Assassins Glory

Chapter 4: All in the name of Glory

Silence is an awkward sound, you hear everything but nothing. You hear not sound but what others think, what they feel, all in the silence of perception. This was the hardest thing for Sasuke to learn when he took over the Uchiha enterprise; he had to learn on his own too, to read people even when they say nothing, when they show nothing. Just like this girl who stands before him with such a serious and resigned expression. But a resignation of despair, more like one of understanding. She knew what she had taken on when she had agreed to kill him. It was the same no matter the target, not matter the situation. You always risked and tempted death.

'Kind of like life everyday,' Sasuke thought as he gazed into the emerald eyes of his would be killer, 'you risk dying every time you wake up in the morning, every time you step out your front door.' And yet.

Sakura blinked slowly. She awaited his answer; depending on the time he gave she could compose herself to some degree of emotionless to control the screaming agony within her soul. She did not want to die. And if she did, she would rather it be in a fight than in hopeless execution. Maybe it was self denial tempting her hopes to rise but she thought she could see mild amusement in the Uchihas' eyes, that and serious thought. Like the man in front of her she too could read a situation, she could read an atmosphere. He was deliberating her fate in those cold and calculating eyes. No, not cold, calculating definitely but not cold, endless maybe. For some unknown reason she would want to be killed by anyone but this man, she did not want her blood to stain his hands, curse him like she wished on her killer before.

"Sakura-san," he finally spoke. The pinkette tensed slightly, "I am not going to order the death of you or your friend." He told her his voice calm and soothing.

"Then you are a fool," Sakura replied, voice bland and blunt.

"Maybe," he nodded only slightly agreeing with her, "But I am a business man my dear and you are to valuable to waist." Sakura narrowed her eyes at him then.

"Jerk." That startled a laugh out of him.

"I never said I was a gentleman," he told her his amusement shining clearly in his eyes now.

"I never claimed you were either," Sakura snipped. Again he laughed a short laugh. Before they settled into the earlier silence, but it was different this time. This time Sakura was analysing and Sasuke was watching.

"I don't understand you," Sakura muttered and turned away.

"Pardon?" Sasuke frowned.

"Please leave." She asked, Sasukes' frown deepened but her obeyed standing he watched her look out the window for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something, anything. But nothing came so he closed him mouth then his eyes and left the room with a slight shake of his head. That woman was really something.

---

"Did you get anything?" Sasuke had just closed the door when he heard his partners question.

"Not much," he told Neji, walking pass him and continuing down the hall. The Hyuuga nodded and followed.

"Same."

"I gotta say though. She's really something." Neji looked at his friend from the corner of his eyes.

"You sound like you're half in love with her already Uchiha." Sasuke glared at him.

"I'm serious. She went on a short tangent and then asked me point blank when we were going to kill them." Sasuke retorted, "When I told her we weren't she had the nerve to call me a fool." Neji snorted.

"Yeah her partner is a piece of work too. Asked me the same thing… throwing a vase at my head while she was at it too." This time Sasuke chuckled.

"I have a feeling we'll have are hand full with these two," he muttered "But what and Uchiha wants…"

"An Uchiha gets." Neji finished looking slightly grim.

X~X~X

"Little prick, who does he think he is damn it!" Tenten muttered to herself darkly as she paced the width and length of her room. "Really join them! What are they nuts? For fucks sake we were sent to kill them!"

A hesitant knock on her door roused her from her cyclone of insults she was hurling at her unknowing captor.

"What?" she snapped glaring at the door as it opened to reveal a timid looking girl with long dark purple hair. Her ryes where white making Tenten think she was blind for a moment before she remembered where she had seen them before.

"You related to the Hyuuga guy?" She asked before the poor girl could pen her mouth. The girls eyes widened and she nodded hastily.

"Y-yes miss," she stuttered blushing slightly as she looked down. Tenten raised and eyebrow at the subservient attitude.

"Man do I feel sorry for you." She said out loud looking the other way and out the window. A stifled giggle brought her attention immediately back to the girl. She had a hand raised to her mouth to hide a small smile and her eyes were closed.

"Neji-mii-san isn't bad," The girl told her in a small shy voice.

"He's your brother?" Tenten inquired. The girl shook her head.

"No just a cousin, but we grew up together." She replied, "He really isn't bad he just doesn't know how to talk to anyone but soldiers." Tenten was silent as she observed the girl.

"What's your name?" she asked at last.

"Hinata, Hyuuga Hinata miss."

"The heiress?" Tenten was slightly shocked. Hinata blushed and looked away. "No friggen way! What's' an heiress like you doing with this bunch? Besides one of them being your cousin I mean."

"My family was threatened about a year ago. They sent me to live here within the safety of my cousins' protection." Hinata replied.

"Okay Hinata," Tenten strode over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to look her in the startled eyes. "I like you, so I won't kill ya. I'll listen to what you jerk of a cousin and that damned Uchiha has to say." Tenten told her with a smile.

"Well that's just lovely," Hinata answered with a smile of her own, "That's why I'm here to bring you down to the board room. Sasuke-sama and Neji-nii-san want to talk to you and your friend."

"Have you talked to her?" Tenten asked eagerly. Hinata shook her head.

"I haven't but Ino-san was sent to get her."

"Ino? Sound like a name of someone who likes to talk." Hinata remained silent.

"Crap, I just hope Sakura has a lot of patience today."

X~X~X

A knock sounded on the grey office door. An elder man covered with scares on his left side looked up from his paper work.

"Enter," he growled. Watching as Hatake Kakashi entered his domain.

"Sir," Kakashi began, "We have lost contact with C.K's" the man at the desk placed down his pen and looked pensively out the window scowling into his scared reflection. They still ached him when exposed to the elements so he tended to cover them up with bandages.

"How long ago was contact lost?" the man asked.

"Well Danzo-sama. We lost them at time about 01:00 sir."

"They were compromised by the enemy then." He growled. Kakashi looked lazily at his superior.

"We don't know that sir. For all we know they ran out on the lam on us."

"All the more reason." Danzo barked swivelling to look at the silver haired man.

"Reason for what sir." Kakshi asked coolly, inside he was nervous, something wasn't right.

"We can't let the world know that the I.B.I. has their hand in deals with assassins! Let alone the entire Government. It could undermine all we have achived."

"You can't mean…" Kakashi whispered. Danzo was silent and he looked down allowing his gaze to be shadowed.

"Send out a request." Danzo ordered. Kakashi stood stunned in the office door.

"But sir who can we? Those two were the best in the business! We can't-"

"Bloody Desert." Danzo inturuppted.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi asked.

"Send the request to Bloody Desert. We've worked with him in the past. He'll get it done and he knows to be discreet on who hired him." Still Danzo looked down.

"Yes sir." Kakshi said with a low voice. He turned and left the office to leave Danzo alone at his desk.

"No one must know." The old man whispered to himself, "No one must know…"

---

Kakashi sat at his desk with his head in his hands. This is all wrong! He looked up at his key board and quickly typed in his password. A screen was projected from the device on his desk as he looked through the record referring to 'Bloody Desert'. Not much was to be found only crimes that he was suspected for but with little evidence against him. No doubt the Bureaus work. But one little tidbit caught his eyes and made him smile.

He typed Danzos request into the ' link and smiled when he added a little something at the end. With that sent and finished he stood up and closed his door before taking off his jacket. Feeling the lining he felt for a rectangular object. Finding it he reached behind him and slipped a small folding knife from his waist band. Opening it he brought it to the silk lining of his jacket and made a cut along the hem line, out fell a cell phone into his waiting hand. It wasn't the cell hone he was required to use given to him by the I.B.I. but this one only had one number programmed into it. Kakashi sat at his desk and faced the window that looked over the city sky tops as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Yes?" came a cool voice from the other end.

"He did it," Kakashi told the other man, "Just like you predicted he would."

"Good, good. Who did he send for?"

"Bloody Desert."

"Well that is excellent isn't it?"

"You will be alright with this?" Kakashi asked keeping an eye on his co-workers on the other side of his office door via reflection.

"Of course. We've had Bloody Desert on our side for a long time now."

"What if he sends someone else?" Kakashi inquired. He frowned Genma was rising from his desk with paperwork. Most likely for him to sign. Damn.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about anyone else." Yes he was right; Genma was heading towards his office.

"You have that much security?"

"It's nothing you have to worry about." Said the voice. Genma was getting closer.

"He's getting desperate." Kakashi warned.

"I know."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"…so do I"

Genma knocked on his superior's door before opening without waiting for a reply. "You need to sign this Kakashi." He looked up and found Kakashi busily typing up a report for something or other.

"Hmm? Oh Genma yes put those down here I'll get to them as soon as I can."

"Hai Kakashi." As Genma turned and left Kakashi closed the hidden phone as softly as he could before slipping it into his pocket to be returned to its hiding place later.

'I hope you know what you're doing.'

X~X~X

"No way! Gaara?!" Naruto yelped looking at Sasuke who sat at his place at the long mahogany table while snapping close his cell phone. "You serious?" Neji chuckled from his seat beside Naruto and across from Sasuke.

"It's just our luck that Danzo picked him of all people." Neji said with a wry smile on his face. Sasuke nodded.

"I just got word from Scarecrow." He said, "And he heard it from the big man himself. Was ordered to send in the hit request."

"You think Danzo would give up since Tenten and Sakura failed to kill you guys." Shikamaru drawled from his place against the far wall.

"That would be so if the hit were for us." Sasuke said indicating Neji and he.

"It's not?" Naruto asked temporarily drawn out of his mental celebration. Sasuke shook his head.

"Enter," he replied to a soft knock on the conference room door. Hinatas' face appeared in the open door.

"Miss Tenten, Sasuke-san, Neji-nii-san."

"Hiya Hinata-chan!" Naruto called. Hinata blushed and nodded her head in Naruto's direction before stepping into the room to allow Tenten to enter. The brunette walked in with her eyes looking every which way out of habit.

"Yo," she greeted still looking around. Neji narrowed his eyes at her lack of respect and Sasuke raised a brow. "Nice place, does the museum know that you have half its inventory?" Naruto grinned. But before he could say anything he was interrupted by another yet louder knock on the door.

Before Sasuke could say enter a blond and blue eyed woman with an agitated expression on her face burst in.

"I brought her," she said stoutly with anger clearly in her voice.

"Ino what's the matter?" Shikamaru asked. Ino spun to glare at him.

"Nothing much just that that pink haired girl can't seem to know when not to interrupt me! I mean she practically-"

"TENNIE!" a pink and black blur shot across the room and landed on Tentens' back, who of which didn't even flinch when she was suddenly the pack mule of another girl. The brunette sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Sup Sakura." She said. Sakura placed her head on Tenten's shoulder with a small pout.

"Tenten I want chocolate." Sakura muttered.

"Just like that!" Ino pointed at Sakura whom Tenten had just dumped onto the floor.

"Oh zip it blondie," Sakura told her with a smile, "You just don't know when to shut up that's all. Seriously I tried to ask you if I could have any chocolate like a billion times but you just don't listen."

"Damn forehead girl."

"Stupid pig."

…

"I like her," they both said pointing to one another at the same time. Naruto just stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open. Neji had his eyes closed and Shikamaru had fallen asleep. Sasuke was trying not to laugh.

"Is she always like this?" Neji asked his friend. Sasuke nodded knowing that Neji had referred to Sakura. "I see."

When they had all settled down and sat in their chosen seats Sasuke stood from his chair and clicked the lights off in the room. At the same time a screen behind him came down and a holographic image came onto the screen. It was an identification card showing a red head with menacing green eyes and the kanji for Love tattooed on his head.

"This is the latest C.K. hired by the government. His code name is 'Bloody Desert' his real name is Gaara. He's an associate of ours so there's no threat from him." Sasuke began. "We have just received word from our mole within the I.B.I. that the head of the department has ordered a kill on sight order to Gaara."

"So you have an assassin on you tail with orders to kill you on sight, and he's a friend of yours? How do you get out of this one?" Sakura asked.

"The hit isn't for us Sakura." Sasuke told her, "The I.B.I. believes that Tenten and you have been compromised. The hit if for you."

Tenten and Sakura looked at one another. They weren't too surprised, maybe a little ticked, alright very pissed off, but not surprised.

"Son of a bitch," Tenten murmured, "See Sak? I told you we shouldn't have taken the job."

"Shut up Tenten." Sakura muttered darkly.

"But it's true," Tenten said loudly propping her head on her hand, "We have been compromised. So where do we meet this guy?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"As Tenten said, we have been compromised, you guys caught us we should be dead already. That's the rules of the game," Sakura said leaning back in her chair, "You kill you win, you get caught you die. That's just the way it is. Tenten and I already knew this, and so does he. If he doesn't kill us the ext hit will be for him so since we've already lost all our rep anyways…might as well." Sakura said turning to her friend.

"Yeah, true. Damn." Tenten sighed. Narutos mouth hung open once more.

"Wait a minute" Ino cut in, "So you guys actually want to die?!" Sakura let out a peal of laughter. One that sent shivers up everyone's but a select few spines.

"Of course not stupid!" She giggled, "But it's not like we have any options."

"Uh huh so just tell us where to meet him and we'll end this." Tenten stood up and stretched. Looking down at Sakura she nudged her chair. "Oi I'm hungry wanna go eat our last meal?"

"Ooooh I wonder if they have Oden?" Sakura pondered before following her friend out of the room. A shocked silence fell over the people who were left behind in the room after the girls left.

"Are they serious?" Ino asked turning to her leaders. Neji closed his eyes seemingly thinking and Sasuke frowned at the door after the two had just left. "They really don't mind dying?"

"To the educated mind, Death is but an adventure. The next step in life." Shikamaru told her.

"That doesn't answer my question lazy ass." Ino retorted.

"I don't think it's as if they don't mind dying," Hinata said quietly from her chair. Everyone turned their attention to the heiress. "It's more like they accept it."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Could you elaborate for the idiot Hinata?" Sasuke asked, sitting back in his chair.

"Oi!" Naruto growled.

"What I mean is, I think they really don't want to die. At least not just yet, however with this news that they have a hit on them, and the code they seem to have, has severely cut short their options." Hinata looked sadly at each one of them, "They don't have a choice but to die."

End of Chapter

NG: Gaaaah! I'm so sorry that I took so long to update this. I got a block about half way through and had to struggle everyday to get this much out even though it's so short!

SO! What will Sakura and Tenten do now faced with certain death? What does Sasuke have going on in his genius mind? And when will Gaara show?