Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

My Favorite Mistake	By : riddlestar Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1218 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Beta'd by the amazing Hanyou_elf

Chapter 15:

Naruto crouched in the darkness, hidden by a large couch. He was in the room next to Misakagawa's, his ears pressed against the wall in an effort to hear some more. It was now obvious that there was more than one person inside and he couldn't believe how unlucky he was. He could just imagine Sasuke telling him, "I told you so."

He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, just the baritones of the two men inside. Misakagawa, he guessed, was the angry low rumble. The other, much younger voice was an octave higher .It seemed like they were having an argument or maybe, Naruto mused, listening closely, a lover's tiff.

He gave up trying to understand what was being said and instead rested his back against the wall, legs folded underneath him. Oh well, at least there was only one more person in the room. He hadn't been able to see who this mystery person was because he had been hiding in here since time he entered the house, but considering that this extra person came very soon after himself, he was a hundred percent sure that Sasuke had seen him.

It was already past half an hour since Naruto had left the alley, so Sasuke should be outside on the ledge under Misakagawa's window right now. The teme and him really needed to discuss the change in plans; the same rules didn't apply any more. He hoped Sasuke understood that.

Naruto sighed softly, glancing at the tightly shut window of the room he was in. To go where Sasuke was, he would have no other option but to break the glass since the windows were screwed shut. No jutsu would be possible because Misakagawa was too close by. Naruto had even checked the other windows of the rooms that opened to the ledge outside and all of them were locked shut. His only other option was to leave the main building and go around the back...

Shit, for a supposedly easy mission, this was not going smoothly at all. Neji could have helped a lot right now, he thought. A third person would have made this much easier. He frowned, trying to ignore the stab of worry at the thought of his captain. Where the hell was he?

"Hey, Naruto."

Naruto acted on reflex, his kunai slashing the air where the voice had come from. He stopped the attack half way, the blade of his kunai dimpling the delicate skin of a throat. A very pale throat.

"Teme," he whispered, surprised and angry at the same time. Figured the bastard would disobey his orders...

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Sasuke bristled, whispering back. Even in the dark, Naruto could tell the other ninja was pleased that he had been able to sneak up on him. Pay back for the time in the alley, he gathered.

"I thought I told you to stay where you were."

"Those orders don't count any more," Sasuke said, nudging Naruto so there was enough space for the both of them behind the couch. Naruto shifted backwards, smothering the spark of excitement when he felt Sasuke so close. There were more important things for them to do now.

"Bastard. You should have waited for me."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, the one syllable was enough to tell Naruto that he disagreed with him. Naruto was tempted to lecture the teme about the benefits of listening to authority during a mission, which was him in this case, but he remained silent. They didn't have time to get into any petty arguments.

"We need to find a way to get that other person out of the room," Naruto began.

"I know who it is," Sasuke said softly, a small puff of breath tickling Naruto's nose as he spoke. "It's that whore, Yahiko, from the Hotel."

They had moved closer automatically but Naruto would have preferred if Sasuke kept some sort of distance. He also noticed that the teme had taken up most of the space, leaving him in a very cramped, uncomfortable position. Only when he kicked Sasuke in the shin did some leg room free up. Why did he love this selfish asshole again?

"Misakagawa's regular?"

"Hn."

Damn, Naruto thought. The only reason he had bothered with so much more time and energy was to save this kid from any risk and now events had conspired to bring the kid here. He waited for the expected 'we should have done things my way' comment from the man beside him, but he was surprised when Sasuke said nothing.

"Obviously they don't only have a professional relationship," Naruto observed, almost bemused that their mission had turned out so complicated. Sasuke didn't offer any opinion so they both lapsed into silence, listening to the quiet that had enveloped the other room. Only soft murmurs and low laughter drifted to them now, signaling that the argument was over .

Naruto didn't need to guess what they were doing. He tried not to reflect about it too much. The less he thought of their target as a normal human, the easier this would be. Even if he was a ninja, murdering people was not something he was a big fan of. So he continued to speak, trying to distract himself, "Should we wait and see if the kid leaves?"

He felt, rather than saw Sasuke shake his head. "No."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, understanding his partner's hurry." You think that Misakagawa knows we're here.."

"It's a possibility," Sasuke said slowly.

He had a point, Naruto had to admit. For one, why did this kid turn up exactly at this time? Could it be only a coincidence? Or had he been summoned by their target to make their job more difficult? But what worried Naruto the most was Neji's disappearance. Could he have been captured? Found out? Hurt? The questions in his mind made his anxiety sharpen to the point that it was painful.

"If this is a trap, don't you think Misakagawa would have asked for some back up?"

"He seems like a very confident man," Sasuke offered by way of explanation.

"Yeah, the house is pretty conspicuous…" Naruto chuckled, the conversation calming him. Even if Neji was hurt, he would get him back safely. After all, no one hurt his precious people.

"Not only that, he seems to know the locals well," Sasuke said slowly, "They're definitely on his pay roll and he only uses his disguises for the hotel."

"It's the place he's the most vulnerable," Naruto muttered to himself, shifting again. His knees bumped into Sasuke's as he did so and he relished the casual touch. It felt nice to sit so close to him and not be consumed by the overwhelming loss of self control he felt before. 'Course, he felt like jumping Sasuke even now, but the desire was not bubbling to the surface all the time.

He felt like it had settled deeper inside him, stronger than before, anchoring him and soothing him. Even if Sasuke was giving him the worse case of blue balls in history; these entire two weeks he hadn't felt the need to have sex with anyone else. Not even those hot women he saw go in and out of Kama Hotel... Did the fact that he was learning to control his heat mean he was getting closer to his goal?

"We need to go in now," Sasuke was saying, "We can't afford to wait any longer."

"So what d'you suggest we do?" Naruto asked, even if a plan was already forming in his mind. He still wanted to know what the teme thought, he sometimes did have good ideas.

"We should enter together, once those two are asleep."

Naruto nodded, not surprised that Sasuke was thinking along the same lines as him.

"But you come in from the window teme, I'll enter from the bedroom door."

Sasuke nodded his head his once, his hair making a small swish as he did so. The sound made Naruto grin and he was thankful that the teme hadn't noticed his expression.

"I'll try and get Yahiko away, he knows who I am so he'll be less frightened of me."

"All right, you get the kid away, I'll take care of Misakagawa."

"Hn."

Naruto knew it must be killing Sasuke to not be the one to get rid of their target, but this was the best chance they had. If Yahiko got spooked, it would ruin everything.

"Misakagawa may not let him go so easily," Naruto said, wincing when the silence in the other room was punctuated by a loud moan .

Naruto felt a little embarrassed as well as guilty that he was eavesdropping on a couple having sex. It was disconcerting to be forced to think of Misakagawa as something more than an just Akatsuki member that needed to be assassinated. In their line of work it was best to look at their targets as only that - targets. Not a living breathing person who had sex, not someone who they could relate to-

"We have no other choice," Sasuke interrupted his mulling coldly, "Negotiating is not an option. "

" I know that," Naruto said, annoyed that the teme had seen through him.

"We wait till they are asleep," Sasuke continued, his voice taking on the authoritative tone he used when he thought Naruto was being unreasonable.

Naruto didn't see why it was necessary, "I'm not arguing with you teme."

"Hn."

Kicking Sasuke's foot none too gently for the aggravating response, he said, "Bastard. You better get that kid out of there or else this whole plan is going to go to hell."

"We don't really have much of a plan..." Sasuke commented casually. He seemed amused , not worried.

"That's because there are only two of us. Shit! where the hell is Neji? D'you think he's hurt?"

"Maybe he went back to Konoha."

"Don't be an idiot," Naruto snapped, realising only a moment later that that was usually the raven's line. It almost made him smile.

"I'm just saying that no, I don't think he's hurt," Sasuke clarified, talking carefully, like he would to a irrational child.

"Then where the hell did he go?" Naruto's rash of anger worsened at the patronising tone.

"Misakagawa did turn up rather suddenly... Maybe Hyuuga's at his apartment right now."

Naruto didn't offer another alternative. He badly wanted to believe Sasuke, but it was obvious that even he didn't have much confidence in what he was saying.

Both men didn't speak for a while and Naruto concentrated on his breathing, trying to push any worry he had to the back of his mind. The moans and murmurs had stopped some time ago, the stillness allowing him to hear even Sasuke's steady breaths near him. He needed to be perfectly focused for the next few minutes, to gather his resources for what was to come. Killing was not in his nature, even if he was a ninja. If it was Neji who had come instead of Sasuke, his captain would have insisted on completing this part of the task.

He knew Sasuke wouldn't really mind either, but the teme had a point when he said that knowing Yahiko could make it easier to lure him away from his lover. At least he hoped it would be so.

"I should go," Sasuke muttered, so low that Naruto almost missed it.

"Yeah. How long will it take for you to reach the target?"

"Two minutes."

"Then we enter five minutes from now."

"Hn."

He felt, rather than saw Sasuke leave; the molecules of warmth that were trapped between their bodies dissipated as the raven left. It felt like he had left a vacuum in the space he had been, pulling the left over heat to it and leaving Naruto feeling cold.

He stood up after a few minutes, being extra careful not to knock down any furniture and adjusted his mask. Seventy-five more seconds to go...

Sasuke stood outside the half open window, his eyes closed. There were no sounds coming from inside the room, just silence. It was an unnerving kind of quiet, again making him worry whether this was a trap.

He was a little uncomfortable that he wasn't going to be covering his face for this mission. Identity was everything for an ANBU ninja, but he had understood a long time ago that the village would never let him become an official ANBU member. They may allow him to complete an occasional mission, like this one, but his name would never join the ranks of his brother, or Naruto. He still felt bitter about this, however he was lucky that he never held much respect for official positions in the first place.

He was initially going to use a black cloth to cover his face, but Yahiko would never come quietly if faced with someone who looked like a thief. He rolled his shoulders to massage out the kinks, getting himself ready to enter. He glanced at his wrist watch.

Five seconds... four… three… two… one…

He slithered through the window, the lush carpet sighing as he landed. He couldn't sense Naruto but he knew he was there, hiding somewhere. He had to admit he was impressed by the dobe's concealment skill. He could remember the times when Naruto's chakra could be felt a mile away.

Sasuke made his way to the bed, spotting two figures covered in blankets. He padded towards the smaller figure, stopping beside what he assumed to be Yahiko. No one on the mattress moved and Sasuke was thankful. It wasn't going to so be easy in another few seconds. He inched closer, his fingers curling around Yahiko's arm as gently as possible. He wanted to knock the young boy out; but he couldn't reach his neck the way he was curled around the blankets. Oh well, at least he wasn't clinging to Misakagawa.

Sasuke glanced at their target, his form still and breathing steadily. Good. His tightened his grip over the thin arm and swiftly wrenched the light form away from the bed.

He knew something was wrong the moment Yahiko twisted in his grip, his arm slashing towards him. Sasuke jerked his head back, dodging the deadly looking knife in the boy's hand. He didn't let go of the arm, instead he crushed it with as much force as he could. Yahiko let out a harsh cry of pain and dropped the knife but still jerked and squirmed with the force of a fish forced out of water.

"The target ran into the bathroom!" Naruto called out to him, and Sasuke nodded as the blond disappeared through a door, confident that he would take care of it.

"Let me go you filthy piece of shit!"

Sasuke looked down at the scowling boy, frowning.

"Shut up," he said, manoeuvring the smaller body around and slicing his palm over the back of Yahiko's neck. The violent struggling didn't let him land an optimal blow but he figured that it was enough for the teenager. His captive went limp and Sasuke dropped him to the ground, worried that he couldn't hear Naruto.

He activated his Sharingan and switched on the lights, making sure to tie up Yahiko securely before dropping him on to the bed. He glanced at the boy with his Sharingan for a moment, studying his chakra just to double check. It didn't seem like anyone else but Yahiko, so he ignored the unease he felt and followed Naruto.

Sasuke peered into the bathroom, which almost as large as the bedroom, searching for Naruto. He didn't have to wait long before he heard a shout. He spotted Naruto running towards him with a limp Misakagawa thrown over his shoulder, pirate style.

It was the second sign something was wrong. Naruto did not treat dead bodies so casually, never mind if they were Akatsuki.

"It's not him!" Naruto bellowed. Sasuke didn't need to see his face to know that he was both furious and frustrated. A moment later the heavy body was tossed at him and Sasuke caught it with an oof!

"What're you doing dobe?" he snapped as Naruto ran past him back into the room.

"Fuck!" Naruto cursed.

Slowed down by the bulk of the body in his arms, Sasuke took a second longer to reach the bedroom, and he suddenly felt very much like cursing himself. There on the bed, where Yahiko should have been, were just a few loose ropes and a rumpled bed sheet.

What had happened suddenly struck him. The bastard had switched places with his lover! He couldn't believe they had been tricked so easily. He glanced at Naruto who was already crouched on the windowsill, his eyes flashing a dangerous red.

"You couldn't sense him, could you?" Naruto asked him.

Sasuke shook his head. So the rumours that not even Itachi had been able to tell Misakagawa apart in the crowd had been true... impossible.

"He couldn't have gotten far," Naruto said, his voice rough, like gravel. His chakra, furious and red, simmered under skin, enveloping him in an almost glow. The sight sent a slight shiver through Sasuke but he forced himself to shake it off, annoyed with his reaction.

Naruto shot off towards the ground and Sasuke moved to search the house. His Sharingan helped him move faster, but it wasn't the Byaakugan. He cursed Hyuuga for disappearing. This wouldn't have happened if there had been three of them. Luckily, Naruto's Kyuubi senses were good enough for tracking.

Sasuke hoped that he would be able to follow Misakagawa. Though their target could look like anyone right now; and going by how easily he had escaped the binds, it was probably a child. Lips thinning, Sasuke made his way through the house, moving as silently as possible, his Sharingan spinning as he searched corners.

Five minutes later, Sasuke was convinced that Misakagawa, even if he had run through the house, was now probably outside. A smart man would never corner himself within an enclosed space when dealing with people stronger than you. Sasuke exited through the main door, stopping when he spotted the butler cowering behind a pillar. His Sharingan didn't find anything suspicious about the man, just the same non-ninja chakra as Yahiko, but he couldn't trust that any more. He strode over to the butler, grabbing him by the collar.

"Let me go, you thief!" the man cried, petrified.

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped, grabbing the man's chin and forcing him to look at him.

He would have to use the Tsukiyomi to check. He was not going to make the same mistake twice. The illusion he showed the helpless butler was terrifying. So terrifying that he even felt a twinge of regret doing it. However it was only when people were scared to death, literally, that they released any jutsu they held. In Misakagawa's case, it was the chakra disguise. By the end of it, as the butler screamed and pleaded to be let go, Sasuke was a hundred percent it wasn't him.

He dropped the unconscious man on the floor, barely giving him a second glance. He frowned. How the hell were they going to find the target if they had to do this to every person they passed?

Sasuke jogged onto the grounds, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Their little mission had probably failed. Misakagawa could be anyone and anywhere. Without Hyuuga, they were going to have to call for backup, but the target would be far gone by then. He searched the grounds anyway, in a last ditch attempt to save the situation. However there was no sign of Naruto or the target. Great, so now the dobe had disappeared too, leaving the surroundings eerily empty and dark.

Feeling heavy with disappointment and anger, Sasuke made his way to their earlier meeting place, the alley. If Naruto hadn't had any luck with finding their target, then the best bet was to regroup and try again. Sasuke leapt the gates in one swoop, his shoes sinking in the wet mud as he landed. He looked around in the darkness, his eyes hoping for any kind of movement. The buildings and small shanties blocked his view so he decided to survey the area from the top. The altitude would give him a better view and the little bit of moon light would allow him to see much better. He decided against the Sharingan. It would be too easy for Misakagawa to sense him if was hiding nearby.

He let out a hiss of irritation when even the broadened view of three floors up didn't give him any kind of respite. The lamps on either side of the road illuminated just three feet around them, leaving the rest of the area in even more blackness.

It was only when he peered over the building which made up the wall of his destination alley that he spotted some movement. He could feel Naruto's familiar chakra but what worried him was that he could hear not one, but two voices. For a moment he hoped that it was Neji, but his instinct said otherwise.

As two people left the safety of the alley and walked onto the road, Sasuke watched, hidden, as Naruto threw a friendly arm over the second person's shoulder. Like it was the most natural thing to do.

Sasuke blinked to make sure he was seeing right. What the fuck was going on here?

The dobe was now whispering something in the other man's ear and laughing. In a rather disturbingly intimate gesture. Why the hell was the dobe so fucking happy? They had just failed their mission , hadn't they? Sasuke's fist clenched. Something wasn't right.

The second person's back was to him, but it was obviously someone the dobe knew . He was touching the other person with an easy familiarity that made Sasuke's stomach tighten in response. It was an alien emotion and he had to wrestle with himself to not to use the Sharingan. The dobe may be friendly but left physical contact only for his closest friends. The two figures suddenly passed under the lamp light and Sasuke squinted, desperate to know what exactly was going on.

What he saw drained the blood from his face.

And then flush.

In fury.

Naruto was walking... with someone that looked exactly like Sasuke.

With someone who even had the same hair. And as the lamp light revealed more of them, he saw his look-a-like had a dead weight slung over his shoulder. He didn't need his Sharingan to see that the body looked suspiciously like Misakagawa. And then his double did something unthinkable. He slipped his free hand around Naruto's waist, the one that wasn't holding the body, and pulled him closer. Much too close.

Sasuke felt a particular pain rip through him, a pungent mix of jealousy and hurt, when Naruto didn't pull away. He was so angry he didn't even register that he had admitted to being jealous. He just wanted to shout and yell at the dobe's stupidity. Couldn't he see that it wasn't him? That wasn't him, damnit! Naruto you moron!

Why wasn't the dobe attacking Misakagawa? Why was he letting him touch him? Sasuke would never do something like that in public, he would never - he would -

Shit!

He was overreacting...

And he needed to calm down. Okay, deep breaths, Uchiha. There has to be some rational explanation for this.

Sasuke unclenched his fists, forcing himself to listen to his voice of reason, letting it control his wild heart beat. He could not get carried away by emotion. He was on a mission and there was no place for feelings in such a situation.

At all.

He flexed his fingers, trying to release some of the tension in them, before berating himself for his momentary loss of control. It was disgraceful to give in to his weakness in a time like this. Promising to make up for it, Sasuke focused on following the two men, thanking his instincts that had made him shut off his Sharingan. If that look-a-like was Misakagawa, and Sasuke was a hundred percent sure he was, he would have spotted him the moment he had activated it.

He followed the pair from above, running over all the possible executable plans. His evil twin was much too close to Naruto for him to throw a kunai at without his Sharingan, so this was going to have to be close range. It was weird, Sasuke thought, to see Naruto with himself; almost like an out of body experience. He had to admit that they formed a formidable pair together. Any average person would be intimidated if they saw the two of them like that, hip to hip, shoulders grazing as they walked. Sasuke frowned...

Did they actually look good together?

He shook away the distraction as Naruto lead the way through the deserted streets, still a little disconcerted. He wondered whether the dobe actually thought that that was him. So far Misakagawa hadn't done anything suspicious enough. Sure, he had put his arm around the dobe's waist, something Sasuke would rather die than do in public... But he had been acting rather erratically these last few weeks… what if Naruto fell for it? Could he want Sasuke that badly?

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening further when he saw Naruto say something to Misakagawa. Sasuke saw his fake self nodding in a very odd, cooperative way before he seized Naruto's hand and entwined his fingers with the blond's. Sasuke froze for a whole second, fighting the instant angry sneer. Before it melted into a very smug smirk.

There was no way Naruto thought that was Sasuke after that.

No way in hell.

Holding hands? Who was Misakagawa kidding? Sasuke Uchiha did not hold hands. He may fuck, punch, bite, even kiss... but he did not hold hands. And Naruto Uzumaki knew that better than anyone.

Annoyed that he was being acted out so poorly -did he really come across as such a fag?- Sasuke leapt to the ground, the soft mud helping him land quietly. He was going to do this quickly and as painlessly as possible... at least try to. He didn't appreciate Akatsuki trash going around pretending to be him, and well... touching things that didn't belong to them.

Naruto sighed, feeling the abnormally cold fingers curling around his . If he shut his eyes really, really tight, and wished really, really hard, he could actually believe, for a sliver of a second, that this was Sasuke. And that he wasn't on a mission but on a vacation, a honeymoon, preferably. Yeah, near some hot springs, where it would be calm and quiet, just him and the teme...

But… but

Life was never that kind.

Even if he did somehow convince the bastard to be with him somewhat permanently, not even a drunk Sasuke would willingly concede to holding his hand. In public. Especially in public. Never mind that it was dead of night.

Naruto felt a bit guilty actually, for realising that it was Misakagawa a little late. When he had shot off towards the grounds, allowing the Kyuubi's senses to track Misakagawa, he had honestly believed that he might have let their target get away. However he had overestimated the target's fleeing capabilities. It was only a minute into his search that he had sensed another person hiding in the alley he and Sasuke had used before.

Chakra manipulation took a whole lot of chakra consumption and practice, especially near perfect copies, which were Misakagawa's specialty. Most of them couldn't fight to save their lives. They were even worse than medic ninja's.

Naruto assumed he must have been uncomfortably close to where Misakagawa was hiding. He must have given the ex-Akatsuki quite a scare, because it was him that came to Naruto, and not the other way around. It was logical on Misakagawa's part to decide to fight his enemy on terms that he was comfortable with. Their target's confidence in his ability worked against him on this day though, Naruto mulled.

He had become suspicious when the first thing 'Sasuke' had done was to smile at him. It felt so out of place that Naruto had stared in wonder trying to define exactly what was so wrong about the smile his partner had been giving him. But he had ignored his gut feeling, too relieved that they had finally caught Misakagawa. He did not like Sasuke beating him at things and finding their target before him, but he hated failing missions even more.

He was ashamed to admit that the moment he had believed the mission to be over, his first thought had been to finally getting Sasuke into bed again, without the mission spoiling the mood. He was even more ashamed to admit that he had forgotten about Neji... only for a minute, but he still felt terrible for being so selfish. He promised himself that he would make it up to their captain.

It was a little embarrassing that Misakagawa had picked up on his attraction to Sasuke in such little time, but he supposed it was a good thing. It was only because of his failed understanding of the situation that Naruto had become aware that the man beside him wasn't Sasuke. Yes a little late, but it wasn't like he was a chakra expert or anything.

When he had wondered about Neji aloud, the man beside him hadn't said anything but suddenly pulled him closer. Naruto had been shocked but also a little pleased. It was too hard to not try and believe that maybe Sasuke was trying to make him feel better. It was a few seconds before his brain had caught up with the fact that Sasuke didn't do those things. At least twice in one day.

To test his theory he had spoken more about Neji and then he had moved in for the kill. He had asked 'Sasuke' to hold his hand. And while the next few seconds had been played out in various romantic scenarios in his head, Naruto could honestly say he wasn't as disgusted with himself as he was now, willingly holding the hand of a murderer. Never mind that he looked like Sasuke.

The only reason he hadn't taken out his kunai and slit their target's throat was because he wanted to get information about their captain.. He had a feeling that Misakagawa knew where he was. The man was a little too confident about their situation to not know something.

He glanced at 'Sasuke' and was again, a little creeped out by the smile on his face. Man, no wonder the teme didn't smile that often... it was pretty comical to look at his friend's features when they were like that. He didn't know whether to laugh or stare in fascination when that perfect face turned to him in a gentle smile. A bubble of laughter scratched the back of his throat, threatening to swallow his self control. Okay, so there was something that doesn't suit the bastard...

Naruto grunted to cover his chortle, wait till Sakura-chan heard about this!

"What's the matter?" came a concerned voice.

"Ah, nothing. I'm just glad that it's over," Naruto smiled easily.

"Ah, of course. I was lucky to find him with my Sharingan."

Naruto nodded, amazed at this guy's brazen belief that he was actually going to get away with this. The moment they got out of the city limits, Naruto would attack. Open spaces gave him much more of a leverage and less people for their target to merge with.

He glanced at the body on Misakagawa's shoulder and wondered who it really was. He had no idea about chakra recognition, so for all he knew it may not even be a real person. He frowned, he hoped that Misakagawa hadn't killed anyone to get his hands on a body. But who was he kidding? Anyone who was willing to risk their lover's life to save his own hide was pathetic. Naruto couldn't believe he had actually contemplated showing mercy to this guy.

"Oh, good we've reached it," Naruto muttered under his breath as soon as they jumped the village gates.

"Reached whe-"

Naruto didn't give him time to finish the sentence. Even before their feet landed on the ground, he twisted and elbowed Misakagawa in the face. The man reeled backwards, losing his balance in a very un-Sasuke-like way. The body he was holding bounced on the wet earth and fell a few feet away.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, blinking to get used to the sight of a Sasuke who had fallen on his ass. However it was the mix of intense fear and hate currently on his face that threw him the most. Damn. The Uchiha would kill Misakagawa for just daring to form that expression.

Misakagawa inched backwards, scuttling away from Naruto on his hands and heels.

"I haven't killed you for only one reason," Naruto said slowly, advancing on his prey. "Where is Neji?"

The man, still in Sasuke's form sneered at him. Not the ones that Naruto was so used to, but a scared hateful sneer, like a non-repentant convict condemned to a life sentence.

"Why should I tell you?" he spat.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you," Naruto snarled.

"You're going to do that anyway!" Misakagawa shouted. He was slowly turning back to his own form and Naruto clenched his fists in an effort to not punch the fucking smirk off that bastard's face. If he had hurt Neji he would -

"I may have already gotten rid of him ages ago."

"Why you rotten-" Naruto lunged for him. If Misakagawa didn't tell him, he would just make him tell him. No way was anything happening to his friends on his watch.

But before his fist could make contact, he felt fingers curling around his shirt and jerk him backwards.

"This isn't the way dobe."

Naruto shoved the raven backwards, furious that he had stopped him.

"What do you know, asshole?"

Sasuke frowned at the insult but didn't retaliate. Instead his eyes flicked from Misakagawa, who was sprawled on the wet grass wiping blood from his chin, to Naruto.

"We need to stay calm here..." he whispered.

Naruto knew he was right, and that made him angrier. Maybe it was easy for the emotionless Uchiha to pretend like Neji was fine, but it wasn't for him. If he had to beat the information out of Misakagawa, then he would.

"After all," Sasuke said loudly, stepping around Naruto and tilting his head at the man on the ground, "He might not even have Neji, right?"

Naruto was silent, cracking his knuckles in an effort to calm himself. Sasuke was looking at him expectantly and Naruto recognized the look in the cool black eyes. The calculating glint in his eyes usually meant he had a plan up his sleeve.

"Right..."

"Neji did say he would be late. Maybe he got new orders," Sasuke said casually.

" Yeah..." Naruto was starting to understand what the teme was trying to do. "There is no way that this guy-" he threw Misakagawa one of his own sneers, "-could get Neji."

"Should we kill him now or let the village researchers do it?" Sasuke asked, turning away from the man on the ground.

Naruto shrugged, "Dunno. Hokaga-sama did give us a choice. I say get over with it now."

"If you kill me you'll never know where he is!" Misakagawa shouted, fear raising the volume of his voice.

"Should I do it or will you?" Sasuke smirked, ignoring the outburst.

"I'm warning you!"

"You do it," Naruto said, studying his nails. "I don't want to waste my energy on him."

"I'm telling you, If you kill me, you'll never get your friend back!"

Sasuke suddenly turned to their victim, a ghost of a smile on his face, "Give us some proof that he's alive and then maybe we'll change our minds."

Naruto watched Misakagawa's face as he visibly swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing as his eyes flitted from the ground to Sasuke's face.

"D'you mean that?" Misakagawa asked, looking at Naruto and not Sasuke for confirmation.

Naruto pretended to think, playing the 'bad ninja' here was a little ironic. "I guess I could not kill you now, if you tell me."

Sasuke threw him a warning glare, "What the captain means is that we could work something out with our village."

Misakagawa looked doubtful but Naruto hoped they had scared him enough to take the bait.

"I don't believe you."

"Fine," Naruto said, nodding to Sasuke.

The teme responded with a very dutiful 'hai' and produced a kunai, twirling it around in his fingers as he approached the man on the ground.

"You would risk the life of your friend?" The man was sounded suspicious and scared at the same time.

"We're ninja," Naruto replied, giving Misakagawa a cold smile. "You were one too, right? Don't you remember? The success of a mission is more vital than individuals." He was getting a little nervous that their target still hadn't cracked. Shit, he really didn't want to kill this guy without any information about Neji. But it was a game of chicken in the end. And Sasuke and Naruto were the best at it.

"All right!" Misakagawa cried, "Stop! Stop!"

Sasuke paused, his kunai an inch away from the exposed throat. "So you'll tell us where he is?"

"Only if you spare me and promise me leniency in your village."

Naruto wanted to roll his eyes in his head. Leniency in the village? Like that was going to happen. These kinds of things weren't up to them. Misakagawa probably knew that but it was human nature to clutch at straws when desperate.

"Fine. I promise we won't kill you here, " Sasuke said smoothly.

"I'll tell you where he is only once we reach the village," said Misakagawa, defiant in his small victory.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "So you can escape? No thanks, but I'd rather end it now."

"If I have no guarantee, why should I tell you anything?"

"Because if you don't," Naruto said, letting Kyuubi's chakra envelope him slightly. "I will rip you apart limb for limb."

Misakagawa widened his eyes. From the terror in them, Naruto guessed that he knew who the red chakra belonged to. Huh, so maybe the Kyuubi was useful from time to time.

"Naruto here has some influence in the village," Sasuke said, "He could help you with a reduced sentence."

Naruto didn't miss the way Sasuke purposely avoided his eyes when he said that. He'd thought that the bastard was grateful that he had gotten him only a few months in the jail cell, but apparently he resented him for that too. Bastard.

"I need some sort of guarantee.."

"You don't have any," Naruto snapped.

"The only guarantee you have is that you will live until we reach the village," Sasuke said softly, the kunai disappearing from his hand.

Misakagawa stared at the ground for a whole moment. Naruto didn't know whether he actually believed them, but it didn't matter. The only thing he had to believe was that they had no qualms about killing him without information about Neji. Trying to bargain for more time was the only choice he had. And he would only get time if he gave them Neji.

He started to get up and both ninja tensed, however Misakagawa just reached for the body double and muttered something under his breath.

The moment the body started to change into the figure of a very familiar long-haired man, Naruto understood what had happened. Misakagawa had captured Neji, but he was too smart to kill him on the spot. An ANBU ninja could be a pretty decent hostage, so when Naruto had followed him he had first gone straight to pick up Neji and then morphed into Sasuke. It was a pretty good plan, unfortunately for him, he had messed with the wrong two ninja.

Naruto immediately grabbed Neji and kneeled over him, checking for a pulse.

"He's alive." he said to Sasuke, a few feet away.

Sasuke nodded, eyes flicking to Misakagawa. The large man was watching everything with trepidation, almost like he knew what was going to happen next. Both Sasuke and Naruto knew that they had lied and both men knew that they couldn't take Misakagawa to Konoha. They were here on an assassination, not a negotiation.

So Naruto looked away, the pin prick of guilt washed away by the overwhelming relief of seeing Neji safe and sound. He pushed the bangs away from his captains face, preferring to watch the peaceful expression on the man's face rather than what Sasuke was doing.

It took only a second, a twirl and slash of a kunai before their job was finished.

"I still have to get my sword before we leave," Sasuke said softly, wiping the kunai blade with a small black cloth.

Naruto nodded, "Burn any other evidence and meet me back here."

"And the body?"

Naruto closed his eyes, sighing. He didn't want to see the dead man on the ground. He didn't want to think about how they had tricked him, lied to him and then murdered him.

"Leave it. Tanaka-san said she wanted everyone to see."

Sasuke blinked owlishly at him, like he knew exactly what Naruto was thinking.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked.

"Yes," Naruto said, trying to sound as emotionless as possible. "We're ninja, right?" Unfortunately he ended up sounding unsure, even to himself.

Sasuke's expression crinkled into a tiny frown. "Right."

Naruto only relaxed when Sasuke teleported away to get his things, eyes automatically straying to Misakagawa's body. He couldn't help but feel sympathy, not for the dead Akatsuki, but for the poor child they had left back in the house. He had probably trusted this man, loved him, and in return he had been stabbed in the back .

It was ultimately for the boy, Yahiko, that Naruto heaved the body out of plain sight. No one wanted to see their dead loved one paraded on the streets, even if he was a wanted murderer. A quick jutsu later and the man was buried in a make shift grave, his robe covering the small mound. He knew he was disregarding Tanaka's and his own orders, but at least this way the boy Yahiko would be spared any more pain.

Grunting, Naruto turned around, surprised to see Sasuke standing quietly a few feet behind him; watching the tiny burial place with his face covered in shadow.

"How long have you been standing there?" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke moved his shoulders in a fraction of a shrug, looking away, "You'll never know."

"I hope you know that staring while someone digs a grave is considered creepy behaviour, teme," Naruto muttered, walking to where Neji was laying.

"Shut up, moron," Sasuke had already started moving towards the forest.

"Asshole, wait up!" Naruto struggled to hoist the larger Neji on his back, made more difficult by the fact that Sasuke wasn't helping.

"Move quicker then, dead last."

"Hey! I don't see you carrying an unconscious ninja on your back, bastard!"

"Hn."

Naruto detected the smirk in his friend's voice and sighed. The raven seemed unperturbed by what had just happened. Like slashing someone's throat was the most normal thing to do in the world. He shook his head slightly, knowing that his best friend wasn't as emotionless as he claimed to be. He understood exactly why Sasuke had preferred to go and collect his things alone after he had killed Misakagawa. Naruto only wished he could pretend as well as he did.

A/N : Damn you plot! Why do you always get in the way of NarutoSasuke lurving? Hmph. Unfortunately none of them wanted to get down and durrty after just killing someone. XD

*****

A/N : Damn you plot! Why do you always get in the way of NarutoSasuke lurving? Hmph. Unfortunately none of them wanted to get down and durrty after just killing someone. XD
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My Favorite Mistake