Over a week had passed so far since Sasuke and Sakura had been labelled fugitive criminals.
During that week, one of Naruto's most trusted people had become Sai. Though he was an abrasive jerk at first, Sai had done well to prove his loyalty to their office. Naruto had been almost overwhelmed by the amount of information that Sai had found. Akatsuki was more extensive and more dangerous than they expected. They'd gone to work once Ino was awake, piecing everything together and relying on Dr. Senju to keep an eye on the blonde. She was conditionally allowed to go home under supervision. Dr. Senju had even agreed to make home visits; this was to put her in immediate protective custody again under Sai's watch.
"What do we have?" The blonde asked, his usual jovial demeanour gone, replaced by a serious, almost businesslike face as he entered the safehouse. He was the last one to arrive, it seemed.
"Well, we've traced some of their dealings to a company that we may be able to get insider details from... assuming certain parties can cooperate, that is." This was the lead they'd been looking for over the last two months. Naruto wondered, could it have anything to do with Idate Shimura? Or rather... Itachi Uchiha?
That had been a difficult part of things for Naruto to wrap his head around. The real Idate Shimura was dead, rumoured to be killed by Sasuke, with Sakura's help, in an explosive house fire at her previous residence. The same place that Sakura had been attacked in by Hidan just a few months before. Rather than face the push for incarceration, they'd gone on the run... with a bit of under-the-table assistance from friends. The unfortunate part was that it made them look more guilty than they were... but it was a necessity.
"We have to be careful how we approach things," Chief Hatake spoke. He was the most unlikely of their allies; he was the head of their department, sworn to follow the letter of the law... and yet here he was, assisting them in an underhanded investigation. He could smell the corruption just as well as they could.
"If it means getting my best friend and Sakura out of being on the run for the rest of their lives, then screw it. We'll damn well do it," Naruto said, slamming a hand down on the table. "Sasuke never deserved this, and neither did Sakura! We were just... we were all doing our damn jobs, nothing more!" He was tired of the waiting. He wanted results, and he wanted them now. He hated sitting on his ass like this. It made him antsy.
"Calm down, Naruto," Ino said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know better than anyone how little Sakura deserved any of what she's been given. The only thing we have to count on is that she's with Sasuke. He won't let anything happen to her." Ino's memories had yet to return fully, but her instincts seemed clear as ever. She'd recently been released from the hospital on doctor's orders; it was earlier than anticipated, but with Dr. Senju now on their side, they had her to look out for Ino.
Naruto sighed. "Yeah... I know. I'm just worried, ya know? Worried that he's going to have to live like this the rest of his life... when all he deserves is a little justice for what happened. Just a little." He was angry. His friend had done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve this, and the authorities couldn't understand that he was a victim.
"He won't. Trust me." Ino chewed her lip. "Worst case scenario, if they get brought in, I can assure you, they will have the best goddamn lawyer they can have. And Konoha is going to lose the only prosecutor that could prosecute their damn case." Naruto turned with a skeptical look at Ino, hearing her words; Sai's and Kakashi's gazes also followed.
"Ino, you wouldn't," Naruto asked, shocked beyond belief.
"You are damn right I would. I will quit my job and become their damned defence lawyer if it means getting them out of things. The prosecution department had better fear me because I will raise hell to save my best friend." Ino's look was dead serious. He'd never seen her this serious. To give up her job to defend her best friend in court, knowing she would be one of the only defence lawyers capable of getting them off scot-free?
"Let's stop it before it gets to that," Kakashi said, holding up a hand to slow them down. "Sai, who was this contact you wanted us to get in touch with?"
Sai produced a file, opening it and setting it down on the table in front of them. "We have reason to believe that portions of Akatsuki may have contracts with Hyuuga Security Industries. I doubt we'll be able to get close to the heiress, but..."
"Hinata?" Ino asked, an incredulous look on her face. "You want to get her involved? I don't know about that," Ino said, shaking her head slowly. "Hinata... Hinata's sweet, and--"
"And not the person they'll see coming," Naruto continued. "I don't like it either, but Sai's right, and on top of that, Hinata has been suspicious of what we've been doing lately. I think Hinata's someone we can count on to have our backs. She'll help, I'm certain of it. And if we talk to Neji, maybe he'll help as well." Naruto hadn't heard much about Neji–he was just a beat cop, after all–but they could hope that if Hinata were helping, she'd be able to get Neji to help as well. The more people they could get on their side to solve the case, the better.
"You forget she's my friend, I swear," Ino said with a frown. "We will not be using manipulation tactics on her. Don't ask me why because it's not my story to tell, but damn it, if she's involved, it's by choice. I'll fight you all on this." Naruto could see the determination in Ino's eyes, but he agreed with her sentiments. Hinata was their friend; manipulating her wouldn't be suitable for their case. Though they were working under the table on these cases, they still had to ensure their morals were intact. Otherwise, they were no better than the tactics Akatsuki was using to take them all out.
"So... who should talk to her?" Naruto asked. Sai opened his mouth, only to be stopped abruptly by Ino, who just answered with an abrupt denial, quickly shutting the agent up. She then pointed directly at Naruto, who looked deeply confused.
"Yes, you," Ino said slowly like she thought he wasn't quite getting it.
"But... why me?" He barely knew Hinata; how was he supposed to be the one to talk to her about it?
"Three reasons. One, Sai's too blunt, and he'll probably screw it up." Sai looked sheepish at that comment, rubbing the back of his neck. "Two, Chief Hatake has too much authority, so it'll look suspicious. Three, I'm too directly connected to this case, both through Sakura and through everything else, that it also would be suspicious, and I kind of don't know all of the details of our friendship because thanks, head trauma. You can easily just ask her out for coffee, talk to her, and everyone will be none the wiser. For all they know, you're just asking another cute girl on a date." Ino gave him a sweet smile, causing Naruto to frown.
"You make it sound like all I do is ask girls out on cute dates," he replied indignantly. Ino shrugged her shoulders and hummed a little, and that only made him frown more. He didn't always ask girls on dates! Just the ones he thought were cute! Which happened to be... Tenten, Ino, and Sakura now. Oh, and there were a few lawyers, too... And that one prosecutor that changed offices a few weeks ago...
...shoot, he really did ask girls on dates at the office a lot.
"Okay, okay, I'll ask her," he agreed, crossing his arms grumpily. "Sheesh, you're pushy, ya know," he grumbled in Ino's direction. He was grumpy that she'd pointed out that fact. He didn't mean to look like a womanizer, but she certainly made it look that way!
"I know. Call me cupid." She flipped her hair over her shoulder proudly. "And don't forget to send me a wedding invitation~."
"Oi, oi, oi, who said anything about a wedding?! I'm askin' her out for coffee, not an actual date," he defended. What was with Ino and having wedding bells on her mind?
"Yeah, yeah. And Sakura and Sasuke were just crime partners with one who accidentally sent basically nudes to the other," Ino teased offhandedly. Her comment led to total silence and astonishment from everyone in the room. Ino slapped her hands over her mouth, realizing her mistake, and everyone stared for a very, very long time before Naruto's voice broke the awkward silence.
"THEY DID WHAT?!" He screeched, channelling the dramatic atmosphere with his hands on his head. He-- he couldn't believe this! That stupid, conniving, obnoxious, thick-headed, egotistical detective! "YOU'RE TELLIN' ME I ASKED HER ON A DATE AFTER THEY'D ALREADY EXCHANGED NUDES?!" Oh, what kind of a sick joke was this?! Had Sasuke planned this?! Why, that royal bastard! Naruto wouldn't have put it past him to do that kind of thing just to screw with him. He was such an ass sometimes! Had he intended to just screw around with things and--
"Will you un-knot your panties for five seconds already?!" Ino screeched back, slapping a hand over Naruto's mouth and staring at him with a deadly glare. "I said basically nudes, meaning almost nudes, and god damn it, none of you ever heard me say that you hear me?!" she scolded, causing everyone to recoil. "None! Nada! Zip! Zilch! Zero!" For one (of many) first times in his life, Naruto feared for his safety. Ino would kill him if he said anything. He knew it. That knowledge, however, wasn't enough to stop him from walking into the prospect of certain death.
"Oi, oi, oi, but why would they be excha--"
Ino snapped a finger in front of his face, promptly shutting him up. "Not. A. Word. I hear the word 'nudes' come out of your mouth, and it better involve a bowl of ramen." As if on cue, Naruto's stomach growled; it was like ramen awakened a demonic beast inside of his gut every time it became a subject. It was loud enough that everyone heard it, leading them to all stare at him like he'd rudely interrupted a conversation.
"I'm sorry! I like ramen!" He pouted, sinking into one of the chairs in defeat. Couldn't a man enjoy a bowl of warm, slippery noodles without being judged for it? Oh, their salty goodness... Oh, how he wanted some of that so, so badly right now. The way it melted in his mouth and made his taste buds dance--
"Naruto? Hello? Focus?" Ino was snapping her fingers in front of his face again, looking disgruntled. His stomach growled again, and he hung his head sheepishly.
"Okay, okay! But... can I ask her out for ramen instead? There's a special going on at old man Ichiraku's restaurant, and I have a coupon--"
"Oh. My god. No wonder. Coupons on a date is so tacky." Ino pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah. Fine. Okay. Ask her out for ramen. I hope for your sake she doesn't hate ramen." Naruto's eyes lit up at the sound of it; his mouth was already watering from the idea.
"All right! Yeah! Ramen it is! And I'll see what Hinata knows as cleverly as I can." He chuckled and made a note on his phone so that he wouldn't forget. "All right. So Hinata's our best bet, then. Let's start there, and we'll see what's gonna happen!" With a chorus of nods around the room, they each went their separate ways, Naruto knowing he needed to head home and prepare everything he could to get ready for his... "date" with Hinata.