Deceitful (A Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 56: Sakura

"Izaya's the nephew and Seiji is the leader." I repeated, committing it to memory. Both gave nods of acknowledgment. A momentary silence occurred as I continued to try to formulate the plan in my head.

"Hey." A voice cut through my jumbled thoughts, first sharp then melting into something softer.

"We know what we're doing and we know your capabilities. You got this. We'll be in the vicinity if anything goes wrong." Ino spoke, cerulean eyes firm with surety and determination that reminded me of her father's. I sighed slightly before nodding in acknowledgment.

"If things weren't so dire, I would've liked some more time to prepare and train. It doesn't help that you'd probably be better fit because you've trained for this." I mumbled, letting out my fears and insecurities about the situation.

Ino chuckled softly.

"Trust me, this job doesn't get any easier with training. It's like swimming for the first time—you dive headfirst and either sink or swim." Ino spoke thoughtfully, stirring her straw in her drink.

"And from what I've heard, you tend to do well under pressure." Sai added.

"Not really." I spoke darkly, my mind flashing back to every time I've buckled under pressure, which was more often than not.

"You're so stubborn, you'll be alright!" Ino groaned, grasping my hand and giving it a squeeze of reassurance.

"Okay fine, fine." I put my hands up in surrender, dropping the subject.

"There's a bar across the street from here that we'll be at tonight, as well as Seiji and Izaya. It's the only bar in town so you can't miss it. Mostly you'll be alone during the whole event but we'll keep an eye on you. We figured that you can handle yourself but if it comes to it we can intervene." Sai stated.

"Sounds good. I'm assuming no one should figure out I'm a ninja?" I responded, tapping the table absentmindedly.

"It'd be beneficial to hide it unless absolutely necessary." Sai answered calmly.

"Anyway, we gotta go—kept on a tight leash." She explained, pausing before continuing.

"Meet us there around 9:30, and wear something pretty. At least look your age for once, or they might not let you in." Ino teased as I groaned.

"Do you really think I had the time to pack a change of clothes?" I muttered as she snorted.

"Buy something and chalk it up as a mission expense." She stopped as she saw the look of disapproval on my face and sighed.

"Here, a travel scroll with everything you'll need. You're lucky I come prepared." She finished as I laughed.

"I hardly think packing club dancing clothes constitutes as coming prepared." I spoke with an air of ascension, lips tilting upward as we fell into our old banter.

"Two different worlds." She shrugged, smiling back while handing me the scroll. I tucked it away as the both of them got up to leave.

The constant surge of chakra fell slightly and manifested itself as a thrumming beat as I recognized the change.

Ino waved and spoke loudly, saying "It was great catching up, we definitely need to meet your grandmother! Such a wise woman."