Naruto 1. 1: Leaving

Apostrophes and italics- '_Thinking'_

Quotations and straight- "Talking"

Parentheses- (A/Ns or inner monologue)

**Leaving**

"You don't have to go, you know..." he pleaded, though you couldn't tell by his tone of voice.

Sakura turned around.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but I have to get stronger if I'm going to help Naruto bring Sasuke back."

She had gotten over Sasuke sometime amongst her training with Tsunade...still though, she...The _village _needed him back, and Shikamaru Nara was the only person in the village that was aware of her departure.

He _was_ her best friend, after all. The thing was, that she hadn't told him about this leaving.

Well, they don't call him the Lazy _Genius_ for nothing...

"All the others are going to miss you," he paused and looked down, "_I'm _going to miss you..."

Sakura blushed lightly, and lowered her head as well.

"I know...I'm really sorry Shika, but I have to do this."

Shikamaru gave a small smile and chuckled mirthlessly, "Okay...Just don't be too troublesome."

Sakura smiled and grabbed him in a sudden hug. He was startled, but lightly placed an arm around her.

"Goodbye, Shikamaru..." her voice trembled and a single, silent tear rolled down her flushed cheek.

''Bye, Sakura...be safe...''

He was obviously worried about her well-being.

''I will, I promise.'' she nodded.

They released each other and Sakura started walking. Casting one last glance at each other, Sakura started down the one and only path _**out **_of the Hidden Leaf Village; he same one Uchiha Sasuke had taken, five years ago.

_**...**_

Sakura had been traveling, restlessly hopping from tree banch to tree branch for hours. She landed in a small clearing sheltered by mountains. Judging by the position of the moon, _'It's midnight,' _She mentally concluded.

"I'll camp here..." she mumbled tiredly.

She set up her tent, and went straight to bed. She was _exhausted._ But luckily, she came prepared.

**...**

Nearly four hours later, Sakura was woken by a growling sound...

She bolted upwards.

"Who's there?" she demanded, bringing chakra to her fist to prepare herself for who or _what_ever was lerking outside her tent.

_Growl_

Insert sweatdrop here.

"Oh, it's just my stomach..."

She grabbed an apple out of the pack she had been dragging around all day, rubbed it on her shirt, and minutes later, apple long since devoured, she heard snapping twigs, and rustling in the trees.

"Show yourself!" she demanded.

She could make out a shadow in the darkness and went chasing after it. It immediately started raining with some nasty thunder and lightning following. **(of course TT_TT)**

Sakura was running as fast as she could, after the shadow figure only a few feet away from her.

Suddenly, the figure evaporated.

"Get back here!" she stopped running and did a 360 scan, searching for any trace of her _guest_.

In the blink of an eye, an eradicating bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. Sakura had to shield her face from the wooden shards coming at her. It wasn't until the tree was a foot or so away from crushing her small form, that she could look up.

'_It's too quick to dodge_,' she panicked, unable to focus her chakra in time.

Before she passed out from shock and panic, she saw a rush of yellow swoop into her and move her out of the way.

She then heard voices above her...

"Is that her, Senpai?" one childish, excited voice asked.

''How many Kunoichi do you _know _with pink hair, yeah?'' another answered pointedly.

(guess who!)

...

**Yeah, yeah, I know, 'short first chapter'...Don't worry, the following chapters will be ****A LOT**** longer...I think...besides, I ****actually**** want you guys to guess who the two people are...Even though the second one should be obvious...**

**So guess, guess, guess if you can! **

_Tobi: You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!_

**Wrong song, Tobi.**

_Tobi: *sulks*_

**Oh well...**

**~Raven100 **


	2. 2: Found

**Thank God for Christmas break, holy crap.(Even though it'll definitely be way over by the time I upload this[Upload, update, whatever! I'm so used to YouTube..]) It means more writing, and more updating. I've actually got like 3 more Naruto stories that I plan on uploading eventually,(All of which are ShikaSaku or an AU DeiSaku) but I've either hit writers block with them, or I'm procrastinating. I do that a lot. **_**Not **_**that having a break from the **_**Hell house that is school, **_**makes much of a difference...Being the insomniac I am, you could all guess what it is exactly that I'm doing on my computer at 4 AM on a school night, **_**after**_**my dad turns off the Wi-Fi. ^_^'**

**Also, my spell check is fucked, so sorry for any errors in this stuff, for, alas, it can't be helped.**

**(stupid windows 7 wordpad! .)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All rights and characters go Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. **

**Found**

Sakura shifted sleepily, slowly recovering from her daze.

The wind was blowing furiously against her as she made an attempt to sit up, but froze immediately when she heard shuffling, and then a voice.

''My bird won't last much longer out in this rain. Hmm...'' Oh, yeah, it was raining, too. Great.

''Senpai, maybe we should land and find shelter before Miss Sakura catches a cold.''

Umm...Wait a minute, BIRD!

Sakura was about ready to jump out of her skin(and off of the bird) when she cracked her eyes open and looked around.

_'Side: Alatsuki with a lollipop mask...?_

_Front: Blond Akatsuki with a topknot..._

_Wait...I remember him...He was in that cave when...Sasori...His...partner...?'_

Then, it hit Sakura.

She was on a clay bird. With a lollipop and Sasori's partner. The guy who killed Gaara, whom she decidedly referred to as her cousin.

_'Well, if this guy survived against Gaara, Naruto, _and_Kakashi-sensei, then I'm willing to bet he must a lot better than Sasori...Great...'_

She was also willing to bet that Sasori _had _to be the _least _bit close to his partner,-judging by their constant art rants- and vice versa, and that he was probably going to kill her on his own accord. _Without _the appointed mission from his 'leader'.

And then she looked down.

_'Ohh...Shit...'_ At this particular moment, she chose to jump, with an almost inaudible 'eep'. Just not out of her skin, or any other vital tissues/appendages.

Though it may have been off of the bird, had it not been for the artist catching her hand with a grunt.

''Looks like Sakura-chan is awake, Senpai!'' The lollipop chirped.

''Oi! Tobi no Baka! Shut up and grab her! She's weighing down and unevening**(Not even a word)** the bird, and I have to _steer _the Goddamned thing, yeah!'' The one she knew as Deidara yelled agitatedly at 'Tobi'.

Meanwhile, below this little fuss, Sakura was hanging onto Deidara's hand-and was trying _immensely _hard to ignore the _mouths _there(Stupid bloodline trait!)- for dear life as she stared downwards, unable to do much else. She willed her self greatly not to cry, mainly through all the events rushing by in her head. She couldn't very well find her voice, either, so asking those two to shut the hell up -and pull _her _in the same direction- was out of the question.

She felt someone grab her other hand and haul her up, where she landed not-so-gracefully on her butt.

That bird sure was getting formidably(sp?) squishy.

_So _much so, that she had a slight sinking feeling.

And it wasn't in her stomach.

''Dammit, yeah!'' Deidara barked, ''Now of all times!''

He turned back to face Tobi and Sakura.

''Tobi! Keep a good hold on her! I'm going to have to bring it in for a crash landing! We can't risk-'' Deidara blinked at Sakura's features.

She was staring at him blankly, not looking the least bit panicked. She looked more practiced, as if she was waiting for a direction of some sort.

And jeez, he had seen her hair before, but wow.

-Anyways...

Right then, the mission felt a whole lot easier.

She hadn't killed them yet.

_'Not to mention, she has the most unique shade of green for her eyes. Danna would have liked that. It sure is ever-preserved beauty if you ask me.'_ **(A/N: Wow. OOC much, DeiDei?)**

Deidara was brought out of his musings as he became unsteady by the nose**(Or beak! *snickers*) **of his bird dipping forward. The tail fell apart and down to the ground -That, mind you, was some ways away- and landing in a pile of mush. This made Deidara scowl at the rain, and Mother Nature in particular, **(Not that way, you dirty-minded pervs!) **and grabbed Sakura's hand once more as he cursed under his breath, pulling her towards him. Tobi followed quickly after, crawling in terror only to cuddle up on Deidara's leg.

Deidara glared at the boy, but went on.

''This damned weather. It always gets in the way, doesn't it? But luckily...I came prepared. Hmph.'' Deidara mumbled as he reached into the pouch on his side.**(We only need one for this.)**

Sakura was standing behind Deidara-on the head of the bird- where he had put her, staring at the other end of the bird, which was falling apart and downwards.

Then, Sakura realized something:

_'Once the wings are gone, we're screwed.'_

It just so happened, that the wings were getting _very _soggy, and they flapped slower than usual.

The bird was falling faster by the second.

In a blur of movement, Deidara had thrown something into the air, made a hand sign, and revealed that 'something' to be another bird.

Sakura's brow furrowed, and she looked over to Deidara, who was smirking at his creation.

She chose now to speak up.

''Won't this put us in an _achingly _similar predicament?''

He turned to her.

''Not if I_ land _the bird _before_ history repeats itself.'' He stated blankly.

Sakura glared at him before he kicked Tobi off of his leg. **(Confusing, right?)**

Forcing the masked Akatsuki to stand up, Deidara grabbed Sakura's hand once more, and jumped over to the new, still-in-one-piece bird, with Tobi close behind.

Once steadied, Sakura glared at Deidara.**(Again!)**

''I could've hopped this thing myself, you know.'' She wrenched her hand from his in annoyance.

''I know.'' He said, grinning at her like a chessy.

She scowled. And blushed.

He moved himself to the front of the bird to steer it to land.

_**... **_

Only a few minutes of walking and a stalking clay bird later, the two Akatsuki and the cherry blossom had found a suitable cave**(So cliche and over-used, I know...)** that was found to be rid of any animals. Threatening or otherwise.

Found to be rid of said animals, mainly because Tobi was sent in singing and asking, rather loudly, if anyone wanted to play with him.

Seeing as he came back out in one piece, they deemed it safe enough to crash in until it was clear outside.

_**...**_

Sakura sat across from the two men on opposite sides of the cave wall, **(Let's just say right here that Deidara or Tobi had gone out for some firewood along the way, because I'm lazy like that)** clad in only her white bindings and black undershorts. **(I'm also too lazy to check if they're black or navy blue.)**

She had advised them to all shed their over clothing, -seeing as they were soaking wet and one of them could catch pnemonia- which for them, consisted of their cloaks.

Lucky Akatsuki bastards.

So she sat there across from the two S-class criminals, looking, for lack of a better word, _uncomfortable_.

What was going on?

Why hadn't she run from them yet?

Fought them?

And...

Why hadn't they killed her?

Sakura sighed, looking up to the ceiling, and closing her eyes.

_'I don't know why, but I get this strange feeling like they're not going to hurt me. Not physically, anyway. Whatever it is they want with me, I'm going to have to see it through. It's not like I've got anywhere else to go, anyway.'_

She sighed again and opened her eyes, only to see Tobi sitting cross-legged in front of her, bouncing his legs excitedly.

''So Cherry-chan's name is Sakura-chan?'' He asked.

''No. Just Sakura.'' She bit dryly.

''So...Sakura, huh?'' She looked to her left swiftly to see Deidara crouching beside her.

''How uncreative, yeah. It only brings more attention to these pink locks of yours...'' He said, looking at her blankly while tossing said pink locks around for emphasis.

Sakura-you guessed it...maybe- sighed and shook her head.

It was going to be a long night.

_**...**_

**Yay! Longer, no?**

**I have a question. Have any of you ever thought over Deidara's accent/speech habit of saying 'un', 'yeah', 'hmm', or 'hmph'? I used to use 'un' a lot because it was fitting and fun to say.**

**But after reading so many awesome fics that say 'yeah', I adapted to it. But sometimes **_**it**_** isn't fitting either, so I put 'hmph' in instead, if you noticed in this chap.**

**Jeeze, I'm over-thinking this.**

**But I just had to ask.**

**So does it bother you guys as much as it does me?**

**(Which really isn't all that much.)**

**Sigh...**

**~Raven100**


	3. 3: Angst

_Accidentally_

_Chapter 3: Angst _

**-Konoha-**

The village was in turmoil.

Well, its shinobi, more like...

Sure it's only been a day or two, but still. Konohagakure just didn't function correctly without her. The Rookie 9 were devistated, and the Hokage was drinking way more than her pink haired apprentice would allow without proper scolding.

The hospital was behind.

The Jounin were confused.

The Anbu were clueless.

The Chuunin-Naruto's year-had it worse.

Naruto was constantly screaming at Baa-chan to hurry the hell up and bring his precious Sakura-chan home. Lee wasn't training. Ino was frantic. Akamaru wouldn't stop whimpering.

Shikamaru was guilty. But that wasn't something that could bring _him_ down, no. That's not nearly enough. Although, when you add that guilt to the pain, angst, and depression...It gets a little tough.

_Chouji _couldn't even bring him out of his current state.

Yes, it was _that bad_.

She was certainly something else. All too easy to get along with. They saw most things in the same way. She was different than other girls; the ones who often stood around and criticized the perspective of men**(Ever notice how Shika has always been a bit sexist? XD)**. She didn't do that. She would take what was thrown at her and make do with what she had been given.

She was at peace with nature; in whatever way you could interpret that.

Ever since he, Kiba, Neji, Choji, and Naruto left on their journey all those five years ago to bring Sasuke back to the village...To see her sobbing, crying, straight in front of him because of that treaturous bastard, was too much. Before that scene, however, he had confronted her and told her- PROMISED her that he would make Naruto give that jackass an extra hit for her.

And damn did he ever.

He'd said he never liked Sasuke much, but, truth be told...He hated him. Hated him for holding such an unspeakable burden over Sakura.

He _knew_ what he was doing to her, every second of every day that they worked together as Genin, and this made him cocky.

Sakura had told Shikamaru personally that she didn't want to save Sasuke just for the sole purpose of bringing him home and getting rid of another rogue shinobi. Oh, no. She wanted to get even. She was going to show him the _exact _pain he had laid upon her when he'd left the village.

Only he would feel it a bit more..._physically_.

Oh, yes.

Sakura was going to _skin his ass_.

And Shikamaru was going to watch with utter delight.

_'Sakura, good luck. Be safe.'_

OoOoOo

"But Baa-chan! You _have_ to do _something!_"

"Naruto, I told you, we have absolutely NO leads from Anbu. That leaves _me _in the dark as well."

Tsunade was arguing valiantly against Naruto, trying very hard herself not to break down. She was, of course, drinking.

Sakura was like Tsunade's designated driver. Although, there was a weekly exception. Friday night.

Sakura was like a daughter to her, Naruto her son. Son that she just wants to slam through the wall every now and then.

_'Sakura...I hope you're okay.'_

OoOoOo

Ino was currently pacing the floors of the Hyuuga estate, hastily listing and resiting everything she knew about Sakura.

For what reason, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi did not understand.

Wether it was to come up with a lead, or simply to comfort herself...on second thought, she could just be losing her mind. Yup, let's go with that.

_'Billboard Brow, Billboard Brow, Billboard Brow...'_

OoOoOo

"Uh...Lee? You...you okay? Aren't you gonna...oh, Lee, please stand up..." TenTen didn't know if she should try to comfort him, or leave him to his own youthful, emo, musings.

"My cherry blossom of youth and sunshine...is...is gone..." Anime tears and dignity spilling, Lee failed, yet again, to stand up.

They'd been on the training grounds for about three and a half hours now. The whole time TenTen just watched Lee swing at air and, at one point when they had visitors, almost kick Akamaru.

And got his ass chewed out-almost literally-by Kiba.

_'Oh sweet Sakura-san...please, do be__**(Doobie! HAHA!) **__youthful and unharmed...'_

OoOoOo

**-Sound-**

"Mmm, Sasuke? I've just recieved a report from one of my spies in the Leaf Village. It seems that a tragedy has taken place. They've lost another shinobi."

Sasuke didn't even bother to turn to Orochimaru to state his reply. It would have been a bad idea anyway; you should always be paying full attention while polishing a seven-foot long sword, if you wish to keep all of your appendages in tact.

"So what? That's how things are in this world. People come, people go."

"No no, you misunderstand me, boy. They've lost a shinobi, as in, missing. Possibly rogue." He wanted to keep this conversation going.

Namely because Orochimaru remembered this one's face and name all too well, and his antisocial apprentice would sure get a kick out of it.

On the inside, anyway.

Sasuke sighed. That damn sharingan. Not wanting to annoy his teacher so he could get another hour of training in, he played along.

"Oh, really? Who is it then?"

Orochimaru grinned in his creepy, sadistic, pedophile-ish way.

"Oh, I'm not sure. Rumors say it's one of _your _year's Chunin. One, Haruno Sakura? Do you know of her, Sasuke?"

Sasuke paused for a moment before standing.

"I'm going to bed. No disturbances." And so Sasuke head down the long corridors.

He scoffed half-heartedly, and his eyes narrowed.

_'Sakura...'_

OoOoOo

**YAY! Done! Finito!**

**I. Am. SO. Sorry, you guys. My computer got this nasty virus a little over a month ago, and it was BAD. So we swiped it. Not before putting all my documents on a flash drive, of course. So I was back in action and going full speed for about a week.**

**Until I got the SAME. DAMN. VIRUS. AGAIN. **

**So I had it back again, all safety-fied and clean.**

**But then report cards came out.**

**I lost it for about another two weeks for my F in Science, and D's in Social Studies and Language Arts.**

**But at least I have an A in Math! :D**

**Shikamaru: You're ranting again, Rae-chan.**

**Damn. I know.**

**SO.**

**This is just a short-ish update on how it's going for...everyone but Sakura and the Akatsuki.**

**I know that the timing is off for Sasuke-teme to still be up and training with Orochimaru. But I don't care. Let's just say that Oro needed a new vessel sometime while Sasuke was away on some long assasination mission. =D**

**If you want me to give an update on how someone else is making it through the whole 'Sakura Disappearing Act', I'll be happy to do it for almost anyone. Just PM me! ^_^**

**(Exceptions: Kabuto, Sasuke-teme, & Orochimaru)**

**I mainly just did the majors in this one.**

**OH! AND-**

**Hidan: Wrap it the fuck up all ready!**

**Shut it, Hida-chan!**

**So! TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR AN IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY UPDATE!**

**WILL BE UP BY 4:00 PM EST.**

**SEE YA!**

**Shikamaru & Hidan: Finally...**

**Grr...**

**~Raven100 **


	4. 4: Understatement

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 4: **_**Understatement**_

Sakura awoke quite unceremoniously to...well...screaming.

Begrudgingly opening her eyes, she sat up slowly, stretching hastily and stood, momentarily wondering why she was in a cave.

When she came to the opening, however, and got a glimpse of that bright orange mask, it all came back to her.

"What has that asshole gotten himself into now, yeah?"

Glancing to her right, she saw the blonde**-**Deidara, it was**-**, slouching with a wary expression.

When another scream sounded, Sakura realised that it was Tobi that was in distress. Looking around for some sort of threat, Sakura's vision was cut short, a blur rushing past her.

With a bear close behind.

Deidara groaned.

"Ugh, dumbass. Here, I'll just blow the thing up for you," He said, reaching for his pouch.

Sakura grabbed his shoulder quickly, "Wait! There's no need for that! I-I'm good with animals,"

So then the next time Tobi passed, she grabbed him by the arm, flinging him inside the cave. The bear stopped, standing up on its heind legs in an attempt to be intimidating.

Sakura stood, unfazed, and stared the beast in the eyes. Soon enough, it stepped down to all fours and walked away.

Deidara was a bit dumbfounded.

Sakura smiled lightly before turning around to glare at Tobi.

"Now...what exactly did you _do_ that made the poor thing so angry in the first place?" She asked him, giving him the 'Go-clean-your-room-before-I-kick-your-ass-all-the-way-to-Mist' look.

Quite unbefitting of the situation, but she was tired and it was still mildly dark outside.

Survival tip No. 137: Don't wake Sakura up before she gets her full nine hours if you want to keep your face.

Tobi held out his hands, revealing them to be filled with various berries, and laughed nearvously.

Sakura's shoulders slumped, and Deidara preformed a dramatic facepalm.

Moving on and stepping out into the forest, The mouths on Deidara's hands began kneading handfuls of clay. Minutes later, there was a large bird, cocking its head and waiting for its master to give an order.

Deidara turned to Sakura, "Well, climb on, yeah."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me? Thanks, but no thanks. You guys got me to safety, and through the rain, and that's it. I'm going-"

"Going where? You don't remember abandoning your village just a day ago? We have reasons for tracking you down, Sakura. And going to such lengths to save some little Genin? Rediculous," Deidara argued.

Sakura's chakra flared slightly.

"Little Genin? I'm eighteen, you jerk! And I'll have you know, that I am a _very_ capable, qualified, Anbu Black-ops _Captain _!"

Deidara scoffed, turning back to his creation.

"Tobi."

"But, senpai! I don't**-**"

"Fine. Whatever. You're right. I'll go to**-**to where ever it is you're planning on taking me. Just don't ever mention my village to me again. It's too soon." Sakura was glaring at nothing right about now.

Fuck it. Fuck it all, reserves included. If they wanted to take her to their hideout and torture her, have her work as their maid at ransom, or even try to kill her, then so be it. It's just not worth the argument.

Deidara crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well. Glad you see it our way. I apologize for being a bit rude there, but it's _that_ assholes fault for waking me up." He said, pointing at Tobi.

_'My point exactly. Everybody needs their nine hours,' _She thought amusedly.

Climbing onto the bird, Sakura wondered what they were going to do with her.

Deidara nearly left Tobi behind when he began to lift off, but soon enough they were soaring.

And not long after, Sakura had fallen asleep, leaning her back to Deidara's, with Tobi tousling her hair every so often out of boredom...

OoOoOo

**-Sound-**

As Kabuto sits near the river, cleaning his medical supplies, he happens to glance upwards...

"That is one _fat_ bird..."

Sasuke walked calmly ip beside him, kneeling over and splashing some water in his face. He and Orochimaru were currently training, and his second teacher had called for a break**- **which Sasuke had strongly protested to**-**.

"Hey, Sasuke, look at that bird. It's...really fat. Never seen one that big. It's really not supposed to be scientifically possible..."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he did as suggested.

Shifting quickly, he began running back towards Orochimaru's hideout.

Kabuto started, "Eh? Hey! Where are you going?"

"On a roadtrip," Sasuke replied firmly.

Sighing, Kabuto went back to work, rinsing out another syringe.

**OoOoOo**

**Wow, only took me a few hours! A little rushed, but I just felt like you guys deserved a little more after that long wait. Thanks for sticking with my story! You all make my day! **

**Also, if you're just now reading this after this story is finished, or when it's much farther along in the chapters, DON'T BE AFRAID TO REVIEW, NO MATTER HOW LATE YOU ARE! I UNDERSTAND!**

**And yes, chococherryblossom, those forementioned characters will be appearing very soon! I love them too! The former a bit more than the latter, though.**

**But then again, I LOVE ALL THE AKATSUKI TO DEATH!**

**...except for Tobi...how dare he kill Ko-chan...**

**:D**

**Ciao!**

**~Raven100**


	5. 5: Sorrow

**Hola! More! Another installment of...ACCIDENTALLY!**

**I'ma gonna answer some questions at the end of the chapter, but first, THE MOST IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT I WILL EVER MAKE IN 2011:**

**SAKURA-TENSHI'S BIRTHDAY IS MARCH 28****th****! **

**I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO! MY MOM WON'T LET ME DYE MY HAIR PINK OR GET GREEN CONTACTS! BUT, I WILL, FOR SURE, WEAR MY HEADBAND THE WAY SHE DOES, AND RED SHIRT, BLACK PANTS, SPEAKING IN THAT SLIGHT ACCENT SHE HAS, CONSTANTLY SLAPPING MY FRIEND HOUSTON(NARUTO) UPSIDE THE HEAD FOR HIS IDIOCY, AND OF COURSE, ALL THOSE WONDERFUL ^_^ SMILES, FAKE OR OTHERWISE! **

**SORRY, I-AH! STUPID CAPS LOCK!**

**Anyways, sorry, I just finished my sixth can of Fanta Orange!**

**Now, Kuzu-chan!**

**Kakuzu: What do you want?**

**Jeez...I'm here to get that stick out of your ass. Che.**

**Kakuzu: Grr...**

**Disclaimer, goddamn it!**

**Kakuzu: Fine! For the love of Christ...Raven Does not, nor has she ever owned Naruto. Sad, I know. But she does own some obcene poems.**

**Yeah, here's one:**

**Roses are red,**

**violets are blue,**

**Kuzu-chan, *grabs suitcase and runs for Konoha***

**No soup for you!**

**Kakuzu: Damn it, Hazuki!**

**It's **_**Raven**_** to **_**you**_**, **_**miser **_**!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 5:**_** Sorrow**_

Deidara nudged Sakura gently with his elbow.

With no response, he sighed and landed the bird carefully.

"Tobi," He shouldn't even have to explain.

Tobi nodded. Moving slowly, he removed Sakura's headband from her hair and replaced it over her eyes. Deidara then moved his weight away from hers, catching her and sitting cross legged behind her, holding her by the shoulders.

"Sakura...Oi, Sakura-chan...Wake up, yeah," He soothed calmly. It's not like they were in a hurry or anything.

Sakura opened her eyes, and saw...nothing. Alarmed by this, she became aware of the light pressure on her shoulders. Grabbing her pursuer by the wrists, she flipped poor Deidara over her shoulders, having him land painfully on his back.

Tobi squeaked, soon regretting it, as Sakura kicked him clear across the landscape. Feeling around for the first chakra signature, she was stopped short by a hand on her head and an arm around her waist.

"Sakura! Calm down, yeah! It's just us! Err, me, since you scored a home run with Baka," Sakura was struggling violently in Deidara's grasp.

"Who's 'me'? And why can't I see!" She demanded angrily, kicking him in the shin.

Deidara winced and replied, "Deidara, yeah, and that hurt,"

Sakura gasped slightly, and reached for the fabric over her eyes, but Deidara grabbed her wrists, mentally apologizing for how rash he was about it.

"Eh? What? I was going to heal you!" She adressed confusedly.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I can't let you remove the headband until we're inside." He explained in a level tone.

"Huh? Why?" She furrowed her brow and waited for an answer.

"Precautions, yeah. Can't have you running off back to Konoha and revealing our base location...not that I beleive that you would do something like that..." Deidara mentally slapped himself.

_'I've only known her for a day and she's al_ready _turning me soft! Unbelievable, yeah,'_

Sakura's shoulders slumped as Deidara released her wrists, "Okay...I understand. So, do I get to meet the rest of the Akatsuki today?"

Deidara chuckled, "Not before I take you to Leader-sama,"

Sakura reflected for a moment, "Why do you call him that? Don't you all know his or her's real name?"

"Hm? Oh, of course, yeah. I guess we just adapted to calling him that. He'll reveal his name to you on his own. I don't know if I should." Deidara stretched, taking Sakura's hand and leading her to the hideout's entrance, where they -you guessed it- entered. **(And completely forgot Tobi...HAha!)**

Bringing some distance from the door, Deidara removed the headband and returned it to its normal pedistal atop the cherry blossom's head.

Taking in her surroundings, Sakura was none too impressed by the drab grey walls and red carpeting, but when she turned around and faced the two magnificent cherry wood doors, she forgot her entire situation, and gaped at the scene until Deidara put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Good luck, yeah...Leader!" And with that, Deidara disappeared.

"ENTER,"

The doubledoors opened to reveal a dark room. Dim light faded in and Sakura could see two figures behind a fair mahogany desk.

One was a beautiful woman with blue hair, some pulled into an expert bun, and a paper flower planted in it, that was sitting on the desk. She had amazing orange eyes and one peircing just below her bottom lip...unlike the man sitting beside her. Burnt orange hair and several peircings going down the bridge of his nose, around and even _through_ his ears, and eyes that held a visual kekkei genkai that Sakura knew as tha Rinnegan.

"Haruno Sakura."

Sakura jumped slightly at her name, before straightening and waiting for the supposed 'leader' to continue.

"My name is Pein, and this is Konan. I understand that you have finally left your village seeking power...I also understand that you don't need it."

Sakura's eyebrows creased as she watched the woman pull a folder from a drawer in the desk and hand it to the orange-haired man.

Opening the folder, he went on,

"Haruno Sakura, abusive father and bitter drunk of a mother. Trained under the Godaime Hokage and one of the three legendary Sanin, Tsunade. Perfect chakra control, even from her Genin days. Immense strength, and a formidable brain, far beyond the Chunin level. Top-notch genjutsu. Most prsteigous medical ninja known to the Land of Fire. ANBU Black-ops captain. Certainly a prize to Konoha," He admonishhed.

Suddenly, Sakura felt a little proud of herself. But that was an ANBU report.

_'No doubt Captain Yamato wrote it. He's such a softie.' _Sakura smiled slightly at this thought, and her eyes flittered with what could be called sorrow. But she then returned her focus to the task at hand.

"You don't need power, Sakura. You need stability. You _need_ a family. Ones you can truly call friends. Ones who will never abandon you...You need a home." As Pein's words sank in, Sakura felt tears coming to her eyes, but choked them back.

"What...do you want from me?" She asked.

He leaned forward a bit, "No, Sakura. What do _you_ want from _us_?"

Sakura bit her lip to hold back a sob.

"We've been watching you, Sakura. We know everything about you. You were unhappy in Konoha. Why? You felt lonely. Abandoned. Underestimated. Mistreated..."

Sakura's teeth clenched.

"Haruno Sakura, what do you want from the Akatsuki?"

Her tears fell and she hollered out, "A title! A role! Strength! Inner strength!"

The leader slammed his hands down on the desk and stood, "Tell us what you want, Sakura!"

"A FAMILY! A HOME!...I want...to be accepted..."

Pein sat down, inwardly satisfied, but otherwise stoic.

Without a second thought, Konan was embracing Sakura gently, soothing her.

Pein smirked subtly, "Haruno Sakura. Welcome to Akatsuki."

**OoOoOo**

**Wow. Didn't think I would take it that far.**

**It was a little random if you ask me.**

**Yay! Two more Akatsuki members!**

**Whoo...that chapter had a bit too much seriousness for my tastes...|P**

**Sooo...RIGHT! Questions! Well! **

**A few people have asked me about the eventual pairing.**

**Thing is...I don't know either. Heh. DON'T SHOOT ME!**

**Sakura: I wanna know!**

**I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but you'll have to wait and see just like the rest of us.**

**Hidan: Fuck man, that bitch is mine!**

**Zetsu2:**_** Back off, you religious son of a bitch, Sakura-chan is mine.**_

**Deidara: Woah, cannibal boy, what are you talking about? Didn't you see how she was blushing at me back there? I'm so in!**

**Kakuzu: You assholes...**

**Finally! At least we have ONE levelheaded Akatsuki member!**

**Kakuzu: Sakura is mine, and you can all kiss my ninety-year-old-that-just-so-happens-to-not-look-a-day-over-thirty ass, because chicks dig the stitches!**

**Kakuzu!**

**Kakuzu:...what?**

***glares***

**Kakuzu: Sigh...sorry, Rae-chan...**

**Awwe! Chan! KAWAII!**

**Me and Kuzu-chan are gonna get some ice cream. First we have to find an ice cream place that sells at...1:45 in the morning...**

**Duces!**

**~Raven100 **


	6. 6: Approval

**...oh.**

**Hey, you guys. Sorry for the wait you all might have had, but some weird error thingy popped up...it was annoying. But it gave me ample time to finish this chapter when I still hadn't uploaded the previous one.**

**So goodie for you guys.**

**Hidan: Bitchy much? You must be on your fucking period or some shit.**

***Ignores Hidan* Ah, yes, and the rating might change because of our lovely Jashinist.**

**Hidan: Man, fuck this shit...I'm gonna go stain the carpet...3**

**Sigh...Kakuzu is gonna **_**kill**__**him**_**.**

**Kakuzu: Damn straight. What's with you? No 'chan'?**

**We ran out of soda.**

**Kakuzu: Ahh...**

**Enjoy or get eaten. Right, Zetty-chan?**

**Zetsu: *Licks lips***

**Hidan: **_**Mood swings~**_

**...sick 'em, Zetsu.**

**Zetsu: P**

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 6: Approval**

Konan had since shown Sakura to her quarters-which was right next to the mini check-up room- and explained how ecstatic she was to finally have another girl in the Akatsuki. Sakura was currently walking down the hall with Pein and Konan, to the living room, they explained, to rendevous with the other seven Akatsuki members.

This was going to suck.

_'What if the rest of them disapprove?' _She thought nearvously, _'I mean, I know I've got Tobi, Deidara, Konan, and Pein on my side, but...'_

They arrived at the doorway, and Pein signaled for her to wait in the hallway.

_'What if they jump me?'_ Now she was just being ridiculous, _'Or molest me? Ahh! I can't think straight!'_

She could hear Pein in the other room, "I know you all remember when I told you of a special shinobi that I wanted to join our organization. Well, it seems that she has finally gone rogue. She even came willingly. But, seeing as she had nowhere else to go, I can't blame her."

"She?" Sakura heard a deep scratchy voice ask.

_'Yup, they're definately gonna molest me. Oh! I think Pein-sama is calling me in,' _And with that, she walked into the room to stand beside Konan.

"Fellow Akatsuki members, I introduce you, to Sakura Haruno," Pein said expectantly.

Tobi clapped excessantly and Deidara smiled brightly at her, hitting Tobi upside the head.

One silver-haired man with a special rosary around his neck did a double-take.

"_That's _the bitch you were talkin' about?" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

But Sakura wasn't going to hold back with these guys.

A vein popped in her temple, and, fists clenched,

"You got a problem, slick? Don't underestimate me. You'll regret it," She retorted.

Tobi rubbed his side-where she had kicked him-, "It's true. Tobi knows." He claimed, afterwards shivering.

"Whatever," He snorted, "Leader-sama, how do we know if this fucking _poodle_ is _worthy_?"

Sakura was seething at this point, and Pein shrugged.

"Go ahead, Miss Haruno."

That said, Sakura walked almost-calmly up to the Jashinist, and without a second thought, pulled her fist back, drew chakra, and knocked him through the wall behind the couch.

Tobi, again, clapped, while everyone else sat there, a bit dumbfounded-save Deidara, who was laughing his head off-, and Pein gave her an approving glance.

"Well, now that that's settled...Deidara? Please do me the honor of introduction," He began walking out of the room with Konan, but paused and looked back at Sakura warily, "Oh, and Sakura? Please try not to inflict any further corporal injuries. Onto members, walls, or otherwise."

Deidara sighed and stood up, walking along the ten-coushined couch, announcing each member as Sakura watched.

He pointed to a man with a mask and lime-green eyes, set in magenta, "Kakuzu, money dude."

Moving down the line, he introduced Sakura to the only three unknown men left in the room,

"That guy you just clobbered is his partner, Hidan. Religious, foul-mouthed asshole" Kakuzu nodded at this, "And over there-" He pointed over to a tall, bi-dermal man leaning in the corner of the room,"-is Akatsuki's espionage expert, Zetsu." **(Let's say that Zetsu can discard his flytrap appendage at will! ^_^)**

He nodded at her, and Sakura smiled at him before blinking.

"Wait, aren't there _nine_ members of Akatsuki?"

Deidara scowled at the ground, before replying, "Kiasme is out on a mission, along with Itachi. All the same, yeah. You wouldn't want to meet _him_."

Sakura stared blankly at the hole in the wall.

"Well, good. I might be tempted to kill him."

Kakuzu laughed, and Sakura slowly fled from the room.

Hidan trudged _in_ through the same path he had taken _out _of the room, and eyed the kunoichi suspiciously as he left.

Once she was out of earshot, he snickered, "Seven depraved men and one hot little ass like hers...this is going to be fun."

Deidara glared at him, and Kakuzu nodded again.

**OoOoOo**

**Well! I have to say, I'm proud of myself. Chapter seven already! Feels like I just started it yesterday. Not really. But one more thing: don't worry(or get excited), no lemons. Not my thing. For reading, yeah sure. Writing? No. **

**Again, Sakura's birthday is/was on the 28th! I am/was so excited! I've got everything layed out.**

**Deidara: You seem alot more chipper.**

**Yes, we got more soda! Orange cream!**

**I have so many ideas for the future!**

**Sorry about Itachi-san and Kisame-kun...I just had to.**

**XD So evil!**

**Until next time! **

**Peace!**

**~Raven100**


	7. 7: Physical

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 7:**_** Physical**_

Sakura smiled to herself as she walked down the halls with Deidara, Zetsu, and Hidan.

They were barraging her with questions, and Sakura didn't get the chance to answer a single one. Nor did she have the ability to _understand_ a single one, because they wouldn't _slow down _enough for her to comprehend what the _hell_ it was, _exactly_, that they were saying.

Decipher this for her, if you will,

"What''dyeahyou_**damnyou'sasexybitch**__slap_,"

Quite frankly, she didn't want to dwell on it, eith_**-**_

"Miss Sakurrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Sakura turned to see a Tobi running at her full speed, arms spread wide open.

Startled, she squeaked, not quite ready for another, 'Tobi Squeeze of Adoration'.

Turning and bolting down the hallway, sh-...almost. _Almost _bolting down the hallway.

For, when she turned her first corner, she stupidly ran straight into Kakuzu.

Tobi stopped.

She pawed at his chest for a moment, before regaining her composure and feeling _quite_ embarassed. As he stared down at her, she felt her face get hot, and Hidan suddenly felt _very_ scared for the pink-haired kunoichi.

Kakuzu _hated_ being touched, unless physical violence was involved.

Hidan remembered when he'd tried to _tickle_ Kakuzu and the fucker had ripped his head off.

**(you would, too, Kuzu-chan! XD)**

Just when Sakura thought she was going to pass out, Konan walked right into the middle of the scene, sensing Sakura's distress.

"Itachi-san and Kisame have returned, Sakura-san. I am obligated to introduce," She announced, and Sakura gave her a look of thanks.

Deidara and Zetsu grumbled, returning to their rooms. Kakuzu, usual scowl set in place, mumbled something about finances and turned back the way he came. Hidan followed him, after throwing Sakura a wary look that said, 'You, are one hot, lucky, bitch.'

Sakura followed Konan dreadfully, deciding that, after Sasuke, she never wanted to see another Uchiha again.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. Itachi isn't that bad...it's only your third day here, and almost all of us have become fond of you, from what I can tell," Konan reassured, and Sakura rose an eyebrow.

"Itachi will adjust too, eventually. Don't even worry about Kisame. From when we've watched you, and of what I know of your personality, you two will get along great."

Sakura already knew of most Akatsuki, including the blue-skinned Mist-nin.

Kisame Hoshigaki

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara of Iwa

And...

Akasuna no Sasori.

But...he was long gone.

Sakura also could have sworn that she remembered seeing Kakuzu a few years back, at the Bale Bonds office**(I have no idea what they call it in Japan, but that place where Kakuzu-kun took Chiriku to collect the bounty)**, but her memories were a bit blurred.

"I'm not at all really worried about him. I'm just nervous of Itachi."

Sure, Sakura had met Itachi a few times before, but that was in battle. This meeting was on somewhat..._friendlier_ terms.

Into the living room, Sakura spotted her least favourite person in the world, the cause of all of Sasuke's problems, and lover of dango sticks, Uchiha Itachi, standing blankly next to his blue partner.

"Uchiha." Sakura glared slightly.

"Haruno."

"Well! If it isn't the little blossom that Pein's been talking about! How's it going, Pinky? Name's Kisame Hoshigaki. You must be Haruno Sakura!" The Mist-nin greeted in a good-natured tone.

Sakura nodded, not taking her eyes off of Itachi. Konan decided to step in before a riot of epic proportions broke out.

"Well then! As much a I would love to see how well you two get along, Itachi-san and Kisame-chan have a mission report to deliver,"

Kisame scowled slightly, "Stop calling me _'chan'_, Kona-_kun_."

Konan laughed and pushed the two out of the room.

Sakura's expression lightened, and she and Konan grinned at each other.

OoOoOo

Deidara turned the knob, opening the door slowly to the dark room, only to be met by a cold stare.

"When in the seven hells can I come out of here, brat?"

**(O.O)**

OoOoOo

_Somewhere along the border of Waterfall_

"So...Once we're out of waterfall, we only need to pass through Grass, and we're in Rain. Well, let's keep moving," Kabuto returned the nation map to his back pocket, and continued walking.

Sasuke's eye switches were set to determination.

In his mind, it was obvious that the Akatsuki had abducted Sakura, probably using her as a ransom for the Nine Tails. He normally wouldn't mind this in the least**(Don't lie to yourself, Teme)**, but the word_ Akatsuki_ brought one thing to mind, and one thing only:

Itachi.

I mean, he gets the news that Sakura's gone missing, and a day later he sees the bird of the blond-haired bomber?

Come _on_.

He was heading to Akatsuki's base right now, and damn it, he was going to leave as the only Uchiha left. With a concubine.

Too bad that wasn't the case.

_'I'm coming, Sakura.'_

**OoOoOo**

**Oh. Hidan's. God.**

**Hidan: Hah!**

**That fucking error thing FINALLY went away.**

**That little shit made me miss Sakura-chan's birthday!**

**...fucker.**

**Hidan: Right on.**

**So, yeah. Sasuke's coming! *plays Jaws soundtrack***

**You all know it's true:**

**An Aka/Saku story isn't an Aka/Saku story without some Sas-gay jealousy!**

**Sakura: Amen!**

**Shikamaru: Am I going to be in the story anymore, Rae-chan?**

**Aww, of course, Shika-kun! Your time will come!**

**Now, I am late, but I keep forgetting to mention this:**

**Lin-chan!(You know who you are) I am so very honored to have YOU as a reviewer, seeing as you have written one of my most FAVOURITEST AkaSaku stories EVER!("We'll Fix You!")**

**Ahh, glad I got that off my chest.**

**Deidara: And only three reviews for the last two chapters, yeah? C'mon, you guys! Are you TRYING to put Hazuki-chan in an emo corner?**

**Easy there, Deidara. Here, want a waffle?**

**Deidara: YAY! WAFFLES FTW! (I don't even know what that stands for. XD)**

**Until next chapter,**

**~Rave-**

**Hidan: Why the fuck do you always do that?**

**Shut it!**

**~Raven100**


	8. 8: Beautiful

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 8: **_**Beautiful**_

Sakura sit cross-legged on her bed while Konan went through her closet. Sakura had brought a fair amount of clothes when she had left the Leaf Village, but Konan wasn't satisfied.

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan! My cat has more outfits than you," She complained, placing her hands on her hips.

"...you have a cat and Itachi hasn't killed it yet?" Sakura's brow furrowed.

"Err...no. I don't actually have a cat. But if I did, he would have way more outfits than this!" The blue-haired woman threw her hands in the air.

Sakura rolled her eyes playfully. _'He? Poor cat.'_

Konan seemed to drop her whole calm and professional act around Sakura. She wasn't so stiff. Truthfully, if it wasn't for Konan, Sakura would have likely asked Kisame to write her eulogy and thrown herself off a bridge. What, with all the noise she had to put up with here.

Explosions, satanic laughter, screams of terror caused _by_ the explosions**(Poor Tobi. XD)**, frustrated groans whenever Hidan ran up the water bill, and, not to mention, Pein tended to sing in the shower.

Speaking of noises, loud stomping was heard in the hallway outside of Sakura's door. Sure enough, Deidara came running into Sakura's bedroom, slamming the door panicky behind him.

Konan pulled her head out of the closet. "Hm?"

Sakura watched the blonde pant and slide down the wall.

"Um...Deidara?"

His head shot up and he gave her an exhausted glance.

"Clay. Itachi. Mangekyou Sharingan. Catching on?" He breathed.

Sakura smiled nervously, standing up and peering out her door. Of course, Itachi was at the end of the hallway, slowly approaching.

Sakura stepped out of her room innocently, not closing the door all the way as the Uchiha stepped in front of her.

"Haruno. Have you seen Deidara around?" He said sternly.

Sakura put on the blankest look she could muster. "Why, no, I haven't. Why do you ask, Itachi-san?"

It took nearly all of Sakura's potential to add that suffix, because Kami knows, that is _**not**_how she feels.

"You are lying."

Damn that Sharingan.

Sakura sighed. "You're right. I am lying. He's in my bedroom." Sakura smirked.

Her door flew open, and a Deidara was running down the hallway, whining,

"Why, Sakura-chaannnnnn!"

As soon as Itachi was out of sight, Sakura giggled. Oh god, when was the last time she had done _that_?

Honestly, these people were like a drug.

Like Nitrous Oxide.

OoOoOo

Deidara slammed yet _another _door behind him.

"Get out of my room, Iwa."

"But _Danna_-"

"Out. And get me some Goddamn food."

Deidara sighed and rushed down the hallway again.

OoOoOo

_Inn somewhere in Grass_

Sasuke sighed for about the tenth time that day, resting himself against the back of the loveseat tiredly.

Traveling with Kabuto alone was just about the_ worst_ idea that Sasuke's second mentor had ever come up with.

His direction skills were just about as good as that of a lemming's .

The inn was average. Two beds, a couch, and loveseat. Coffee table. Small television in the front of the room.

Another thing: Kabuto kept hogging the bathroom.

It faintly reminded Sasuke of his Genin days, when Team 7 would have to stay at an inn on rather long-winded missions, and Naruto decided that he _needed_ to look 100% presentable for his beautiful Sakura-chan.

OoOoOo

_"...it's only your third day here, and almost all of us have become fond of you, from what I can tell," _

Sakura sighed and tapped the pencil against the paper impatiently.

It read:

_Pein-sama_

_Konan-chan_

_Deidara-chan_

_Tobi no baka_

_Itachi...ugh_

_Kisame-chan_

_Zetsu-san_

_Hidan-chan_

_Kakuzu-sama_

"Well...let's see..."

OoOoOo

Kakuzu was just about to knock on the door to ask where the _hell_ Hidan was, so he could kick his ass for getting blood on the living room couch. When he heard a voice, however, he paused and moved himself closer to the door to listen.

"Well, I've got Konan, Deidara, Kisame, and Tobi for sure...Though I wouldn't exactly say that Pein is _fond _of me. Hidan is a little stand-offish, and Kakuzu...Kakuzu hates me. Yup, he absolutely_ despises _the idea of a_nother_ female in Akatsuki. Zetsu doesn't _dis_like me. You can't be too sure about him...Itachi...is an Uchiha. I hate him. He hates me. These arrangements will always go full-circle,"

Kakuzu straightened himself and chuckled lowly. Boy, was she wrong. _Way_ wrong.

She did something to he and his '_comrades_'.

They were under her spell.

All her alluring smiles, bright laughs, fond and calculating glances...they were all trapped. _Even _Zetsu and Itachi.

He continued down the hall, laughing to himself about how...dead_ wrong _she was. He couldn't say it enough.

OoOoOo

_"It's okay, Sakura-chan, Itachi isn't _that _bad..."_

Sakura thread her hands through her hair. "Gah...screw this. I'm takin' a freaking shower,"

And so, she did just that.

**OoOoOo**

**Wow, I think I made this one a lot longer.**

**Sasuke's almost here...darn...**

**I'm afraid to put 'kun' as a suffix for any Akatsuki, because I don't want to imply any possibilities.**

**Deidara: It's me, right yeah?**

**Hidan: Dream the fuck on, girly-man. Sakura-**_**chan**_**, is all mine.**

**Not this again, you guys...**

**So! Um...yeah.**

**Uh...no birthdays that I know of in April...I need to look up the Akatsuki birthdays. My thingy doesn't have the Shippuden characters, so no Akatsuki...I know Itachi-san's, though. But, I'm not telling you.**

**Hah!**

**Sigh...**

**Oh! Right!**

**Is anyone here a DeviantART...person? I am myself, but my scanner sucks ass. Lemme know!**

**Also, you must have seen a couple underlined words, so...**

**1. Nitrous Oxide is that loopy drug they give you at the Dentist. Commonly known as Laughing Gas.**

**2. Lemmings are those cute little rodants that follow their companions off of cliffs...Google Image it. They're adorable, but I personally think it's hilarious how stupid they are.**

**I'm such a Sadist...**

**Sayonara,**

**~Raven100**


	9. 9: Assumptions

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 9:**

_Konoha-Hokage's office_

"Kakashi Hatake. Shikamaru Nara. Naruto Uzumaki. Sai. You have all been requested for a very important reason. Everyone in Konoha knows about the recent disappearance of our most prestigious kunoichi, Sakura Haruno. The four of you especially, I assume," Tsunade stated firmly.

Shikamaru's eyes glazed over at the sound of her name.

"You want us to look for her?" Asked Kakashi.

She leaned forward and gave them all a hard stare.

"No. I want you to look for _evidence_. It's because the ANBU Black-ops do not know Sakura as well as the four of you, that they haven't got a single lead. Therefore, I am sending Sakura's closest companions."

Shikamaru stepped forward. "But then, Lady Hokage, shouldn't _Ino_ be here too?"

Sai and Naruto nodded.

"She should not. Because it is our top Medical Ninja that is missing, it is Miss Yamanaka's job to keep the hospital in line, along with Shizune," Tsunade gestured to the woman standing beside her.

"Don't you think this is a little more important? More _crucial_?" The Nara urged.

"Excuse me, but are you Hokage? Do you know what's best for this village?" The blond asked rhetorically.

_'I know what's best for Sakura.' _He mentally argued, otherwise staying silent.

Tsunade leaned back, satisfied. "I thought so. You are to leave at noon. Take as much time as you need on this assignment. I would think that you wouldn't settle for anything less to save your dear friend."

Sai smiled, Naruto nodded determinedly, Kakashi's eye narrowed in affirmation, and Shikamaru covered his worry.

Tsunade played out her final statement. "Good. You are dismissed. Shizune will finish briefing you on your way out."

With that, the four shinobi and one Medical Ninja exited the room, closing the door behind them.

"Wow, Shikamaru. I'm surprised that you actually made it! I figured you'd still be _asleep _at this time!" Naruto commented, folding his arms behind his head as he walked alongside said boy.

"Heh. Yeah..." Shakamaru replied half-heartedly.

Truthfully, Shikamaru had gotten barely _any_ sleep, since Sakura had left.

Shizune began finishing for Tsunade. "Okay, you guys, Lady Tsunade gave you the majors. I'm hare to put in _details_. You are to look for evidence;_ clues_, as to where Sakura could _be_, yes. But also, you must use your _minds_ and_ emotions_, to figure out where it is that Sakura could've gone."

Shikamaru stepped in. "But we don't know if she left _willingly_, or was abducted."

_'Sakura doesn't want to be found. I want her to be happy. I won't let anyone ruin that, no matter how much I want her to come home.'_

"True, so we'll have to assume either one plausible. Your details are that if you find any clues, even the_ tiniest _hint, you are to report back immediately. Anbu will take it from there. Under _no_ circumstances, can you directly track Sakura down your_selves_. Only if she is _so_ close that you can _smell_ her, are you allowed to confront her. Only by persuasion, if she left willingly. I believe that is all. You all can go home and pack." Shizune waved and the four set off.

OoOoOo

_Akatsuki base-basement bedroom_

"I want to see her."

"But _Dan_-"

"I. _Want_. To. _See_. Her."

Deidara sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead.

"...why? Why on _Earth_ would you want to _see_ the person who _killed_ you?"

He thought for a moment.

"Because, in truth, she saved me. She ended my immortal life...and for _that_, I am greatful. I want to see her."

"...alright, yeah. I'll tell Leader-sama," Deidara paused. "but, we'll have to ease her into it. I'm sure she'll be just as happy to see you as she was to see _Itachi_, yeah."

Sasori smirked. "Good. She's cute when she's angry."

OoOoOo

As far as Sakura knew, a random rogue shinobi being asked to join a notorious S-class criminal organization was not a commonplace occurrence.

And, hopefully, neither was a drunken Hidan potentially...raping you.

But just that was about to happen as Sakura sit four feet away from a _very _inebriated, very _handsome _Hidan.

He stared unknowingly at her with greatly dilated pupils. Sakura could smell the alcohol on his breath from where she sat on her bed, and even more so when he took a step toward her. She couldn't believe it. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and he was already drunk off his ass!

"Ne, _Sakura-chaaaann~ _" He drawled.

Sakura flinched when he took another step.

Well, these _were _the Akatsuki, a band of S-class _criminals_. No restrictions for them like Sakura had put over Tsunade.

She only looked away briefly to glance out the window. Today was one of the few dry, sunny, warm days that they got in Amegakure.

Pounce.

Push.

Slam.

Pin.

Sakura was now being held-against her will, mind you-to her own bed by an oblivious Hidan, who was grinning at her like the idiot that he is.

He sniffed and leaned down some.

Sakura heard her door open, but could not see _around _the pious man that she was trapped beneath.

But before she could even dwell on it, the Jashinist above her was kicked harshly across the room, hitting the wall and landing painfully on the floor.**(He probably loved it! XD)**

Sitting up quickly and catching her breath, Sakura recognized her savior as...

Itachi.

_Wonderful._

"Pein-sama requests to see you, Miss Haruno."

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Oh? For what reason?"

Itachi only blinked, turning and gesturing for the pinkette to follow him. Sakura obeyed, whilst glaring at the Uchiha.

OoOoOo

"Um...Pein-sama?"

"Ah, Sakura-san. So glad you could join us,"

Sakura blinked. "U-us?"

Before Sakura could register what the _hell _was going on, Kisame and Kakuzu were at her sides, restraining her.

"Ah! L-Leader? What's-"

Pein closed his eyes. "Enter."

Sakura then noticed a door that she hadn't remembered being in Pein's office from the entirety of the two times that she had been in the place. When it opened, both the Kiri and the Taki-nins' grips tightened, causing Sakura to wince slightly.

And out stepped...

...

_No._

Not just _no, _but _hell no._

...

Akasuna no Sasori.

This couldn't be possible.

This _isn't_ possible.

Or maybe...sigh. There had been news about a year back about a sighting of the puppet master. Sakura was...well, she had mixed emotions about it.

Delight, coming from the fact that she could get the chance to _maybe_ kick his ass again.

Fear, of the possibility of him tracking her down, and trying to turn her into a puppet again.

And...angst. For no reason what so freaking _ever_.

"Hmm. Sa-ku-ra~..." He hummed, circling her like a vulture would its prey.

She sneered. "Sasori. _What _are you _doing _here?" She began thrashing, _ever so slightly_, pissed that he was, in fact, _alive_.

"Hmm...questions later. Let us review _your_ status first," He looked her up and down. "Ahh, you've only gotten stronger, since we last met. Your chakra levels are intense,"

She glared at the man. "Go ahead and kill me, you creep!"

Sasori paused, facing away from her. "Even you should know...that it is against my beliefs to destroy something beautiful."

Sakura gasped, and it was most certain that she was blushing.

Just as swiftly as she gasped, he was in front of her, staring her down with those condescending, dryly amused eyes.

He was _achingly_ close to her, and she could _swear _that she could feel...breath? He was _breathing_? Sakura could also pick up on the _tiniest _hint of body heat.

"You're human!...? Wha...what did you...?"

Sasori chuckled, his fucking _breath _tickling her nose. "Hm. You've heard of the Edo Tensei, have you not?"

Sakura jumped, her thrashing ceasing. "That...that technique...it was just...just cruel,"

She thought of all the Akatsuki. Konoha received _every single notice_ having to do with the Akatsuki. So they knew of the Akatsuki's deaths. Deidara and Itachi had dealt with _he who shall not be named, _but they didn't look...zombie-like. Well, Itachi always sort of did, what with the sleep deprivation.

Sakura snapped back to reality. She _really_ didn't want to deal with this right now. She had _just_ started to _not hate _it here, and then they pull this shit on her? No way! She still hasn't gotten use to Kakuzu! Or Hidan! Most definitely not Itachi!

And so, she drew the line right there. A quick pop, and a cloud of smoke later, and she was in her Hidan-free room. Door locked and all, she shoved the pillow over her face.

**OoOoOo**

**Ahh, it feels a lot longer than it looks. Amegakure is the Rain village. I just Googled all the villages on a Narupedia map.**

**Sasori-sama!**

**OOH, YOU GUYS! JUST YOU WAIT! LOTS MORE AKASAKU WHORING AHEAD! **

**Sakura: Hey! Watch it!**

**Ah-haa...**

**ZOMG! Shika-kun's on his way!**

**Your time is here and now, but I can see you. Hm.(Anyone get that?)**

**Err...I have a lot of different names.**

**Raven- eh, it's formal.**

**Hazuki- you're mah best buddy!**

**Oku- family!**

**Err...yeah. Confusing. I made my account **_**before**_** I made my OC, so...**

**Anata o riyō shite imasu! (Love you!)**

**~Raven100**


	10. 10: Cruel

**Hola! Now, I know that my author's notes are usually at the end, but I have to play this out before I forget.**

**Upon my 50th review, courtesy of ima-panda-hear-me-roar, I have decided to celebrate/congratulate. Panda-chan, you wrote my 50th review, and as a reward(because 5 is one of my favourite numbers. Juts ask Lin-chan), you will have an entire(short XDDD) chapter dedicated to any AkaSaku pairing that you choose. The scenario has to be relevant with the story, though, of course(Meaning that it goes with the story, and is not some random oneshot amongst other things). So just tell me the pairing and I will create some fluffiness!(This does not mean that it will be the final pairing)**

**This oppourtunity will arise again, but I won't tell you when!**

**Also, on a character's birthday, the most recent reviewer will receive the same reward. But, alas, there are no birthdays in April. That I know of. No one in the Leaf Village, at least.**

**I apologize greatly, for this will be a relatively short chapter.**

**Read on!**

**OoOoOo**

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 10: **_**Cruel**_

Deidara sighed, placing his forehead protector on his dresser.

_'Sasori went too far, yeah. It's been six hours now and not even _Konan_ has seen Sakura come out of her room. I had a feeling that something like this would happen. But, before, I guess I didn't realize just how much that Sasori and Sakura-' _Deidara's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door.

He sighed again. "Come in!"

The knob turned and there stood Sakura, looking, for lack of a better word...distressed.

"We need to talk." She said sternly, and Deidara frowned.

...

Deidara rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You...wanted something, yeah?"

Sakura stepped on another dandelion. "Yes. To talk. About Sasori."

It was nervewrecking, how serious she was being. Deidara had yet to_ not_ wince every time she crushed a flower. "What about him, yeah?"

"...you knew he was coming. That he was alive. Did you not?"

Deidara nodded slowly.

"Well, how? I mean, the Edo Tensei was how the rest of you came back, but...Sasori was...a pupp-"

Deidara put on the hardest look he could muster, gazing at her from the corner of his eye. "Sasori-danna was not entirely puppet. We brought back the part that was human."

Sakura sneered at the ground. "I understand that much, he _told _me he was still partially human. He called himself..._incomplete_." Sakura shivered at the memory.

Deidara's brow furrowed. "To be honest...we're all incomplete. You can see, hear, and feel me, right? Chakra and all?"

It was Sakura's turn to feel nervous. "What's your point?"

Deidara stopped walking. When Sakura followed suit, he turned to face her. He moved slowly, taking her hand in his and placing it on his chest. Sakura could swear she was blushing, but soon she caught on. A wave of depression washed over her.

"Nothing. The Edo Tensei was a cruel, _cruel _thing. Our bodies have matured enough since we were brought back," He took his hand back, but Sakura didn't move hers. "that we have obtained body heat, and some breath. Our hearts beat, but not with enough volume for any human or Ninja to detect."

Sakura wanted to cry. Really, she did. That was just...just sick! How could anyone do this to a human-freaking-being?

Deidara grinned half-heartedly, trying to lighten the mood. "It does come in handy on missions, though. We just discard our cloaks and play dead...!"

Sakura was unamused, and the look she gave him while she removed her hand told him as much.

OoOoOo

"What the fuck are they saying? I can't freaking hear!"

"Shut **up**, Hidan."

"Tobi wants to know! What is Senpai gonna do to Miss Sakura?"

"Silence yourself, Tobi. Be a good boy."

"You should stop going so easy on him, Zetsu-san. Don't forget what he did to your garden. Right, Itachi?"

"...hn."

"All of you, shut up! I don't know why or how it is that you all came with me."

"Because Konan-chan loves us! Isn't Tobi right, Konan-chan?"

Konan brought a hand to her eyes, groaning agitatedly.

OoOoOo

"You can hear them too, right?"

"No doubt, yeah."

OoOoOo

**_Border of Rain_**

"How do we know that Orochimaru isn't playing with us? No one is supposed to know where the Akatsuki base is." Sasuke's lips pursed out of boredom.

"Lord Orochimaru would never...you know, you have a good point."

"Hn."

**OoOoOo**

***cries hysterically***

**HIDAN!**

**Hidan: Gah, what? ...what the fuck is your problem?**

**I'M SO SORRY HIDA-KUN! I...*sniff*...I MISSED YOUR BIRTHDAY! *sob, sob***

**Hidan: What? My birthday? Oh, don't worry about it. I stopped celebrating that shit four years ago when I forgot.**

**FORGIVE ME, HIDA-KUUUN! PLEASE, I- wait, what?**

**Hidan: I forgot my birthday four years ago. When was it, again?**

***sniff* Th-the 2nd...I looked it up on NaruPedia. Deidara-kun's is next month...**

**Hidan: Eh, don't let shit like that bother you. I didn't know either.**

**...oh. Okay then.**

**WELL! Like I said, short chapter. I love it, though. I wonder if that could be considered DeiSaku fluff...?**

**Deidara: HELL YEAH!**

**Sakura: Um...**

**^_^" Heh-heh...yeah...**

**Okay, NOW we don't have any birthdays to worry about. No important ones. To me.**

**22nd: Akimichi Chouza(Chouji's dad)**

**30th: Gatou(Bastard from the Hidden Mist Arc)**

**That's it. Then the1st of May is Chouji's birthday. That's somewhat important.(No offense, Chouji-san)**

**I'll tell you the rest in a note sometime before the end of the month.**

**Review! I beg you! *pulls Akamaru out of nowhere and shows his cute giant puppy face* Please?**

**Godspeed!(anyone know where that originates from? I was just looking up different ways to say 'Bye!'.)**

**~Raven100 **


	11. 11: Karma's a Bitch

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 11:**_** ...Karma's a Bitch**_

Sakura thought.

And thought.

She thought some more.

She should stop thinking so we can read.

"Okay," She stood, heading for her bedroom door. "I can do this. I can totally forget what he did and just apologize already. Totally."

She grabbed the handle, but it wouldn't turn. "OH, COME ON!"

She pulled and turned violently, but the little shit just wouldn't budge. Calming herself, she shrugged.

"Ah, well. This _must_ be karma's way of telling me that I should still hate him."

But as soon as she released the knob, the door flung open._ 'Are you _serious_?'_

There stood an exhausted Sasori. "Sa...Sakura..." He gasped.

"Well, that sure explains why the damn thing wouldn't open. Thanks a lot, karma." She mumbled angrily.

Sasori straightened himself, putting on the brightest smile he could muster-which was very dim. Sakura returned to her bed, sitting and crossing her arms.

_'I definitely don't want to apologize _now_. _He_ came into _my _room!'_

"Uh. Sakura...listen, I-"

"You don't have to say it."

"...?"

Sakura closed her eyes, which, seconds later, she realized that that was_ not _the best thing to do around_ Sasori_ of all people. When her lids shot open, Sasori was sitting beside her on her bed. Goddamn Ninjas.

"You don't have to apologize, or anything."

Sasori pouted slightly, turning away. "Apologize? Why would I apologize to _you?_ You killed me!"

Sakura blinked. He sure was a lot better at showing emotions now. Then again, she guessed that came with the whole, You're-A-Zombie-Human-Now package.

She smiled. "I know you hate me."

It was Sasori's turn to blink.

"Haruno Sakura, I do not-"

At that very moment in time, Kisame busted through the doorway, grinning widely. "You guys! Kakuzu is chasing Hidan, who's chasing Deidara, who's chasing Tobi, who's chasing a butterfly! You_ have_ to see this!"

Sakura smiled brightly, inwardly thanking Kisame for ruining that sweet, painfully awkward moment. She got up to approach the scene, going after Kisame.

Sasori frowned. "I do _not _hate you." Before following the pinkette.

OoOoOo

Stepping outside, Sakura analyzed the event before her, walking up to the remaining Akatsuki.

Sudden realization hit her as she noticed the third person back. "...OH MY GOD! WHY ISN'T HIDAN WEARING ANY PANTS?"

Itachi covered his ears at the outburst, and in an instant, Pein was beside Sakura, covering her eyes.

"Someone, PLEASE explain to me what the HELL is going on!" Sakura shouted, and she could _swear _she felt Pein's shoulders shake from laughter.

Konan smiled sheepishly. "Well, Tobi decided that he wanted to be an artist like his 'Senpai', and stole a bit of Deidara's _detonating _clay. So that little deformed butterfly you see, is Tobi's creation."

Zetsu came up, right out of the ground, continuing for Konan. "But, alas, Tobi was unaware that it was detonating clay. _**So now, Asshole one and Asshole two are trying to prevent the base's destruction.**_Silence yourself. Do not be so harsh."

Kisame put a friendly hand on Sakura's shoulder, finishing the brief. "Hidan is chasing Deidara naked because he's drunk, as you can probably imagine, based on what Itachi told me."

Sakura's cheeks turned a bright red as she glared at the Uchiha through Pein's hand. The corner of Itachi's lip twitched, but it only lasted a second. Good thing Sakura missed that. She would have gone crazy.

Sakura sighed agitatedly. "Okay. That helps, but I sill don't get why Kakuzu is in the mix."

Pein removed his hand, but turned her away from the scene. "Hidan has been walking around the base like that all day; even before he inhebriated himself. So, naturally, Kakuzu was angered by this and, due to his protective feelings over you, wishes to kill Hidan."

Sakura shrugged. "Oh, well then I guess-WAIT, WHAT? Protective? As if! You all are anything but! Sasori, Itachi, _and _Kakuzu hate me! Hidan creeps the shit out of me! And Tobi is annoying as hell!"

Pein winced at her voice. How could one human being be so loud? "Then what about me? Or Konan, Deidara, Zetsu, and Kisame? What about us?"

Sakura slumped over, feeling tired and in _aching _need of a nap. "Well, I-I know that...that you're like a father figure. I also know that Konan-chan has the Mother slash Sister slash Best Friend title. Kisame is the friend that always keeps you laughing. Zetsu is teaching me a bunch about Botany, and Deidara...Well, Deidara is grumpy sometimes...but he's always the one to try to lighten the mood. He smiles or laughs, and you can't help but do the same."

Kisame ruffled her hair playfully. Deidara threw an arm around her shoulders, grinning wildly at her.**(when did he come back? O.o)** Zetsu spared a smile. Itachi chuckled? Pein snickered. Wait...PEIN _SNICKERED_?

"Wh-What's so funny?" Sakura asked uneasily.

Pein smirked, chuckling. "Sakura...you think we hate you? Ha-ha. Your judgements could not be farther from the truth."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "Uh. What do you mean?"

Just then, everybody-that wasn't chasing, being chased, etc.-broke out into laughter. Save Zetsu and Itachi, whose smiles grew even wider. Okay, she was officially scared out of her wits.

"To compensate for you willingly joining our organization, **we made a vow to keep you safe, and happy.**" Zetsu explained softly.

"Of course, this is not why we insult your judgement skills," Itachi went on, "Naturally, you were just too hard to hate. We have all grown a bond with you. Whether that bond great or small," This is where Sasori arrived on the scene, albeit a little belatedly,"We are, nonetheless, quite fond of you. All of us."

At that moment, Sakura passed out. Whether because she couldn't handle that load of _bullshit_, or because she had just heard Uchiha Itachi speak more in two minutes, than she had since she'd known him, she just didn't give a damn.

Falling backwards, Sasori was first to step in and catch the kunoichi. Sighing, he began carrying her back to her room. For some reason, Deidara was following after.

"Danna! Wait up, yeah!" The blond yelled after his former partner.

Sasori paused, turning and keeping a good hold on the pink-haired kunoichi. "What do you want, Brat?"

Deidara's face began to glow, nearly matching the unconscious pinkette's hair. "Um-I-...uh. I was wondering...If-"

Sasori gave him the _dryest _look. "Get on with it. Are you making a statement or asking me out on a date? I _don't _like to be kept _waiting_, Deidara."

Said Iwa-nin glared at Sasori, before his cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. "I was wondering if...well, is Sakura-chan-"

OoO**(Ha! I cut you off! Deidara-chan, you dirty bird!)**oOo

**_Somewhere in Rain That Isn't the Akatsuki Base_**

"Did you hear that, Sasuke?"

Kabuto turned to glance at his traveling companion.

...he wasn't there.

"I guess he heard it." Kabuto sighed before jumping into a nearby tree, masking his chakra.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed with farmiliarity at the chakra signatures. Four ninja.

_'Naruto, still the most recognizable. Kakashi. He's got his Ninja Dogs out. Hn, Sai. It will be interesting to see him again. The last one is...Hmm...Nara Shikamaru. Ah, that explains it. They're searching for Sakura.' _

Sasuke assessed the situation, deciding whether to let them pass, or tell them that, no, Sakura was his to save, and that he had a brother to visit.

OoOoOo

**_Hokage's Office_**

_'I'm counting on you four to bring my daughter back. Especially you, Shikamaru.'_ The Fifth Hokage laced her fingers together, resting her elbows on her desk.

While Naruto had been away at training, Sakura and Shikamaru had bonded. Greatly. In fact, their bond had grown even stronger-though no one seemed to notice-since Naruto had come back, those three years ago.

Tsunade remembered those days so vividly...

_Flashback_

_Tsunade was the one panting as another day of full-on training came to an end._

_Sakura smiled. "Um, Milady, y-you didn't have to hold back, you know." _

_"I wasn't." The blond breathed honestly._

_Sakura laughed. When Tsunade stood, cracking her back, she turned to her young apprentice._

_"Well. That was...interesting. Do you have any plans today, Sakura?"_

_Sakura frowned. "Actually, I do. I hope you don't mind, Milady, but I asked Ino-pig to cover my shift at the Hospital."_

_Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? For what reason?"_

_The corners of Sakura's lips tilted upwards. "Shikamaru said he would pick me up and we would go to Tokka, that new benihana sit-down restaurant."_

_Tsunade grinned. "Oh, well then I don't mind at all! Go on out and have fun with your little boyfriend!"_

_"LADY TSUNADE!" Sakura kicked the ground._

_Tsunade barely dodged the chunk of earth that came flying up at her. It came from right under her nose. Huh. She hadn't taught Sakura THAT._

_And so her apprentice stomped home to clean up, blushing madly._

_End Flashback_

For Sakura to leave the village...

Tsunade knew that the feelings between the two were strong. Even more so the day after that.

Shikamaru had escorted her to the training grounds. They arrived with their arms hooked, both laughing and smiling.

_'Sakura...I don't think you realize just how much you're hurting everyone in this village. This village that you loved, and would have died for. Though, now...'_

In that second, Shizune busted through the door. "Lady Tsunade! Anbu Black-ops have finished searching Sakura-san's apartment!"

Tsunade's head snapped up. "And?"

Shizune hesitated. Sighing, she stepped forward, handing the Fifth Hokage a crumpled piece of paper. "They...they found...this. We found it laying by the trash can under her desk in her bedroom."

Tsunade frowned deeply, unfolding the sheet.

"...WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" She yelled, outraged.

_'It is absolute. You don't realize it, but...but now, I don't think you really care.'_

OoOoOo

"_Let noodles boil until firm yet soft._ Well, that's...oxymoronic. I'm just gonna go with the Sakura-style directions: 'Let noodles boil until they stick to the tricked out Akatsuki-Fridge'." Sakura mused, stirring with her magical spoon.

She had learned from Kisame, that none of the Akatsuki can cook worth a crap-save himself, of course. But, Sakura figured, after being Uchiha Itachi's partner, there was only so much stress that one..._almost_ human being, could handle.

That is precisely why Sakura was currently making her Sakura-Super-Ramen-Special. She had made it for Naruto on special occasions. Some including:

-His birthday

-Graduation

-Sasuke's leaving

...speaking of Sasuke, she had made it her first time during her Genin days. Team 7 had been spent after a long, agonizing mission...

_Flashback_**(Gah! Another one?)**

_"Ah...man, I'm exhausted!...Kakashi-sensei! Hey! Can we go to Ichiraku? Please?" A thirteen year old Naruto begged._

_Kakashi sighed. "Well, I guess-"_

_Sakura was quick to cut him off. "Wait, no! Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun, I've been...working on something! A ramen recipe! I noticed how it's basically Team 7's trademark dish, and I think I've finally perfected it! Mind being my taste-testers?" She pleaded excitedly._

_Naruto gave her a creepy look. "Sure! I'll eat anything _you _cook, Sakura-chan~"_

_Sakura smiled nervously. "Heh, right...well? Kakashi-sensei?"_

_The silver-haired Jounin shrugged. "Fine by me. Anything but having to pay for the 20,000 bowls that Naruto would gulf down at Ichiraku's._

_Sakura smiled brightly, before turning bashfully to her last opinion-settler. "Sasuke-kun? How about it?"_

_Sasuke turned away, and began walking slowly. "I'm getting tired of ramen. I'll just go home."_

_Sakura smiled sadly at his back. "Oh. Okay."_

_He stopped. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk._

_He turned halfway to face them, eyes trained on Sakura's. "Just kidding."_

_Her entire face lit up, and she began showing them the direction to her house. Kakashi thought for a moment._

_"Oi, Sakura-chan, will your parents mind us appearing on such short notice?"_

_"Huh? Oh, no. Don't worry. My mother is away right now. Business and such."_

_Naruto frowned. "And your dad?"_

_Sakura stopped dead. The others followed suit, worry washing over them._

_She turned to them, smiling. A fake smile, but a smile, nonetheless. "I don't have one."_

_Sasuke blinked. Kakashi's eye narrowed. Naruto was just confused. Though, she continued home, in her usual spunky, upbeat attitude._

_They each shared frowns, and looked on at the Haruno before following after her. No questions asked._

_She turned back to them, smiling and waving. "Come on, slow pokes! I've still got to MAKE the ramen! We don't want Naru-chan starving to death, do we?"_

_Naruto was about to cry. That was his Sakura-chan._

_Sasuke's gaze to Sakura hardened. _'Sakura...'

_So they followed._

_..._

_"Alright! All done! Just enough for everyone!" Sakura chirped, walking into the dining room with a tray that held four bowls._

_Naruto inhaled deeply, before his cheeks turned red. "Woohoo! Smells awesome, Sakura-chan!"_

_"Good," She went around the table, handing off each bowl. "Naruto. Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei. Myself. Great. Eat up!"_

_Each shinobi broke apart their chopsticks, and began._

_..._

_Naruto didn't think that his grin could get any wider. Or his belly any bigger. "Wow...that was amazing, Sakura-chan...I give it a ten...hundred..."_

_She smiled. "Thank you, Naru-chan. Sasuke-kun? Kakashi-sensei? How'd you like it?"_

_Kakashi put his hands together, bowing his head. "Delicious. Arigatou, Sakura-chan."_

_Sakura turned to Sasuke hopefully. Naruto glared at him. If that bastard said ANYTHING to hurt Sakura's feelings, he'd kill him!_

_Sasuke crossed his arms, turning his head away and pouting in a childish manner. "It was okay, I guess...thank you, Sakura-chan."_

_If Sakura's face got any brighter, she swore that everyone in Konoha would go blind. He called her Sakura-_CHAN_, and _THANKED _her! She felt like squealing. She also noticed the light flush in his cheeks._

_She sent him a sweet, alluring smile, and he tried even herder to look away._

_"Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun! You know you loved it!" She cheered, throwing an arm around her shoulders and poking his cheek playfully. _

_Naruto soon joined her._

_End Flashback_

Sakura missed those days greatly.

_'These days aren't so bad either, though...'_ She mused as she flung a noodle at the fridge. Perfect.

So she set up ten bowls. Added any necessary meats, vegetables, spices, etc.

With chopsticks at the side of each bowl, she placed them along the enormous table.

Sakura sighed proudly. With a loud pop of smoke, she was on top of the Akatsuki base. She spotted each desired character. Wonderful. Now, to get them all together.

She took in the deepest breath she possibly could, _and..._

"DINNEEERRRR!" She even winced at how loud she was.

"Woops..." And back to the kitchen.

OoOoOo

"DINNEEERRRR!" Rang through Sasuke's ears.

_'What the hell?'_

_He looked over. Kabuto had nearly fallen out of his tree._

OoOoOo

"DINNEEERRRR!"

Naruto fell over in shock. "What the HELL was that?"

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. Kakashi raised a brow. Sai shrugged.

OoOoOo

"DINNEEERRRR!"

"SHIZUNE! WHAT IN THE HELLS WAS THAT?" The Hokage shrieked, clinging to her assistant.

Shizune shrugged.

OoOoOo

Within seconds, the gang of S-class criminals were seated.

Tobi clapped. "OOH! What is this, Miss Sakura?"

Sakura smiled. "My Sakura-Super-Ramen-Special! I used to make it as a congratulations dish, when I was in Konoha. Dig in and tell me what you think! I haven't made it in a while..."

Itachi glanced at her. "No good news in the Leaf?"

Sakura blinked, before replying, eyes cast down, "No, not really. Wars don't bring anyone happiness..."

_'I see...'_ Itachi mused, breaking his chopsticks apart.

The rest did the same.

...

It was pretty heart-warming, watching the Akatsuki eat. Being a band of circus freaks, they each had some sort of new quality when they ate. Sakura noticed every single one of them.

Kisame and Hidan scarfed it down, making a huge mess. As compared to Zetsu, Itachi, and Pein. The men ate like birds. They took for_ever_. Funny.

Sasori was still getting used to the whole idea of _eating_. Sakura would giggle every time he dropped the chopsticks from inexperience, and his cheeks would stain _just a bit_. Cute.

Deidara had a look of complete bliss on his face, seemingly greatful just for the invention of chopsticks; a better way to keep your hand-mouths from stealing your food. Hilarious.

Kakuzu occasionally got noodles mixed up with stitches, and would wince_ just barely _every time he stretched one of them. _Very_ un-Kakuzu-like, but still. Adorable.

Tobi, oddly enough, poured the noodles through the hole in his mask. Ha-ha.

Konan was obviously the most normal of the group. Believe it or not. True-ness...

"So then, yeah...why aren't you eating?" Deidara asked, already finished.

Everyone paused and looked fron Deidara to Sakura.

Sakura giggled-jeez, she has got to stop doing that. "It's okay, I had enough tasting it before I set it out for you guys. Quite frankly, I think you're all pretty stupid for thinking that I wouldn't poison your food."

Sasori and Itachi's eyes in particular shot open about as wide as they could go, while the rest of their jaws dropped.

Sakura full-out laughed, this time. "I'm only playing with you. The food is safe. I'm sure Ita-san and Saso-kun would have noticed it first, anyway~"

Sakura sent them both a seductive smile. When their eyes widened just a _bit_ more, she laughed again. Even more so when she heard Deidara and Hidan choke. Waving them off, Sakura turned and left to her room.

She paused and turned back smiling. "Oh, and Kisame-kun? Because I did your job for you, you're cleaning up. Ta!"

Kisame looked about the mess that had been made at the table. He groaned, head hanging.

OoOoOo

Though Sakura didn't exactly trust the information just yet, she _had_ been told that the entire Akatsuki liked her, had she not?

So, add an alluring suffix to their name, and they'll do anything for you. It's total payback for making her put up with their crap.

Sakura smirked._ 'Maybe this will be fun.'_

**OoOoOo**

**Yay! Longer than I expected!**

**...really long, actually. I think.**

**I am SO sorry for updating so late. I love you. I promise.**

**Deidara: You're a creeper, yeah.**

**Shut up!**

**OH MAH JASHIN! YOUR BIRTHDAY IS IN TWO DAYS! ON THE 5th!**

**...just thought I'd get that out there.**

**Oh, one more thing! I never remember disclaimers, and no one reminds me. I don't like putting author notes at the beginning, so here you go.**

**Will someone with red eyes, black hair, insomnia, a homicidal sibling, and a family-killing fetish PLEASE do the one and only disclaimer? Please?**

**Itachi: Fine. Hazuki-san does not own Naruto. All rights and characters go to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. This applies to all future chapters. She does, however, own Deidara and Shikamaru plushies.**

**Ah! Shut up! No one was supposed to know! But I'm getting Zetsu and Sakura next!(plushies)**

**'Til next time!**

**~Raven100**


	12. 12: Smile

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 12: _Smile_**

For the first time in a long time, Sakura Haruno exited her bedroom with a smile on her face.

Down the halls and to the kitchen, she greeted the present members with the same smile. With a friendly wave, she turned to the refrigerator, grabbing an apple. Something was off.

They looked weirdly at her. Some of them didn't _even_ look at her!

"Is...is something wrong, you guys?" She thought a moment. "Did someone die?"

She worriedly counted off the men in the room. Konan and Pein were probably in their office. Kakuzu is reading the newspaper. Sasori is drinking coffee. Kisame and Hidan were in the living room. Tobi was pouring cereal down his hole** (Dirty. Minded. Pervs.)**. Zetsu is in his garden. Itachi was reading...Deidara...is not there.

"Where's...**(gasp!)**Itachi! I told Deidara to let up on the pranks! You didn't have to kill him!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Who killed me, yeah?" There he was.

What the hell? If everyone is alive and _some_what _well_, then what crawled up _their _asses?

"Okay...what's the matter with you guys?" She asked them, looking along for an explanation.

Kakuzu was the first to stand, replacing the newspaper. He stepped up to Sakura, giving her a blank stare. She flinched slightly when he tapped the Leaf symbol on her forehead protector.

"You have lasted the full week required and granted, to make the position official," He explained slowly.

Sakura gave a face of honest confusion. When his arm moved around her waist, she began panicking._ 'What the hell? Not Kakuzu, too!'_

Her heart began racing, and Kakuzu noticed this. Rolling his bright green eyes, he reached for his destination. Slipping his hand into the pouch that sat just _above _the kunoichi's butt, he retrieved a single kunai knife. Holding the metal object in front of Sakura, she caught on and calmed the hell _down_.

"It's time. To go officially rogue." Kakuzu coaxed as he led her to the couch.

Hidan and Kisame moved over as the others joined them, crowding around their newest member. Sakura sat as they watched her intently.

Holding the kunai shakily, Kisame, who had been standing behind her, removed her headband. He held it out to her, grinning. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll help you through this."

As Sakura held the tip of the kunai to the cold metal, names, memories, and titles ran through her head.

_'Konoha.' _She reflected.

_'Naruto, Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato. Sai.'_

_'Shikamaru-kun...' _She continued morbidly.

_'Sasuke-kun...' _She thought regretfully.

_'Sasuke...' _She contemplated.

_'Sasuke-teme,' _She thought angrily, _'I am not WEAK!'_

...and just as she snapped back into reality, there was a deep, shaky line through the sleek texture of her headband. She looked back at it with near-dead eyes.

_''All the others are going to miss you,'' He paused and looked down. ''I'm going to miss you...''_

_Sakura blushed lightly, and looked down as well. _

_''I know...I'm really sorry Shika-kun, but I have to do this.''_

_''I could've hopped this thing myself, you know.'' She wrenched her hand from his in annoyance._

_''I know.'' He said, grinning at her like a chessy cat._

_She scowled. And blushed._

_Deidara turned to Sakura, "Well, climb on, yeah."_

_Sakura raised an eyebrow._

_"Excuse me? Thanks, but no thanks. You guys got me to safety, and through the rain, and that's it. I'm going-"_

_"Going where? You don't remember abandoning your village just a day ago? We have reasons for tracking you down, Sakura. And going to such lengths to save some little Genin? Ridiculous," Deidara argued._

_Sakura's chakra flared slightly._

_"Little Genin? I'm eighteen, you jerk! And I'll have you know, that I am a very capable, qualified, Anbu Black-ops Captain!" _

_Deidara scoffed, turning back to his creation._

_"My name is Pein, and this is Konan. I understand that you have finally left your village seeking power...I also understand that you don't need it."_

_Sakura's eyebrows creased as she watched the woman pull a folder from a drawer in the desk and hand it to the orange-haired man._

_Opening the folder, he went on,_

_"Haruno Sakura, abusive father and bitter drunk of a mother. Trained under the Godaime Hokage and one of the three legendary Sennin, Tsunade. Perfect chakra control, even from her Genin days. Immense strength, and a formidable brain, far beyond the Jonin level. Top-notch genjutsu. Most prestigious medical ninja known to the Land of Fire. ANBU Black-ops captain. Certainly a prize to Konoha," He admonished._

_"You don't need power, Sakura. You need stability. You need a family. Ones you can truly call friends. Ones who will never abandon you...You need a home." As Pein's words sank in, Sakura felt tears coming to her eyes, but choked them back._

_"What...do you want from me?" She asked._

_He leaned forward a bit, "No, Sakura. What do you want from us?"_

_"We've been watching you, Sakura. We know everything about you. You were unhappy in Konoha. Why? You felt lonely. Abandoned. Underestimated. Mistreated..."_

_"A FAMILY! A HOME!...I want...to be accepted..."_

_"That's the bitch you were talkin' about?" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at her._

_But Sakura wasn't going to hold back with these guys._

_A vein popped in her temple, and, fists clenched,_

_"You got a problem, slick? Don't underestimate me. You'll regret it," She retorted._

_Tobi rubbed his side-where she had kicked him-, "It's true. Tobi knows." He claimed, afterwards shivering._

_"Wait, aren't there nine members of Akatsuki?"_

_Deidara scowled at the ground, before replying, "Kiasme is out on a mission, along with Itachi. All the same, yeah. You wouldn't want to meet him."_

_Sakura stared blankly at the hole in the wall._

_"Well, good. I might be tempted to kill him."_

_"Miss Sakurrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_

_Sakura turned to see a Tobi running at her full speed, arms spread wide open. _

_Startled, she squeaked, not quite ready for another, 'Tobi Squeeze of Adoration'._

_She pawed at his chest for a moment, before regaining her composure and feeling quite embarrassed. As he stared down at her, she felt her face get hot, and Hidan suddenly felt very scared for the pink-haired kunoichi._

_Kakuzu hated being touched, unless physical violence was involved. _

_Hidan remembered when he'd tried to tickle Kakuzu and the fucker had ripped his head off._

_Sure, Sakura had met Itachi a few times before, but that was in battle. This meeting was on somewhat...friendlier terms._

_Into the living room, Sakura spotted her least favorite person in the world, the cause of all of Sasuke's problems, and lover of dango sticks, Uchiha Itachi, standing blankly next to his blue partner._

_"Uchiha." Sakura glared slightly._

_"Haruno."_

_As far as Sakura knew, a random rogue shinobi being asked to join a notorious S-class criminal organization was not a commonplace occurrence__._

_And, hopefully, neither was a drunken Hidan potentially...raping you._

_But just that was about to happen as Sakura sit four feet away from a very inebriated, very handsome Hidan._

_He stared unknowingly at her with greatly dilated pupils. Sakura could smell the alcohol on his breath from where she sat on her bed, and even more so when he took a step toward her. She couldn't believe it. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and he was already drunk off his ass!_

_"Ne, Sakura-chaaaann~ " He drawled._

_Sakura heard her door open, but could not see around the pious man that she was trapped beneath._

_But before she could even dwell on it, the Jashinist above her was kicked harshly across the room, hitting the wall and landing painfully on the floor.__**(He probably loved it! XD)**_

_Sitting up quickly and catching her breath, Sakura recognized her savior as..._

_Itachi._

Wonderful.

_"Hmm. Sa-ku-ra~..." He hummed, circling her like a vulture would its prey._

_She sneered. "Sasori. What are you doing here?" She began thrashing, ever so slightly, pissed that he was, in fact, alive._

_"Hmm...questions later. Let us review your status first," He looked her up and down. "Ahh, you've only gotten stronger, since we last met. Your chakra levels are intense,"_

_She glared at the man. "Go ahead and _try _to kill me, you creep!"_

_Sasori paused, facing away from her. "Even you should know...that it is against my beliefs to destroy something beautiful."_

_Sakura gasped, and it was most certain that she was blushing._

_Sakura snapped back to reality. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. She had just started to not hate it here, and then they pull this shit on her? No way! She still hasn't gotten use to Kakuzu! Or Hidan! Most definitely not Itachi!_

_Deidara stopped walking. When Sakura followed suit, he turned to face her. He moved slowly, taking her hand in his and placing it on his chest. Sakura could swear she was blushing, but soon she caught on. A wave of depression washed over her._

_"Nothing. The Edo Tensei was a cruel, cruel thing. Our bodies have matured enough since we were brought back," He took his hand back, but Sakura didn't move hers. "that we have obtained body heat, and some breath. Our hearts beat, but not with enough volume for any human or Ninja to detect."_

_Sakura wanted to cry. Really, she did. That was just...just sick! How could anyone do this to a human-freaking-being?_

_Deidara grinned half-heartedly, trying to lighten the mood. "It does come in handy on missions, though. We just discard our cloaks and play dead...!"_

_Sakura was unamused, and the look she gave him while she removed her hand told him as much._

_'I definitely don't want to apologize now. He came into my room!'_

_"Uh. Sakura...listen, I-"_

_"You don't have to say it."_

_"...?"_

_Sakura closed her eyes, which, seconds later, she realized that that was not the best thing to do around Sasori of all people. When her lids shot open, Sasori was sitting beside her on her bed. Goddamn Ninjas._

_"You don't have to apologize, or anything."_

_Sasori pouted slightly, turning away. "Apologize? Why would I apologize to you? You killed me!"_

_Sakura blinked. He sure was a lot better at showing emotions now. Then again, she guessed that came with the whole, You're-A-Zombie-Human-Now package._

_She smiled. "I know you hate me."_

_It was Sasori's turn to blink._

_"Haruno Sakura, I do not-"_

**(I'm just wasting time and space here, so I'll just sum it up for you. Sakura is flashing back to all the times that the Akatsuki had made her smile, hence the name of the chap.)**

Kisame gave a sympathetic look. "See, Sakura-chan? That wasn't so-oh."

He never got to finish though, because Sakura had already fallen asleep on Itachi's shoulder.

Holy crap, it was only _noon_.

OoOoOo

_'Oh you're not fooling me, Uchiha.' _Shikamaru thought as he leant his back against a tree.

Their team had decided to take a break, and Shikamaru was glad they had stopped where they did. Not that he didn't think his team could handle it, but he knew what Sasuke would plan for them.

He would stay hidden and let the four of them pass, eventually ambushing them. The Nara also knew that Sasuke was looking for the same thing they were.

...he probably just has a better idea of where she is.

"Ano, Hatake-san, may I have a word with you?" The genius called.

"Yes, Nara-san?"

The Jounin strolled over to Shikamaru, giving a condescending glance. He never liked how he was around Sakura much. All...crushy and shit.

"Well, I'd like to assume that you can sense Sasuke's _almost _completely masked chakra up ahead, but you haven't made any signs of acknowledgement as of yet." He whispered.

Kakashi tried to cover his shock. What was Sasuke doing here?

...stupid question.

Better question:

Why had he not attacked them yet?

He kept his eyes on Shikamaru, as to not raise suspicion. "What do you suppose we do, lazy genius?"

Shikamaru sighed. Technically, the mission scroll_ did_ say that he was the leader of this mission-Kami knows why.

"Well, for starters, we are _not_ going to tell Naruto. Or Sai. I say we go around him."

The Jonin raised an eyebrow. "That's all you've got? Really? Where's that Shogi champion strategy?"

Shikamaru glared at him. "Well, sorry. I haven't slept right in days, and damn it, I'm not ready to deal with the Uchiha brat!"

Sai and Naruto paused a moment, looking up from their food. They all waved at each other, before Shikamaru sighed.

He turned away and looked in his pack. He rummaged, before pulling out a small frame. Kakashi peeked over the Nara's shoulder.

"...and you wonder why I don't like you." He sighed.

It was a picture of he and had one arm slung over Shikamaru's shoulders, while the other was making a peace sign. She was grinning wildly, while Shikamaru's was lazy and sheepish. Smiling softly, he replaced it inside of his luggage.

With a sudden face of enlightenment, he raised his head.

"Okay, I have a plan."

Kakashi rolled his eyes half-heartedly. "Amazing."

OoOoOo

Kisame leaned on the door frame of his and Itachi's room, where said Uchiha sat on his bed, looking at his hand, as the other rubbed his almost-bare shoulder.

"Her skin was...so soft..." He whispered.

Kisame fought against the urge to laugh at him.

He smiled. "Sakura, what are you doing to us?"

OoOoOo

He set her down on her bed gently. Stepping back, his eyes narrowed.

_'This girl...she's...' _He shook his head.

The man didn't quite understand what unlikely force brought him to cup her face in his hand, but he pushed the conflict aside. His fingers slid up to his own face, hooking the fabric that covered his mouth. Then, bending down smoothly, his lips brushed her formidable forehead.

Realizing what he had just done, he quickly pulled back, sauntering back to the door.

He chanced one more glance at the kunoichi._ 'Be free of nightmares, Sakura-san.'_

And with that, Kakuzu closed the door.

**OoOoOo**

**Okay, let me see...how to say this...**

**I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!**

**Trying not to fail the eighth grade, you know? Science is stupid. But I passed and it's over! Cried my eyes out today because of it. So many people not going to Hylton...:( **

**Everyone was all, "Holy crap it's the apocalypse! I've never seen her cry before!"**

**But yeah, the festival was fun. Karaoke, popcorn, dunk tank, and gangbangs in the hallway. What a day! Semi-short chapter. Again, SORRY.**

**Too tired to talk to any Akatsuki...and it's only 6:30!**

**Gotta go make dinner, so...**

**Toodle-oo!**

**~Raven100**

**P.S. Itachi-san's birthday was on the 9th, and Kurenai-sensei's on the 11th.**


	13. X1: Special Chapter

**Accidentally**

_Special Chapter_

**A/N: Okay, so...I haven't updated. I know it's horrible, and that if reviewers don't get their prescribed amount of crack accordingly, they will go berserk. **

**There really is no good excuse, except that the next chapter due is the encounter with Sasuke and will be **_**extremely**_** difficult to write. In turn, I decided to, for the first time, **_**plan out **_**that chapter. So of course- damn me for planning it on paper- I lost the plan. (Fail...)**

**So for you all here today, I have formulated a special chapter, based on- wait for it...- Sakura's very first meetings with the Akatsuki!**

**They're made up of course, and I'll try to go in order by ye- **

**Akatsuki, Sakura, Shika, and Sasuke: Just play it already!**

**Right...**

**OoOoOo**

_ItachiSakura_

_(Takes place when the Rookie 9 are six)_

The clock turned and Iruka dismissed them, dozens of small feet patting their ways out the door.

Little Sakura Haruno stretched and laughed, waving at Ino as she left the classroom.

"See you tomorrow, Sakura!" she called.

Sakura smiled and nodded in response. When she happened to glance to her right, a frown was accommodated with the realization that a certain Uchiha had left his homework behind. The Haruno grabbed the papers and tucked them in her own portfolio.

_I should return this so Sasuke-kun doesn't get in trouble tomorrow!_

With that she trotted up to her academy teacher. "Iruka-sensei?"

The man paused in his scolding of Naruto, glancing down at his favorite student. "Yes, Sakura? Have a question about something?"

"Um, no- well yeah, I guess. Could you tell me where the Uchiha compound is? Sasuke left his homework behind," she pulled out the sheets for proof.

As Iruka gave Sakura directions, Naruto glared at the characters at the top of the paper that his Sakura-chan provided. He already didn't like Sasuke, and the fact that Sakura _did_ made him spite the boy more!

"Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

"Anytime, Sakura."

And so she sped off to the compound, papers in hand.

...

Sakura gaped at the sight before her. She had heard that the Uchiha were a prestigious clan, but this place was HUGE! How was she to find Sasuke's building in an area where everyone had the same last name? On her trek in, Sakura spotted an elderly couple sweeping outside a shop-looking structure. It was like this was a whole other village! She approached the pair carefully.

"E-excuse me, but may I ask where Sasuke Uchiha resides?"

The old woman smiled at her. "Oh, aren't you she smart little one? Did you say you were looking for little Sasuke-chan?"

Sakura suppressed a giggle and nodded. "Yeah. I'm returning something of his."

Well whaddaya know? Turns out the couple were Sasuke's aunt and uncle! With new direction, Sakura nearly _skipped _to Sasuke's house! She reached up purposefully and rang the bell, her heart skipping a beat. When light footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, Sakura began fidgeting and messing with her hair.

She assumed that, because the Uchiha were such a high and mighty clan, they might be a bit- yeah _right_- judgmental. Sasuke seemed to be- if only a little**(Hah, so far.)**. Who answered her call seemed to be surprised by her presence.

"May I help you, little one? Are you lost?" the boy asked.

Sakura blinked. He...he looked like Sasuke! Older of course, and most certainly taller, but there was definitely some similarity! Sakura frowned at him; why was everyone calling her that? She wasn't _that_ small, was she?

"N-no. My name's Sakura and I came to drop something off for Sasuke..." she trailed off, looking into the boy's eyes.

They'd suddenly turned red, and kind of scary. He wasn't glaring, just analyzing. She's been studying it, and she knew it was some kind of dojutsu, but which one? There were no pictures in the books at the library!

OOO

Who was this girl? She looked sort of familiar. He wished he could remember just where this girl ha- that was it! When he checked up on Sasuke before he went to bed each night, Itachi would go through Sasuke's memories from the day with his Mongekyou Sharingan.

This girl had appeared from time to time, often berating a boy he knew as Naruto; Sasuke seemed to be friends with him. The times when he saw her scolding said blond were the only times he heard Sasuke laugh. There must be something about Sakura that had an effect on people like that. Itachi activated his Sharingan, wanting to search her mind as well...

Sure enough, she contained many memories on not one but two blondes, and Sasuke as well. He fast forwarded a bit to find her reason for coming here.

"Ah, Sasuke's homework?" he implied.

Sakura was taken aback. How- ?

"I apologize that Sasuke is not here at the moment," he smiled at Sakura. "because he's out training but is expected back soon. Here, come in and wait for him if you like."

She glanced around the room rapidly. "U-um, thank you?"

Itachi showed her to the living room, where they sat on the loveseat in the corner. He got a sudden, particularly spiting idea, and Inner Itachi was grinning evilly.

"Nee, Sakura-chan, would you...like to look at Sasuke's baby pictures?"

Sakura jumped. "EH?"

...

Door opens.

Into the living room,

"Itachi-nii! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH SAKURA AND THE PICTURE ALBUM?

_End _

_ItachiSakura_

_Smile for the Camera_

**OoOoOo**

**Yup! That was longer that I thought so I'll leave it up to you all to decide when and who will get the next special chapter! So far I've got ideas for Kakuzu, Deidara, Zetsu and Kisame! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible!**

**Thank ya!**

**~Raven100**


	14. 13: Raise Your Voice

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 13: **_**Raise Your Voice**_

_"Sakura..."_

She flinched in her sleep.

_"Sakura..."_

_She opened her eyes, glancing from corner to corner of the small white room she was contained in. She was startled, when she turned her gaze to the ceiling..._

_...and there was Uchiha Sasuke, standing over her._

_"I've come for you, Sa-ku-ra," He chuckled._

_"Sasuke...kun." She mumbled. Her voice was low, and she was unable to raise it._

_He drew his sword by the hilt, and his face went impassive. Her eyes went as wide as they could. A voice cut through her fear as Sasuke held his sword away from her at arm's length._

_"Sakura-chan! Don't be afraid!" It shouted. Female._

_Another rang in Sakura's ears._

_"Sakura-chan! We've got your back, yeah!" _

_More._

_"We know what you want, Sakura." A solemn, strong voice told her._

_Chidori was now surging through Sasuke's katana, but the voices kept coming._

_"Haruno Sakura, I do not hate you." _

_"Rogue Shinobi never back down." _

_"Fucking kick his chicken ass!" _

_"This is your home now, Miss Sakura!" _

_Gradually, she seemed to glare more and more intensely at Sasuke._

_"__**We are your family. **__You are accepted here, Sakura-san." _

_"We'll help you through this, Sakura-chan!" _

_"Foolish little brother, your inept ninjutsu is no match for Sakura-san's abilities." _

_Sakura almost laughed at that one, but regardless of their consolation, one voice toned above all._

_"Was this what you wanted, Sakura?"_

_Sasuke was gone. His form had been replaced by someone else's. Sakura's eyes softened. "Shikamaru-kun..." _

_He helped her stand so that they were adjacent to each other._

_"Well?" the shadow user urged in a low tone._

_"Uh, I..."_

_He placed his hands on her shoulders, staring her hard in the eyes._

_"If this is what makes you happy, Sakura, then stick to it. But, promise me one thing..." he leaned closer, and rested his forehead against hers._

_"...promise me that we'll always be best friends."_

_Sakura's eyes brimmed with tears as the words sank in. "S-Shikamaru, I-"_

_..._

"Sakura...Sakura, wake up."

Her watering eyes cracked open. "P...Pein?"

He nodded, and helped her sit up. "Yes. I need you in my office. Now. It's important."

OoOoOo

"A-ah, Ohayo, Zetsu-san...!" she greeted as she stepped into Pein's office. He replied with a smile and a nod.

"He's considered a part of this too, Sakura. Come take a look." Pein motioned for her to come closer.

"I spotted them a couple of miles away from the base, Sakura-san. **You know them, right?**"

She analyzed the photograph Pein had given her, before gasping and nearly falling over.

Pein raised an eyebrow. "I take it that they're familiar to you?"

"Oh, yeah..." She confirmed.

"Well?" Zetsu drawled softly.

Sakura glared at the piece of paper. "Yakushi Kabuto. Orochimaru's assistant, and...and Uchiha Sasuke. Itachi-san's little brother."

Pein put the picture away. "What do you suppose they want?"

Sakura didn't want to reply, even if she knew the answer. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Pein and Zetsu exchanged glances, before the latter nodded. He sank into the ground, retreating.

"Sakura."

Aforementioned kunoichi still stared at the back of her eyelids. Pein put his hands on her shoulders, giving Sakura a sudden Déjà Vu vibe. She raised her head to meet his rinnegan eyes.

"I'd like to understand what you're going through, but I can't. Nor do I understand what those two are to you, but I can tell that they're not exactly _comrades_."

_'Not anymore, at least...' _Sakura mused, lowering her head again.

Pein continued. "But I assure you, the Akatsuki will do anything and everything in its power to protect y-"

"No," she stated firmly, looking up at him with new-found determination, "I don't want protection. You said it yourself, Pein. I don't _need _it."

This amused him, apparently, because an eyebrow rose and he smirked a bit. "Then what will_ you_ do?"

Sakura smirked. She was going to keep her promise to Shikamaru, of course. Oh, yes...

"I'm going to _skin his chicken-ass_."

OoOoOo

"Okay, everyone, settle down," Konan ordered.

"No way, yeah! That Uchiha brat is back? He is going _down_ this time!"

Pein entered the room at this statement, and he laughed – believe it or not. At that, the entire room was silent...and a little weirded out.

"Not by your hands, Deidara. Not by your hands..." He objected.

"Sakura," Konan called in an angelic voice.

In strolled said kunoichi, all suited up in her ANBU battle gear, just fastening her Akatsuki cloak. She wore her rogue Leaf headband with pride this time around, where it sat on her head. Bangs held back as usual, but something was definitely different. As to be expected, some Akatsuki men gaped, some clapped, some whistled, and some just plain_ smirked_. Half of them were whipped by Kakuzu's stitches, who was mentally berating himself, _'I can't believe I was the first one of these idiots to crack...'_

Sakura smiled sweetly at each and every one of them, "It's gonna go _down_ today, and I'll need my family's help."

The group nearly felt like squealing at how much their little Sakura-chan had attached herself to the organization. Here she was, the little bud that thought the band of antiheroes to hate her, now a fully-bloomed cherry blossom accepting them as _family_.

"Sakura will be the one to lead, this time. Does anyone oppose to the idea?" Pein declared, patting her on the head like a small puppy.

She stuck her tongue out at him, and that urge to perform a chorus of Fanboy Squeals became all that much harder to resist. No one spoke against her, of course. They all knew _just _how capable she was of fending for herself - some of them had the bruises and bone fractures to prove it!

"Alright, here's the - "

Gritting her teeth and whirling around, Sakura was _just _in time to catch a lone kunai that had flown in from the coincidentally _open _window. White noise pierced the girl's eardrums, and she flung the knife back out the window, waiting for the explosion. After it sounded, Sakura spun to punish the Akatsuki who would be the cause of_ that_.

"WHO LEFT THE GODDAMN WINDOW OPEN? WHY DO WE EVEN _HAVE_ WINDOWS IN HERE?" she screeched.

An orange blur suddenly leaped behind the couch, latching itself onto the not-so-surprised Kisame's leg. It began to cry and shake profusely, and Deidara slapped it. Sakura stomped up to the orange thing and grabbed its collar, shaking it angrily and shouting.

"NOOO! PLEASE DON'T YELL AT TOBI! TOBI DIDN'T MEAN TOOOO! TOBI JUST FORGOT TO CLOSE IT AFTER HE FED THE BIRDIES THIS MORNING! THE BIRDIES LOVE SENPAI'S PORRIDGE!" the thing wailed.

"Tobi, yeah...what the hell are you talking abou – "

A light squawk was heard before another explosion sounded, making a little over half of the beings in the room face-palm.

"BAKA! THAT WAS C4 CLAY, YEAH! NOT –"

Another kunai was dodged by a fully-suspecting Sakura, and plunged conveniently into Hidan's shoulder. He glanced down at it after a minute or two, murmuring a quiet, "Ow?"

"Long story short, I want Pein, Konan, Itachi and Sasori to stay behind. I suspect that Kabuto knows better than to challenge the Akatsuki alone," she explained.

Sasori gave a questioning look, but Sakura couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. She closed her eyes momentarily, _'Oh, Sasori can...Sasori can shut the hell up,'_ she told herself. In any other situation, Sakura would have come up with a lame excuse like, 'W-We don't want anyone knowing that you're alive, right?'. But It didn't feel like they had enough time for that, because here came another kunai, which Sakura bent over to dodge, and the knife, coincidentally, pierced Hidan's _other_ shoulder. But...

Why, oh _why_, had Zetsu chosen to materialize out of the ground behind her at the _exact_ moment in time in which Sakura had avoided the kunai?

So now, standing at the crossroads of life, seven Akatsuki sat and stared at their comrade and their prized possession in a position that seemed, for lack of a better word, _erotic_. Zetsu and Sakura stood still for a moment, and, after a wild array of emotions and colors were displayed across their faces, and some profuse blinking, the two parted and bowed quickly to each other, waving and clasping hands in an attempt to nonchalantly brush off that entire predicament.

The other six mortified men (and the Tobi) still sat wide-eyed, even when a barrage of shuriken whipped past Sakura, Zetsu, Pein and Konan, directly into Hidan's chest and forehead. No one but the two formers' expressions changed, but even Pein had to blink himself out of a dumbfounded stupor at the scene. Konan seemed completely un-surprised by this whole chain of events, as her face practically screamed, "Just another day in a life with Akatsuki."

Oh, but thank Hidan's god for the enemies' _wonderful_ timing. Apperrantly, they were getting frustrated, and running out of kunai and shuriken, because next, a scalpel came through the window, which Sakura chose to catch. She shouted at them, "OKURA SERU!"

Turning back to the Akatsuki, she explained what little of her plan she openly had left. "Zetsu-sama, please keep watch outside the compound, and if there is a sign that the possible intruders are with Kabuto or Sasuke," she stared at him hard, "destroy them."

Nodding with a smile and licking his lips, he sank into the ground. Shortly getting caught up in her own thoughts while the Akatsuki readied themselves, Sakura bit her thumb._ Who does he think he is, _she snarled, _Showing up like some kind of knight in shining snakeskin armor! The dick._

She stood at the window, and, idly, she wondered what Shikamaru might be doing right now._ 'Don't worry, Shika-kun, I'm getting __**our **__revenge._' Itachi came to stand beside her, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. The Uchiha prodigy blinked when a spark went through his body, but Sakura was quick to explain.

"Sorry about that; I know better than to go up against an Uchiha unprotected. What you just felt was an ample layer of a chakra barrier created by myself and my shishou. It reflects the chakra of any attack, including genjutsu, and sends it right back at the attack_er _with double the force. Only medical ninja can use it, but it's not like we've revealed it to the entire world."

An air of approval filled Itachi's lungs as he prepared his next words. "Sakura," he pronounced her name with such suave vocals, she couldn't _help_ but look at him, "if there is anyone else in the world that would be more suited and capable than myself to take Sasuke's life, it's you."

Her cheeks burned just a bit, but given the situation she obviously didn't have time for feelings right now. Not to mention that _really_ shouldn't be something to blush at, but considering it was_ Uchiha Itachi_...

Smiling wholeheartedly at him, she grabbed the hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Itachi-san, but if countless times before I was unable to do that, how am I to know that I'm capable of it _now_?"

Itachi left his face blank, but he felt like scoffing at this girl's obliviousness to her lack of self-confidence. She squeezed his hand for some ten seconds, and when he broke out of his trance, he turned to notice his brother standing parallel to them.

Damn, was this awkward.

Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Itachi. The latter were _holding hands_, for Kami's sake. Sasuke had disgust, betreyal, utter shock, and some disappointment etched across his face as he watched them. Sakura's face read, "Oh, fuck."

Still holding hands, still standing awkwardly, Itachi reached into Sakura's other hand and retrieved the chakra scalpel, set a seal, and threw it at his little brother fast enough to the point that only Sakura or Kakuzu would've seen it coming. It exploded, of course.

"Give that back to Kabuto for me," and with that, Uchiha Itachi released Sakura's hand slowly and moved to retreat.

Before he could, though, Sakura had grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to her in an on-the-brink-of the most awkward and stiff hug _ever_.

"Chauvinistic asshole," she muttered, and Itachi relaxed.

"Good luck, Sakura-chan." he pet her head before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Turning back to Sasuke, she followed Itachi's suit. Reappearing between Deidara and Hidan, she pulled on her gloves, to which Kakuzu had sewn cute little Aka-clouds on the backs of the palms. She didn't speak. No one did. First time for everything.

Of course, Sasuke Hopped up with Kabuto onto a convenient little platform just below where the Akatsuki stood on a small hill that they used for training.

Oh, yes. It was quite an epic scene.

Epic, and corny.

"Sakura," almost as suave as Itachi...

...but not quite.

**OoOoOo**

**Okay so I really can't tell if it's long or short but here you go! It's been so long and I actually had written more than this but I couldn't find a good stopping place so I cut it off there, and...TA-DA~! This probably means that the next chapter should be up rather quickly, especially since I got my motivation back and the school year is ending! I just felt that you all deserved SOMETHING for putting up with my procrastination!**

**Hidan: Che, no shit.**

***glares***

**Hidan: *sigh* Oku-chan is very fucking sorry and loves you all...!**

***eyeroll* So I'm sure that I had something I wanted to say that I'm forgetting but there is one thing that's been getting on my nerves. It's in a lot of fanfiction lately and I keep correcting them by screaming at my poor computer screen.**

**Sasori: Talking to oneself is the first sign of insanity, Raven.**

**Sanity...? Why the hell would I need something as useless as that? And look who's talking!**

**Sasori: *eyeroll***

**So anyway, the thing that's bothering me is how people are always writing about how Sakura or Sasuke or **_**whoever **_**took or passed their **_**Jounin Exams **_**to get to where they are, or whatever...well the thing is, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE JOUNIN EXAMS! IF A HIGH-RANKING CHUNIN IS TO BE BOOSTED UP TO JOUNIN THEY MUST BE APPOINTED SO BY THE **_**HOKAGE**_**! IT'S IN THE **_**FIRST **_**FLIPPING DATA BOOK PEOPLE!**

***sigh!* So their you go. If you've ever written a story like that, I don't mean to be rude. It just irks me to no end how many so-called "Narutards" don't even know that.**

**Thank you for reading and I'll update soon!**

**Hidan: Damn straight she will!**

**Deidara: Please review, yeah!**

**~Raven100**


	15. 14: Acquaintances

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 14:**_**Acquaintances **_

Zetsu felt a flare of chakra, only seconds away from his station, and in return sent his own into the ground. Several vines shot out of the ground where the uninvited visitors were, and Zetsu arose in front of them. He almost instantly recognized the Leaf headbands. Deciding that, no, these people are certainly not with Sasuke or Kabuto, and that they, actually, all looked fairly familiar, he refrained ftom destroying them for now.

When he glanced around, he recognized all but the one with black hair and deathly pale skin. Zetsu had apparently glanced too long as the unfamiliar boy smiled at him and nodded, adding his face to Zetsu's database. The Kyuubi was among the group, but he wasn't their top priority at the moment. He hit the end of the group as his eyes fell upon a shinobi that he knew all too well from when Pein had requested that he spy on Sakura.

"You are Shikamaru Nara," his lighter half stated pointedly.

Shikamaru said nothing, but only looked at Zetsu. This guy popping up like some sort of trip wire security system told him one thing: _We're getting impeccably close to Sakura._

_The look in this boy's eyes_, Zetsu thought, _**it's almost as if he has the sharingan**__. As if he's sharing his information and memories with us willingly._

...and it is for that reason and that reason alone, that Zetsu released only that boy. Shikamaru still said nothing, but as he continued towards his destination, he looked back at Zetsu, smiling slightly and nodding in gratitude.

"I'm coming, Sakura. I know you don't need help, but...I'm sure _Sasuke _doesn't know that," he whispered to himself.

Speaking of which: Oh, the_ wonderfully_ short story it was of how they got past that damned Uchiha unharmed...

_OoOoOo_

_ Sasuke looked on suspiciously at the group of four that silently passed by he and Kabuto as they hid in the trees - masked chakra and all - and he noticed two things; One: Naruto was asleep on Kakashi's back, mumbling incoherent things about hunger and ramen and forgetting his underwear. Two: They all looked__** horribly**__ dejected and out of place._

_He leaned in closer to listen as conversation broke out. Shikamaru placed his hands behind his head and yawned, looking at Naruto wearily as he drooled on his sensei's back and seemed to have noticed Kakashi shiver a little._

_"Eh, Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru started._

_"We're completely lost, right?" Sai finished, still smiling creepily._

_Naruto snored abruptly, and the Jounin of their group sighed warily. They all stopped in their places while Shikamaru pulled a map out of Kakashi's kunai pouch. Sasuke felt like facepalming, and signaled to Kabuto to let them pass. He nodded, but looked suspicious, nevertheless. The young Uchiha merely shook his head, as if to say, "Don't worry; they're idiots."_

_OoOoOo_

_Shikamaru blinked. "Seems they've evaporated, _Sensei_," he noted quietly._

_"Thank Kami," Hatake responded before dropping Naruto completely on the ground._

_"A little too quick for the Dickless Wonder, correct?" _

_Nodding, Shikamaru glanced at Sai and thought about his statement. He'd have to come up with an excuse for Sasuke to prevent suspicion. They had no such time for second-guessing, especially when they were this close. He may be doing Sakura more harm than good by agreeing to this mission, but that didn't change how much Shikamaru wanted to see Sakura. He watched as Kakashi worked out the plan they had formulated with his ninja dogs._

OoOoOo

To this very moment, Shikamaru was unsure of how exactly either Sasuke _or_ Pakkun had gotten past Zetsu, but the plant man's chakra hadn't been lingering long besides. _Early bird evades the carnivorous plant-human hybrid,_ Shikamaru joked, but he only found himself facepalming mid-treehop.

OoOoOo

"Come on, you chicken-assed pussy! You're the cause of all of Pinky's distress, aren't you?!" Hidan yelled, obviously ready to get down.

"Hoh-hoh, Hidan! You'd better quit antagonizing him. He might snap!" Tobi mocked, eyeing Sasuke from where he stood at Hidan's left.

The Jashinist whirled on Tobi, grabbing him by the collar of his cloak."Shut up, swirls," he shouted, and Deidara took this time to snort, "I know what I'm doing!"

_Swirls...?_ Sakura sweatdropped, and she noticed Kakuzu roll his bright green eyes.

"Quite a group of captors you have there, Sakura," came Sasuke's voice from the platform below.

Sakura gave him a dry look and a vein popped in Hidan's temple. "ALRIGHT THAT'S IT! YOUR ASS IS GRASS, UCHI-!"

"Hidan," Sakura called in a flat tone. He looked at her but quickly looked away, sighing with an eyeroll. He pouted as the Uchiha released a signature 'Hn' but noticed how Sakura's eyes became distant.

"Come on now, Sakura," Sasuke ordered calmly, "Let's go find Itachi together. They haven't treated you badly here, have the-"

"SHUT UP, SASUKE! Since when have you cared about anyone else's welfare other than your own?! Get out of here," she shouted, and a good portion of the Akatsuki, as well as Sasuke, flinched, "Our bonds were severed the moment you left the village, and you know that!"

It was silent for a few long moments after that. Then, as if on Que Sakura disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Sasuke. Her fist was pulled back and ready to fire. Sasuke smirked, scoffing as he grabbed her swiftly by the throat, not bothering in the slightest to be gentle.

He momentarily wondered why the Akatsuki were still motionless. However, his questions were answered when the Sakura at his hand was replaced with a stick, and Sasuke was violently pushed out of the line of fire by Kabuto, only to have _him _knocked a good twenty feet back into the forest by the Sakura that had approached quietly from behind.

Sasuke quickly covered his shock and gripped his katana, turning to the pinkette and, without a moment's hesitation, activated Chidori Stream and charged. He was holding back, and she knew it, but mercy be damned, that was _his_ mistake.

OOO

"Okay," Sasuke panted, "enough of this game."

He moved to make hand seals, but Sakura just couldn't afford to let him do that. They were both bruised, beaten, and scratched up. Sakura had the lighter of the injuries, while Sasuke had a rather _deep _gash in his right side from when Sakura had gotten witty with her _own_ Chakra Scalpel Technique. Konoha _and _Akatsuki's prized kunoichi ran at Sasuke with a chakra-less fist, which Sasuke chose to catch, while his other hand flew up to his katana.

"Sakura-chan, yeah!" came Deidara's shout as the Uchiha's sword penetrated her torso.

So now, both of Sakura's hands were concentrated on preventing her old teammate's blade from going any deeper than its near-one inch into the spot over her lung. She already had a similar scar, and she didn't plan to make it symmetrical any time soon. Sasuke struggled to keep hold of his sword as he made the next move; not that he openly displayed his distress anyway.

Sakura's eyes shot wide open from her previous scowl as she watched Sasuke form one-handed seals. She scowled, though it was short-lived. Her mind was suddenly wiped blank, and her muscles relaxed, her arms falling from the blade and to her sides. Sasuke pulled away and whacked her with the back of the blade, only causing her to stumble backwards a bit, but otherwise keeping her on her feet. Sheathing his weapon he walked to the pink-haired shinobi in front of him, tilting her chin up so that her faded eyes met his. Sasuke blinked slowly, and now the Mangekyou was activated.

Before he could accomplish much of anything, however, he was sent flying about ten feet when the orange-masked one he knew as Tobi jumped to the front, the rest of the Akatsuki only seconds behind.

"Oops," Tobi remarked feign-guiltily.

It was at this time that Sasuke noticed that Itachi had arrived on the scene, as well as the the prior-missing puppet master.

"Sorry Sasuke-chan," Kisame began mockingly, placing his hands onto Deidara's back.

"Hate to break it to you, yeah," the blond continued, following Kisame's suit with his partner.

"But the Akatsuki's bonds are quite stronger than you'd care to think." Itachi and Sasori went on in unison.

"For example," said Kakuzu, planting his hands on Hidan's back.

"You fuck with one of us," Hidan smirked, completing the jutsu by landing his own hands onto the still-dazed kunoichi.

The force of the technique blew Sasuke back another three yards or so, and Kabuto was barely noticed as he made is way back out of the forest, broken glasses, jaw, nose, and all. Sakura snapped back to life with the reinforced chakra swimming through her. Neither Sasuke nor the Akatsuki had ever seen her eyes so fiery as she finished, "You fuck with all of us!"

Sakura lunged - or at least Sasuke must've thought she did, because he tripped on his own two feet and nearly fell as he tried to get away from Sakura. Apparently his sharingan had shown him more than he'd wanted to see, because fear shone through his eyes before he could stop it from surfacing. Eyes wide and brows down-set Sakura jumped up in the air and backwards, what looked like a mile away from Sasuke's point of view, to where she had felt Kabuto's chakra momentarily spike the second before she'd passed out. She grabbed him violently by the neck and slammed him into - not against, but_ into_ - a nearby tree, glaring holes through his face.

"What shit are you trying to pull back here?" she addressed harshy.

Kabuto examined her face carefully, _Strange. Her eyes are alight with a blood lust I thought was impossible to mark the face of_ Sasuke-kun's_ innocent little Sakura Haruno. _

"No matter," he smirked at her, "You're too late."

She watched, and reacted, a little too late as Kabuto pulled his arm back and threw a scroll Sakura had not previously noticed - and damned herself for not doing so - into the air, seal already set. Sakura gave_ no_ moments' hesitation to grab that arm and snap it like a twig. Kabuto's face scrunched up in pain, malice, and a few other emotions Sakura didn't care to read. He slid down the now half-demolished tree while Sakura turned away to witness several nin - _Sound nin _- materialize from the parchment floating in the air only three feet above her. They flew in front of Sasuke, Sakura cursing. After a fit of coughing up blood, Kabuto looked up to the kunoichi calmly.

"The Akatsuki have taught you well Sakura-_chan_," he smiled.

"I've been here for a _week_," she replied without turning to face him, "But maybe if you weren't such an ignorant little assface, perhaps you'd know that I've been able to do these things for a _while_."

Kabuto couldn't help but be a little awestruck when she turned to him finally, her own slit-eyed smirk in place, "And _more_."

With that, she returned her attention to the mess on the battlefield, looking around for an option or answer of any sort, and it came when a formidable explosion sounded in the northwest corner. She accurately noticed a familiar bird fly from the smoke caused by the impact.

"Go on, Sakura-chan! We've got you covered, yeah!" Deidara called to her, pumping his fist enthusiastically.

She would have smiled, but as she listened to Deidara, she stared at Sasuke, and he returned her gaze as Sakura's mediocre abdomen wound began to glow that phosphorescent green hue. She walked calmly through the ruckus and bloodshed around her. As if the gods made it this way, there was a clear straightaway path, leading her to Sasuke. The Cherry Blossom made it past the mobs and screaming and fighting, where she was left in a cleaner clearing for Sasuke and herself to follow the mobs' suits.

They stayed with gazes interlocked endlessly. Their deadly optics told many a story.

_"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto calls._

_Sakura turns, "Naruto? What are you doing at the hospital? I'm working, baka!"_

_"Sorry, Sakura, but..." he starts as his shoulders sag. "I think we've finally got it! We know where Sasuke is!"_

_She turns to him with a smile unwavering and replies, "Who?"_

_Naruto stops completely. Just as he wants to question her, Sakura's pager sounds and she bids him adieu._

Sasuke's brow furrows, and Sakura's shoulders tense up. What's this?

_"That's quite a bump on the head, Kabuto." Says Sasuke dryly._

_Kabuto winces. He noticed? "Y-yeah...crazy fight on the bridge. You should've been there."_

_Sasuke looks back to his hand injury, wrapping it cautiously. "I dissent."_

_"You sure? You REALLY should have seen Sakura. She's grown. A lot. Kept her hair short, though." he claims absently._

_The raven-haired boy raises an eyebrow. An emotion akin to disappointment shone through, but he neglects to understand why. "Who?"_

_Kabuto looks to his acquaintance oddly, but just in time, Orochimaru pages him in quest for his medicine. Throwing one last glance at Sasuke, Kabuto leaves the room._

The two shinobi of formidable level straightened themselves, dropping hands at sides.

In an invisible spur of movement, Sakura begins to close the distance between them while Sasuke revs up chakra for Chidori. If only to waste time, he uses hand signs this time.

Yet...

...Sasuke finds himself unable to move.

**OoOoOo**

**Hey there. Hey. Hi.**

**Fuckin' cliffhangers, man. **

**Fuckin' cliffhangers.**

**Been reading new chapters. Dafuq Sasuke? Dafuq.**

**Questions?**

**Tobi: Ooh! Ooh! Me! MEEEE! Mememememememememememeeeee~!**

**Yes?**

**"Do you like waffles?"**

**Go fuck yourself now, please. But yes. I do.**

**Fourteenth chapter now, you guys. Woop woop.**

**Later bros. See you next installment.**

**;D **


	16. 15: Redemption

Accidentally

Chapter 15: _Redemption_

All of his mind and every single nerve in his body told his legs to move. They wouldn't. Neither would his arms. Sakura ran at him with no chakra in her feet, so why was he petrified? The feeling in his gut and the stinging breeze that crept up his spine and through his hair was enough to make him break down and wretch until he was imaciated. If only he _could_ break down. If only...

Sakura took her sweet time to notice Sasuke's malfunction. Her steps faltered for only a moment, but a voice jolted her awake and almost _forced_ the chakra into her feet.

"KEEP MOVING, SAKURA!"

Time slowed and heads turned. No words were spoken, and in this moment, Sakura wished to dissipate into thin air. But she was happy. Holy FUCK, was she happy.

Shikamaru. He was here. _What is he thinking?! _

Some otherworldly force rotated her head to Sasuke, and such anger rose from her stomach. Such contempt and hatred was radiating from just the sweat on her forehead. All of the vexed feelings that ever were began to overflow Sakura's central nervous system, and whatever chakra couldn't contain itself was pumped into her feet. She ran at Sasuke now, with speeds of forty miles an hour at_ least_.

More chakra flooded her fists, and as the emotions would prove to be bothersome, Sakura began to cry. She began to cry chakra. The Akatsuki were frozen, as if also trapped in Shikamaru's paralysis jutsu. Sasuke only sat, eyes wide, jaw trembling, in such a panic, he couldn't even process the land around them. It was just he and Sakura, with a peculiar shadow reaching out from beneath him - or perhaps it was reaching out _to_ him? Who was he to say? He saw nothing.

Time sped up again. Sakura pulled chakra out of her left hand, reeling it back. Shikamaru released his jutsu just in time as Sakura's left uppercut knocked Sasuke a foot off the ground, and Sakura went in for the kill. Her right hand, laced with all chakra that wasn't in her left, her feet, keeping her alive, or pouring from her eyes, swung at Sasuke's sternum. The second it made contact, everyone knew it had shattered. Sasuke flew, and no one was in the right mind to guess how far, but it was far. WAY far. Somewhere deep within the backwoods, Deidara could see the smoke clouds from the assumed tree he'd hit from atop his bird.

It was silent again, but Sakura didn't hate it as much. The prior-summoned Sound-nin were mostly dead. The few live ones were limping around, trying to flee. Each were one-by-one being either crushed by Kakuzu's threads or decapitated by one of Sasori's puppets. In the event of dealing the final blow, Sakura had actually flipped over and landed on her ass from the intensity and lack of leverage. Call her Grace; Sakura was still Sakura. Zetsu emerged from the ground in front of her, sporting a couple cuts and one nasty bruise on his left cheek.

"Z-Zetsu-san?" Sakura asked shakily.

He smiled at her reassuringly, and turned to nod at Shikamaru. Said shadow-user descended from the slight hill, advancing towards them at an even pace. Coming up from Sakura's side, a smile began to crack upon Shikamaru's lips. Zetsu stepped back, already sinking into the ground to check the rest of Akatsuki for injuries.

He crouched slightly, but Sakura stood abruptly, shocking him to do the same, and slapped Shikamaru across the face. "BAKA!" she screeched.

She then hugged him tightly, biting her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Baka..."

The Akatsuki were puzzled, but Nara Shikamaru knew better. He returned her embrace and smiled lightly, "Love you too, Saks.*"

***Pronounced "Socks," you friggin' derps! XD**

As Sakura's legs began to weaken, Shikamaru rubbed her shoulder and pulled back. She smiled sweetly and wiped away what was left of her tears. Giving him a distinct look after that, she turned to approach the Akatsuki, Shikamaru dropping in his place, lying back to watch the clouds and sighing almost-contently.

"What do we do now?" Sakura mumbled to Deidara.

He looked almost offended. "Don't ask me, yeah! Leader-sama I...wait, why do we need to do something?"

Sakura sighed. "I know Shikamaru-kun didn't come here alone. Did you see Zetsu?"

Deidara made a face of enlightenment, and pointed over to the base's entrance. Sakura nodded in thanks and bolted towards the Akatsuki's spy.

OoOoOo

"**So**..."

"Uchiha Sasuke is dead?"

"Presumably."

"Haven't you found the body?"

"Not yet. **We'll search for it before sundown, I assure you.**"

"And one Nara Shikamaru is here?"

"As Sakura-san calls him. **What of it?**"

Sakura listened to all this - though as more of background noise if anything - and stared at the ground. The whole situation came to drop on her shoulders at this very moment, and it hurt_ so_ _much._ She'd betrayed her village, joined its mortal enemy, also known as the organization trying to kill her best friend. She'd _just_ possibly _killed_ one of her former best friends!

She didn't know what she'd been thinking this whole time; maybe she _hadn't. _She'd been pertaining to her mundane ritual of _not giving a fuck_, and has enjoyed herself far too much with the Akatsuki.

What does this mean for her?

Well, for starters, she needs to pay attention when Pein is calling her.

"H-Hai?" she stuttered.

"So, your malfunction is that Nara came with comrades?"

She nodded.

"Why is this a problem?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "What's_ not_ the problem?"

"Sakura-san," called Zetsu, "May I have a word with you?"

She gave him a skeptic look, but followed him outside Pein's office.

"I've already taken care of them. **No need to worry**."

She nearly had a heart attack at these words. "W-What?!"

He almost chuckled. "Not eaten, but **dismissed**."

She questioned him, and he gladly elaborated.

"**I was able to - **without many corporal injuries at all - direct them away from the base with a little genjustsu, **but not before shooting a special dust or two at Hatake-san**."

Zetsu paused for Sakura to catch on, before continuing. She gave a nod, but it was very slight.

"The Kyuubi suspected nothing, but the pale one seemed susp-...Sakura-san?" he stopped, and looked at the girl in worry.

Her hair had fallen over her face, but Zetsu could see enough to tell she was upset. From her hiked-up shoulders to the stains on the carpet in front of her feet. His hand reached out, but she turned swiftly on her heel and ran toward the commons. He decided it best not to follow her, but instead sighed and returned to Pein's office.

OOO

Sakura made it to the base's entrance, and kept running. She ran because she never could before, because she needed to. _Now_.

The tears spilled from her eyes and didn't - _couldn't_ - stop. The tall grass of the land out front slashed her knees and shins, but still she ran. Just before the trees piled in and became a forest, the green bristles tangled, and tripped her. She did a tumble of sorts, but landed back on her knees and elbows. She weakly lifted herself up, to sit on her shins, and sobbed.

Memories, promises, friendships, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, _red._

_So much red._

Her head hurt like hell, and her nails dug so deep into her palms, they were surely bleeding, but she just couldn't_ stop_.

"Where am I...?" she seethed quietly, gritting her teeth.

"I...I'm not supposed to...to be scared of _anything_," she breathed, "I'm a fucking_ ninja_, for Kami's sake..."

She was almost writhing now...shaking, violently.

So much red.

_**RED.**_

"Sakura-chan?"

It stopped. It chose right then to stop. Sakura stayed silent, but stood. She turned her head slightly, but not enough to see her face. "Where are all the bodies?"

She was referring to the dead Sound nin. It was a reasonable question, considering how clean the foregrounds were.

"In the freezer room out back, yeah."

She laughed meekly, wiping her tears subtly, so as to not alarm anyone, but he could tell. "You guys have a freezer for corpses?"

"Hmph. It's for Zetsu. You know how that goes. Sakura-chan, yeah?" he asked, walking a bit closer to her, trying to look around her hair.

But she would have none of it. Sakura wiped her eyes one last time, spinning with an obviously fave smile and giggled, in almost a sickening way. Deidara frowned. She went to saunter past him, but he grabbed her wrists and held them before himself, watching the blood stream down from her hands. He looked her hard in the eyes then, and Sakura's throat got tight.

She looked away from him stubbornly, and pushed chakra into her palms. Deidara wished he could speak, but he didn't know what to say. He knew well enough that Sakura was no _innocent _little teenager. No ninja was; everybody has a dark side, a past, and their own inner demons. Sakura was no different.

But to him she was.

To _all _the Akatsuki, she was.

So, all he could do for the moment was...

**OoOoOo**

**Yeah. That song 'Dark Side' by Kelly Clarkson (sp?)?**

**I hate it. Love Kelly, but hate that song.**

**It's just...not catchy at **_**all.**_

_**Blegh.**_

**So anyway, hi! You're beautiful. Seriously. You are. Just look at your**_** hair.**_** Gorgeous.**

**Sasori: What are you doing?**

**Hidan: Yeah, seriously...the fuck?**

**Don't worry about it. People suck, but the few that don't deserve to feel good. Fuck your face.**

**Hidan: ?!**

**Sasori: *sigh***

**Reviewer #103 got her prize of more DeiSaku this chapter. :D Next number'll be either 130 or 155.  
**

**It all depends.  
**

**Also, OBAMA 2012 MOTHAFUCKAAAAAS**

**I will never get sick of that.**

**~Raven100**


	17. Poll Note

**Hey guys! I just created a poll for this story, the pairing poll, but I don't really want you all voting until this next chapter is up, so it's closed for now.**

**Please visit my profile, look over your options, and think carefully about what fits this story best. :)**

**Tobi isn't an option because ew,**

**and Pein ad Konan are exempt for the sake of them loving**_** each other. **_**;3**

**Tobi: ;x;**

**Pein: '/'**

**Konan: e.e;**

**And don;t just throw biased pairings into the reviews, yeah. You all are better than that.  
**

**Something like "deisaki! deisaku! mae it a deisakuuu!" is unacceptable.  
**

**However, a casual "Looking forward to some nice KisaSaku and SasoSaku fluff from you." is very encouraging. :3  
**


	18. 16: Reflection

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 16:** _Reflection_

_**Alternate name: **_

_I've Come to Terms with the Fact that Everything I Know is a Lie_

Deidara bent down and forward, hugging Sakura firmly. Sakura sat, stunned, for a moment or two. Her lip quivered, though, and that tough and spirited act she always had up began to fall apart.

_People always call me smart,_ she thought, shoulders hiking up, _People always call me strong..._

Her arms reached around Deidara's waist. _But I'm still so__** weak**__._

She grabbed him back tightly, brow furrowed and tears rising.

_And look at what I've done...! I'm so fucking __**stupid**__._

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, gritting her teeth, and a sob slipped out.

_What have I__** done**__? What have I...dammit! Why would I do something like this?! _

She realized, slowly, that the reasoning she'd used with Shikamaru had been all wrong. Pein was closer to the truth, but still had missed the bull's-eye. Sakura didn't give _two fucks_ about Sasuke. If he wanted to be an idiot, that was fine. Leave her out of it.

Something had pulled her here. If she'd had no particular aim of where to go when she'd left, how did she end up in_ that particular clearing_ on _that particular night?_

_Coincedence is bullshit..._she started, as a tear spilled slowly, _Everything is inevetable..._

Her eyes had slowly gotten wider, and by this time she was gaping. Her grip on Deidara loosened, and she heard him grunt in question. She scowled and roughly pushed him off of her. He gave her an incredulous look as he stumbled backwards. She glared at him, clenched her jaw, and threw several kunai at his chest. They hit.

The clone bled purple.

"DAMMIT!" she screamed, twirling and kicking the clone across the grass and through the trees.

_It couldn't __**possibly**__ be...!_

"FUCK!" she yelled, smacking herself on the head.

Spinning and running toward the base, she practically ran_ through_ the closed door, leaving it in shards behind her as she raced. Throwing the door to Pein's office open, she found both he and Zetsu amiss. She cursed again and left the room.

Sakura ran frantically through the base, shrieking for one of them, _anyone_, to answer her call.

She got nothing.

Bolting back out of the building, Sakura ran to where she and Sasuke's battle had taken place, and traced where she had sent Sasuke flying. First checking where Kabuto had been left, it was to her chagrin to find him gone. It gave her some hope, though.

"_Please..._" she whimpered, tears momentarily stinging her eyes, "_Please_ tell me..."

Sakura followed the path, and upon sight of many fallen trees, jogged down the center of the trail.

When she looked at the end of it all, she fell to her knees. She slapped her hands together into the Tiger seal.

"RELEASE!"

Nothing changed.

"RELEASE! release! Release...!" she tried, but everything remained the same.

Sasuke was still there, and he was dead.

She hung her head. "R-Release," she whined.

**It won't work, child. This is no genjutsu.**

Sakura's head shot up at the voice, shock written all across her features. That voice. That god-forsaken voice. Sakura tried to scowl, but she just couldn't. All of her strength and resolve had left her.

**Now get up, and come to me. You must, child.**

Sakura_ almost_ obliged. Just as she was going to submit, all too easily, a hand shot out to grab her wrist. Sakura glanced downward slowly, eyes wider than ever.

"Sakura...don't go. Please."

"S...Sasuke..." she whispered.

She smiled weakly. "Sasuke!"

She jumped forward, caging her arms around his neck. He winced slightly, but placed a hand on her back. Sakura srtained to smile, when everything in the atmosphere told her to cry.

"Get away from him, Sakura," called a voice behind her, and she felt Sasuke stiffen.

"Shikama-" she was cut off as she tried to pull away from Sasuke to look at their visitor, only to find that Sasuke's arm wouldn't let her go anywhere.

"Beat it Nara," Sasuke called coldly, glaring intensely at the boy.

Shikamaru's gaze hardened. "He's not the real Sasuke, Sakura."

Sakura frowned. She couldn't turn around to see her friend, as Sasuke would have none of it. She tried to lightly push herself away from him, but he relented not.

"Sasuke," said Shikamaru dangerously, "_Let her go_. He's a clone, Sakura. He's one of _them_."

Sakura's face went blank. Her eyes scanned back and forth as she thought.

"He's lying. It's the other way aroun-"

"Sasuke's not here anymore, Sakura. Kabuto took him away." Shikamaru paused. "He's alive. Just barely."

Sasuke scoffed, leaning his head onto Sakura's.

"He's the clone, Sa-ku-ra," he whispered in her ear, "Take my word for it. You love me, don't you?"

It was silent, and Shikamaru panicked for only a second. After a sharp intake of breath, Sakura had made her mind up. She breathed a laugh, and Sasuke pulled her back to look at her.

Sakura's face was coy, and as she turned around to stick her tongue out at Shikamaru, she also moved closer to Sasuke. She laced her arms gently around his neck, and with only a little bit of chakra...

Snapped it in half.

A gagging sound was heard from the creature in front of her as she stood and moved away from it.

"Rule number three in the Sasuke handbook," she said, sneering at the thing, "He neglects to give_ any_ shits."

She then turned around, pretty much _flying_ at Shikamaru. He caught her, but they fell back onto the grass anyway. She hugged him tightly.

_No __**way **__is __**this **__a clone,_ she mused happily, _I know my Shika-kun from __**countries **__away if he calls._

Shikamaru sighed and laid his head back onto the ground. Holy_ fuck_ had it been a long day, and far from over at that.

OoOoOo

"You see, I went looking for you after you and the green-haired guy disappeared into the base, but I couldn't walk through the door. There was _a seal_, Sakura. A seal to keep Ninja _out._"

Sakura tilted her head, frowning. "Then how was I - or the Akatsuki, for that matter - able to go in and out? Was...was it all a lie? Were the real Akatsuki never there in the first place...?"

It was logical enough, all things considered. Sakura just didn't want to accept it.

All that praise Pein had given her, was that Anbu report fake? Was Tobi never _really_ kicked across the landscape in front of the base? Did Konan not hold her when she cried for the first time, or rifle through her closet? Did Itachi not pet her head and call her_ chan? _

Kisame was never a good cook? Zetsu had never_ grinned_ at her? Kakuzu never pulled that kunai out of her ass? Hidan never semi-raped her?

Deidara never cared?

And...

Sasori was never revived? He'd never told her that he_ didn't hate her?_

Despite her efforts to not think about it, her eyes stung with tears. Shikamaru rubbed her back slowly, sighing quietly. They _were _the Akatsuki; that _was _Deidara that had hugged her back there. It was _his _appearance, and _his _thought process. His feelings.

But not his motives.

Not his nerves that moved his body.

She and Shikamaru were sitting on the stoop-like thing in front of the base's entrance.

"Kabuto almost caught me," he said.

"So he has something to do with it?" asked Sakura.

It would make sense; that voice she'd heard earlier, it'd silenced the second the Sasuke clone snapped to life. It was almost identical to Orochimaru's voice.

Sakura pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in her arms.

"What're ya gonna do now, Saks...? Solve the mystery or come back home?"

There was a long moment of silence. Shikamaru could hear her muffled huff as she sat up again.

"I'm going to find my boys."

**OoOoOo**

**Hola~ Short little chapter for you guys and being you. ;3**

**All Sakura knew has suddenly turned to hell! Resolution is awaiting, pretty much planned out, but first a break. :D**

**How long would you like this story to be? I'd love to keep adding on forever, but conclusions are satisfying as well...I've got an idea or two up my sleeve for sure on other stories I'm prepared to write, but it's like cheating on this story if I start them now. D:**

**Also, I read ALL of your reviews :3 They honestly make my freakin' day. Thank you all so much for sticking with this lazy-ass story 3 I would normally reply, but I feel like it would be a huge pain to go into PM and thank everyone for being awesome, it'd get annoying for you all to hear how grateful I am 33**

**NTM you guys just say the funniest shit. XDDD**

**Adiossss~~**

**Remember the name,**

**~Raven100**

**and,**

**OBAMA 2012 BITCHEEEEeeeesssSsSsSSSSSSs~**

**Also, Poll's open now. 3**


	19. 17: Correlation

**HEY! I have the pairing poll on this story up and running on my page. At the end of this chapter, vote!**

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 17:** _Correlation _

They watched the group mope about hopelessly from the trees.

"Senseeeeii~ We've been running around for hours! Where the hell is Sakura-chan?!"

Kakashi didn't reply, only kept his eyes dull and downcast. The two in the trees frowned at each other.

"Zetsu really did a number on them."

"You sure you want to do this? Will they agree to your terms?"

There was a brief silence.

"Naruto, perhaps we were on a false trail?" Sai suggested, though doubt plagued his mind.

"Bull! We saw and _fought _one of them! If we're wrong, then where the hell's Shikamaru?!" Naruto shot back heatedly.

Sai looked away from him. They were both losing hope, and Kakashi hadn't even spoken since they'd fought the green-haired man.

"What are they thinking," said one in the trees, "With their platoon leader gone, they're legally obligated to return to the village...! But-"

"But Naruto is Naruto as always?" the other reasoned.

"Yeah," he paused, "So why them? What are you thinking, Sakura?"

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the black-haired one in the group in front of them. Sakura shook her head. Surely Sai noticed them? What genjutsu _had _Zetsu put on them?

_Could've very well been forbidden_, she thought, _I wouldn't put it beneath him._

"Sakura?"

The kunoichi snapped back into reality, glancing quickly at Shikamaru, then back to the ground.

"I'm not an idiot; I know I can't take down Kabuto and Orochimaru alone - and even then, there might be more!"

Shikamaru frowned again, "You've got me."

"I'm trusting you and hopefully Sai to get the Akatsuki out of there while Naruto, Kakashi-sensei and myself deal with the other two," she smiled playfully at him, "I know you won't hurt them if I tell you not to."

_And hopefully the others - or at least Sai - will comply as well._

"Alright, first thing's first: What the _hell _did Zetsu do to them and how can we reverse it?"

Sakura jumped down th the middle of the group, signaling for Shikamaru to stay back. She glanced at each of her friends.

_What the hell...?!_

Sakura flinched, almost in horror. _ They're not reacting to my presence...!_

When she tried flaring her chakra, Naruto sneezed, but besides that, nothing. Shikamaru decended the tree, touching Sakura's shoulder as she pondered what the _hell _was happening. She touched a finger to her chin in thought.

"The...the Kigu Ryougou no Jutsu!"

"The _what_?" Shikamaru asked.

"The oblivious travel technique," she said, hiking her shoulders up sheepishly, "When I work for Tsunade-shishou late at night, I have limited access to the genjutsu archives. This includes the forbidden archives."

Shikamaru grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "_Sakura_...don't tell me..."

"H-hey! At least I know how to dispel it!" she defended herself.

He sighed, but she went on elaborating anyway.

"It's an _extremely _high-ranking genjutsu," she began, "Because, unlike most every other genjutsu in existence, it creates new land to cover in the illusion-ee's mind's eye."

When Shikamaru quirked a brow at her, she went on. "It's like they're glued to an invisible treadmill. As we see them go nowhere at all," she said, gesturing to the squad standing around, contemplating their complete lost-ness, "their eyes show them all _walking _and _walking_, but not getting any closer to the base."

Shikamaru analyzed the group as Naruto sneezed some more and complained about shitty directional skills on Sai's part. He was catching on, but _what exactly _made this jutsu so powerful, and _forbidden _at that? Sakura gladly explained for him.

"The caster constantly produces more - new - scenery as the affected move along, when in fact they've been tied down to the very spot that they sparred with Zetsu. What makes this jutsu un-learnable and closed off to all but very few, is the fact that the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, created this jutsu!"

Sakura seemed proud of herself for knowing such information. "And as we all should know by now, his chakra's major was working with wood and, less specifically, nature."

Shikamaru seemed to have an epiphany. "So, had the Lady Hokage or Yamato-san made genjutsu their major, they could perform this as well?"

Sakura smiled wholly at him. "Yes, but as is the same with Hashirama-sama, it would be limited," she smiled thoughtfully here, "Because Zetsu is...well, _Zetsu_, he has _at least _an eight-fold stronger bond with the Mother Earth than that of any Senju."

She glanced to the sky absently. "No offense, sir."

Her foot kicked at the ground as she thought. "There are only, therefore, _two _ways to undo this justu."

"The caster would have to release it?" suggested Shikamaru as he experimented with the group by flicking Naruto's forehead, with little results.

Sakura nodded. "_Or_, there would have to be a major setting change caused by an outside force."

"Such as?"

When Shikamaru got no response for some time, he turned away from pulling on Sai's hair, only to find Sakura several yards away at the top of a tree. He jumped, and could barely see the fiery grin Sakura shot him from where she stood.

"_Such as _a massive crater caused by a badass pink-haired bitch!"

She ran chakra to her fist, flipped into the air, and rocketed down at the earth. Before Shikamaru could say anything to oppose, the ground shook, and an imposing crater, far enough to keep Naruto and himself out of harm's way, but close enough to knock them all to their asses, erupted from nowhere and shards of land were flying every-which-way they chose.

Some otherworldly force made a piece of this land fly straight at Kakashi's head.

Great.

**OoOoOo**

**Howdy.**

**I know it's short, but I didn't want it to come in **_**too **_**late after the more or less **_**deadline **_**I'd created with SexySelena666. So heres you goes :3**

**~Raven100**


	20. 18: Collaboration

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 18:** _Collaboration_

As Shikamaru slowly lowered Kakashi to the ground, Sakura approached them, smiling.

"That went well."

Shikamaru gave her a look. "If you say so."

"Sakura-chan?" they turned to see a Flying Naruto coming straight at the aforementioned kunoichi.

"Sakura-chan!" he tackled her to the ground, tearing up in joy. She easily caught his weight and stood, him still hugging her. She noticed Sai frown at her.

"Sakura...what are you wearing?"

Sakura froze.

Naruto stopped dead. He pulled away, looking her up and down. "Sakura-chan...?"

She still donned her Akatsuki cloak, though now ripped and bloodied in many places. The entire bottom half had been torn at a slant from her struggle with Sasuke. Her headband still wore its slash as she bowed her head in...Shame? Remorse?

Shikamaru, noticing Naruto's shoulders rising in soon-to-be anger, stepped between the two. Putting up a keep-the-peace gesture, he moved Sakura back a few feet. "Listen, Naruto..."

Naruto glared up at them both, tears in his eyes threatening to fall. "What the hell is there to listen to?! What is _this_, Sakura-chan?!"

Sakura's face went impassive. "Naruto, it's Orochimaru."

Naruto paused in his rage. Sakura hardened her gaze. "I know where Sasuke is."

The air in Naruto's lungs dissipated. "_What_?"

OOO

"If you've done all that...no, HOW did you do all that?!"

Sakura's brow furrowed. "Hell if I know."

Sai stared at her until she was looking at him. Then he spoke. "Are you asking that we aid you in rescuing the Akatsuki? Konoha's number one enemy?"

She flinched. "I'm asking that you come by your own will. If you come, you see Sasuke, save the Akatsuki from something more dangerous than even themselves, and kill off Orochimaru for good."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, briefly feeling the sweat on his forehead. He grimaced when Sakura finished her point. "If you don't, you fail your mission, Sasuke will be in danger, and I'll die."

There was silence for a while.

"Fine...but I'm not goin' anywhere near those damn Akatsuki!" Naruto shouted as he began to walk by her.

Sakura whirled and grabbed him by the collar, giving him a look of death that rivaled with even Kakuzu's stare. Terror, utter terror, ran through Naruto's veins. She wasn't playing around. This wasn't irritation. It wasn't anger or annoyance or malice.

It was an absolute look of You-Fucking-Listen-to-Me.

"I don't think you get it, Naruto," her voice was colder than it had ever been when she spoke to him. "The only way you'll _ever _see Sasuke again will be through saving Akatsuki. I'll make sure of that."

He was so confused. This was his Sakura?

"You may not even recognize him by the bloody pulp I beat him to. But then, if you refuse my orders, he'll be the last thing you recognize for a_ long time_."

"Sakura-chan..." she wasn't giving them many options. About two, actually.

Sasuke or Death.

Just then, Kakashi chose to wake up. Upon sight of Sakura's appearance, he noted he must be having a nightmare.

"Aw hell, someone _please _brief him for me!" Sakura shouted in distress.

"I'm on it, Saks."

OOO

"I see..."

It was apparent that Kakashi disapproved of next-to everything he'd just heard, but still he glanced at Sakra with respect.

"Your terms are...unorthodox, but it's not _my _decision to make on behalf of the team anyway," he said. "After all, _I'm _not the platoon leader."

Everyone turned their gazes to Shikamaru. He hesitated, not enjoying the sudden pressure on his shoulders. He looked among his friends and teammates. Kakashi was impassive, Naruto looking anxious, Sai blank-faced, and Sakura solemn.

_This decision was made the moment I let her leave the village_, he thought.

There would be a lot of consequences based on his decision. It was an offense of the highest degree. Not only would they be abandoning the mission, but helping a group of S-class criminals as well-albeit a bit inadvertently. After all, it was mostly in an effort to destroy one rogue ninja (and his assistant, hopefully) and save another.

Many fluctuations on this roller coaster of honor and reputations, there were.

Thankfully, according to Shikamaru's math, their case was biased a little more towards the positive end.

"Where we headed to, Saku?"

She smiled.

**OoOoOo**

**I KNOW IT'S SHORT OKAY JEEZ**

**Just thank the gods I was suddenly encased in a tyrade of ShikaSaku fanfiction so procrastination could go fuck itself.**

**XD Anywaaayy~**

**Thank you for reading. :)**

**Also happy birthday, Deidara-san **

**Also also go vote for the pairings. Go.**

**~Raven100**


	21. Importantbutnotreallyachapterpleaseread

Heyyyy everybody. I realize this isn't a chapter, but lemme explain-and this IS very important-essential, even. Stay tuned.

So I am very vigorously fixing everything in the first-what, ten?-chapters of Accidentally so that everything makes some actual fucking sense, and it's almost like a completely different story. Except not. You'll see.

My question for you: Should I simply replace the old chapters with the new or delete/abandon this one and do it all over again?

I don't think I even need to ask this question, considering how partial I am to the lovely reviews I've gotten. The former will probably be put into motion, then. I will politely leave a reminder at the end of the most recent chapter once I've updated it all, maybe make another note like this.

I'm mostly getting my thoughts onto paper then. Okay.

I just thought, since there are 134 of you magnificent fuckers following this thing, you should be kept posted. So yeah. There's also already an Author's Note at the end of the first (revised) chapter explaining why, in slightly more detail, I'm revamping. Shit's lookin' _preeeetty _fuckin' rad, yo.

Also, I'm turning 17 on the 25th. Solid.

Questions, comments, concerns? Insults?

Take care, you all.

~Raven100


	22. 19: Bullshit

Juuuuuust kidding! Sorry.

Alrighty, so I'm putting this up as a new story and I'll start from chapter one all over again. The thing got exponentially bigger, longer, so I think a new file completely is justified. You all would already know what happens as far as the big picture goes, but I'm fixing details, cleaning up the timeline. These details are important, whether they little cute things, keeping everyone in character, or general tidbits that I appreciate in stories.

I'm going to do my best to keep it without mistakes, from missing links to typos.

So yeah. Let's have fun with that. The first chapter will probably be up within 24 hours of my posting this "chapter," so just check my page or whatever.

This note itself is all over the place so forgive me, but I got a good feeling and I wanna stay on that high of writing for as long as possible.

Stay frosty, ma shiftas.

~Raven100


End file.

Naruto, Friendship, Humor