Hunt

“Oh, where is he?” a light-hearted voice called out.

The bar was noisy and filled with all kinds of rough-riders and tough guys that could found in the area. Each of them covered in leather, weapons and scars to prove their power and skill over the many adventures they went on. The men were in little contests of strength with one another as the women would sit in the men’s laps or press up against their arms and let their muscles sit in between the large orbs that were known as their breasts, real or not.

A young woman with long pink hair sat at a lone round table close to the center of the room. Around one arm was a yellow band with an orange swirl in the middle, much like the one Naruto and every other person in the bar was wearing. The rest of her outfit was covered in crimson red: High heeled boots running up to her upper thigh, a long red skirt that opened on the sides to reveal part of her frilly underwear (which were actually black), a long glove that ran up her left arm, a small glove (that was also black) on her right hand, and a sleeveless top that tightly hugged her…erm…small breasts.

She crossed her legs as she sat in her seat that let her red skirt fall closer to her body that revealed more of her skin and dark underwear. Despite how embarrassing that would be in normal society, the bar she was in, this world that she was a part of, this was considered normal. If someone felt comfortable wearing only two dimes and a potato chip, then no one else questioned their style, just as long as they didn’t run around buck naked. They didn’t need to be bothered by the cops for breaking the law. People were as loud as their voices could get. Fights broke out for no apparent reason or just for the sport. People drank ‘til they got sick and ate ‘til they got sicker. There were no limits on how a person could act in this place. The world that these people, these underground bounty hunters, lived in had absolute freedom in it. This was their paradise.

As the pink-haired woman leaned back in her seat, knowing the hungry eyes both men and woman alike watched as her skirt got closer and closer to her body, she ignored the perverted glances and gave out a heavy sigh to the only thing bothering her at that moment. She looked down at her clear drink before a deep voice called out to her.

“Sakura-chan.”

Her face lightened up at that name. Only two people ever added that specific honorific to her name, so there was a good chance he would be one of them. She quickly unfolded her slender legs and spun around in her seat to meet with the source of the sound only to be a bit crushed in disappointment.

There, holding up one hand was the other person who called her by that name, much to her despair. Short black hair barely fell over a very pale face that seemed to do nothing else but smile at the people around him. All black was his attire, specifically leather and minus the yellow band he wore around his neck. Loose, low riding pants (God knows how he can pull that off), long armbands that ran up to his shoulders, short gloves on his hands with open holes for his index fingers and a short leather vest that barely covered his bare chest. Around his waist were three small belts looped around, each holding various knives and guns. He has, of course, been asked out by both men and women alike, thanks to his very appealing attire. One of two who has refused him (constantly) was the woman sitting right in front of him.

Sakura’s beautiful face turned into a bit of a scowl as she spun around in her seat and let out a very loud sigh, purposely for him to hear.

“Oh, it’s just you, Sai,” she groaned.

Seeing how there was no response from behind her, she picked up her drink and lazily took a sip while looking nowhere in particular. The dark man behind her took it upon himself to casually walk up behind her and gently caress her left breast, which she solemnly admits as her more sensitive one, and place a moist kiss on the right of her neck.

Immediately, she shot up from her seat, successfully knocking over her drink, and threw a dangerous punch directed for the man’s face. Out of all the people in the bar, Sakura was one of the most ferocious to ever exist among bounty hunters, known for her monstrous strength that could even take down the biggest of men. If not for people like Naruto who existed, then there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that she herself would be an Area Master, if not fighting for her right to be one.

Sai, however, knowing the pink-haired woman all too well, easily dodged the deadly blow without letting the smile ever lessen on his face. The man himself was mysterious, but despite his appearance, was very strong. Only he out of the many people who resided in the area could even get close to the powerful inner circle that the Area Master kept his careful eye one. More impressively, he was the only one who could tease such a number of powerful people and still live to tell about it, or better, have a chance to tease them again.

“You jerk!” Sakura screeched. “How many times have I told you not to do that?! I’ll kill you someday if you don’t knock it off!”

Without faltering his smile, Sai replied.

“But you have failed to do so, so I can only assume that not only am I still capable of doing it, but I am also free to.”

She growled while cracking her knuckles with her other hand.

“Let’s just see how long that luck of yours last.”

“I’m sure we will.”

His smile was starting to sicken her. Before the urge to try and knock him into the next century came, loud hooting and hollering could be heard at the entrance of the bar. Sakura turned her head for the second time that night to not be disappointed this time. Descending from the stairs came the reason for all the noise and attention. The blonde man rose his head and gave a large grin to everyone who was looking, which many in the bar would describe to be the biggest shit-eating grin ever to be seen.

“Naruto!”

Without any warning, slender arms wrapped themselves around his tan neck and he was brought into a kiss, his lips meeting another pair painted in red. A few catcalls could be heard from the other people watching as Sakura pressed her own body against Naruto, letting her gloved hands roam the front part of his body from his shoulders down to the hem of his pants. The man shuddered for a bit, quickly remembering a pair of hands that did the same thing to him earlier that night. He quickly suppressed images from entering his head as he pushed the woman at arm’s length away and gently licking his lips, tasting the bit of bitterness from her lipstick.

“Hey!” she protested. “What’s the matter with you?!”

“Sorry, Sakura-chan,” he laughed. “Could you, you know, not greet me like that?”

The girl pulled out of his soft grip and placed her hands on her hips while giving a huff.

“Why? You don’t like me saying hello? You think I’m a bad kisser?!”

“No! It’s not that! It’s just-”

A sudden wet and warm touch was felt on Naruto’s sensitive right ear. In one swift movement, a gun was pulled out, there was a shot, then silence followed by nothing seen in the area of the fired gun.

The blonde held his ear with one hand and his silver gun with the other, panting heavily and glaring at the person in front of him while wearing a heavy shade of red covering his cheeks. Of course, the offender only gave his signature smile in what seemed to be such a taunting manner. Not to mention he was unharmed….yet again.

“What’s wrong, Naruto-kun? You don’t like the way I greet you either?”

“You damn pervert! Why don’t you just die?!”

“You know,” Sakura whispered. “We can both get him right now. The police won’t know and no one will talk.”

“I believe that’s a rather cruel joke, Sakura-chan.”

“Who said I was joking?”

“Okay okay,” Naruto interrupted, sticking both hands out like stopping a couple of children. “Why don’t we just sit down and have a drink, okay?”

The pink haired woman crossed her arms and turned her head in the other direction. Sai, of course, only smiled. While the three were making their way to their claimed table, several call could be heard from the other members of the club, many more like cat-calls while the others were challenges to the three people.

“So where were you?” she asked while taking her seat.

“It’s a long story. I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Normally Naruto-kun enjoys opening his mouth for satisfaction. I wonder why he doesn’t want it now?”

Another dangerous shot could be heard through the club with Sai slightly shifted in his seat.

“How about,” he grumbled while putting his gun away, “I don’t want to talk about it with this guy here.”

“Aww. You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.”

“Trust me, we’ve tried.”

With Sakura’s new drink in her hand while the other two ordered nothing, she took a large gulp of her beer before slamming it on the table and calling Naruto out.

“Alright, Naruto! Just go ahead and spill it.”

“Sakura-chan~! I dun wanna!”

Quite honestly, some things were better left in private and such a thing never existed in this place. Nevertheless, she still wanted her answer. As her usual routine to get something out of the blonde, she slowly sat up from her chair and circled around the table, letting her hand trail on the surface. As soon as she reached the tan man’s chair, she pulled her skirt up a bit before taking her place in his lap. The noises from the members of the club hooted and whistled as her butt took its place in the dip between his strong thighs. Sai was so used to the jester that nothing seemed to faze him as he reached across the table for Sakura’s pitcher. Said woman crossed one leg over the other and settled one hand on Naruto’s chest. The other hand circled around to his back and made small circles with her finger.

“Please, Naruto?” she asked with her plump bottom lip poking out in a pout. “I’m your friend. Won’t you tell me?”

The trick always worked on him. No, it wasn’t because of her sex appeal. Yes, she was incredibly attractive, there was no doubting that. He even chased her so long ago. But around a time, he didn’t find those same feelings for her anymore. And ironically, it was the same time they had adopted this new lifestyle where they could touch each other so freely. It was a weird transition, and Naruto was still not used to it. But changes come and go and all people can do is adapt to those changes and think of what to do at that time and in the future.

So Naruto let out a heavy sigh and drooped his head to think about how he should even begin to explain the situation.

“Fine. I’ll tell you already. Just please get off of me…”

Smiling in victory, she easily did as she was told and went back to her seat with the silent raven still sipping on the pitcher that once belonged to her. The blonde leader took another long breath before piecing his words together.

“So I was out hunting another bounty-”

“Obviously,” Sakura cut in. “But it shouldn’t take you that long, no matter who the guy is. So why are you really late?”

He gave another sigh before continuing.

“Well….then I ran into an officer. Actually, it was a member of ANBU.”

The two audience members sat silently waiting for him to continue.

“Er….Uchiha Sa-”

“Eh! Uchiha Sasuke ran into you! Again!”

“Sakura-chan! Keep your voice down!”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to follow,” Sai interrupted. “Exactly who is this ‘Uchiha Sasuke’, member of the ANBU that you two know so much about?”

Before Naruto could get a word in, the pink-haired woman was already letting her mouth run a mile a minute.

“Uchiha Sasuke is apparently this ANBU member that’s harassing Naruto for several weeks, maybe months! However, no matter how good of an eye that guy has, he hasn’t nor won’t find anything on our Area Master here.”

Sai tilted his head while bringing his hand to his chin.

“I see. So this Uchiha Sasuke is trying to arrest Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah. But that’s not the biggest thing. Naruto tells me this guy is fucking gorgeous!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“He’s got short black hair, light skin, dark ebony pools for eyes that you can get lost into for hours, and not to mention he has the body of a god.”

Sai stayed in his thinking position for a bit longer before a smile crossed his lips and he turned to the blonde.

“I thought we were talking about Uchiha Sasuke. What? Does Naruto-kun find me so irresistible that he sees me in other guys?”

“Like hell I do!”

“Do you have any sexual thoughts about him? Do anything with him and think about me instead?”

“Fuck no! Shut the hell up!”

“You don’t have to hide it. I’m right here whenever you need me.”

“Goddammit!”

Naruto pulled his gun out (yet again) and pulled the trigger when it was pointed in the spot between the eyes on the pale boy’s face. However, he didn’t move this time and a bullet never came out.

“What the hell?!”

“You seem to be out of ammo.”

“No shit, Sherlock!”

“Knock it off, you guys! I want to hear the rest of the story!”

She had to say that just when Naruto finally got the bullets into the chamber. Didn’t she realize he was doing both of them a huge favor? Nevertheless, he put his gun away and sat back down while giving a glare at the dark-haired man next to him.

“Glaring like that really doesn’t make you cute, you know.”

“You-”

“The story, Naruto.”

“What else is there?! He stopped me when I was about to turn in my bounty and accused me of some crime I didn’t commit!”

“A crime? But that’s insane. You never did anything that broke the law. None of us have.”

“You don’t suppose,” Sai added, “that they are trying to get Naruto-kun because of the way he behaves? With not just him, but all of us living a life that they don’t exactly claim as ‘normal’?”

“That could very well be the case! They can’t do that!”

“But he told me it wasn’t just me alone. He said that it was the Area Masters that were under question. And since I’m one of them, he’s been keeping a real close eye on me.”

Sakura shot up from her seat.

“Then who the hell are those other Area Masters that are breaking the law! They’re giving the others such a bad name! We should march over there and set them straight!”

The rest of the room erupted with hollers and cheers with clashing of glasses giving a toast to the violent idea. Naruto jumped from his seat and shouted over the sudden noise.

“No! I won’t have that! We’re not going to start some Area war just because one of them isn’t following the rules! What if the ones we attack are innocent? Then there’ll be endless fighting just because of one mistake!”

The rest of the bar grew quiet as Naruto continued.

“And what if the police are lying?! You know they never liked us or the way we’re living our lives! What if they’re just trying to get a fight started just so they can throw us all in jail?! I won’t let that happen! I won’t let anyone get hurt or in any trouble!”

Everyone remained silent and kept their eyes on the blonde before a deep voice broke the silence.

“Spoken like a true leader.”

Everyone turned their heads to the entrance of the room, watching a man clothed in black made his way down the stairs. He slowly walked to the center, not minding the glares and curses under people’s breaths as he kept his eyes on the one person who always held the center of attention. Naruto could see him lick his lips in a way that was just as taunting as much as it was seductive. It was a few more long moments before he finally stopped a few feet from the table the blonde and his friends were sitting, only a few inches away from the tan man himself.

No one else made a move and only kept their glares at the ANBU member that was standing so close to their precious Area Master. With this little break, Sasuke pulled another cigarette from his coat pocket and lit the end, taking his sweet time to breath in the harmful fumes before blowing it out in the air in front of him. Naruto’s glare only grew when some of the nasty smell hit his nostrils, never truly liking the smell of something that was so harmful to the body and never any helpful at the same time.

Once the remaining traces of the smoke slipped between the lips of the ANBU member, he spoke in a low voice, taunting the blonde, but loud enough to let the others hear.

“So what you’re saying,” he started, watching every move the Area Master made, “is that there’s another Area Master breaking the laws in our dear city of Konoha?”

“I never said anything like that,” Naruto spat.

“But from what I hear, you and your Area are not to blame on these crimes but someone else is.”

“Of course they are!”

Out from the group ran a shaggy-brunette running up to the front. He was dressed in all leather and fur with red marks on his cheeks that gave him the appearance of a wild wolf. And the rather large dog next to him helped with that assumption.

“You think Naruto here would let us get into trouble so we can get caught by the likes of you?! Why don’t you go ask the Kumo Area what they’re doing?!”

“Oh really?”

He settled the cigarette between his lips before slightly turning and giving his full attention to the dog-like man.

“And who leads the Kumo Area and where are they located?”

“Kiba! That’s enough!” Sakura shouted. “Don’t you see that the ANBU are only trying to track all of us down?! He wants us to sell them out! Or at the least, start a war!”

“Listen here, Uchiha.”

Sasuke didn’t even move his body, but only let his jet-black eyes hidden behind dark shades move back to the leader of the group.

“We’re bounty hunters. That means we’re the ones that hunt, not the ones that are hunted. We didn’t commit any crimes, bother any people, nor leave any trails for you to accuse us for and you know it. So why don’t you just head back to the station and leave us the fuck alone?”

The lips that gently gripped the white stick, now more than half of it burned to ashes, slowly curved into what was another taunting grin. Even through sunglasses, Naruto could see that it was a look that said he was going to prove him wrong once again.

“You may say that, but you’re sadly mistaken. Kyuubi-”

“You know that’s not my name,” he growled.

“The origin behind your name is from the legendary nine-tailed demon fox that terrorized the Konoha of folk tales. Your infamous for being compared to a fox, not just on looks but you’re way of thinking and plans executed. The dangerous way you collect your bounty is like that of a demon. The record for catching big game is nine in one month, the highest anyone has ever gotten. But most importantly…”

He reached into his coat pocket, God knows how deep those things are or what they hold, and pulled out several sheets covered in black and red ink.

“…the damage that you cause to the city. Every time you catch your prey, you destroy some part of the city. The repairs for your careless actions are becoming very expensive-”

“I pay for all the damages I’ve done! And for everyone else here as well!”

“Yeah!” Other people joined in.

“That’s right!”

“Don’t pull that shit on us!”

“Even if you give the city its money, it’s still an inconvenience for major roads to be smashed up or important government buildings to be reduced to rubble. There’s a way for things to be done but you always choose the most destructive and careless way to go.”

The bar grew completely silent except for the occasional rustles from people moving in discomfort and anger. All eyes were on the unwelcomed guest, but his dark eyes were locked with the azure eyes glaring right back at him. Several moments passed before the blonde placed his hands on his hips, never breaking eye contact, and spoke with a low voice with the hint of a growl.

“So what? Even when I pay my dues, you’re still going to punish me? You plan to arrest me now, Teme?”

“That’s not entirely true. City destruction is a way for me to get to you. But the other crimes are what I’m going to be watching you for. So until then, you’ll be placed under house arrest.”

“House arrest?!” Someone yelled. “So now he’s just gonna be sitting in the bar doing nothing but drinking and hanging with us?!”

“Oh, that’s a horrible punishment!”

“Tragic!”

“Hey! Can I be under house arrest, too?!”

The bar broke into an uproar of laughter, leaving the ANBU leader in the dark of what seemed to be so amusing.

“I’m sorry,” Sai said over the rolls of laughter in the bar, “but none of us really have a permanent residence of what you would call ‘home’, so all of us live in this place. Leaving Naruto-kun here is a bit ridiculous.”

“Of course it is,” Sasuke said with a larger smirk than earlier. “Which is why I’ll be taking your precious Area Master with me. A place where I can keep a real close eye on him. God knows what can happen to someone trapped in this dump, even for pathetic scum like you who hide from the light of day.”

“You son of a-”

The raven easily avoided a punch from a large man aimed at the back of his head. He tried throwing another punch and then another, but each time, Sasuke moved out of the way.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Naruto yelled out.

Both members ignored the blonde’s shouts as Sasuke elegantly jumped on a nearby table, avoiding yet again another swing from the brute. At that point, another man near the occupied table decided to enter the fray and pull out a sword. But all efforts were for not when the raven easily avoided the sword as well and jumped in a position right in front of the Area Master.

And on impact of the landing, Naruto could see. The ANBU member had a smug look on his face, that taunting smirk and those haunting onyx eyes watching the blonde’s every move and expression. As if he was putting something out. Laying down some bait. Waiting for him to make a move.

So that was it.

Sai, not happy with the party-crasher’s behavior, let the playful smile slide off his face when he pulled out a gun (from God knows where) and attempted to fire at the other raven’s head. It really was an annoyance like that, for Sasuke to even avoid a shot from one of the “higher ups”, and still have such a smug look on his face. Even Sai’s calm façade was beginning to crumble where annoyance was starting to show itself on his face.

“All of you! Stop it right now!”

In the next moment, after Sakura shouted at the men, she was on her knees and covering her ears. A loud gunshot rang through the entire bar, stopping all other sounds and halting the movements of both the dark ANBU member and the rest of the rowdy people. Letting their eyes trace to the source of the sound, they saw the long, silver gun pointed to the air with a bit of smoke still seeping through the mouth. Naruto, holding the gun with his finger still on the trigger, looked at all of his followers with one of his rare stern faces, with a glare enough to make each person he looked at in the eyes shudder from such an intense stare. The only one who seemed unphased by such a look was none other than Sasuke.

After grabbing everyone’s attention, the blonde returned the gun to its holder and settled his eyes on the black shades covering Uchiha’s face. Step by step, he slowly made his way to stand in front of the blonde, people parting to make a path for their leader and watching for his next move. It was something that was halting everyone’s breathing. Everyone’s next move now depended on what Naruto would do in the next few minutes. They all impatiently waited on how they were going to dispose of the unwanted ANBU.

“If any of you,” he started with a harsh whisper. “If any of you try and kill him, do you know what would happen?”

Everyone, even Sakura and Sai, remained silent so the blonde would continue.

“He came into this bar on his own. We get that. There are no cameras or windows for the outside world to know what’s going on in here. That’s both a strength and a weakness.”

Behind the sunglasses, a thin black eyebrow rose as he continued.

“All of you are thinking that we can get rid of this guy no problem, right? No witnesses and we can dispose of him easily. But the thing is that he already told his group that he would come down here and meet us. He probably even put a time limit on how long he would be down here unless something was to happen. If we kill him, or so much as hurt him, we could all be in serious trouble.”

“Yeah but-”

“And even if he did come down here to attack us himself, we would surely strike him back. He knows that. They know that. But with him injured, it would be his word against ours to the outside world. Even if one of our own were to be hurt and worse off than him.”

Naruto saw those lips curve into a small smirk, appreciating the fact that the Area Master was able to catch onto such a trick so easily. But he knew, both of them knew, that things would only continue to play that way unless one had to meet the demands of the other. That, or the other way around. But Sasuke, as long as Naruto had encountered the raven, was extremely stubborn and loyal to the job that he does. And the people who followed under the blonde, like Naruto, had a short fuse themselves. Unfortunately, it was Naruto who had to give in.

“Okay.”

The blonde loosened his belts, leaving everyone in the bar speechless to what he was doing. When putting the last of his weapons, when gently putting his precious silver gun, his “Rasengan”, onto the table, he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear and for everyone to not mistaken what he had just said.

“I’ll go with you, ANBU.”

“Na-Naruto…?”

Sakura said it with such a small voice. But even if she spoke louder, she would have been ignored. Naruto, not taking his eyes off of Uchiha, took a couple of more steps forward until he was only a couple of meters away. Noting the seriousness in his face, Sasuke’s smirk grew even more when he reached into his coat pocket once again and pulled out some special cuffs.

“Looks like I caught myself a fox,” he cooed.

The cerulean eyes narrowed, not liking the joke. But even so, the raven continued with his duty. He gently spun the blonde around, making sure not to do anything to provoke anyone since he already had what he came for, and placed the thick cuffs on the blonde’s wrists.

“Special cuffs for you,” he whispered into the blonde’s ear. “Since I don’t want to lose my precious prize…”

Naruto tried his best to keep a straight face and ignore the shudder that ran through hid entire body. He knew that Sasuke did that in his right ear on purpose, it being so sensitive. If there was a blindside or a spot where no one was looking, then he probably would have licked or bit his ear as well.

The raven took a quick look around and saw all glares settled on him. He knew this was expected. Now all that was left was to make it out without anyone attacking.

“Don’t worry guys.”

Onyx eyes traveled back to the blonde’s face to see a large grin settled on his lips. Although it was always that same smile he always saw, he could tell that this time it was forced.

“I’ll be alright,” he continued. “Just make sure that you guys keep doing what you’re doing and not do anything that will get the law involved. Alright?”

Sasuke gave a gentle nudge indicating it was time for them to leave. The ANBU agent kept a firm grasp on the cuffs and kept his eyes on the door, ignoring all the nasty glares from the people who were having their leader taken away. Reaching the steps, indicating that they were now in the clear, Naruto quickly stopped and turned his head to call over his shoulder.

“Oh! And Sakura-chan! I’m putting you in charge for now! Make sure you keep everyone in line!”

And with that last line left in the air, the two of them were gone. Murmurs among the people began to surface, all with disapproving statements and complaints on the event that they just witnessed.

“Damn it!” Kiba yelled while punching his own hand. “What the hell is Blondie thinking?! Giving himself up to the police like that!”

“Don’t think of it like that!” Sakura snapped. “Naruto just did us all a huge favor! He gave himself up for now to keep the police off of our tails.”

She clutched her fist and slowly brought them up to cover her chest, almost trying to cover her heart.

“That idiot….He’s always doing such rash things like that. To protect everyone else and never thinking of himself.”

“Don’t worry, Sakura-chan.”

She looked over and saw that same smile, fake as it may be or not, settled on Sai’s face.

“There’s no way anyone can tame a wild animal like Naruto-kun. He’ll be back with us soon enough.”

She looked back down at her hands and thought about what the pale man said. Yes, Naruto was Naruto, so there would be no chance that they can get him to break, no matter what kind of torture methods they would try on them. That little thought gave the pink-haired woman a bit more courage.

“Now, if you don’t mind,” he continued. “There are people who are awaiting the temporary leader’s orders.”

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting relief fill herself and letting go of all doubt and fear. Once her heart had settled down, her eyes shot open, filled with determination, hoping to not let Naruto down now that she was put in charge.

“Okay everyone! Listen up!”