Standard Disclaimer Applied (with scotch tape)

Notes: This thing here is my comeback oneshot! I hope I didn't lose my touch along with the stupid flood. Actually, I started writing this fic months ago, but never got to finish it but well, here it is, I hope you guys like it! MultiSaku rocks my socks bitches!

Prompt: Disease

The moment Sakura got up that morning, she already knew that it wasn't going to be her lucky day. 'Not that I have any lucky days' Sakura inwardly grumbled as she tossed her comforters of her body. Since the pinkette turned 18 she began living independently despite the protests of her grandparents, saying that at times like these there were no more safe places to stay in.

Sakura sighed as she looked over to see her alarm clock, it was 5 in the morning and her shift at her work wasn't until 2 in the afternoon.

"Ugh…this sucks" Sakura stood up and began fixing her bed. She was currently living in a pretty decent apartment. It had 2 rooms, a bathroom (which was pretty big and super clean), a kitchen and a mini living room and it came with a good price too.

"Ohayo, outo-san, okaa-san" The pinkette mumbled as she passed by the altar where the frames with the pictures of her deceased parents were. They died when she was seven, it was a freak accident, the people said, considering the fact that they died because a car from the second story of the parking lot of the mall they were outside of fell onto them.

Sakura quietly and quickly fixed herself a quick relaxing bath and as she waited for the water to heat up, she began fixing herself something to eat only to find that her refrigerator and practically her whole kitchen was empty.

"This is what I get for having Naruto as a friend" The pinkette remarked dryly when she passed by the trashcan filled with instant ramen. Yup, it was Naruto's fault that she doesn't have any food to cook. And by food, she meant something that could be cooked by adding hot water.

Sakura didn't know how to cook.

So in the end Sakura settled for her bath but found that the water hadn't heat up at all (the reason? Sakura didn't have any idea) causing Sakura to nearly freeze to death because of the cold water accompanied with the cold wheather. It was early December already, and even though it wasn't snowing yet it sure was cold already.

"Damn this day to hell" Sakura grumbled as she locked her apartment door, the cold wind merely blowing on her as if trying to further push her. The beryl eyed girl sighed and pulled her jacket closer to her body. The sun wasn't even up yet but the streets of Tokyo were already bustling with life, although it wasn't as hectic as it usually was when it's noon or when it's night.

The pinkette tugged her jacket closer to her body again and nimbly made her way towards the convinience store a few blocks away.

"I cant believe I got stuck at the first shift, un" Deidara sulked as he wiped the glass walls and windows of the shop that was currently taking his beauty sleep. His eyes had bags under them indicating the fact that he didn't slept well, or maybe he didn't actually slept at all. Heh, that's what one get when he decides to party all night not bothering to check his work schedule.

"But it isnt my fault un! Hidan forced me!" The blonde shouted to the sky earning a 'Shut up, you asshole' from the large guy living in the run down apartment across the store in which Deidara replied with a 'Fuck you, un'

"Hidan forced you to what?" Deidara turned to find a very adorable Sakura rubbing her nose with her right hand. Aw, she looked so cute.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde glomped her and began to sway them both back and forth. "Aw, you look so cute, un!"

The pinkette merely glared at Deidara; "Let go of me you Dei, you're making me dizzy" Sakura sneered and disentangled herself from the overreacting blonde. Che, it was as if they hadnt seen each other yesterday.

Deidara merely sent her a impish grin and rubbed the back of his neck, his blush settling down. "So what brings you here Sakura-chan un, it's (He glanced at his watch) only 5:15," The blonde asked. He knew that Sakura wasn't an early riser, she hated being up early and if you're unlucky you'd be the on the receiving end of her morning wrath, it was one of the reasons why Itachi never assigns Sakura for the morning shift. He was such a softie when it came to her.

Sakura shrugged "I don't know, I just woke up early, it sucks, I cant go back to sleep and well…my ref's empty" The pinkette entered the store with Deidara on tow.

Sakura made herself comfortable as she sat on one of the chairs the convenience store had. It was much, much different from any other convenience store Sakura knew about. For one thing, it was much larger than an average and well, considering the fact that the common colors of these kind of stores were blue, green, and white, the Dawn convenience store was painted with dark colors such as red and black and well…a tad bit of white here and there.

There was this one time that the police thought that the convenience store gig was just a cover and raided the place, Sakura was working that time and she almost died laughing when the officers entered carrying a warrant of arrest.

"What are you thinking about, un?" Deidara raised an eyebrow as he placed a hot cup of coffee in front of the pinkette and seated himself across her. There weren't any customers yet, so he was free to do as he please and they were alone…

Sakura looked up, her eyes glistening with silent laughter that made her eyes much more shiny. "N-nothing, I just remember the raid incident" Sakura finally let out a giggle and raised the cup of coffee to her lips. "Wait, this is free right?" Sakura inquired refraining herself from drinking, "You know I'm broke right now, Dei" The pinkette joked.

"Of course it's free un. I'm not a cheapskate, it's just coffee" Deidara snorted then his eyes glinted with a mischievous idea, "Unless, well…unless you want to pay it un, we could arrange something" He puckered his lips for a moment while Sakura snorted behind the cup of coffee she just finished

Green eyes rolled in exasperation, it wasn't noon yet, yet she was already getting hit on. Well then again, she shouldve expected this, after all it was Deidara.

"Right…I'm going to go shopping" Sakura stood up and shoot the striped cup of red and black to the trash bin a few metres away.

"What? You're leaving already, un? You could shop here!" The blonde was getting desperate, she was already leaving damnit! It was only once in a while that the cerulean eyed male had any alone time with the pinkette, there were always ugh…distractions or obstacles or pests whatever you liked.

Sakura raised an eyebrow "Seriously? This is a convenience store right? Even though it doesn't look like one, (rolls eyes) do you honestly think I'd freeze myself to death when I can stay warm and alive here?" The pinkette mumbled as she picked up a red basket.

Deidara sighed in relief and removed the hand on his chest, a grin exploded from his lips as he began to hop over his Sakura-chan. "Well, since you're a customer now –the very first customer of the day- let me be your slave un! I mean…helper, un! My name's Deidara and this section here is the dry goods section…"

The blonde steered Sakura towards the said section while Sakura laughed along….

"Deidara, I just need ramen. And icecream, no—not that! I can't cook! I—I sheesh…"

"Sakura is absent…again" Itachi monotonely stated as his gaze traveled from one person to another, everyone in the circle. It wasn't like Sakura to just go AWOL, yes, she has her days when she would go all lazy and wont even try to go to work but she would always, always call and give a nice reason but for the past two days there weren't any calls, any mails, there weren't anything!

"Maybe she's sick or something" Shikamaru yawned although he couldn't deny that he was worried about the only female crew of the Dawn. She was supposed to be his shift partner yesterday but since she was absent, he got stuck with Hidan.

Shikamaru didn't like Hidan.

It was closing time already and it had been 2 days since Sakura was absent. They didn't receive any call and nobody had the guts to go to her house, some were embarassed, some were afraid they'd be intruding her privacy. The last time one of them made a surprise visit in Sakura's crib, the pinkette got angry since Hidan saw her in her baby shorts and white tee only.

"Then she shouldve called! Sakura-chan knows we get worried easily!" Naruto whined, he hadnt gone to Sakura's place yet because before she disappeared he promised not to bother her for a week. It was his punishment for emptying her refrigerator.

Sasuke sighed and looked at his big brother for any sign of anything; "Sakura doesn't have a phone Naruto, it was stolen remember?" The dark blue haired teen sighed.

"Oh yeah! I remember that time, she kicked the guy's ass and got her phone but during her victory dance, she freakin' slammed it down the ground…" Suigetsu laughed at the incident. The guy was taken to the police's custody with a black eye and a broken arm courtesy of Sakura. His girl's tough and spicy aand feisty just how he like 'em.

"Ooh! Tobi remembers that! But right now, we shouldn't talk about that, Sakura-chan might be in trouble no?" Tobi their supposedly oldest crew member piped in. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the guy, he didn't trust him and judging by how his brother stiffened even the slightest bit showed that neither did he.

"I fucking agree with the dufus for once" Hidan piped up from his place at the doorway. He was the store's deliverer in which he often complained about since he couldn't see his Sakura as much as the others do.

Tobi was about to protest when his 'senpai' slammed the magazine he had been reading towards his face. "Don't even try, Tobi, un" Deidara narrowed his visible eye. The brown haired male nodded with vehemence.

From his place behind the counter, Sasori sighed and ran a hand across his wild red tresses. "So we are going to visit her? Tonight then? It's closing time anyway"

Itachi directed his attention towards the red head and nodded; "Yes, as her fellow workers and friends, we must ensure her safety and well being" Even though we all know that we have the same personal agenda here.

Even though it was unspoken, it was heard by all the males present. They werent oblivious with what the others feel about the only girl of the team. In fact, they were very aware of it and even some outsiders were too, the only person who seemed to be oblivious with the blatant attempts of the males to pursue and win her heart was the object of their affection herself, Sakura.

The eerie silence was only broken when their stock manager…person emerged from the stock room, his name was Kakuzu and he was way, way older than all of them and thank goodness he doesn't like, like their pink haired love or else Itachi wouldve replaced him a long, long time ago.

The weird male emerged from the stock room carrying a box filled with instant ramen. "Who was in charge with the dry goods section two days ago?" Kakuzu asked, his eyes looking for the person who would admit it.

"Nobody's answering? Well, let me just say this, I think I know why Haruno-san's absent for the pass few days"

"What? How! What did you do to her?" The younger blonde of the group stood up and stalked towards the tall male only to be held back by their manager. Well, Itachi wasn't really the manager since they all owned the store, but he was the most responsible one so…yeah.

"Kakuzu-san, explain" Itachi stated his words were stern and straightforward, any lesser man wouldve cowered but Kakuzu wasn't a lesser man.

The green eyed masked man found himself in the middle of the nine owners of the store. He cleared his throat and explained; "Three days ago, I came here to deliver the stock just like the usual but I forgot to mention something of importance"

"Just spit it out dickhead!" came from Hidan.

Kakuzu rolled his green, green eyes and resumed his explanation after throwing a glare at the silverhaired male; "So I called from my office, somebody answered the phone and I don't remember who he was but I informed him about the mix up in our office, the instant ramen delivered here were factory rejects. I informed said person to pull it out and he said he will…"

Kakuzu kicked the box of instant ramen and out came only a few, that meant…

"…but apparently, whoever he is, didn't"

They arrived at her apartment exactly 6:30 in the evening. Naruto and Sasuke led the way since they were accustomed in visiting the pinkette. The other six guys try to ignore the jealousy that stirred within them.

"Here we are, Sakura-chan's apartment!" The whiskered blonde cheered as he reached for the spare key under Sakura's rose plant.

The red head of the group raised an eyebrow; "Isn't it dangerous leaving a spare key under a very…exposed place?" Naruto glared at Sasori knowing what he was thinking. The blonde snorted and said in a sing-song voice; "I don't take advantage of the privilege she gave me, unlike some people who want to"

Suigetsu held back a snort and looked around, she chose a good part of the neigborhood to live in. The pale blue haired male agreed inwardly; 'Good, there's a bunch of streetlights and from what I know, the crime rate here is particularly low. Good, good, Sakura's safe'

"Shouldn't we knock first? We wouldn't want to repeat what happened to Hidan right?" The lazy ass of the group asked with his laid back voice. The silver haired male beside him snickered; "If you fucking mean that I wouldn't want to see that bitch in her baby shorts and white tee then you're fucking wrong Nara. Despite the bruises she left, it was so fricking worth it" Hidan placed his arms behind his head and whistled, remembering the memory.

Naruto turned the key and quietly entered the apartment followed by the other eight. "Sakura-chan? You in here?" Naruto called out cautiously.

It was dark and silent and the streetlights made their shadows longer making them dance against the walls.

"Why don't we open the lights, un?" Deidara rolled his eyes and flipped on the lights. The younger blonde glared at him, so much for the drama.

When the lights were flipped on they saw how tidy Sakura's apartment was, it wasn't overly tidy but it wasn't a pigsty either, not that they expected Sakura to be a pig at home, no not at all.

"Where's her room?" Sasori asked as his eyes took in the apartment, he saw some books he himself had read and he saw the books he gave to her last Christmas, it oddly warmed him inside when he saw that the books he gave her had their very own corner at her book case.

The seven turned to Sakura's childhood friends, Sasuke and Naruto, with the question in their eyes.

"Do you expect us to know that? Sakura wont even let us go up the second floor" Sasuke complained as he picked up a thick photo album from the table in the mini living room. The others were already exploring the apartment, wanting to see anything that would make them know Sakura better.

Itachi walked and peered up the stairs, perhaps she was asleep? If they had been other people, say, robbers or worse rapists, what wouldve happened to her by now? She still wasn't aware that they were there…

Well, no one really called for her…

"Sakura-chan!" Tobi's voice echoed all through out the apartment. The males gathered rather quickly at the mini living room. Sasuke, Naruto, Suigetsu and Shikamaru sat at the longest couch, while Sasori and Hidan each sat at the single couch and Deidara, Itachi merely stood up while Tobi sat on the carpet.

They heard mumblings and grumbles from upstairs, then they heard stomps of feet and a couple of things falling down.

"Is Sakura-chan, ok?" Naruto wondered and stood up to wait for the pinkette to come down.

Stomp, stomp, stomp. Sakura stood in front of them in her cute little tweety panjamas while they stop and stared, Sakura stayed surprised…then she blinked.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?"

Tanned hands squeezed excess water from the white towel and lazily regarded the way the droplets of water created ripples inside the small basin. Shikamaru adjusted his body a bit to face the sleeping pinkette and place the damp cloth on her forehead.

"Oi, Shikamaru, are you sure you fucking know what you're doing?" The silver haired male from the corner asked as he lazily took in the room. It wasn't pink –thank goodness- the walls were covered with peach striped wallpaper and most of her things –her bed, her cabinet, etc- weren't pink or else Hidan would've gone blind already.

"I don't see you doing anything" Shikamaru answered back as he placed the damp cloth on the forehead of the woman lying on the bed. He silently regarded her forehead, the same forehead she always complained about. It was…larger than average but it suited her just fine, Shikamaru mused.

The pink haired teen lying on the bed had fainted earlier and nearly tumbled down the stairs if it hadn't been for Naruto –the nearest one that time- along with Sasuke. Even without her permission the nine men permitted themselves to enter her room for her own sake, and needless to say, they drank in every detail of the room that has 'Sakura' written all over it, knowing that it might be the first and last time they'll ever see it knowing their pinkette.

Hidan shrugged as he roamed around the room in limited strides, "Better to do nothing than to fucking do something I'm not fucking sure about" he gruffly replied as he continued surveying his girl's room. The walls were painted with meduim toned peach and the rays of light coming from the street light adjacent to her window cast beautiful shadows in her room, accented by the curtains he helped her to buy. It was colored white, almost see through. Her room only consisted of a few furnitures, a tall plastic book shelves filled with books, a study table with piles of unsorted papers, her cabinet (Hidan was so goddamn tempted just to look at her underwear drawer) and her bed which was near the lone window. The room itself wasn't small although it did appear small with Hidan in there, since he was so big.

"Tobi brought water!" A childish loud voice called out and in came Tobi with a basin of water Shikamaru asked him to bring. "Tobi! I told you not to shout, un" Deidara's hissing voice followed.

"Sowie" The brown haired male mumbled as he tiptoed towards Shikamaru and handed him the basin of water. "Thanks" The spiky haired male mumbled as he took the basin from Tobi.

Deidara crossed his arms and leaned on the wall near Sakura's bed when his head hit something hard hanging on the wall. At the corner of his eyes he saw Tobi scurry out of the room and disregarded it instead the blonde turned around and found that he hit a frame hanging on the wall. The blonde turned to face whatever his head had hit and in the orangish light coming from Sakura's window, he could make out vague outlines of 3 people, standing.

"Who's this, un?"

END NOTES: This will probably turn into a multi-chaptered fic if it gets good feedback (nudge nudge wink wink) or maybe a two shot. Anyways, review yeah?