Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Tactical Deception	By : SmilesforSai Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 1317 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I am not making any profit from the creation of this story. But you know, I thought that'd be kind of obvious...

Chapter List
- 1-Tactical Deception
- 2-A Wild Goose Chase
- 1
- 2
Tactical Deception

Chapter Two: A Wild Goose Chase

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I'm so embarrassed! I'm probably going to take down the original story after I'm finished recreating it. Also, to make up for my horribly plotless first attempt at a Saific, I'll upload the first eleven chapters of Between Life and Living; it's a Saific! Hnnnnnng! It's so fun to write! Anyway, let's get down to business~

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

xXx

It hadn’t taken more than five minutes for Nagisa to get herself into trouble. The Leaf village sure had a tight grip on its security; or at least, that’s what she thought at first.

She made her way casually through the large green gates like it was no matter at all. Unfortunately, since she donned no headband to represent her respective village, the two shinobi guarding the post at the entrance mistook the Uchiha for a civilian. A smile crept onto Nagisa’s lips as she feigned sidling up to them and watched as their looks of suspicion transformed into ones of unadulterated awe.

“Hey, there...” She purred in a low, sultry voice. The men exchanged eager glances before deciding to look professional.

“Ma’am,” said the first one, free of bandages unlike his partner. “Are you a shinobi? Civilians aren’t encouraged to wander out of the bounds of the village alone.”

Nagisa played bashfully with the hem of her skirt while she considered her options. Telling the two Leaf nin that she was a civilian from the village would most likely lead them to ask where she had been; maybe they would even ask other people to confirm her alibi and her identity. She didn’t really feel like making up an entire story, so she decided to go with the half truth.

“I am a former resident of an area on the outskirts of this village. I’ve come here to ask your Hokage about being instated as a shinobi here,” Nagisa said carefully; she wasn’t sure if that was even legal. Upon finishing her sentence she realized that all of it was… not so much a lie. The Uchiha compound was located in a small piece of land about a mile or two away from the main village, and to her knowledge it was probably still there. While she’d never actually visited Konoha, there was something about it that clearly made her mentor very wary. She’d tried to ask him about it a couple times during their trip to the Fire country, but Itachi had easily brushed off her questions to continue elaborating on the details of her mission.

“You left?” the bandaged nin asked incredulously. Nagisa feigned a timid nod, inwardly pleased that her interrogators were totally buying her sob story.

“Yeah, I did. I was around six, so I don’t really remember much… So do you think I can speak to your Hokage? It’s been a really long travel and…” the Uchiha reached her arms above her head and stretched for effect, “I’m kind of tired.”

The two shinobi traded glances of distrust that were not lost on the sly kunoichi.

“You take her, Izumo. One of us has to stay and guard the gate,” the bandaged man insisted, while looking around his post as if he suspected an enemy had already slipped past them. His partner sighed and swiped the fringe or dark hair away from his eye in order to see the woman better.

“Look, lady. Neither of us can leave our post right now. But if you really want to see Naruto, there’s a building at the back center of the village. If you head over there, you’ll see a guy lazing near the entrance with a senbon hanging out of his mouth. Now, that’s Genma, alright?” he spoke carefully and pointed towards the building as if Nagisa were a lost child. She nodded solemnly as if she was really going to follow his instructions. “So yeah, he’ll get you to Naruto if you ask him.”

The man finished his explanation with a smile that Nagisa decided wasn’t too hard on the eyes, and she returned it in kind before heading off into the village.

After she was out of ear shot, the two shinobi watched her walk away until she became lost in a throng of villagers.

“She was pretty cute,” Kotetsu said, something of a dreamy smile coming to his face. Izumo merely rolled his eyes, somewhat irked over the fact that the nin was so quick to fawn over such a suspicious looking woman.“She was suspicious though,” Kotetsu added, after seeing the water user’s incredulous expression.

Pulling the bandana down more so over his dark hair, Izumo leaned against the wall that surrounded the village. “She was something else, wasn’t she? She sure knew what she was doing. Well, whatever happens next, I just hope Naruto is able to handle it. He tends to get soft for women of that nature.

Kotetsu just snorted and shook his head. “Don’t we all?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

xXx

Nagisa’s plan had gone a lot smoother than she’d hoped. Not only had she managed to avoid telling any big lies, (trust was the key word in this entire espionage) but she’d gotten by without even needing a Leaf village escort.

How stupid were this people?

Free to walk around the village without raising any suspicion, the female Uchiha decided that now all she needed to find was some poor sap willing enough to buy her lunch; or, she could just beat the change out of them. Itachi had insisted she eat the fish that he caught the night before, but she was just so tired of the scaly little bug-eyed bastards that she decided to tough it out until they reached the village.

Now she was here, and she could barely keep the ravenous growling of her insides to a minimum. Many times she was sure she’d even begun to attracted curious glances from several pass byers. Or maybe it was this new existence that was giving them a cause for concern? She wondered if it had anything to do with her outfit; if she really stood out. Nagisa wasn’t very self conscious, but even so she pulled the long sides of the navy Uchiha jacket around her as if it shield her scantily clothed body from non-existent prying eyes. Somehow, this made her feel better.

The Sharingan user had just spotted a rather handsome young man pulling out his wallet and dumping a large amount of money onto the bar in front of him, when a tall shadow descended over the ground from behind her. Somewhere within, a small inner voice told her that she’d been wasting her time in one spot for too long, while another told her to just stop thinking and run. She was about to act on the latter, when a soft masculine voice interrupted her internal thoughts.

“Hey.”

“Yes…?” Nagisa turned around nice and slow, half expecting to see a weapon pointed within an inch of her nose; the face she was greeted with might as well have been the same. Tall and bored, a man with a dark pineapple topknot stared back at her lazily as if her threat factor amounted to zero. The pinch of his thin brows made his light brown eyes narrowed as if irritated, while his body language clearly exuded reluctance and disinterest. He slid his hands into the pockets of his dark pants before acknowledging her again.

“You aren’t from around here, are you?” he grumbled out, though it was clear that it was more of direct accusation, rather than any question.

“Aha…” Nagisa giggled faintly and held her hands up as if to surrender. “So you’ve got me. But I’m not here to hurt anyone,” she gestured to the collection of oblivious people scattered around the area. The young man’s tawny gaze sharpened at her words as if carefully weighting the sincerity of her words.

“Really, really!” the Uchiha insisted, waving her hands and laughing as though the thought had never occurred to her. “I’m just here for your Hokage.”

The man’s brown eyes widened at the revelation, and his entire countenance changed completely. It was in that moment that Nagisa realized she’d made a very big mistake.

The nin took a quick step forward with no hesitation in the movement, as he reached out to catch hold of one of the tails of her coat. While it would have been in her best interest to surrender immediately, her shinobi instincts domineered over her physical movements, and the kunoichi avoided the grabbing hand with grace.

“Come and catch me, pineapple head!” Nagisa called, sticking out her tongue and instigating his next course of action; she was being foolish and she knew it. With the agility of their movements it wouldn’t be long before they alerted every shinobi in the village. It was something she couldn’t afford to let happen, but still…those grabby hands and that troubled face.

Nagisa decided that a game of tag was in order.

Bored and handsome took the bait with ease. He bound forward again, reaching out for a second attempt this time at the low collar of her white shirt, but his lack of hand-eye coordination left him failing miserably. His rebound was quick and admittedly impressive, but the Uchiha was already ahead of him and running through the throng of people, civilians or other.

“Hey, get back here!” Pineapple head yelled, but the woman only giggled at the ineffectiveness of his plea. If he really wanted to catch her, he would definitely have to make an earnest effort now.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

xXx

“What?”

“That’s what Izumo and Kotetsu told me,” Sai finished his explanation. Naruto slowly leaned backwards in his chair, his hands slipping away from the edge of his desk. He couldn’t believe what he’d just been told.

No matter how he looked at it, sat on it, looked at it upside down, dumped it in some ramen and threw some glitter on it there was no way...There could be no way…

There could not be another Uchiha roaming the streets of Konoha; especially a female one.

Naruto originally planned to call upon Kotetsu and Izumo for completely different reasons, but now...what if those reasons weren't so different after all? The blond Hokage looked at his pale friend and a horrible thought came to his mind. "No one else can know about this," he told Sai. "Please, go find Izumo and Kotetsu. Have them tell the other Jonin to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Don’t inform them of the potential situation."

"Yes, of course," the ghostly ANBU replied, rising from his seat and slipping the painted white mask haphazardly over the side of his short dark hair. He was prepared to teleport out of the office, when Naruto's fist slammed down onto the wooden desk. The blonde's eyebrows arched in sudden realization.

"Sai..." the Hokage whispered. Cerulean orbs betraying worry rose and met with dark, inexpressive ones. "Sasuke...he can't know about this. He's just gotten over...” Naruto spread his hands for lack of a better word, “all of this. I don't want to see my best friend get overwhelmed and power hungry again."

The ANBU nodded once, clearly understanding the Seventh Hokage's deliberate resolve. It was just two years ago that they fought desperately, tooth and nail to capture the Uchiha and drag him back into the village. Those looks of tire and relief, and all of the long-suppressed tears he had witnessed...Sai never wanted to see them again.

"You do not need to worry, Naruto,” the artist said, kneeling down as he placed the mask over his face. "I won't allow anything to happen to Sasuke. We will capture the female intruder and bring her to the interrogation room—“

"No," Naruto objected quickly. Through his porcelain disguise, Sai held a faint look of confusion.

"No?"

"I want to talk to her before anyone else. I want to know if she's... if she is really like Sasuke." The blond admitted, his last few words trailing off to a quiet end. He knew that this was probably all some sort of false alarm; he really hoped it was. There was just no way that all this time... if there had been such a person, Naruto was a hundred percent certain that Sasuke would have found and reunited with them way before now.

…But what if he hadn't known? What if—

"Very well," agreed Sai. "I won't waste any time alerting the interrogation team for now. We will be back with her as soon as she is captured.”

With a promise intact, Sai teleported from the room while leaving behind only a puff of smoke. Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. The long black robes with the vibrant orange flames him hung just below his knees when he suddenly stood, aware of another undetected presence in the room. Finding the chakra signature all too familiar, he relaxed again and collapsed back into the chair. He tilted his head towards the ceiling, leaning back in a dejected manner as he began to swivel around.

"Hey," he said to the empty room. "You don't have to hide, you know. Not bothering to conceal your charka signature sort of defeats the purpose of hiding your presence.

The sly, indirect comment earned the sound of an angry fist slamming into a wall, as a dark haired figure clad in black slipped out of the shadows. A victorious smirk curled up on Naruto's lips and once he couldn't hold it back anymore, he allowed it to transcend into a full blown grin. Seeing the unreadable expression his best friend’s face caused the Hokage’s cheerful demeanor to dissipate.

“So…” he began, bowing his head and folding his hands anxiously onto his desk. It was suddenly difficult to attain a comfortable posture. How was he supposed to act about all of this? Was this good news? Was it bad news?

Erm…

“So…how much of that did you hear? Or maybe…You already knew?"

"I didn't," replied the dark haired man. The reply had been simple enough, but for some reason, there was a sort of complexity in his tone. The man's voice had deepened considerably, as Naruto's had though in the same sense he found that it hadn’t really changed. Perhaps it was because this man had always portrayed a level of maturity that should have never developed until a later point in his life. Even under experimental conditions courteously of the now very dead Sannin Orochimaru, the Uchiha’s body had been made to speed up the process of his physical development. The effects were successfully reversed via Tsunade’s medical expertise; however, the mental change would forever remain.

"Sasuke..." the Seventh Hokage began after the awkward silence was starting to get to him. He leaned forward to look his best friend in the face. "I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to go."

Naruto awaited a reaction that would never come.

The Rokudaime frowned, watching the calm expression go unchanged over the man's usually scowling features. He should have been angry. Should have said he'd do whatever the hell he wanted, regardless of whether his own best friend or the leader of their village told him no straight to his face.

But he didn’t; and when Naruto saw none of this he began to feel concerned. "You want to go, don't Sasuke?" he asked the Uchiha. Sasuke gave an indifferent, one-shouldered shrug, causing Naruto's jaw to drop. What the hell was this guy's problem, becoming so unconcerned about something like this?

"Sasuke!" the blond growled, hands slamming down on the hard wooden surface of his desk. "This is about your clan! Don't tell me that you—“

"Maybe not," Sasuke spoke up. His eyes remained heavily concentrated on the carpet floor. Naruto couldn't stand the softness of the man's despondent voice. He appeared to have reverted to the way he’d been once he had submitted to his three year imprisonment, impassive and unresponsive. Was this the way Sasuke acted when there was something he wasn’t sure how to handle?

"…Maybe not?" Naruto repeated. He opened his mouth again to give the Uchiha a verbal tongue lashing, when suddenly a pair of ninja made their entrance via teleportation right between the two.

Hokage-sama!" said the first ninja, clad in formal ANBU attire. "Shikamaru Nara is currently pursuing said potential threat,"

Chasing? Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"What exactly is she doing?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. If all she was doing was running around, the only thing they were succeeding in was tiring out a good fleet of nin. There was no need to call up such special enforcements just to play a game of tag.

"She isn't doing anything," replied the second ANBU while removing his mask. The face revealed was immediately familiar to Naruto; Kiba flashed the Hokage a canined grin.

"She's only leading us around," Kiba continued, slapping a hand over his mouth to stifle a sound expressing his exhaustion. Naruto suspected that he'd been off on the chase as well. "She seems to be enjoying it a lot, that’s the bad news.

“…And the good news?” Naruto didn’t know what he was expecting.

“There isn’t any, to be honest. I guess it’s just that she’s not taken the opportunity to attack the village.”

"Still," the first ANBU interjected, also removing his mask. This was a face that Naruto also knew very well. To the second reformation of team seven, he was known as Yamato; to his ANBU friends, he was Tenzou. "She has admitted to Izumo and Kotetsu that she is specifically not from this village. And also...her intention appears to be a meeting with you."

"Me?" Naruto pointed to himself. A look of incredulousness twisted his features. He hadn’t even learned the name of this girl! Who was she? And why was she in Konoha, stirring up chaos right now? One way to find all of these answers was certainly to capture her and haul her into his office. The only problem was that she appeared to be incredibly fast; so fast, in fact, that all of the other shinobi, let alone the ANBU were having a hard time catching her!

"Pull back and don't attack her," the Hokage told the two ANBU, making meaningless gestures with his hands as he began to explain. "If we keep chasing her around, it could go on forever and we don't want to upset the entire village."

“Sounds like a plan," Yamato agreed. "I hate to admit it, but I don't think continuing to pursue her is a good idea at all. The best solution is to just entrap her with a jutsu." Kiba nodded in agreement.

“No, no jutsu,” the Rokudaime shook his head. “It’s probably best if we—“

“No.”

“No?" Naruto titled his head in the direction of the objecting voice, surprised and relieved to finally hear the male Uchiha defy him. "You're staying here, Sasuke. You and I aren't done—“

"Yamato," Sasuke cut in, leaving the effectiveness of Naruto's words to dissolve. "Tell me about this person. What does she look like? What about her features, anything specific?"

Yamato appeared to be hesitating, as if waiting for the speechless Hokage to collect himself, but when Naruto said nothing, he swallowed his apprehension and reply.

"Her eyes are dark but in the sunlight Shikamaru claims they are actually blue. Her hair is also dark and about shoulder-length, but it’s sort of spiky and uneven. Her clothes are shinobi attire, nothing that appears out of the ordinary or indicates her specified village. And then, there's the long coat she is wearing..." Yamato paused, causing Sasuke to look up expectantly.

"Well,what is it?" he asked, jet eyes smoldering with an obscure intensity. Yamato turned to Naruto, but Sasuke impatiently slammed his hand against the wall behind him.

"I-it's her coat..." Yamato stammered. "Navy blue, with a fan and—“

“Colors?" Sasuke demanded, his voice an octave above a whisper. He looked as though he were about to flee the room at any given moment. Naruto got to his feet, preparing to pursue the Uchiha should he decide to do so.

Yamato’s distress was abounding, and it was clear he was uncertain of what revealing this last bit of information would lead to. However, the growing intensity of Sasuke's dark eyes had become so alarmingly cruel that he found himself spilling the words without giving it a second thought. "Red. And white; bottom to top in that order."

"I'm leaving," announced the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, I said no!" the blond Hokage exclaimed, tripping forward in an attempt to grab onto the collar of his friend’s shirt. Without looking back, the Sharingan user reached behind him and Naruto halted in mid-step. Blue sparks of electricity flickered at Sasuke's fingertips.

“Sasuke…”

“Don’t follow me,” Sasuke warned.

Naruto stayed rooted to the spot as if he were glued there, despite his will to stop his friend. Something held him back, even as he watched Sasuke walk out of the room, and the last sliver of the Uchiha’s shadow fade from the edge of the hall.

No matter who he was or what authority he held, the seventh Hokage knew full well that he held no place in this decision; Sasuke Uchiha would ultimately do what he wanted and there would be no stopping him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

xXx

Shikamaru Nara had had about enough of the wild goose chase he was being led on.

Down the streets and through various shops and crowds of unsuspecting people, this girl was going quite literally to such great heights just to have what only appeared to be a small amount fun. Now they were on the roofs, safely away from any civilians or precious monuments or statues. It made things less difficult, but this left a scarce amount of things to cast shadows. He planned to use that jutsu from the start, but no sooner had received new instructions not to use any jutsu at all.

Damn that Naruto; always trying to spare even the smallest threat.

Bored and handsome sure was getting frustrated, but he had yet to use any physical attacks on Nagisa. She was certain that he was trying to do his best not to startle any of the civilians, and it was just in her good luck that he was refraining from doing so. However, she knew it would be better for both of them if she just ended this silly game and willingly surrendered. Pineapple head has a reluctant nature… she thought with a smirk. I’m sure if I slow down, he will handle me with care.

Nagisa was just a few buildings ahead of her pursuer, when she decided to stop and turn around. As she'd predicted, the man also came to a stop, though much further away from where she was standing.

"Hey, I'm getting really tired of this game," he called out to her. He stood there unmoving without another word for minute. The chase had gone on for at least half an hour now, and Nagisa hadn't even broken a sweat. However, if he gave up on her there was bound to be others who would pick up where he left off. She had to explain herself soon... but right now she would get away with what she could, until…

"Tired already?" the woman giggled, running her slender fingers through her choppy raven locks. Shikamaru couldn't deny that with the combination of those dark blue eyes, and the way that fishnet hugged so tightly around her fair, curvaceous body....well, he figured maybe she might have just been worth the challenge she was. While Shikamaru hadn't exactly become a pervert as many of his other male friends had, he was still a man and not even he could look at a scantily dressed woman without so much as batting an eyelash.

The way that dark blue coat was flying out behind her during their chase had given him sneak peeks of the way her skirt had begun to hike up on her long slender legs. He imagined just what would go down if they were to engage in physical combat. Would she attempt to fight him off? Maybe, he'd even get as lucky as getting a few shots of her—

Damn. What kind of thoughts were these, from a shinobi of his caliber? This girl was a raving lunatic and an enemy as far as he was concerned.

She had finally slowed down and this was his moment to capture her. As the Uchiha continued to talk, Shikamaru allowed his mind to drown out her taunting little speech and went to work in forming a plan. No jutsu...she's too fast to catch alone or even with anyone else’s’ help. And there's just no way she's going to give up if I ask her nicely...is there?

The man had stopped chasing Nagisa completely; maybe he really was tired of this game? If that was the case, then it would be the perfect time for her to up and walk away. Nagisa had to get to the Hokage as soon as possible. Right now, they were running around a giant field of fun, and the Hokage was home base. As the man continued to study her, she realized that his hesitation might also be a distraction. Was it okay to use her Sharingan? No, it was her trump card. Besides, she didn't really need it to avoid the grabby hands of this particular shinobi. He was too well-reserved to attack and he was keeping his distance right now, anyway.

He wasn’t the only one tailing her either, though.

Earlier, about five minutes before her last leap to this very roof, she had detected a very strong chakra signature in the distance. Surely, the shinobi of this village weren't so weak that they had to send their Hokage out... no, she was sure this was not the case but she couldn't be sure. Not unless she was to use her Sharingan...

Shikamaru groaned and stood up to full height and began to roll his shoulders sorely. 'This is practically impossible without any jutsu..' he told himself, extinguishing any remnants of loop-holed strategies he had left swimming around in his mind. It was time to give up, because frankly, if someone like him couldn't think of a way to solve the situation it would be a while before anyone ever caught this woman.

Oh, women.

To this day, he still found them to be the most complicated beings to ever walk to planet. What was it that made them think that leading you on was just a good idea? In his opinion, if someone truly wanted something they'd be better off coming out and saying.

But apparently he was dealing with a modest woman here; or so he thought.

"Take me to your Hokage or I’ll find him myself!" she demanded, crossing her arms and stomping one of her thick-heeled, knee high black boots. "You're really boring. If we're done playing, then have them send someone else,"

"They already have."

At the sound of a dark, familiar voice, Shikamaru's head snapped up. Standing behind the unsuspecting woman, a raven-haired man crossed his arms over his chest, onyx eyes narrowed. A gentle breeze carried across the row of multi-colored roofs, stealing the tension away for only a moment before bringing it back with a density of tenfold. Spiky black locks danced under its ministration and became still as the wind finally settled. Shikamaru understood then that it was time to bow out.

"Alright, then," he sighed tiredly. "I'll leave it to you, Sasuke. I'm off."

The male Uchiha said nothing as he slowly slid the long metal blade of the sheath behind his back. His dark eyes focused with obscure intent on the back of the woman before him. Without a doubt, this was definitely the woman that the shinobi of the Leaf had been chasing for a good half hour. A smirk played on his lips as a wave of eagerness stirred within him. It'd been a while since he'd faced a challenge; he hoped she would make for a formidable opponent.

"No more running now," said the low voice of Nagisa's new pursuer. She withheld a giddy laugh, already understanding the amount of confidence this person had for himself, as it was apparent in the tone of his voice. He was drawing a weapon on her of some kind now; something metallic. Maybe a sword?

"Sasuke!" called the boy still in front of her, about to take his leave. "You can't attack her," he said. "That's our orders."

A nearly audible sigh came from behind Nagisa, and she shivered with excitement as she felt sensation of a warm breath carry along the wind and travel gently over her shoulder. He was impatient, but it seemed he would still follow the orders of his precious superior.

"You can go now," the firm, foreboding voice said but Nagisa knew he was speaking to his partner. The man with the ponytail gave a brief nod, and then he was off leaping in the opposite direction among the rooftops.

The man behind Nagisa made no incentive to move. Was he also going to analyze her? She had not been this close to her previous opponent; well, only for a fleeting moment before she'd made her escape. Something about the sinister presence behind her had begun to make the kunoichi’s skin crawl. He was giving her goose bumps… There was something so familiar about him, that she found her thoughts drifting on to another person entirely. Someone just as equally intimidating and exciting, with a presence so intoxicating, just a mere sweep or a gaze of his charcoal eyes was more than enough to leave even the most detached person with a subtle bit of curiousity.

Ha. She hadn't even seen the guy, and already she was throwing him into comparison with Itachi. A grin spread over Nagisa’s lips as she heard a soft chuckle coming from behind her. "As if..." she whispered.

"As if, what?" the man's voice came, interrupting her innermost thoughts. "Do you think you will not be captured? I can assure you..." a hand came to rested on Nagisa's left shoulder. She could feel it taking on a firm grip, sending giddy jolts of excitement bursting within her body. Unlike his friend, his hands weren't so grabby. On the contrary, they were steady and confident, as if they were sure that they would definitely get whatever they were reaching for.

"...that I will definitely have you..." he finished finally, confirming all of Nagisa's racing thoughts.

With an impulsive, yet skillful bound Nagisa freed herself from the hand of the unknown, feeling a flare of adrenaline surging through her body as she flew through the air. Her new high did not crash down on her as her feet touched the ground, but escalated even further. For some reason, her pursuant had released her without so much as a finger twitch of hesitation. This pleased Nagisa, for she wanted to get a full inspection of the person that wished to engage her.

Two piercing garnet eyes staring daggers in her direction had been the last thing the kunoichi had expected to see.

His skin was fair and flawless in likeness her own. Dark, raven colored hair all dishelved in an array of spikes waved with grace in the wind. He was giving her an intense glare with those familiar, dark red orbs adorned with the same three orbiting black tomoes. Despite her surprise, Nagisa had found her smiling openly. Things had suddenly gotten more interesting than she could have ever fathomed.

“Uchiha…” Nagisa mumbled, feeling her heart race.

"Come here," he beckoned. The kunoichi allowed herself a chuckle but no more. She was still drinking up his good looks and didn't want to do anything to provoke him into moving.

"If I come to you, what will you do to me? Walking to you so willingly would mean the same thing as admitting defeat, right?" she gambled. The man's eyes narrowed and Nagisa felt her heart leap with more excitement. Were they going to fight? Testing her own ability against his would certainly be fun, but she had to remember she was supposed to play nice.

"Your fun time is over, whoever you are," the male Uchiha told her in a stern voice. "Show me your power, or I am going to kill you,"

Oh. So that's how it was going to be.

Nagisa stood up right and placed her hands on her hips. "Now, now," she shook a scolding finger in his direction. "Let's just play nice, okay? You're a man and you seem to have a lot of pride. You're also really quite attractive, though not as attractive as my sensei. So, I suggest that if you don't want to have your ass handed back to you on a plate by the end of our conversation, I advise you to turn tail and run away while I'm giving you the chance."

That had certainly done it. Nagisa flashed the man a wide, pearly grin. "So hey, should I still come over or what?"

The carmine hues of the man's eyes began to smolder with an anger that sent his body shuddering. Nagisa watched his form trembling, mistaking it for a sign of fear and excitement, rather than anger.

"You talk a lot," she heard him growl, as he reached behind himself to reclaim his sword. The metallic scrape of the blade sliding out of the sheath echoed from the distance between them.

Nagisa shifted her weight and crossed her arms over her chest. So he was really going to fight her? Well, this probably wouldn't reflect on her so well in the future, but for now her curiousity had stolen her better judgment. Her sensei hadn't told her about there being a third Uchiha, let alone one residing in this particular village. It wasn't like him to leave such a vital detail out of his explanations. Had he known? He had to have known.

So then, why—

Nagisa was granted only a moment to recollect herself, as the mysterious man had taken the liberty where he’d seen the chance of closing the distance between them. He was coming at her with full speed, and the long blade of his sword glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. She had to think quickly about what she should do; attack? His deadly demeanor had certainly showed her that he would, by no means, be going easy on her. The look in his eyes was so vicious and determined that she had trouble trying to leap off the edge of the building until precisely the last second.

She had spoken so boldly of the easy feat he would be, and in result to that he had released an anger that was almost lethal. Nagisa didn't have time for this. She had to find Kaze no Orenji; the Seventh Hokage. She knew his exact location, as she'd managed to pinpoint it earlier and as far as she could tell he hadn't moved an inch.

But this was an Uchiha…a remnant of her clan and another with whom she shared the same blood.

Nagisa's eyes narrowed as she accelerated her running pace. The two of them had launched into a full-scale chase to the death with only a simple exchange of words. Some Nagisa thought, as of now, she probably shouldn't have said. The breeze behind her had suddenly subsided, as she felt her new hunter closing in on her. She was just within arm's length of him, more than enough closed distance for him to run the blade of that shiny sword right through her, if murder was his true intention. Did he really mean to ignore the orders he'd been given? He'd been told not to attack her, and he'd been hesitant to comply, but now it seemed as though that action had been all but a false sign of truce.

Nagisa had to keep her wits about her. If this man truly intended to murder her upon first chance, she would definitely have to fight him off. She couldn't afford to die on this mission. Not while Itachi was patiently awaiting her return. Open arms...smiling eyes...

There was no way she could lose; she would have to use the Sharingan.

A garnet eclipsed halved the twin spheres of her onyx eyes, and soon became two full red moons. From her jacket, the kunoichi pulled a kunai out and swiftly turned to face her opponent with a power now equal to his. A smirk played on his lips, his eyes narrowing as the clash of their weapons reverberated in the warm afternoon air.

"So you've finally decided to get serious, huh?" he said with a dark chuckle. His mocking tone made Nagisa's jaw clench, suddenly furious that he was fending her off so effortlessly.

"Not quite sure what you mean," she replied, taking a step in to further her exertion. He seemed to be letting up, as the blade no longer forced against the kunai in her hand. "I was having a lot of fun with your handsome friend."

"Handsome friend?" Sasuke scoffed. "What's wrong? Is your new opponent not as attractive?"

Nagisa allowed her head to fall forward, her shoulders shaking in an uncontrollable laughter. "Please," she whispered before regaining herself. The edge of her weapon ground against the silver blade, eliciting a rather irritating, metallic screech. The man, appearing to greatly dislike the abuse of his shiny toy drew back the sword and thrust it forward, but Nagisa was out of harm's way before it could reach its destination.

She was running again, but this time not away from him. She was leading him along and whether he seemed to know this or not, it didn’t show. He was so driven on capturing her, so hot on her heels that the thought of jutsu had so fortunately not occurred to him yet. Tucking the steel kunai back inside her coat, Nagisa leapt to the next roof, flying over a wide gap between the two buildings where she momentarily sailed across the air. She began the appropriate hand seals for the very first, through probably not last jutsu she would use in their quarrel. It seemed as though he hadn't taken notice, and with this, Nagisa currently held the upper hand.

White chakra emanated from the female Uchiha's fingertips as she rose a hand to her mouth, cupping it there as to properly guide a blast of oncoming flames. The smoldering fire burst forth towards her unsuspecting opponent, white flames licking ravenously at the hems of his dark clothing. He'd managed to escape her a little less than exactly the right moment, but unfortunately no damage had been done.

A smirk traced up on the lips of Sasuke's female opponent. Finally, she'd begun to act seriously, though her shinobi skills proved to be a little on the dull side. Perhaps it had been because of a most startling discovery. Had she come unaware of the existence of another Uchiha? And where the hell did she come from, anyway? Not only was she there existing with impossibility before his eyes, but she was also a kunoichi...a female Uchiha, and they were here battling it out toe to toe! The smart thing to have done from the start would have been to attempt some kind of loop holed compromise. That, or trap her in some sort of jutsu while her Sharingan had been deactivated. However, Sasuke was simply not the compromising type, so it would probably be best to go with the latter.

According to Shikamaru's warning, Naruto had ordered for the refrain of any physical attacks. What had led him to believe that an Uchiha, arrogant and so fleetingly impulsive would ever think to return the favor? Then again, she had provoked him…

The wild game of tag had finally come to a draw though, and the male Sharingan user simply had to confirm the extent of her powers. He claimed he would kill her, but he knew there were too many reasons why he shouldn't. He decided to feign killing intent in this battle, and entrap her in a genjutsu when she began to show signs of fatigue. Unlike his Sharingan, hers was imperfect; pure, as they'd been set in stone to be from the moment of birth…

Sasuke couldn't possibly destroy something with so much potential. He needed to analyze her thoroughly. He wanted her; he envied her, even though he wasn’t sure if he had any reason.

She had escaped him again.

Barely making a clean flee as his sword had swung out as if to impale her though the stomach. Perhaps it was his lack of objection behind his movements, or maybe she was just that swift. Sasuke was gradually becoming frustrated by her feminine giggles her sultry expressions, and the taunting tone of her voice scarily quick as their battle progressed. She was baiting him into an aggression that, had it not so long ago become permanently subdued by the bonds that he'd retied and the added bit of inner peace, he would have submitted himself to at the very beginning. No, Sasuke now possessed a firmer sense of self-control.

There were still times where he would find himself shooting his mouth off angrily at his rivaling blond friend or anyone else that deliberately got in his way, but none of it would ever provoke him into a physical fight.

No woman had ever been so crafty, as to subdue Sasuke into a heated struggle with himself, and despite even in this most critical and unforeseen twist of events, he was not about to break that continuous record. Sasuke Uchiha would conquer the daring quintessence of his haughty, female counterpart and drag her back to the Seventh Hokage. The words of the silent promise held tight to his memory. Whatever else was to come in store for the last female Uchiha depended solely upon the village's final decision.

Just as his own fate had been decided.

With all of these thoughts swirling around in Sasuke’s mind, he had somehow managed to narrowly dodge a blast of fierce white flames with the heavy intent of burning his entire essence into ash. Her dexterity had suddenly grown more refined, no longer a diamond in the rough but a jewel, gleaming with beauty. Not just in her physique, but in her every fluid movement. She moved in such a graceful manner, Sasuke found himself suddenly more concentrated on every turn of her body, rather than the actual jutsu she was projecting at him.

He hadn't wanted their fight to go on for this long. From what he could conclude, the extent of the woman's jutsu ranged basically from fire-based attacks; all pure white flames. Of course, every shinobi had a hidden weapon. Something told Sasuke that, with the depleting amount of fight left within her he was about to see hers soon.

Not long after another round of spiraling flames being spat in his direction, the woman had finally come to a rest. Her posture became lax, the front half of her body bending over with her hands on her knees and panting as if she were nearly out of breath. While her body clearly showed that it was starting to tire, the expression in her eyes simply told Sasuke that in no way, was she ready to call it quits.

Unbelievable.

Sasuke let out a slight chuckle. He was very impressed with his opponent's stamina. However, he didn't feel like dragging her unconscious body back to Naruto. This had to end with her willingly walking away with him, or not at all. Maybe a little verbal exchange was in order. Sasuke decided to try his luck.

Sliding the long-bladed sword back into its sheath, the male Uchiha sighed and crossed his arms. The woman still held her glower strong to his form, as if somehow she could make him incinerate just by staring him down. He took this moment to study her feature; Inky black hair that came in different lengths around her shoulders. Her dark fringe hung across her forehead, clipped away with twin silver pins, and two black finger streaks of war paint lined the left side of her cheek.

"Hey," he called, placing a hand against his hip. "So, do you have a name? I've taken an interest in you. You're a skillful opponent, and I thought it'd be nice to at least know your name," Sasuke finished with more awkwardness than he imagined, and scratched the back of his hair.

Hearing the young man's voice, Nagisa got to her feet while stumbling a bit at first. He wanted to know her name? A shrill laugh escaped her lips, and she stared at the man from the distance between them.

"Why," She humored him, "not sure what to put on my grave stone?"

"Yeah, something like that," the man replied, nearly rolling his eyes. The sun was starting to set in the sky, leaving their profiles concealed by a veil of shadows. "Look," the male Uchiha said, stiffly uncrossing his arms. "I don't want to play this game with you anymore. I have a lot of questions for you, and I'm sure you have a lot for me. Just come quietly and we can—“

"Nagisa," Nagisa mumbled. Sasuke arched a dark eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nagisa!" she repeated, loudly. "My name is Nagisa!"

Nagisa; so that was her name.

"Well, Nagisa," Sasuke sighed. "I really had fun chasing you around the entire village, wasting absurd amounts of chakra while you laughed, giggled and a bunch of other annoying bullshit I can't bother to recall."

"Yeah?" the kunoichi replied. "Glad I could entertain you, but I have other things to do now—“

"Sasuke," Sasuke said. "My name is Sasuke."

Nagisa just gave an indifferent shrug as she dusted herself off and then stood. "Cool story, bro. So um, if we're done here—“

"My friend would like to meet you," Sasuke pressed on. He'd decided, despite how uncharacteristic it was, he would take on an entirely new approach. The persistent approach; the Naruto approach.

And for whatever reason, it began to work.

"Your friend?" Nagisa repeated, hands sliding down to rest on her hips. This man was quickly changing his tune. The smoldering anger behind his eyes had seemingly been extinguished. His sudden change in demeanor left the female Uchiha curious and a little unnerved. "Hn...So, who is this friend, then?"

Sasuke bit his lip, fighting a smirk. She had take bait, then. Maybe he'd try this approach more often; or maybe not. "He's the leader of this village. If you want our Hokage, I can assure you that he won't allow himself to be taken so easily. He'll do everything in his power and put up a fight before you can get your hands on him. Even then, you probably won't be able to leave with him. He'll turn the tables on you quickly before you could ever realize what's happening. Plus, he’s annoying and you’d probably want to send him back,” the Uchiha added as an afterthought.

Sasuke recalled the time where this had happened to him three years ago. It was on the battlefield in the forth shinobi war. The loud-mouthed blond had gone on and on about how Sasuke was so important to him. The Uchiha had been too far gone. Too arrogant and attached to power to realize that the bonds he thought he'd severed were in fact, forever intact. He could run to all the ends of the earth and still, Naruto wouldn't hesitate to chase him. The conclusion that Sasuke had come to that day was that the bond between friends could never truly be destroyed. He'd made his decision to kill the future Hokage, but it was to no avail.

Through all the truths and all the physical and emotional confliction, Sasuke had finally allowed himself to open and listen to his former friend. With his brother dead and having learned the truth, any further course of spiteful action was simply futile. Sasuke had lost his reason for life in that moment. But Naruto had given him a new one.

"You can run and or fight me all you want, but the only way you're going to win is if you leave this village now," Sasuke continued. "I can't promise I won't come looking for you later. There are things I want to know, and like I said, I'm sure you're just as curious. So drop your bigoted act for a while. and just come with me."

Just come with him? Where did this guy get off, trying to be assertive and friendly to her all of a sudden? Not moments ago, they’d been in a heated spar to the death. He planned to kill her; he'd told her, himself. So just what the hell was he getting at now? There was only one person that could show her compassion like this... only one.

"Hm…" Nagisa turned back to the Sasuke. "Why are you changing your tune?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Perhaps it had been these past few years that had allowed his blond friend's benevolent charisma to finally rub off on him. Was such a thing even possible? He guessed that after all that had happened, it probably was.

"Come on, Nagisa," Sasuke said, hoping that adding her name would somehow show his attempt at sincerity. The woman still wore an expression of disdain, but even that was a mild improvement compared to the recent scowl she'd been giving him.

"Your Hokage..." she mumbled. "He's...he's...a nice person?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. He took a daring leap across the two buildings that stood between them. Now that he was closer, he could easily read her features. She was contemplating. Just one more push could either cause her to give in, or have her with her claws out.

Sasuke decided he would take a gamble.

"He won’t punish you. He's way too benevolent for his own good. He's..." the Uchiha felt his cheeks burn at the thought of his next words.

"He's my best friend,"

The remainder of Nagisa's uncertainty seemed to suddenly melt away. "Best friend? You're the Hokage's best friend?!"

A scowl threatened to overcome Sasuke's mild expression. "W-well...yeah."

"Let's go," the kunoichi urged hastily. Her words nearly floored him. Really? He thought, grumbling inwardly as she grabbed onto his hand. That was all it took?

He suddenly felt flustered at the feeling of another being pulling him along. It was something a certain, pink haired female would attempt to do so many years ago, though he was heavily relieved when she'd begun to pursue another man. While Sasuke held no particular interest for any women at all in the village, he didn't mind engaging in small talk with them now and then. Sasuke was also well against any form of physical contact with any gender, of any sort.

…For whatever reason.

As the woman he fought so fiercely with now pulled him off the roof to run through the streets of the village, Sasuke stared at the familiar fan symbol on the back of her fluttering blue coat.

"Come on!" she called over her shoulder, jerking him forward as he stumbled along. Sasuke's brows knit in slight irritation.

"What do you mean, come on? You don't even know where you're going, you idiot,"

"I do!"

He was too out of breath to argue with her. Something else was also troubling the Uchiha; something besides the clammy feeling of their hands, and the physical fatigue that had begun to make his body feel heavy. Was it the way she was running around so fast, pulling him along at the same speed that was making his heart hammer? Was it the sound of her laughter that only resurfaced familiar habits, mumbling things such as idiot and moron? What was happening to all of his verbal confidence?

Sasuke couldn't wrap his mind around his current predicament. He could only remain slack jawed as the strange, blue eyed woman tugged him through the streets of Konoha. Once again, the tables had been turned on him.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TBC
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Tactical Deception