishi Lancer when she found herself staring into the familiar white eyes that haunted her dreams at night and tortured her consciousness during idle times. She recognized those hopeful eyes as the basis for the brown and white variation TenTen saw every morning when she took Mayuki to school and picked her up every afternoon when school finished for the day. Those full eyes that, years ago, could drive the usually cool, calm, and collected TenTen into throes of ecstasy with just a glance and an upward quirk of those aquiline eyebrows.

"N…N…Neji!", gasped TenTen as she stumbled back with a hand raised to her mouth.

TenTen saw the look of shock from her eyes imitated in his own as her ex gazed up at her from behind the lifted sunglasses. The voice she'd remembered from five years previous, that oh so seductive baritone with its subtle hint of unrepressed charm that made her abandon her senses anytime she heard it back then floated to her ears as he rested his arm on the window sill.

"TenTen, TenTen Liao is that you?", she heard Neji say as he recognized her slim form.

The shameless part of TenTen's subconscious mind chuckled as it recognized the barely-contained lust tinting his voice. Her long dormant libido rapidly came awake as her nostrils sniffed the air and smelled the faint scent of his cologne wafting about on the lazy currents of air. A part of her mind unlocked and told TenTen that he was wearing the cologne she'd bought him for his twenty-first birthday and the pursuit lieutenant felt a thrill of wanton delight shudder through her body. TenTen opened her eyes when she realized that she'd inadvertently closed them as her traitorous body betrayed her lingering want for the fine specimen of man before her. Seeing that infernal familiar smirk on Neji's face told her that his predator-like sight had caught her reaction to seeing him again after five years.

Mentally cursing her fangirlish tendencies she thought she'd gotten rid of a long time ago, TenTen remained alert as she saw the look in his intelligent eyes that told her he was planning on taking advantage of her lingering feelings and prepared herself for anything he might pull. Well, she was prepared for anything that didn't involve him opening his car door and climbing out. And that is what exactly happened. The car door opened on silent hinges and out stepped a firm leg encased in denim as the rest of his firm body followed. When Neji was out of his car and standing in front of her, TenTen had to clamp down and ignore the demand of her libido.

"JUMP HIM! JUMP HIS BONES RIGHT NOW, DAMMIT! You know you want to rip that polo shirt off an ogle that delectably firm chest of his before pushing him back in his car and taking him then and there. Who gives a crap that his cousin is sitting in your car right now! Hell, maybe she can learn a few things by watching you and Neji go at it like rabbits!", came her thoughts as TenTen watched as Neji cross his arms and lean back against his vehicle.

The logical part of TenTen's mind kicked back in before she could give in to those demands and she pulled her ticket book out in preparation to writing her ex a nice fat ticket for his over- enthusiastic throttle use, or she would have if her partner hadn't jumped out of the car upon spotting her cousin, running up and throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a hug that had TenTen's inner personality seething. Sighing when she realized that it was gonna take awhile for Hinata and Neji to catch up, TenTen put her ticket book away and let the cousins chat. When the conversation was finished, Hinata headed back to their patrol vehicle after telling Neji that they would see him tonight at their cousin Lorelei's recital.

A relieved TenTen had again pulled out her ticket book and hurriedly written Neji a ticket for his speeding (a part of her consciousness-the sassy part-smirked as it registered the angry flashing of his vanilla eyes) and promptly returned to her vehicle. TenTen had climbed in next to an annoyingly chipper Hinata (who was on the phone trying to call her sister and tell her the news), buckled up and started her vehicle. Shifting into first gear and pulling off, TenTen couldn't resist the urge and shouted out her window as she passed Neji.

"Nice ass loverboy!"

The look on Neji's face was priceless as she sped off.

*****End Flashback****

Now sitting in the passenger seat of her own car thinking back on the incident, TenTen wondered if she should have said what she said as they left Neji on the side of the road. All the way back to headquarters, she kept turning it over and over in her mind and realized she could've managed the situation a bit better. TenTen kept thinking about as she sat at her desk and filled out the log sheet about the traffic stop. Up the aisle a little ways, she could hear Hinata crowing about it to Ino and Sakura (who in TenTen's mind seemed a bit too interested in the whole event). A habanero pepper hot jealousy long thought forgotten began to course through TenTen as she heard the pinkette and the platinum blonde all but drool over Hinata's story about her cousin. Glancing up from her desk, TenTen had seen that Hinata was looking in her direction and seeing if she was ok. Hiding her emotions, TenTen had given Hinata a short nod and returned her attention to her monitor.

"TenTen….TenTen…TenTen, pick up the mic. The boss wants to speak with you.", TenTen heard Hinata mention over the roar of the engine.

Sighing quietly to herself, TenTen picked up the radio handset and spoke to the owner of the black Mercury in front of them.

"Lt. Liao here, boss. What's up?"

"I want you to take a hold of your ears and pull while making a big popping noise with your mouth! Do you know what that sound is? It's the sound of you pulling yer head outta your ass and getting back on the right mental track! If you don't do that right fucking now, Liao, I'll punt your ass outta the force so gawddammed quick you'll have prints of my shoe on your ass for the foreseeable future! Now adjust your attitude and give your trainee a hand! You do not have the time to mope about some old boyfriend. Even if he Is the father of your daughter! You. Are. Better. Than. That!", TenTen heard Tsunade roar over the radio.

Casting a pronounced glare at her partner for spilling her problems to their boss, TenTen mentally promised to give Hinata a piece of her mind later before acknowledging Tsunade's order. Slamming the handset back into its holder, TenTen cursed to herself. She almost ignored Hinata when she spoke up.

"The boss wanted to know why I was driving. Captain Inuzuka told her the basics of the story but she dragged the details out of me somehow. It was for your own good, Ten. If we had to pull the suspect over with you in your present state of mind, who knows what could've happened. We need you focusing on the here and now TenTen. Dammit, I need you in your right state of mind. No matter what I've accomplished in the week I've been here, I still have a lot to learn and I still got a long way to go before I'm fully accepted as a member of the Pursuit Force.", muttered her friend.

Hearing Hinata and knowing that, darnit, she was right; TenTen slapped the dash with her left hand and grumbled to herself before taking a deep breath, repositioning herself in the bucket seat, and leaning forward with an attentive look on her face. In her mind, the 27 year old pursuit lieutenant caged her thoughts and prepared herself for anything. No matter what happened earlier today, TenTen Liao was who she was:

A Member of the First Pursuit Squad; Special Kunoichi Pursuit Force; Konoha Police Department.

Oblivious to the four police cars behind him, Jiraiya listened as Asuma gave him a rundown on operations at his club.

"Yeah boss. Everything's doing fine. The Road Buster's been here and gone with the load of books we had here. We still have a few copies to pass out to our V.I.P.'s tonight and remain legal. Other than that, it looks like it's gonna be another profitable night. We're already getting calls from people wanting to know what our theme is for tonight. I was planning on a hip-hop theme but I'm not fully sold on it yet. A few of the waitresses are for the hip-hop theme but an equal number are for something other than hip-hop and I was wondering if you had any ideas?", asked Asuma over the phone as he sat in Jiraiya's office at the club.

Jiraiya smirked as he navigated his car through town. Fate was shining on him today. From his first ever 'Hole-in-one' on the golf course to his finding out another of his former models was expecting her first child and wanting to thank him for his advice. Now his club manager was calling and asking about Gamakichi's theme for the evening. What could go wrong today?

"Asuma, I got the perfect theme for tonight! It's one we haven't done in awhile but the girls should still have their costumes. Let's make it 'Big Bands' Night tonight. In fact, if tonight goes well, I may wanna keep a night left open on the schedule for a swing music night every week. Means the staff can break out their Zoot Suits and floppy brimmed hats. Call it the 'Rebirth of Swing'. See if you can get period lighting and menus. Have the bartenders open up the history books and practice making all of the old-style cocktails. Don't some of the waitresses still have the 'Cigarette Girl' costumes from that one night thing we did awhile back? If they do, have them wear the costumes. Talk to the bouncers and have those guys go and buy several cartons of cigarettes, preferably Pall Malls and Lucky Strikes but still have the other brands. Also, I want you to run to the local smoke shop and purchase several boxes of high-end cigars and a few humidors. Fill 'em up with a blend of stogies and place them in the middle of the VIP tables. Whose the most photographic of the staff, wait a minute, strike that. Call Guy up and tell him to bring his Zoot Suit in. Once he's there, call a video crew to record a commercial telling about tonight. Dress him up and get him a couple of our 'cigarette girls' to do the commercial. I'll write up the checks when I get there….oh crap what have I done now?", growled Jiraiya as the familiar sound of sirens filled the air.

Glancing up in his rear view mirror, the author cursed as he spotted a black full-sized car with those damnable flashing headlights that signified he was being pulled over by one of the ladies from the S.K.P.F. Pulling over to the side of the road, shifting his transmission into park, and shutting off his engine Jiraiya cursed some more. Telling Asuma he'd call back in ten minutes, Jiraiya hung up the phone. Reaching for his wallet, proof of insurance, and registration the fifty-six year old man waited for the inevitable confrontation with whoever was pulling him over.

Hearing footsteps, Jiraiya turned to face the officer in question only to come face to face with familiar arms crossed over a very familiar bosom. Before he could even speak, the voice that haunted his fantasies was speaking.

"Why hello Jiraiya, long time no see. Why don't you do me a favor and step on out of the car. Or you can do this the easy way and tell me what you're carrying in your trunk.", came the cultured cat-who-ate-the-canary voice of Jiraiya's ex-wife.

Sighing to himself though with a big grin on his face, the former Toad Courier complied with Tsunade's request (or was it an order). He chuckled as he heard his ex-wife's sudden inhalation of breath as he slowly uncoiled his lanky frame from his convertible. Oh he was so gonna enjoy this.

Tsunade ground her teeth together as she saw the smirk on Jiraiya's face. She knew that he'd heard her inhale at his appearance and prepared herself for the charm and teasing she was sure he was gonna drown her in. Placing her hands on her cocked hips, Tsunade waited. She wasn't disappointed when Jiraiya started with the charm.

"Hi honeybear, what did I do to have you and these four lovely ladies pull me over for? If you wanted to see me so bad, all you had to do was call and we could've made it a date.", Jiraiya stated as he used the nickname he knew would melt Tsunade's heart.

Tsunade heard the beloved nickname that in years past woulda had her soaking wet and whimpering with lust and steeled her reaction. She knew that she had to go on the offensive and stop his subtle charming before she became a victim to it in front of her officers. Behind her, Tsunade her Shizune's snicker and promised to pay her back for it later.

"A week of night duty away her boyfriend oughtta be good for her. That should show her that a modicum of respect is due from my number two and put her in her place. I'll feel sorry for Guy the week after. Nah, he deserves it for working for Jiraiya.", thought Tsunade as she looked over her shoulder at the miscreant in question

Returning her attention to the athletically endowed, white-haired man in front of her, Tsunade gave him the standard spiel about why she'd pulled him over and asked for the correct documents. He acquiesced and handed them over to Tsunade who passed them on to the pale-skinned police sergeant standing next to the trunk of his car. Jiraiya noticed that the young lady was blushing a slight shade of red as she walked back to the brown Subaru and climbed in to use the department connected laptop to check his bonafides. Turning his attention back to his ex-wife, Jiraiya glanced at her over the rim of his sunglasses before speaking.

"You know, you interrupted an important call when you pulled me over."

"Yeah, so what if I did Jiraiya, you should know better than to talk on the phone and drive. I've been pacing you for awhile and on three different occasions you exceeded the speed limit so I pulled you over. Besides, the only important calls you get during the day are those pertaining to paternity lawsuits against you."

Jiraiya was taken aback by her boldness at first; then he started to get angry. The last paternity suit brought against him had been dismissed because the woman in question was a known felon convicted of fraud. And that lawsuit had been years ago. Jiraiya was about to retort when he figured out exactly what Tsunade was trying to do. She was trying to get him to go on the defensive and give her probable cause to search his car for contraband (i.e. a copy of one of his books among other things). Fortunately for Jiraiya, he abhorred drugs of any kind and was a major contributor to the numerous anti-drug programs offered in Konoha. Jiraiya was even on a civilian council formed to lecture children on the evils of drugs and drug abuse.

Hell, he'd even co-written a series of books for young adults about the dangers of abusing drugs with the chief of the Konoha Police Department.

Calming himself down, much to Tsunade's frustration (she knew exactly how hot headed he could get when angered), Jiraiya just raised his arms and linked his fingers behind his head while whistling a tune. Seeing the officer from before returning with his documents, Jiraiya waited for the conversation that was sure to start.

"Chief, he's clean. No wants, no warrants.", stated the sergeant with a slight frown.

"Thank you Sergeant Hyuuga. That will be all for now. Why don't you go and wait with Lieutenant Liao for a moment.", replied Tsunade while trying to hide her mental fuming from everyone present.

The sergeant nodded and Tsunade watched her walk back to TenTen's car. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her ex-husband admiring the view and for some odd reason that irked her more than usual. Tapping her foot reflexively to contain her anger, Tsunade turned to Shizune and was about to request she retrieve her pet pig TonTon from her Saab when Jiraiya smoothly cut in.

"Tsunade-hime, I know you pretty well. Heck sometimes, I know you better than you know yourself. I give you permission to search my car. You know you want to. Search to your hearts content but I know that you know that I know that you won't find anything.", commented Jiraiya as he stepped away from his vehicle to facilitate the search he knew was coming.

Tsunade couldn't contain her exasperated curse and motioned for Shizune and Hana to go ahead with the search of the vehicle. Damn that infernal man. She knew he was right and couldn't do anything about it. Jiraiya was smart enough to not keep one of his books in the vehicle that would give her legitimate grounds to arrest his fine ass and tow his car to headquarters for a the more in-depth search.

"Where did that thought come from?", mused Tsunade when she realized what her thoughts about arresting Jiraiya were leading her to.

When Shizune and Hana came up empty during their search, Tsunade nodded and offered them an apologetic smile before letting them leave with Hinata and TenTen following. Turning back to where Jiraiya had been observing the events, she saw that he wasn't looking particularly offended but she could see the hidden anger in his eyes. Grumbling to herself, Tsunade finished writing Jiraiya's ticket and handed it to him as he got ready to climb back into his car. Accepting her pen when he finished signing the ticket, Tsunade made to return the pen to her pocket only to have her exes firm grip on her wrist keep her in place. She let a growl of warning echo quietly in her throat to let him know that he was about to cross a well-defined line but let him have his say.

"You know Tsunade; I could report this harassment to several reporters, your superiors, and my lawyers. Of course you know what would happen then. The media would be all over your precious Pursuit Force trying to get the real story about everything. The Internal Affairs Unit of the Konoha Police Department would start an investigation and my lawyers would demand full access to everything the K.P.D. IA Unit discovered in the course of their investigation. Kami forbid, the faint stench of a police cover-up appears if the demands by my lawyers weren't met. There isn't a judge in all of Konoha who would deny my legal team their request. Oh yeah, isn't Commissioner Chiyo your predecessor here? And isn't she allergic to bad press especially if the press was watching her old unit with hawk's eyes?", murmured Jiraiya as he watched Tsunade blanch and start to turn pale as she realized the implications and ramifications if her ex-husband did what he was intimating.

"Shit, he's got me and the pursuit force in between a hard rock and a very hard place. Commissioner Chiyo would be extremely pissed off if she came back from wherever she was only to run into an Infernal Repairs investigation of the Pursuit Force. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!", fumed Tsunade as she grudgingly gave Jiraiya a nod.

Giving herself a frustrated sigh, Tsunade told her former husband that he was free to go but had to either call the department about his fine or report to traffic court to see if he could get the ticket dismissed. Jiraiya said okay and made a comment about the court date and seeing her in uniform that she let slide. Watching as the one time love of her life started his car and merged into traffic, Tsunade cussed some more and stomped her foot on the ground. As she started walking back to her car, the pursuit queen heard the police radio come to life. Listening to the reports coming in, the fifty-six year old cop let her head drop onto her steering wheel.

Her relaxing day had just been ruined by a chance encounter with the man her newly ignited libido wanted very badly.

Over at Hatake's White Fang Speed Shop, twenty-six year old Shikamaru Nara closed the hood of his smoke grey Mazda MX-5 Miata and wiped his hands on the somewhat clean shop rag he'd pulled out of his back pocket. He'd just finished making some minor adjustments to his engine and changing his sparkplugs. The expert mechanic had also changed his oil and filled his oil reservoir with four to six quarts of Eneos oil. He'd heard a lot from Neji about how well Eneos worked in his Lancer that Shikamaru chose to try it out next time he changed his oil.

Straightening up and looking across the different bays, Shikamaru could see Sasuke working on a customer's Pontiac Solstice. Next to the work bay where the Uchiha toiled sat Sasuke's Chevy Cobalt SS. From what he could see, Sasuke had been preparing to delve into the 2.4 liter supercharged Ecotec engine to chase down a some sort of gremlin he'd had been complaining about for at least a week. The engine diagnostic machine was situated in front of the light blue coupe waiting the time when Sasuke could direct his full attention its way.

Checking the clock, Shikamaru saw that it was time for a smoke break and headed out of the work area over towards an outdoor corner of the large building where Kakashi had set up a couple of wooden picnic tables and several ash trays made of 55 gallon drums cut along the bottom and filled with sand. Pulling out his pack of menthol cigarettes and his personalized Zippo lighter, Shikamaru took a seat next to his not so happy co-worker Neji, who was drawing hard on one of the wine-flavored Black and Mild cigarillos the twenty-seven year old chose to smoke at work instead of one of his cigars.

"Yo Neji what's up? You look as if somebody crapped in your plate at lunch?", Shikamaru asked as he lit his cigarette.

"Very damn funny Nara. Sometimes your puns are as appreciated as Uzumaki at an all-you-an-eat ramen extravaganza.", snapped Neji as he worked furiously on his cigarillo.

Shikamaru leaned back and held his hands up in surrender. Neji was pissed about something and he didn't want to get caught up in it. Before he could apologize, their boss stuck his head around the corner.

"Ah, Neji, Shikamaru; I've been looking for you two. I need one of you to make a quick courier run; either of you interested?"

Shikamaru was about to answer in the negative when an argument broke out in the work area. Whipping his head around, the twenty-six year old saw a sight that had gotten to familiar to his and the others as the week had progressed. Naruto and Sasuke were again arguing about the latter's damage to the formers' lawn and the near destruction of Naruto's flower garden. This argument had been going on all week and hadn't abated. Uzumaki and Uchiha could go on for hours arguing about nothing whenever they got the urge.

Thinking ahead, Shikamaru agreed to make the courier run for Kakashi. Shika did not want to get caught up in the argument this time. He'd had to play mediator between Naruto and Sasuke all week. With the escalating voices of the two antagonists, Shikamaru felt that this argument was gonna get physical.

"Thanks Shikamaru. I greatly appreciate your help. Go ahead and change clothes then meet me in my office and I'll give you the details on the delivery. Now excuse Neji and I so we can get over there and stop the fight that'll inevitably happen without you to mediate. Come on Neji, put out your cigarillo and let's go. After Shikamaru, you're the next best at remaining calm when Sasuke and Naruto get to arguing.", stated Kakashi as he started heading in the direction of the escalating noise that signaled a fight was in the offing.

Two hours later, a clean and casually dressed Shikamaru cruised towards downtown Konoha where the most prestigious nightclub in the city was located. Seeing his destination up ahead, Shikamaru smoothly maneuvered his Miata into the large, expansive, and meticulously kept thousand spot parking garage and pulled up close to the two story club. Parking his car and shutting off his engine, Shikamaru climbed out and brushed his hands down the front of his black khaki pants to smooth the wrinkles created by the drive and waved a hand in the air to dispel the smoke from his cigarette.

Taking a look around, Shikamaru could see that a few trucks were pulled up to the back of the building and were unloading what looked to be several cases of beer, wine, and spirits. Recognizing the name emblazoned on one of the trucks as being from his parent's favorite wine brand, the mechanic/courier chuckled. Shaking his head Shikamaru walked around to the front of the building and headed for the entryway. Spotting a camera crew setting up to shoot something, Shikamaru lowered his head and stepped into the open door. The first thing he saw as he entered the brightly club was an older guy wearing one of the oddest suits Shikamaru had ever seen.

The coat hung down to his calves, the trousers were baggy and had a chain hanging from one of the belt loops and disappearing into the left front pocket. What caught Shikamaru's eye was that instead of a muted color like the suits Shikamaru had, this suit was in an eye-searing bright green that gave the young mechanic an instant headache. The headache was exacerbated when he saw that the guy had topped his suit off with a green felt hat with a floppy brim and a yellow feather sticking out of the hatband.

Averting his eyes from the figure of green garishness, Shikamaru's mouth dropped as he finally took notice that the guy in the bright-colored suit wasn't alone. Standing next to him in skimpy outfits that consisted of sequins, silk, and feathers was a pair of drop dead gorgeous women. From the stiletto heels to the teased hair with feathered tiaras, these women made his date from the weekend look plain. These painted peacocks were beautiful. No, scratch that, they were TRIPLE DAMMED FINE!.

At that moment the guy in the suit turned around and spotted Shikamaru. He grinned and the glint of light off of his perfectly white teeth intensified Shikamaru's headache. Shikamaru started to speak but the statue of perfect masculinity in front of him beat him to the punch.

"Good Afternoon my most youthful friend! I'm sorry to say that the hottest club in Konoha is closed right now! Come back tonight and you'll be able to show your unconquerable Spirit of Youth!", stated Maito Guy as he started to turn back to his conversation with another more conservatively dressed and bearded man.

"Sorry sir. I'm just here to pick up something from somebody called Sarutobi. Asuma Sarutobi. My boss Kakashi Hatake sent me. Would that be you?", asked Shikamaru as he perused the slip of paper with the name of his contact on it.

Guy shook his head and used his thumb (and its perfectly manicured thumbnail) to indicate his bearded discussion partner before turning his billion watt grin on the two giggling 'cigarette girls'. Shikamaru nodded his head and turned to the bearded man and introduced himself.

"I see, so you're one of Kakashi's up and coming couriers. That's interesting. Both me and the green beast here used to be couriers with Kakashi as well.", grinned Asuma around the cigarette protruding from his mouth.

"Oh really?", replied a skeptical Shikamaru.

"Really. I bet you're wondering why we aren't doing courier work anymore. Well it's simple. We found love and decided that to keep the love that we had, it would be best if we got of that life. Same for Kakashi, he got out of the business after flipping his car in front of his girlfriend's house while trying to ditch the S.K.P.F. It doesn't help that his girlfriend as well as my fiancée and Guy's girlfriend are all members of the Pursuit Force under Tsunade. I take it you're single right?"

"Yeah. I don't have time for some troublesome woman busting into my life and trying to change me. I see it all the time with my mom and my dad."

Asuma quirked an eyebrow as he saw the young man pull out a pack of cigarettes (same brand as his own) and extract a smoke and lighting it before putting the pack away.

"Shikamaru…..Nara right? Well go over to the bar and tell the bartender to bring you something to drink on my tab. Guy here is supposed to be doing a commercial and I'm trying to make sure he gets everything done in one take. As soon as I'm finished with him, I'll be right with you and will take you to the boss. He's the one who has the package he wants you to deliver.", Asuma said.

Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgment and turned towards the bar where he asked for a Coke and leaned against the bar to watch the goings on of the club. To his right, a trio of bartenders were sitting at a table with several bottles of liquor and were studying books of old cocktails under the supervision of a senior bartender who had his arms crossed and was watching his charges with gimlet eyes. Shikamaru recognized one of the studious bartenders as an old friend of his roommate. That bowl haircut and those bushy eyebrows were unforgettable. Shikamaru stifled a laugh as Rock Lee asked a question only to be chastised by the older bartender.

Across the room Asuma observed the young man for a minute before making his way in the courier's direction. Timing his arrival just right so that he reached the younger man as he was finishing his drink, Asuma grinned and indicated that Shikamaru should follow him and headed for the one of the flights of stairs heading to the second floor.

Once they reached the second floor Asuma led Shikamaru behind one of the small, intimate bars scattered around the second story dance floor and past the scantily clad female bartender who gave the young man a smoky 'come hither' look of feminine appreciation as she was going over a checklist of the spirits she should have at her station.

Through the door, the pair made their way past several offices and Shikamaru could hear phones ringing, keyboards clacking, and the rest of the administrative staff going about their day. Shika listened as Asuma explained that some of those employees in the office often times doubled as extra bouncers, waitresses, bartenders, or whatever on special nights when the extra help was needed.

"Let me guess: tonight is one of those nights, right?", asked Shikamaru as he followed Asuma down the hallway.

"Yeah, we're doing a theme we haven't done in awhile. A theme based on the era of swing music and big bands. We haven't done it in awhile and our employees are seeing if they can still fit their period costumes; i.e. cigarette girls, mobsters, flappers, gamblers, and the like. Ah here we are. My bosses inner sanctum.", replied Asuma as he stopped in front of a door that would've been nondescript if it wasn't for the large image of a toad smoking a pipe and with one of his webbed feet wrapped around a large shot glass.

Asuma knocked once and a voice bade him to enter. Shikamaru thought he recognized the voice but wasn't sure. Five steps into the office, the two men could see a large desk sitting in front of a pair of tinted windows of one way glass looking down into the main area of the club. Up a small flight of steps to his right was a sitting area with a pair of couches and two comfortable chairs fronting another one of those one-way glass windows looking out onto the second floor area. Further entering the office behind his guide, Shikamaru finally recognized the man standing behind the desk with a phone to his ear. The long, spiky white hair was a dead giveaway.

"Ahh, Shikamaru…Nara right? I remember you from that birthday party for your friend and co-worker Naruto Uzamaki. I see you were able to survive and make it through the week with minimal damage. How're things going with my old courier Kakashi? Everything alright at the shop?", asked Jiraiya as he pulled the phone headset away from his ear.

"Yeah, everything was fine when I left. Kakashi and one of my co-workers were headed over to stop a confrontation between two of the others. Other than that, everything's cool.", replied Shikamaru as he stood in front of Jiraiya's desk.

The author nodded in understanding before finishing his short phone conversation and hanging up on the other party in mid-speech. Settling in to his chair, Jiraiya motioned for Shikamaru to take a seat. The young man eased into one of the seats in front of the massive desk and waited for what the nightclub owner had to say.

For his part, Jiraiya observed the young man for a moment before opening one of his desk drawers and withdrawing a pair of Special VIP Tickets that allowed the bearer to be escorted around security upon their arrival. The tickets also assured that the bearer would receive treatment above and beyond 'First Class'. Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow when he saw what the club owner was holding. He knew that a VIP Pass for Gamakichi's was extremely hard to get. They just couldn't be purchased by anyone. They had to be received directly from the club owner, club manager, or club assistant manager.

Shikamaru also knew that what Jiraiya was holding in his hand was several levels above a regular VIP Pass. A Special VIP Pass for the most popular club in Konoha could only be given out by Jiraiya himself. And Jiraiya rarely gave them out. The young mechanic shuddered as realized what type of cargo he would be carrying. If word got out that two-much less one-of the extremely rare Gamakichi's Special VIP passes were soon to be circulating, everybody and their momma would try and get those passes. Jiraiya saw the subtle reaction by the courier and approved. This guy knew what he would be transporting. Getting down to business, Jiraiya told Shikamaru where he wanted the passes delivered.

"Do you know where the K.P.D. Special Kunoichi Pursuit Force Headquarters is located?", asked Jiraiya.

"Vaguely, I usually try and stay below their notice. Those women can be….troublesome.", replied Shikamaru as he reached into his pocket for his cigarette pack.

"I know what you mean, women can be that way. But that's why we love 'em! Putting all that aside, I need you to deliver these passes to the head of the S.K.P.F., Tsunade Senju. And when I mean deliver, I want you to personally place the envelope in her hand. Once that envelope is securely in Chief Tsunade's hands, your job is finished. I'll pay you an even thousand dollars for this delivery. How does that sound?"

When he heard what his fee for a simple delivery was going to be, Shikamaru came very close to choking on his cigarette smoke. A thousand bucks, tax-free just for delivering an envelope; he couldn't beat that. As he started to imagine what he could do with the extra cash, Shikamaru suddenly remembered the destination for his delivery.

"Ah shit, if I remember correctly, the S.K.P.F. comes down quite hard on couriers whether or not their load is legit or not. What makes you think that I'm going to be treated differently?"

Jiraiya smothered a laugh before replying.

"I have a feeling that if you are confronted, you'll find a way to talk yourself out of it. To me you seem quite intelligent."

Shikamaru sighed in resignation. He had half a mind to refuse to make the delivery but knew that if he did, then somebody else would make that thousand bucks and Kakashi would be slightly annoyed. Shrugging his shoulders, Shikamaru rose from his seat.

"Okay, I'll make the delivery. There is one condition though. If those women give me a ticket, will you pay my fine?"

"Of course I'll pay your fine if they give you a ticket. Why would I not help one of Kakashi's employees and burgeoning couriers since you're making the delivery for me! Thanks for doing this favor. Why don't you head on downstairs and get another drink. I'll have Asuma bring the envelope down to you after I write Tsunade a quick message inviting her here for tonight's 'Return of Swing' bash. Asuma will have your fee when he gives you the envelope. That way, once you've made the delivery, you can head back to Kakashi's shop and finish working. How does that sound?"

"It works for me. I'll make sure Chief Tsunade gets this package.", stated Shikamaru as he extended a hand in Jiraiya's direction.

Jiraiya took the proffered hand and gave it a shake to seal the deal. Once that was done, he watched as the twenty-six year old driver exited his office with his hands in his pocket. When the young man had cleared the door, Jiraiya faced his club manager and asked him what he thought.

"I think he'll do a good job. I know his old man Shikaku Nara quite well. Like his son, the elder Nara thinks a lot of things are 'troublesome'. Hell, it seems that both of them would rather be watching the clouds than doing anything strenuous. Shikamaru also shows the same kind of intelligence as his father though he may be quite a bit smarter. When the time comes, he'll make a good courier. Although, later on, if we do have him make a run, I'd like to have Bean Bandit follow him to see how well he does.", commented Asuma as he leaned against the edge of Jiraiya's desk.

"Hmm, I agree. If the Roadbuster wasn't busy delivering that load, I'd have him follow Nara right now to get his report. However, since he's not making a book delivery run, the report wouldn't show how good this kid actually is. Asuma can you call Kakashi and see if he's free this evening? If so, tell him that I need to see him here to night to discuss a few things. The courier Olympics are coming up within a few months and I want to pass on some information from some of my other courier connections.", stated Jiraiya as he swung his chair around to gaze out the one way window down into his club.

"Okay, I'll get right on contacting Kakashi. Now let me go ahead and get the package to our young courier. I think Guy and Lee are starting to give him headaches. I'll talk to you later boss."

Jiraiya grunted as his club manager and former courier picked up the envelope holding his message to his ex-wife and the Special VIP Passes enclosed within and headed out of the office. Seconds later, Jiraiya watched as Asuma made his way across the dance floor to the bar where the courier was seconds away from reaching for a steel scouring pad to scour the image of Might Guy and Rock Lee shouting about the 'Power of Youth' and embracing each other in a man-hug with the image of a setting sun behind them.

"Hrmmm, the light projector must be broken again. Let me leave Asuma a note asking him to get the maintenance guy in here to fix it again. I wonder why when the projector breaks; it always gets stuck on that sunset illusion. ", mused the former courier as he returned to his chair and set out to finish his paperwork.

Jiraiya had a hair appointment with his barber/hairstylist at 5:15. He wanted to look his best tonight just in case Tsunade did show.

But then again, Jiraiya looked his best every night.

It was a slow day so far in the Pursuit Squad One lounge area for Pursuit Lieutenant Temari no Sabaku. As she stretched out on the couch after finishing up some paperwork about the pursuit she'd had participated in earlier. In Temari's hands was the latest issue of her favorite car magazine she'd purchased from a local newsstand when she saw that they were going to do a feature on a modified Honda S2000.

'Hmm, I wonder if the owner has made the same modifications to their S2K that I have made to mine?", wondered Temari as her mind to her pride and joy, a light brown Honda S2000 with a supercharged K20 engine that she'd had punched out to 2.2 liters.

With its six speed manual, cryo-treated transmission and its short-shifter, Temari's little two-seater was often one of the fastest off the line; trailing TenTen's STI and Ino's Audi Quattro by a hair. She didn't mind, a car with a good AWD system would smoke every other car from the line in a standing start if the driver was good enough to not cause the engine to bog down.

Opening the magazine to the article she wanted to read, Temari was interrupted when Sergeants Yamanaka and Haruno returned from lunch. As usual the two were arguing about something or another. Knowing that if she hung around while Ino and Sakura argued there was a 95% chance that either one or both of them would try to drag her in to the discussion on their side. Temari hated that with a passion. She'd already chewed the two younger officers out once before about doing that and for awhile everything had been fine. Grumbling to herself Temari got up from the couch and departed the lounge in her search where she can read her magazine in peace and quiet.

"Can't go to my desk, TenTen is there working on a report and I don't want to disturb her. Hana's down in the garage working on her M5 and Kurenai's GTO. Dunno where Shizune is at the moment. She may be out on patrol. Hinata might by working on her own report but I' m not sure. Dammit where can I go to read this article? Ahh, I know where I can go!", thought Temari as she changed direction and headed to the front of headquarters where the reception area was.

Temari remembered that behind the receptionists' desk there was a small kitchenette type area with a chair, a table, and a small refrigerator where she could hang out for a bit and read her article in relative peace. After punching her passcode into the electronic lock securing the area, Temari strolled in to the receptionist's office and headed for her intended destination after giving the other woman a nod of acknowledgment. Settling down in the comfortable chair, Temari reopened her magazine and started to read.

Ten minutes later Temari lifted her head up from another article she'd started to read after finishing the other article as she heard the receptionist explaining to a visitor that had arrived during Temari's engrossment that no visitors were allowed unless they were on official business.

"Look officer, I'm not a visitor. I'm just a courier dropping a package off for Chief Tsunade. All I want to do is what I was hired to do and get out of here so I can go back to work.", Temari heard the visitor grumble.

Thinking that now would be a good time to make her appearance; the twenty-seven year old pursuit lieutenant stepped from around the corner and made her way to the window.

"This gentleman giving you a problem?", Temari asked the other officer.

"Ah Lieutenant Sabaku, I did not know you were there. In answer to your question, there's no problem. This gentleman says he is a courier with a package for Chief Tsunade. However, he won't hand the package over to me and insists that he has to deliver the package in person. I've informed him several times that visitors are, regardless of whether they're couriers or not, forbidden from entering the secure areas of headquarters. Lieutenant, if you could assist me I would greatly appreciate it ma'am.", replied the receptionist.

Temari sighed in resignation. Instead of finishing her magazine, she was going to have to deal with this little situation. Turning to the young man in question, Temari allowed herself to observe him for a moment before she spoke. She lifted a questioning eyebrow when she saw the unusual haircut the young man had.

"I'm Lieutenant Temari no Sabaku of the Special Kunoichi Pursuit Forces' Pursuit Squad One. As my fellow officer has informed you, no visitors are allowed beyond this point. If you have a package to deliver to Chief Senju, I would be more than happy to sign for the package and take it up to the chief myself.", stated Temari politely.

"Che, not another troublesome woman, dammit what the hell did I do to deserve this? Oh yeah, a thousand dollar payment for a simple delivery. I should've know that I was going to run into guff when he told me where I was to deliver this.", grumbled the man as Temari stood there.

Hearing his insulting words, Temari felt her temper starting to ignite. She and the rest of the women in the force worked their asses off to get here! Where in the hell did this man get off insulting her and her pursuit sisters? Temari could see the other officer's fingers flexing like she wanted to grab her baton, take the man out back, and administer a proper tune-up on this asshole before slapping the cuffs on the guy and hauling his dumbass off to jail. She couldn't blame the other woman; she wanted to do the same. Reigning in her rage, Temari again offered to take the package up to the boss. The man interrupted her.

"Look lady, if I could hand this package over to you and wipe my hands clean of it, I would. I already have enough woman problems in my life with my mother nagging me to get married and give her some grandchildren. I'm not about to borrow more trouble. However, my client was very clear when he told me to deliver this package directly to Chief Tsunade. Now, as I see it, we can do this one of three ways: 1) one of you escort me up to where your boss is so I can deliver this and get out of your way, 2) You have this chief of yours come down here and I give her this package, or 3) I walk out of here without delivering the package and my client's package doesn't get delivered. I don't know about the two of you but I'd rather go with either option 1 or option 2. Especially, lieutenant, since your fellow officer is aching to pull her baton out for no reason.", griped the man with his hands in his pockets.

Temari looked up in subtle amazement. This annoying young man had figured out the receptionist's aggravated actions even though her movements were concealed by the desk?

"I'll have to reevaluate my opinion of this man. He is not one to trifle with.", thought Temari as she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her chin in her hand.

After taking a few seconds to decide, Temari told the receptionist to log the guy in on her say so. She'd take responsibility for the annoyance as she escorted him up to deliver his package. Stepping out of the secure receptionist area and making sure the door latched behind her and reengaged the lock; Temari had the officer buzz the guy through the foyer and into the headquarters area proper. Once the courier was inside, Temari had the man follow her down the hallway.

Slowing her usually brisk pace to allow time for the receptionist to alert the Squad One members that one of their own was escorting a male to their offices. This gave the other members of Squad One a chance to secure their files in their desks and black out their computer monitors so that the visitor wouldn't see confidential information. Within minutes, Temari was again entering her Squad One passcode into another lock. When it clicked, she stepped back and allowed the visitor to enter the area first.

Shikamaru Nara sighed in frustration as his escort stepped back to let him precede her into the room. Why did these troublesome women have such high security? It was not as if he'd want to know what they were investigating. He wasn't a snitch and felt insulted that they believed he would spill any secrets he found out. This blatant distrust inflamed his ire and Shikamaru told himself that he would charge the old pervert extra for having him go through all this aggravation. That was his thoughts until he stepped further into the room and saw the woman standing in the middle of the room tapping a foot in an angry manner that reminded him of when his mother was angry.

"Damn, he was right! She does have an impressive bust!", thought Shikamaru as he barely kept his jaw from hitting the floor.

Tsunade was not happy about the interruption caused by the young courier in front of her. She'd been in her office working on a report for a case she was overseeing for Pursuit Squad Four when she'd received the call about the visitor from the front desk. Seeing that his attention was directed at her chest, Tsunade cleared her throat.

"I would prefer it if you directed your attention to my face instead of my chest.", stated Pursuit Queen icily.

She mentally groaned as the young courier stuttered a short apology before stating his reason for being there and interrupting her peaceful Friday.

Ah, here I go again posting another incomplete chapter to one of my stories. I deeply apologize for not having this chapter complete before posting it for your reading enjoyment. It's been quite awhile since I've been able to spare any attention to 'Konoha Transporters' From the looks of it, I may have to cut it in half as this chapter is getting longer by the minute when I take it out o work on and end up staring at the screen for hours on end.

For those of ou who have been waiting patiently for this story to be updated, here it is, the partial reward for your patience. For the fans of 'Promises in Snow and Ice', do not fear, I am still working on that story when I can. Alas, I won't post an incomplete chapter of 'Promises' so please wait a bit longer.

I do hope this update temporarily quenches your thirst in your pursuit of wanting to know more about the lives of the Transporters of Konoha! Enjoy.

Knighewolfe

Knightewolfe's Den

12-17-2011