Being a Yazkuza's Bride

Chapter 17: Viva Las Vegas



There was a thing about watching a body quiver and convulse in pain that really was invigorating, especially when it was that bastard Orochimaru. Sasuke rolled up his sleeves, not that it mattered really, his hands were already bloodied, knuckles grazed, with the cuffs of his expensive shirt ruined by red stains.



Not that he cared about the ruined shirt or the stinging pain in his hands; the only thing he cared about was the feeling of digging his fist into the pale bastard's face. Hearing the sounds of bones cracking, as he crushed those fingers under his feet. Sasuke took a deep intake of air, and grasped a metal pipe that Kakashi handed to him and slammed it against the snake bastard's chest. He was sure that he cracked some ribs.



"You're a fucking monster, Orochimaru," Sasuke hissed out and spat on the floor.



"(cough, cough) Don't be so mad, Uchiha (cough), all of this because of that toy?" he replied with a grin.



Always smiling, that fucking stupid smile; if he didn't stop grinning he would fucking shoot it off.



"Shouldn't have touched what was mine, you bastard," he snapped back and kicked Orochimaru's stomach.



The pale snake hacked some blood up, trying to curl up into himself, but with his arms tied behind his back it was difficult for him to move. Golden eyes watched the dark-haired man in front of him with amusement, he couldn't help but find this all hilarious. For years he had been interested in Sasuke; the younger man was an exquisite specimen, but his cool, aloof nature made it difficult to gain his attention. And now look at him. Little Uchiha with his feathers all ruffled up, what a glorious sight. He should have done something like this years ago.



"What a lovely face you have, little Uchiha…" he wheezed out.



Sasuke scowled when he saw the madness descending over Orochimaru's face. "Sick bastard," he muttered. It was obvious that he wouldn't get anything else out of him, not that the bastard had given him anything in the first place.



"I should just kill you now."



"Might as well, little Uchiha…"



Sasuke growled; he abruptly turned around, yanked the gun out of Kakashi's holster and aimed and pressed it against Orochimaru's temple, digging the cold metal inside his skin.



"Don't fucking tempt me," he growled.



The pasty bastard chuckled. "But you won't… you won't because you need me~" he said in a sing-song.



His grip on the handle tightened. Of course Orochimaru knew he was still needed, Shikamaru had searched and searched through every file and every listing. The name 'Shukaku' simply didn't pop up. It was as if no one by that name even existed. Which couldn't be true; Sasuke had heard the conversation between Orochimaru and the Russian, and he knew he hadn't misheard what they said. This 'Shukaku' guy had to exist.



Sasuke's hands trembled; he was torn as to what to do. Shooting the bastard was the obvious choice, but he needed him as well. Orochimaru knew who 'Shukaku' was, and if he had to let the bastard live to see Naruto…



Orochimaru's smirk grew when he felt the pressure of the searing metal easing off his forehead. Sasuke lowered the gun, and fixed the battered man in front of him with a glare. "Tell me where he is, and I'll let you go."



"…It's not as simple as that, Sasuke."



The raven froze; in a way Sasuke understood that, instead of Orochimaru being under his hold, he was now rather under Orochimaru's thumb. The slimy snake could make as many demands as he wanted. That's the trouble with having a weakness…



"What do you want?" he said through gritted teeth.



Orochimaru leaned back against the dirty wall; they were in an empty alleyway. His car had been hijacked (the driver probably dead), and driven aimlessly for a while before being dragged out here. He didn't even know what had happened to his dear assistant. "I just want a simple reassurance that you'll let me go after I tell you…"



Of course what else would the coward ask for, but he nodded his agreement.



"Good, I'm pretty sure you have searched through the records and haven't even found a paper trail leading back to him. Really frustrating, right?" Sasuke didn't reply, not that Orochimaru minded; he simply continued on.



"That someone called 'Shukaku' doesn't exist, in all honesty you were chasing a ghost…"



"…The name's an 'alias', right?"



"Bingo, right on the money, always been a sharp one haven't ya'?" Orochimaru replied with a condescending tone.



Sasuke growled. "You still haven't told me what I want to know…"



"Of course, of course, but I don't know how useful the information I have will be to you."



"JUST TELL ME!"



Orochimaru's smirk grew, the bastard was enjoying himself. "Be calm Uchiha, I'll tell you, but as I said I don't think this information will be much help," he repeated.



"Have you ever heard of the Kage's?"



"Kage's…?" no, Sasuke hadn't heard of them. As good as he was having a general knowledge of all Yakuza families, but even he hadn't heard of that particular family.



"The Kage's, just like their name suggested, are shadows; they work from behind the scenes, controlling, manipulating things beyond the control of even someone like your brother. Their existence only whispered from word of mouth, because technically Sasuke, they don't exist!" he practically hissed that last part out.



Sasuke felt his breath stop; that can't be possible, there can't be someone that powerful!



Right…?



"Shukaku is a code name for the youngest 'Uncle' if you wish, a mere pawn in something much greater, but as I said all this information is pretty useless for you, because…" he paused, looking up at Sasuke with his battered face. Golden eyes shining in the night, the apprehension in Sasuke's chest grew.



"You're not going against a mere mortal here little Uchiha, but a God."



OoOoOoOoOoO



Sleep didn't come easy for Naruto. He huddled himself up in a corner of the cabin, with a blanket covering his body. Every so often he would glance at the doorway, wondering when that Gaara guy would storm in and do who knows what to him. It was this tension and anxiety that kept sleep at bay. The blonde didn't know if he should be glad of that or worried that nothing had happened so far.



But going to Vegas… Naruto had never been out of Tokyo in his life, and now he was being brought all the way to Vegas. It was all a bit surreal. He was expecting to wake up any moment now, hoping this was all just a bad dream… so far, no luck.



He watched how the sky seemed to remain unchanged, occasional wisps of clouds filtering past the rectangular window. It felt incredibly lonely just sitting here, so lonely in fact that Naruto started dreaming. Dreaming that he was back in Tokyo, amongst friends, back in his crappy apartment, his home, and with Sasuke. In his arms, his cool hand gently brushing away his messy hair, putting butterfly kisses across his heated skin…



"I'm not Sasuke, and rather wish that you would wake up," came a cold voice, startling Naruto out of his pleasant sleep.



He looked around bewildered before his gaze dropped on the bored redhead towering above him, and again he realized that there was no way out of his nightmare.



"C'mon, get up. We're already here," said Gaara.



With a shuddered breath, the blonde hoisted himself up on wobbly legs. Gaara gave him one last look before turning around to leave; not knowing what else to do Naruto followed right behind him. It was odd though how the skin on his forehead tingled, the exact same spot where Sasuke had kissed him in his dream. It was almost as if that dream had been real…



Then his gaze fell on Gaara's retreating back, and he couldn't help but wonder… oh great, now his paranoia grew to new heights. And there was no way he was actually going to ask the guy if he had kissed him or not.



He stepped out of the jet, gasping when he felt the dry cold air hitting his face; it was night time, and oddly cold for being out in a desert. Naruto shivered, and hesitantly went down the portable stairs to a waiting limo. Gaara held the door open for him and he went inside the spacious vehicle, and the redhead went in right behind him. For a few minutes they sat together in awkward silence as the car revved up its engines and the limo started moving towards a new destination.



Naruto, to keep himself occupied, looked out of the tinted windows; he didn't know how late at night it was. Vaguely he remembered learning about the time difference between the eastern and western hemispheres, not that it was much use to him. His internal body clock was so messed up that he didn't know what day, much less what the time was.



They kept on driving down the empty motorway, and to be honest it was getting quiet boring. This time however Naruto forced himself to keep awake. Then he noticed a glow in the distance, and as they drove closer to the yellowish glow, Naruto's blue eyes widened in awe. They had reached Las Vegas. It looked just like on t.v, a place filled with so much glitz and glamour that made the blonde feel dizzy. Everything literally seemed to shine.



He squirmed in his seat watching the blazing neon lights flash past him. The city was alive; just like Tokyo it didn't seem to sleep. With all these new aesthetic lights he didn't really notice the limo slowly coming to a stop. The blonde almost jumped out of his seat when Gaara tapped his shoulder.



"We're here," he said stoically.



Naruto nodded, and after Gaara stepped out, he followed after him and was surprised when he saw the large flashing building in front of him. It was a massive casino, bright yellow neon tubes coiling around some English letters in a shape of a dragon (Golden Dragon Casino). There were so many people streaming inside the large building. As always Gaara was walking ahead, and Naruto could only move forward because a man in a black suit gave him a nudge towards it.



The inside was just as grand; crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, red Chinese tapestries lined the walls, golden coils veining around marble pillars. The building was divided into different levels with sets of spiral staircases leading to them. There were paintings all along the wall, with a few traditional designed pots filled with bamboo shoots. For some odd reason Naruto felt like he had stepped inside a Ming dynasty-style palace. He was in complete awe as he followed Gaara through the vast, crowded interior.



The redhead himself was on the phone, whispering quick words in English as he led the blonde all the way to the back. Through a set of double doors, that further led down a long dimly lit corridor, made even darker with light orange walls and black carpet. At the end of the long corridor was a normal-looking wooden door; Gaara opened it for him and he stepped inside, not really noticing the door closing behind him.



The inside was amazing; it was a huge white room, with the mid-section part of the wall actually replaced with an aquarium. A large L-shaped couch was in the middle of the room surrounding a glass table. At one side of the wall was an actual bar, fully stocked with drinks and snacks. Gaara had a small smile on his face as his watched the blonde looking around the room like a curious kitten. Oddly enough that greasy auctioneer was right about those 'vulpine' qualities.



There was a 'click' sound and the door opened again; a soft familiar voice called out the blonde's name. "Naruto."



Naruto froze when he heard that familiar voice; his bottom lip quivered. He didn't really want to believe that this could be true; it was too much for him to take… Slowly he turned around, wishing above all this wasn't just a cruel dream, but a smile slowly bloomed on his face when saw a brunette man standing in the doorway.



"Iruka…?"