Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Deception - COMPLETE	By : kizukatana Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 11937 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and make no money on anything I write

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Warning: Hard Yaoi (Boy x Boy) Dream sex, language, angst, Kabuto being Kabuto, etc. Not appropriate for young readers. 18+
Author's note - So just a quick note to say that updates might come a little more slowly. I had a death in my family and a few other crises happened and I find myself some nights not really able to write. Some nights I can't STOP writing, though, so it's not like I'm going on hiatus, just... a little more emotionally all over the place right now. Real life sometimes totally blows. That is why writing fanfiction is so seductive. I have complete control to make it all come out the way I want. Because I obviously have no control over my real life these days. *sighs* Ok, pity party is over. I put some smut in here just because I needed to be cheered up. Skip it if you want to. LOL
-xXx-
Naruto and Gaara breezed through customs in Paris with their diplomatic passports, having arrived on the pre-cleared plane courtesy of Jiraya and his porn. No one searched their bags full of cash, weapons, maps and fake identities. "Nathan Ukutski and Gerard Sabetski" went unremarked. They boarded the metro in Charles de Gaulle Airport and got off near Cite Internationale University. Neither spoke French particularly well, but they didn't plan on talking much. They didn't draw attention to themselves by looking at maps or gawking about like tourists. They had memorized the city map and subway lines on the plane over, and were able to navigate the narrow, cobbled streets like natives, blending in seamlessly with the student population there.
Naruto checked them into a cheap hotel, paying in cash, noticing the sly look the woman behind the counter gave them. He gave her a wink.
If she only knew.
They would stay at this hotel for no more than two days before switching locations. Their plan was to change hotels every four days after that, to reduce the chances of being found. Luckily, the summer had been cool, allowing them to wear hooded sweatshirts without seeming too out of place.
Gaara stored some of the fake IDs in the coffee maker. One gun went deep under the mattress (where a cleaning lady wouldn't discover it while making the bed) and the other taped behind the tank of the toilet with duct tape. He pulled out the bed and cut a hole in the drywall behind the headboard, and stored the rest of the weapons and the money there. Then he placed the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, which would remain there for their entire stay and hopefully prevent any housekeeping staff from entering their room until they checked out.
Naruto scoped the halls and stairway for cameras, and whether there was access to the roof. He walked around and took note of the faces of the security guard and the two housekeepers that the place seemed to employ. Once they had at least three escape routes identified, he went back to the room where Gaara had already pulled the curtains closed. Gaara opened the small booklet where he had been detailing out every piece of information he had gathered on his father and the security behind which he had concealed himself over the past five years. Anything older than two years was marked with an asterisk as unreliable.
"Remember, Kakashi said he wants us to meet with a contact from the CIA in one week by the left elevator at the base of the Eiffel Tower between noon and 1pm," Gaara said.
Naruto sighed. "Ugh. CIA. I hate those fuckers. They're worse than cops. Even worse than the Feds. There is no way we can trust this guy. Kakashi better be right that it's worth the risk." They both had had brushes with CIA agents in the past, and knew that there was always an angle that you weren't aware of when you got into bed with them. But Kakashi must have a reason for arranging it.
"Agreed," Gaara said. "Which is why only one of us should go, in case this is some sort of set-up. You need to stay here and -"
"No" Naruto's voice brooked no argument. "No way, Gaara. If anyone is going to get set up on something about your crazy dad, it's you. For all we know, the CIA is going to trade your missing ass for access to oil in your dad's desert or information on what the government is doing. I'm a totally worthless pawn in this deal. They wouldn't bother trapping me. You, on the other hand, would be quite valuable. Which is why you are going to be the one to sit this meet out."
Gaara glared at Naruto, but Naruto just blew him a kiss. "I love you, too. But you know I'm right on this. Save your glares for when I screw up."
Gaara absently took out the small knife he had strapped to his ankle and threw it into the wall. "I hate waiting. Why do we need to talk to Kakashi's stupid contact anyway? Like you said, we won't be able to trust a single thing he says."
Naruto nodded. "True. But Kakashi said the guy had satellite photos of your dad's compound that were less than a week old. We can see the facility, and get a better sense of what we're going up against. If they are close range and infrared we can see how many guards he has and how they're deployed. It's too good a chance to pass up. Plus, we're not going to tell this guy anything. I can promise to lie to absolutely every question he asks, down to the color of the sky. They already know we're in Paris, what we look like, and where we're going. There is nothing more they are going to learn."
Gaara nodded slowly. "Can you tell a fake satellite photo from a real one?"
Naruto grinned. "Nope. You?"
Gaara shook his head. "I've never even seen one before."
Naruto shrugged. "We knew how this was going to play out Gaara. We just have to bounce on the devil and ride it out. But we're both experienced killers with fairly large mental defects. On the scary scale, we rate pretty well, too."
Gaara's lips twitched up. "Only you would try to make this sound fun."
Naruto's smile hardened, reminding Gaara of just how dangerous his friend really was. "Helping you kill your bastard father is going to be fun. In a way, I want to kill him more than I want Tobi. I mean... Tobi's just psycho. It didn't start out personal. The only reason he took an interest in me is because I didn't die that night. But your father..." Naruto's voice took on an edge. "Your father has to be literally the worst fucking human being on earth. I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost get hard at the thought of gutting him, I want it so bad. Speaking of which..." Naruto said, his voice snapping back to almost cheerful as he drew out a thin metal wire that was held on each end by wooden pegs. He toyed with the deadly garrote as he looked at Gaara thoughtfully. "Have you thought about how you want to do it once we finally get to him? I'm guessing gunshot wound to the head would be far too quick."
Gaara drew a deep breath through his nose, slowly releasing it. "Yes. No guns." Gaara had thought about how he would kill his father for years. Fantasized would probably be a more accurate term.
"Do you want me to do it? Whatever he did, he's still your father. You don't have to be the one who -"
"No," Gaara's voice was hard and cold as ice. "I will be the last face my father sees. I want him to know that I am the one ending his life. I want him to see how much he underestimated me when he sold me off at seven years old to be raped to death. And I want him to suffer long enough to truly regret not killing me quickly when he had the chance."
Naruto looked at Gaara for a moment, then nodded. "Then he's all yours. I'll just make sure you have enough time with him to... resolve your issues. But in the end, if you can't do it, just give me a nod. I will not lose one wink of sleep by taking his life."
Truth be told, Naruto had never lost sleep from the people he had killed. They had all been either trying to kill him or one of Nagato's crew. He had never killed anyone that could remotely be considered 'innocent'. He was good at what he did, which meant no one ever got caught in the cross-fire of his kills. He killed the people he meant to, and that was that.
Gaara nodded. "Ok. But I don't expect it to be an issue. I have three years' worth of memories of the hell that bastard sold me into before you helped me to escape. Not to mention the fact he would slit my throat in a heartbeat if he had the opportunity."
Gaara looked at his watch. "Let's sleep. Tomorrow we need to scope out where our next hotel will be, and make contingency plans for the CIA meet in case it blows up in your face. And we need to find a public library. Kakashi wanted us to contact him via e-mail after the meet to check in."
"Sounds good," Naruto said, heading to the small bathroom to wash off from the journey.
-xXx-
Naruto was fast. Sasuke could hear the blond's feet pounding as he raced along the dark pavement ahead of him. But Sasuke was faster. They ran through the narrow streets of the shrouded, anonymous city, the streetlights doing little to lift the heavy darkness that surrounded them. Sasuke felt like a panther stalking his prey as he saw the blond turn the corner into what Sasuke somehow knew would prove to be a dead-end. He slowed his pace, knowing he had won. He would savor his victory, like any good predator would.
Naruto turned, his eyes already hooded with lust. "You caught me," he said huskily. The blond's hands slowly drifted to the base of his shirt, tan fingers toying with the hem. Sasuke's cock grew heavy between his legs in anticipation.
"Take it off," Sasuke said, his voice cold and threatening.
Naruto smirked, and slowly peeled off his shirt and threw it aside. Sasuke felt the ache in his groin intensify. The chase had only wet his appetite. His mouth was dry as he saw the way the muscles across Naruto's torso drew taut as the blond stretched his arms provocatively over his head.
"You should know better than to run from me, Naruto," Sasuke said, his thighs feeling lean and powerful after the chase, the blood pumping into his erection, pulsing with the rapid beating of his heart from the exertion of sprinting through the streets after his quarry. Finally running him to ground here in this dark alley. He would not let his lover escape again.
Naruto grinned at him cockily. "Maybe I just wanted you to work for it. Show me how much you want it, S'uke. Prove to me that you can really handle me."
Sasuke felt invincible as he moved with a speed he didn't know he had to slam Naruto into the brick wall, the brick abrading the tan cheekbone and the palms of the tan hands. "Ahn, yes, Sasuke!"
Sasuke slid his hands over the hard contours of Naruto's back, feeling the muscles clench beneath his fingertips as he pressed the blond even harder into the wall of the narrow alleyway pushing his erection against the hard curve of Naruto's ass. He pulled down the blond's jeans just as he opened the fly of his own. Naruto instinctively arched back.
"I'm not going to prep you. Consider it your punishment for running away," Sasuke felt his throat constrict as he breathed in the achingly familiar scent of his missing lover. He had been terrified he'd never find the blond, never feel this way again. Sasuke's whole body was shaking with the need to consume Naruto, to fuse their bodies together so the blond would never be able to disappear again.
"Naruto," Sasuke breathed out, licking the side of the tan throat, reveling in the shiver it elicited.
Unable to wait any longer, Sasuke positioned himself and drove in hard, feeling the unbelievable heat and virility of Naruto's body surrounding him. Naruto pushed back, bringing him even deeper. "Oh, god, Sasuke!" Naruto gritted out.
Sasuke's fingers bit into tan hips, leaving bruises. The mindless need to claim Naruto and prove his worth had Sasuke snapping his hips forward hard and fast with bruising force, focused only on wiping out any thought of anything else from his lover's mind.
'You are mine, Naruto. I'm never letting you leave again," Sasuke said, biting down hard on Naruto's shoulder and breaking the skin.
"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed his name as he came, the sound of Naruto's voice ripping a release from Sasuke with such violence that he heard his own voice screaming Naruto's name as well.
Sasuke gasped as his eyes flew open, the sounds of their names echoing off the alley wall suddenly vanishing as the silence of his empty bedroom greeted him. He let his head fall back on his silk pillow-case, his body drenched in sweat and lying in soiled sheets. He needed a shower.
Karin was coming by today to discuss his series of campaign events for the next three weeks.
There was a brief knock on his door, then it opened as Itachi walked in.
"Are you ok, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, taking in the flushed and sweat soaked state of his brother. "I thought I heard you call out -"
"I'm fine," Sasuke snapped out. "Could I have some privacy, please? Karin will be here in an hour, and I need to shower and get dressed."
Itachi sighed. "We could go and talk to Kakashi, Or Sakura. There is a good chance that one or both of them know where he is."
Sasuke glared at him. "We've discussed this. If he wanted me to know where he was, he would have told me. Since he didn't, I can only assume that he realized our little... 'fling' was not going to go much further and has moved on with his life. As have I."
"It's only been a week, Sasuke. That's hardly time to 'move on with life'."
"It is for me," Sasuke lied. "Now may I please have some privacy? Just because Shisui lets you see him naked doesn't mean all of your relatives will."
Itachi raised a brow, but wasn't surprised that Sasuke had figured it out. He and Shisui had been discrete, meeting mostly at Itachi's place, but Sasuke was no fool. At least, not usually.
. . .
Itachi closed Sasuke's door behind him as he turned to find Shisui standing in the living room.
"How is he doing?"
Itachi shrugged. "He's fighting it. It hurt his pride that Naruto didn't tell him where he was going, or ask him for help."
Shisui sighed. Uchiha pride was not their most endearing trait. But it ran hard and deep, a core part of who they were.
Itachi eyed him for a moment. "So when are you going to tell me what you know about Naruto?"
Shisui blinked, then slowly smiled. "No one could ever read people like you can, Itachi. Sometimes I think you can look directly into people's minds with those eyes of yours."
Itachi simply waited, suppressing the snaking arousal that Sishui's smile had triggered. They both enjoyed the game of resistance. But Itachi wanted an answer. Shisui shrugged, then began, "Naruto's friend, the redhead from the courthouse -"
"Gaara."
"Yes. He came into the coffee shop you had told me to wait in when I escorted you there."
Itachi raised a brow. "And?"
"He recognized me. At least, he recognized the resemblance between the three of us. He asked me if I was working for you."
"And what did you say?"
Shisui smirked. "Absolutely nothing. But he sized me up pretty quickly. He told me I'd better protect Sasuke, because his friend in there had decided to be stupid and care about him. He said that when Naruto came back, if Sasuke wasn't still in one piece the blond would probably raze the city to the ground, myself included."
Itachi snorted out a short laugh. With his brief encounter with Gaara, that discussion sounded pretty accurate.
"He said it was a first for him, and I believed him. Whatever Sasuke is trying to tell himself, there was nothing casual about Naruto walking away. He didn't do it out of disinterest."
"Did you tell Sasuke?"
"No. It was clear why Naruto didn't want Sasuke to go after him. I happen to agree with his reasoning. You know as well as I do that Sasuke is close to the edge on this one. The slightest nudge might make him jump in and get himself killed or at minimum ruin his career. Naruto and Gaara seem competent. Let them handle their business, and we will handle ours. If we're all still standing at the end, then Naruto and Sasuke can get back to twisting up the sheets."
Itachi nodded. "I agree. I'm sure Naruto knew how Sasuke would react to this. He's prepared for whatever Sasuke will dish out to him at the end of it all."
"Or he's not expecting to make it out," Shisui said baldly.
Itachi didn't disagree, though he hoped for Sasuke's sake that the blond did. The hard, vacant look in Sasuke's eyes was something Itachi hadn't seen since the death of their parents. The difference was that this time, Sasuke wasn't letting Itachi in to help him.
"And did you say anything to Gaara after he told you this?"
Shisui shrugged. "I told him Sasuke would likely not take it well, since he has made it through the majority of his life not letting anyone in. He will exact his pound of flesh on Naruto for breaking through his walls then walking out his door."
Shisui remembered the look of amusement on Gaara's face at his words, clearly approving of the sentiment. After all, if Sasuke didn't get upset, it would mean he probably couldn't handle Naruto in the first place.
Itachi's cell phone buzzed, and he picked it up. "Uchiha... What?... When did he send the request?... Who's working on it in the evidence lab?... Ok, thank you for informing me of this development."
Shisui didn't like the suddenly concerned look on Itachi's face. "What happened?"
"Kabuto. He's had all the physical evidence and interview notes transferred over regarding Orochimaru's death. He has one of Orochimaru's friends at the police department working the case off the radar, but they are going over the evidence with a fine-tooth comb."
"Will they find anything?"
Itachi shrugged. "Naruto is good. But no one is perfect."
-xXx-
Naruto had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at the guy who was clearly the CIA contact. He had never seen anyone look so conspicuous about trying to be inconspicuous. Dark haired and wearing dark sunglasses, the guy appeared to have a serious stick up his ass. Naruto adjusted his earbuds (which were not actually attached to anything, due to his intense phobia of any electronic device that could track his movements and report his location... so the cord simply ended in Naruto's pocket), and pretended to be reaching in his pocket to adjust something on his nonexistent iPod. In reality his hand closed around the three-inch steel blade concealed there.
His trademark blond hair was covered by a hooded sweatshirt as he smiled at a girl who had been eyeing him. She blushed prettily and turned, walking slowly away. He pretended to casually follow her, as she happened to be walking in the direction of the man he had to talk to. Naruto kept his peripheral vision on high alert, walking in a slightly curved path and watching to see if any eyes tracked him for more than a couple of seconds.
Satisfied that they were as alone as he could manage, Naruto finally made his move. He walked near the man and pretended to stumble, bumping into him. He reached out as though catching himself, brushing his hand along the man's back, feeling the gun concealed there in the waistband of his pants.
Naruto pressed his knife just above the man's kidney. "Try to draw your gun on me and you will be bleeding out on this floor before it clears your waistband."
The CIA agent cursed, but stayed still. "How did you know it was me?"
Naruto snorted. "Are you kidding? You stand out like a sore thumb. You must be new to field work."
The man bristled. "I'll have you know I am an elite field agent. Highly decorated."
"Ok, Mr. Elite. What's your name?"
"You can call me Ebisu," the man said somewhat stiffly. "But you aren't getting any information from me until you withdraw your knife from my back." The man clearly didn't want to engage in an physical brawl in a populated area any more than Naruto did.
Naruto had to get rid of the gun, which is why he had 'accidentally' shoved the man against one of the large metal garbage cans. Glancing around to be sure no one was looking, he used the man's shirt to pull his gun out without leaving fingerprints and drop it into the trashcan. Now neither of them could access it before the other vanished. It was a level playing field again.
Naruto withdrew his knife. Hand-to-hand, he was pretty sure he could take the guy if he tried anything now that the gun was out of the way. "Ok, fine. Tell me what you want."
. . . . . .
Three hours later, Naruto met Gaara at their 'green light' meet spot, which was a booth in the back of a corner bar that had both a rear and side exit to the building. If Naruto had failed to show, Gaara would wait three more hours before waiting at their 'yellow light' meet spot. Luckily, that was not necessary.
"Well?" Gaara asked.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "That guy was a total tool. I can't believe he is allowed in the field at all. They must not be prioritizing this contact much, to send someone like him. Which is good luck for us. At least he gave us the satellite photos."
He pulled out a large, brown envelope and dropped it on the table. Gaara opened it and removed the maps while Naruto felt around the inside of the envelope, not surprised when he found a small tracking device. Gaara smashed the tiny device with his glass without even looking up from the map.
"If these are real, this is going to be tough," Gaara said after a bit.
Naruto shrugged. They had almost a month to plan. Between the two of them, they'd figure out something.
Gaara looked up. "What did 'the tool' ask you?"
"The usual. Where we were staying, when we were leaving, and whether we had additional contacts inside who were helping us. He said that there is a general in one of the adjacent districts that the CIA is friendly with who would meet us there and provide us with supplies and intel."
Gaara looked at the name and photo, the name under it read: Mu Tsuchikage. So this was the CIA's angle. Mu had been trying unsuccessfully to seize Gaara's father's territory since before Gaara was born. The CIA probably had a deal with him. If they helped him take out the Kazekage leader, Mu would be their ally in the region. Until someone else offered him more money, at least. Mu had always sold himself to the highest bidder, and was known for double-crossing 'allies'. "And what did you say?"
"I told him we were staying in a youth hostel just outside of Paris until our two friends joined us in six weeks, at which point we'd be heading directly to Suna to meet up with our contact there. He asked me to call him on this number when we were ready to go, and said he would 'help us' get to Suna. But he wanted to meet you and the rest of the crew first. I told him I'd give him a call in six weeks when we're ready."
Gaara's lips twitched. "Perfect." In six weeks, they'd either be dead or back in New York.
-xXx-
Sasuke knocked on Kabuto's office door, Itachi standing behind him, and Karin following last.
"Please, come in Councilman Uchiha," Kabuto said to Sasuke, then turned and nodded slightly more curtly to Itachi, "Counselor."
Kabuto raised his eyebrows in curiosity as Karin entered, clearly not expecting Sasuke to have brought anyone other than his brother to this meeting.
"This is Karin. She is the head of my PR, and a personal advisor to me. I thought it best she is along, in case there are any... public relations ramifications from our discussion."
Kabuto eyed her thoughtfully for a moment. "At this stage, I do not think it wise on either of our parts to make this discussion public. We both value our careers too much to be... rash."
Sasuke's face betrayed none of the nerves he felt. His voice sounded almost bored as he responded, "I must say I was a bit surprised to receive your request that I come down to your office to meet with you today, and your refusal to disclose the topic in advance. If you wish to see my campaign finances, I am more than happy to open my files for you. Karin is conversant on all my campaign activities, including fundraising."
Kabuto smiled slightly. "No, Mr. Uchiha. This has nothing to do with your finances. Or your work as a politician."
Sasuke simply raised a brow, "I don't mean to be rude, but I do have a series of appointments today that would be difficult to reschedule. Could we get to the point of this meeting?"
Kabuto's smile thinned almost predatorily for a moment, his jealousy of the attention Orochimaru had fixed on this man almost bursting free. He took a breath to still the urge for violence. He was too intelligent to resort to such measures. "I notice that Mr. Uzumaki is no longer escorting you."
Sasuke's hand twitched involuntarily before he could still it. "Given that the police found evidence that Orochimaru was my stalker, and that he is now dead, I didn't feel the need to retain Mr. Uzumaki's security services further."
"It's unfortunate that he no longer seems to be in town. I have had difficulty in locating him."
Sasuke shrugged. "If you wanted to know if he left a forwarding address so you could keep in touch, you could have simply called my doorman," Sasuke's voice had taken on a distinct warning edge to it.
Kabuto hesitated briefly, his eyes flashing at the not-so-subtle insult. "In that case, I will 'get to the point', as you so politely requested. As you may or may not know, the evidence concerning Orochimaru's death has been turned over to the police department here. And they made a very interesting discovery."
Neither Itachi nor Sasuke showed any visible reaction at all to Kabuto's statement. Karin seemed only mildly puzzled. "But... I thought that his death was ruled as self-defense, and the investigation had ended," she said tentatively.
The pencil Kabuto had been holding snapped at Karin's words. "They stopped their investigation. I did not."
Itachi adjusted the cuff of his tailored shirt slightly. "Under what authority did you re-open the case, Mr. Yakushi?"
Kabuto looked slightly nervous under Itachi's intense gaze, then he steeled himself. "I suppose it is fortunate that you decided to join your brother in this conversation, Itachi. Given that this... discrepancy would effect you as well."
"I don't tolerate threats, Kabuto. Get to the point, or we're leaving and I will be filing a complaint with our boss about your conduct, including misuse of your authority in re-opening a closed case and wasting public funds," Itachi's voice was cold and hard.
Kabuto licked his lips nervously, but pushed ahead. "I just thought you should know that they found Orochimaru's blood on the inside of the katana's sheath."
Karin cast a puzzled look to Itachi and Sasuke, but neither man's face betrayed any reaction what-so-ever. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked. "Wasn't he killed with a sword anyway?"
Kabuto turned to her and smiled. "Do you know much about the martial arts, Karin?"
She shook her head.
"Well, in martial arts styles involving swords, the way you draw, clean and re-sheath your sword are as important has how you swing or strike with it. A true master of the sword arts would never use his blade in battle, then drop it bloody on the floor. No, he would wipe it, then resheath it. It would be second-nature... done without a conscious thought."
Karin nodded hesitantly, understanding his words but still not seeing how it could be relevant at all. The frozen stillness of Sasuke beside her, however, told her that there was momentous importance in what the man was saying.
"So the fact that trace amounts of blood were found on the inside of the katana sheath... trace amounts, not visible blood... would imply that the sword was wiped then re-sheathed after killing Orochimaru. But the sword was not found in its sheath. The sword was found on the floor, unsheathed, and covered in blood. This would mean that - after Orochimaru was killed and the sword cleaned and re-sheathed - someone took the sword out of its sheath and dropped it in his blood."
The room was absolutely still.
Kabuto continued, speaking only to Karin but keeping his peripheral vision focused on the two men exuding suddenly dangerous auras in his office. "It might further interest you to know that the Uchiha clan is known for their swordsmanship. In fact, they have their own unique style of fighting that has been passed down for generations, based on centuries old samurai techniques. Both Itachi and Sasuke have trained since the age of four. They are, in short, masters of their sword martial art style."
Karin's eyes widened as she realized what the man in front of her was implying. "Are you... are you seriously accusing Sasuke or Itachi of killing Orochimaru, then tampering with evidence and framing an innocent person to get out of it?"
"I am not making any accusations at all. I am merely laying out certain facts that have come to light recently. Facts that should give me grounds to formally re-open the case."
"There are many explanations to those facts," Itachi said calmly. "Explanations that could easily fit within the existing theory of the case."
"Oh, really, Itachi? And what might those be?"
"The trace blood evidence doesn't come with a date. It could have been deposited last month, or even last year. Orochimaru spent time with Sasuke, and had visited his home on multiple occasions. Given Mr. Sanin's fascination with our family and its history, a fact which I know you are well aware of," Itachi took sadistic pleasure in the flare of jealousy he saw in the man's eyes, and was grateful that Naruto had told him of the connection early on. It was something he could use to his advantage if the situation became more serious. "It is possible that Orochimaru could have picked up the sword at some point. Not being familiar with weapons, he could have nicked his finger on the blade, leaving trace amounts of blood behind that would have been deposited in the sheath. Another possibility is that some of the spray from the kill strike landed in sheath at the time of Orochimaru's death. From what I observed at the time, the spatter went quite far into the room. The sheath was resting quite close to the body as well, making it possible that some stray droplet could have entered the opening."
Kabuto drew a breath in through his nose, clearly annoyed that Itachi had so quickly been able to come up with two plausible excuses for the evidence of the blood in the sheath. It would be enough to make a jury question things, especially when there was someone already willing to take the blame. Although that man was conveniently missing. Naruto's disappearance was fast becoming Kabuto's best argument in their being something fishy about his story. But it would be a risky move. It infuriated Kabuto that the man didn't even appear to be nervous. He wanted them to sweat. He wanted them to fear him, to finally acknowledge that he was not inferior to them, even if it would be too late to prove it to Orochimaru himself.
"Those are convenient stories. But without Naruto here to verify the original accounting of events, it does open up an entirely new line of questioning that must be considered. It's convenient that you got him to take the fall for you. But I wonder how willing he would be to... bend over for you in that way without Orochimaru here to pay him to do so?" Kabuto put a subtle stress on the words while looking directly at Sasuke, contempt clear in his eyes, as though saying he knew exactly what Orochimaru had hired Naruto to do for Sasuke. Implying that the only reason Naruto had stuck around was because Orochimaru was paying him, and now that the money was gone, so was Naruto.
Sasuke's fist clenched, but Itachi set a hand on his arm to keep him from reacting further.
"If you come after us with half-baked accusations like this, I will ruin your career," Itachi said, his tone polite. "I would tread very carefully, Yakushi."
With that, the three of them stood and exited Kabuto's office.
Karin grabbed Sasuke's arm as he went to get into his car where Shisui was waiting to escort him home. "You and I have a few things we need to talk through, Sasuke. I want to know how much of what that ass just said was true. There is no way I am going to let him derail your career, but I need to know what he might possibly find out if he digs hard enough. You have to tell me what is going on. All of it. You need to trust me."
Sasuke looked at her, evaluating how much he could really trust her. Finally he nodded. "Fine. Get in. And call Suigetsu. Tell him to meet me at my apartment. We have work to do."
-xXx-
Three weeks later
It had been almost a month since Naruto had left New York with Gaara. After going over the plans in detail. They were almost ready to act. They would leave for Madrid in two days and meet Kimimaro's contact there. The man's name was Sasori, and while Naruto had never met him, he knew that he had been the regional head of Nagato's central Asian operation before Nagato died.
It didn't mean they could trust him, but it did give Naruto a bit of confidence. Nagato was picky about his people. He only took the most capable, and only those he trusted.
Naruto and Gaara periodically went to the public library where there were computers available free for public use. They searched for any information on Gaara's father or activities in the region.
Naruto tried to avoid it, but inevitably he found himself Googling Sasuke to see what he was up to. He would drink in the images of the man, so formal and controlled in public. It made him think of how those same stoic features would twist in the throes of lust.
But he knew he had to stop torturing himself. A week ago, there started to be tabloid rumors that Sasuke had begun dating his head of PR. Naruto masochistically clicked on photos of them together. She had begun accompanying Sasuke to public events. There were, of course, no overt displays of affection. But she stood closer to him than was strictly necessary, and there were shots of the two of them looking at each other, a large grin on her face and a slight smile on his.
He stared at the photo, noticing the way her fingers rested lightly on Sasuke's arm. Again, nothing overt. Just a simple sign of closeness. But in a way, that was what made it so believable. Naruto knew Sasuke well enough to know that casual touching was not something he indulged in with most people. Evidently the local media had noticed this, too, and rumors abounded.
The woman was pretty, though not stunning, with her red hair and glasses. But she looked intelligent and comported herself well. She seemed to fit in Sasuke's life. Much more than Naruto did. At least, that's what Naruto kept telling himself. He didn't want Sasuke to be miserable and missing him. He wanted Sasuke to be safe and happy.
Naruto closed the photo and shut his eyes, as though willing the image out of his consciousness. Some things just weren't meant to be. And Naruto had to be man enough to accept that. He was the one who had left. Sasuke did the right thing by moving on and finding a more appropriate partner for his career.
Naruto logged into the temporary e-mail account he had set up for communicating with Kakashi. It wasn't completely secure, but it was safer than phones, where locations were easier to pinpoint. He read the message and froze, his heart both soaring and sinking at the same time.
They have re-opened the case. He will be charged if you don't come back and re-issue your statement. Your favorite ADA is leading the witch hunt. It should not take more than two days of your time, so it should not interfere with your existing time table. J has it planned out. There is a round-trip-ticket waiting for you at the airport under ID4. Get to a safe location and call my cell.
Naruto tried to get his mind around the fact that he needed to go back to see Sasuke. Sasuke - who had already moved on and was dating someone else. Gaara noticed his friend's complete and utter stillness, and came over, quickly taking in the contents of the e-mail.
Gaara looked at Naruto's expression. "You're not actually the one who killed him, are you?"
Naruto looked at Gaara, then slowly shook his head. To his surprise, Gaara smiled. "I knew I liked that Uchiha. Let's go. You've got an overnight bag to pack."
-xXx-
"Captain Hatake?"
Kakashi looked up from his desk, surprised to see the chief of the department there. "Yes?"
"I'd like to introduce you to a visiting police officer from Japan, Obito Uchiha. He's here on special assignment from Japan's Criminal Investigation Bureau. Evidently there is a serial killer that his division has been chasing for more than ten years that they have reason to believe might be in New York."
Kakashi smiled, carefully concealing any indication that he knew exactly who the man was likely looking for.
"Nice to meet you, Officer Uchiha," Kakashi said in a casually friendly voice. "Uchiha - we have someone in the District Attorney's office with that same last name. A relative of yours?"
"Uchiha is an old name in Japan. Perhaps we are distant relatives, but not that I am aware of," the man said, dismissively. "But I'd much rather hear more about you. I've heard amazing things about your work, Captain Hatake," the black-haired man said, his face seemingly open and eager. Almost childish, despite the fact that he looked to be roughly the same age as Kakashi, if not older.
"Obito here has requested you to be assigned as his partner on this case, given that you had already begun some of your own investigations into someone that appears to fit the same profile. Of course, the feds will also be brought in at some point if it appears there is indeed an international serial killer now operating in New York. Obito has brought a file for you to look through that contains all the Japanese authorities have on the serial killer, though most of it is information on his victims. There is no confirmed identity, no known contacts, and no photograph or drawing of the killer's likeness."
Obito smiled at Kakashi disarmingly. "I hope you don't mind my requesting you. I did my research before coming over. I wanted to be sure I worked with the best."
"Not at all," Kakashi said, trying to get a read on the man, but not quite able to.
Obito tried not to laugh. He always liked taking on a new name. Obito Uchiha would suit him perfectly until his little fox showed up again. He liked using the name of legends. Uchiha would be perfect.
-xXx-
to be continued
So the next chapter contains the part of the story for which this fic was named. ;-) Yay! And it only took me 18 chapters to get to it. sorry... I know I promised this whole thing would only be 15 chapters long. Blame it on my wordiness. And all the sex.
- 17
- 18
- 19
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Deception - COMPLETE