Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

My life on the line

Chapter Two – Making new friends

The short amount of time that was given to us before Naruto and Sasuke had to leave passed all too quickly…

We spent the time in their apartment, just taking it easy, talking and watching movies. We slept in the same bed at night and only left each other to use the bathroom. Itachi and Kisame kept an eye on us but we were so focused on each other that we didn´t even notice them.

All too soon I found myself standing in front of my two boys in the airport, waiting to see them off as they disappeared from my life for at least six months. I knew Sasuke and Itachi's father wouldn´t let them return unless the situation I was in was solved so if I was unlucky, it could be years before I got to see them again…

But I tried not to think about that, it was hard enough to keep the tears away as it was.

The three of us were standing close together, our foreheads touching as the minutes counted down. We didn´t say anything, we had already spoken all that needed to be spoken about and now we were just relishing in the feeling of each other next to each other.

I knew that both of them would miss me terribly, but they still had each other and knew it was going to be worse for me, since I was left all alone. But I had overheard Sasuke asking Itachi to keep an eye on me when he and Naruto was gone and the gesture made me feel all warm inside.

The announcement came that Sasuke and Naruto had to board the plane and we all heard Naruto wince.

"You have to go…" I told them. "I´ll be fine, I promise…"

Naruto winced again but pressed a kiss to my forehead, tears streaming down his tanned cheeks before he turned away and took his place in the line.

Sasuke gave his brother a quick hug before also pressing a kiss to my forehead, only a single tear escaped from his eyes as he did so but since Sasuke never showed his feelings it was like he was bawling like a baby. He then took his place after Naruto in the line and within another five minutes they were gone both from my sight and currently from my life as well.

I don´t remember much from the car ride back to my apartment, but in one moment I was at the airport, staring at Naruto and Sasuke´s retreating backs, and in the next one I was sitting at my kitchen table with Itachi across from me and Kisame leaning against the counter.

"So you have finally returned to us…" Itachi mused before asking. "When was the last time you three were away from each other for a longer period of time?"

"Define 'longer period of time'?" I asked with an emotionless voice.

"Three weeks or more." Kisame said and I blinked once before answering.

"Never, the longest time we have ever been apart is five days." I saw both of their eyes widen but they didn´t say anything else.

"Hey what are you guys still doing here by the way? Shouldn´t you be back at the Akatsuki headquarters working?" I asked them after a little while when my mind comprehended that they was here when they shouldn´t be.

"We are working, we are protecting you." Itachi explained to me as if he was talking to a child. I shook my head no stubbornly.

"No you can´t do that, I haven´t agreed to that."

"Do you want us to leave then?" Kisame asked calmly but with a look in his eyes that told me he wasn´t going anywhere.

"N…No…" I answered feeling stupid. "But I don´t think I can afford you, that´s all…" I said and looked away, embarrassment coloring my pale cheeks.

"Didn´t your father tell you about the deal he made with the Akatsuki?" Itachi asked me sounding genuinely surprised.

"No… What deal?" I asked, thankful for the distraction from the fact that Sasuke and Naruto were on their way to Japan right now.

"Since he was the one to lend us the money we needed to start up the business we made a deal with him saying that he and his family could always use our services for free. You really didn´t know that?" Itachi said and I only stared at him with my mouth open. Was that really true? Had my father lent them the money they needed to get their business started?

I was pulled back to the present when Itachi snapped his fingers in front of my face, a slightly worried look on his face.

"Hey Sakura are you really alright? You seem a little dazed."

"I´m fine… just a lot to think about…" I answered before excusing myself and going to my bedroom. I needed to be alone for a little while.

I sat on the floor and pulled a box from underneath my bed, it contained copies of all my photographs and important papers. The originals were kept in a secure safe deposit box since I had been obsessed with the thought of losing them all in a fire or other accident after my father´s death.

I used to pull out the box and look at the photographs every once in a while but this time I was looking for a document that proved what Itachi had told me. And after a while I did find it.

Akatsuki Contract

I, Kizashi Haruno, hereby loans the leader of the Akatsuki, Yahiko AKA Pein, the money needed for the launch of his own security organization that shall be named Akatsuki.

In return for doing this my family and I will be able to use the same organizations services without a money related penalty.

Kizashi Haruno Yahiko AKA Pein

It appears Itachi was telling the truth. It still felt a little weird, my father being the entire reason that the successful organization even existed but at the same time it made me feel a little better.

It meant there was something else to remember him by.

And the fact that I could allow them to help me without having to worry about the cost made everything much easier. But I still planned on giving them something in return for helping me, even if it might only be by baking and hugs.

A picture caught my eyes and I picked it up despite knowing better, it always made me feel sad… It was taken shortly before my father's murder and in the background you could see another photo, the other photo was taken a few months before mother left and I was still a carefree and happy teenager.

When I looked at this picture I never saw the details, only a family of three that shrunk to two that was since decimated to only one.

I quickly put all the things away again before I saw something that triggered memories that I´d rather leave forgotten. Then I left the safety of my bedroom to face Itachi and Kisame again.

They seemed happy to see me but that might just have been wishful thinking on my side because I missed my boys.

"You were right." I told Itachi as I took my seat in front of him again, it didn´t look like either of them had moved an inch but surely they must have…

"You went to check that?" He asked, seemingly surprised.

"Yeah." I nodded and let my eyes travel from Itachi to Kisame. "What did you guys think I was doing?"

"Hiding in your bed, being depressed because your best friends left and plotting on how to get the two of us out of your apartment." Kisame told me straight forward and I actually had to suppress laughter.

"What´s so funny?" Kisame demanded to know and I told him with a large smile on my lips.

"One, I don´t hide in my bed, I hide in small, dark spaces. Two, if I was feeling depressed you would notice because I would either be at a tattoo shop or in a piercing studio or locked inside my bathroom. Three, if I wanted you guys out of here I would jump out through the window and when you ran down to check on me I would climb back up and lock all windows and doors so that you couldn´t come back inside."

Both Itachi and Kisame stared at me like I had grown another head or so but I ignored them and went over to the fridge to check what I could make for dinner.

"Hmm… I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow… How about we order some takeout tonight boys?" I asked over my shoulder and Itachi asked me, once again surprised.

"You don´t mind if we stay then?"

"Of course not, Naruto and Sasuke used to stay here all the time. I´m used to being around other people and I don´t really like being alone…" I told him sincerely and pulled out a bottle of sake. "Who´s up for a game of 'I have never'?" I asked them while returning to my seat at the table.

Kisame was all for it and while Itachi declined the sake he fetched himself a tall glass of water and agreed to join in on the game anyway. I allowed Kisame to start the game since he seemed really eager to.

"I have never… kissed someone of the same sex." He said proudly and stared intently at both me and Itachi, Itachi didn´t move a muscle to Kisame's disappointment but I shrugged and drank my shot. as I refilled my glass I felt Kisame's gaze burning on me and I looked up, met his eyes and told him.

"I was sixteen, I was curious."

"Are you a lesbian?" I burst out laughing at Kisame's question but Itachi smacked his partner on the back of the head.

"No I´m not a lesbian, I´m totally straight. But I had to try it to find out right?" Kisame chuckled at my logic and then Itachi continued with the game.

"I have never gotten a tattoo." He said and both Kisame and I drank.

"You have a tattoo?" I asked him curiously and he nodded.

"Yeah, I´ve got a great white shark across my shoulders. What do you have?"

"I have a dragon on my shoulder blade and the grim reaper on my calf." I answered before continuing the game. "I have never… crashed a car."

To my surprise Kisame burst out laughing while Itachi blushed and took a sip of his water.

"I accidentally hit a parked vehicle once." Itachi explained but Kisame laughed even harder and added.

"And the reason he hit a parked car was because there was this hot chick walking on the other side of the street only dressed in a pair of short-shorts and a bikini top." That made me start laughing as well and it took almost five minutes before we could continue with the game.

When the three pizza´s arrived twenty minutes later Itachi was sober, Kisame was buzzed and I was drunk. We had moved to the living room and when Itachi went to the door to get our food Kisame leaned closer to me and said.

"I dare you to get Itachi drunk, he´s a real lightweight and if he tastes alcohol he will refuse to drink it."

"You're on." I told him before Itachi returned and we had to give our attention to the food. Itachi ate his pizza, I ate half of mine and Kisame ate both his own and the other half of mine.

Then I made a tour in the kitchen to make drinks since the sake bottle was empty. I mixed two drinks to myself and Kisame where you clearly could taste the alcohol and then I mixed a drink to Itachi which contained even more alcohol but didn´t taste anything like it.

I handed Kisame and Itachi their drinks and Itachi took a careful sip of his drink before his eyes widened and he happily took a bigger drink.

I smiled evilly before telling Kisame that it was his turn.

"I have never… gotten a piercing… and those in your ears don´t count kitten!" I kept staring at him as I raised my glass and took a large gulp, making him swallow deeply. Then I noticed in the corner of my eye that Itachi also took a drink and I immediately demanded to know.

"You´ve got a piercing? Where?"

"He has one in his left nipple." Kisame said with a wide smile. "He had it done on a dare a few years ago and came to like it so he kept it."

"That´s awesome! Can I see? I´ll show you mine if you´ll show me yours?" I teased and got a blush out of both of them. But Itachi did lift his shirt so that I could admire the small silver hoop in his nipple.

And then when they both watched me with eager eyes I firstly pulled the hair away from my eyebrow so they could see the small barbell I had in there. I then lifted my shirt and showed them my belly button piercing before sticking my tongue out at them, showing off my last one.

The night ended in laughter when Itachi fell of his chair and passed out. I had Kisame put him in my bed and he immediately stretched out on his back and put one arm under his head.

Just like Sasuke always did…

My laughter turned into something that I would fervently deny was a sob but most others would say was and I sat down on the floor with a thud.

Kisame kneeled in front of me with a slightly afraid expression, it almost made me laugh again, that Kisame was terrified that I would start crying.

"Hey what´s wrong kitten? Please don´t cry…" He begged me and I gave him a small watery smile.

"I´m not going to cry, I haven´t done that in years, it´s just that Itachi looks so much like Sasuke right now, Sasuke always sleep like that as well…"

I looked up at him and shook my head sadly before saying.

"Don´t mind me… I´m just being silly."

"You´re not being silly kitten, you just need to get some sleep." Kisame said and pulled me to my feet. He led me over to the other side of my bed and lifted the covers for me to climb in.

After he had tucked me in he turned to leave but I grabbed his wrist and told him.

"You don´t have to go… You´ll fit in the bed too."

I felt him hesitate so maybe he wasn´t so drunk as I had believed earlier, but in the end he gave in and took the space I offered. With both of them in my bed I was as usual sandwiched in the middle and feeling warm and safe, I soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I woke up alone and while it may have been because it was almost 10 am, I believe it was because Itachi and Kisame hoped I didn´t remember that they had slept in my bed with me.

And when I thought about it I could understand why, since they were technically working, I now had the means to sue the Akatsuki for not doing their job. Not that I would ever do that but that was probably what they were thinking.

So as I collected clean clothes for the day and locked myself in the bathroom, I decided not to say anything about it. I showered and dressed in a pair of light blue distressed jeans and blue and grey striped tank top before pulling on my regular black converse.

But when I entered the kitchen, expecting to find Itachi and Kisame I found it empty except for a note on my kitchen table.

Good Morning Sakura.

I´m sorry we had to leave like this without notice but we had a meeting at the Akatsuki headquarters that needed our attention. We have a contractor watching over you for now and we will return later.

Please be careful

Itachi Kisame

I put the note down and peeked out my window to try and see if I could spot the contractor that they said was watching me. I couldn´t see anyone but figured that if I had seen them, they must not be very good at their job.

I opened the fridge in search for food but instantly remembered that I needed to go food shopping since there was no food to be found. I sighed deeply but grabbed my wallet and my keys and headed out.

When I came back to the apartment I went directly to the kitchen and put all the food away before going to my bedroom to fetch a book to read.

But when I opened the door to my bedroom all I saw was a sea of red and I dropped to my knees, eyes wide and terrified. My bedroom looked exactly like my father´s office had after he had been murdered; there was even a clean space on the floor that showed where my father´s body should have been.

I was frozen in fear, caught between the past and the present, not knowing what was real and what was fiction.

And that´s how Itachi and Kisame found me an hour later when they returned from the meeting.

"Sakura? Are you home?" I heard Itachi call from the living room, I heard him but my mental state was on the edge of shattering so I didn´t find my voice to answer him.

"Oh god… Itachi!" Kisame's voice sounded from behind me and then I heard fast approaching footsteps before Itachi kneeled on the floor in front of me.

"Sakura? Sakura can you hear me?" He shook my shoulders lightly and I lifted my gaze from the blood covered floor to his worried eyes and then Itachi actually swore, loudly.

"We have to get her out of here Kisame; this is a replica of how the room looked after her father was murdered…"

Suddenly the floor disappeared from underneath me and I found myself being cradled in Kisame's arms. I clutched the fabric of his shirt in my tightly fisted hands instinctively and discovered that it made me feel a tiny bit better. It gave me a feeling of safety, like I was a small child being carried by its parents.

When we left the bedroom a loud ticking noise reached our ears and Kisame asked worriedly.

"Itachi what is that?"

"Some kind of explosive, RUN!" Itachi yelled and then they ran, Kisame holding me tighter against him in an effort to protect me both from the bumpy ride and the imminent explosion.

We we´re halfway down the first set of stairs when my apartment blew up and the explosion sent shockwaves that almost made Itachi and Kisame fall down the remaining stairs. Somehow they managed to stay on their feet though and continued downwards as burning debris rained down on us.

When we reached the street Kisame set course on the black Ford explorer but Itachi stopped him by saying.

"No stay away from the car Kisame, it might be rigged to explode as well. I´ll call headquarters and have someone come pick us up."

Kisame nodded and moved away from both the car and the now burning apartment building, sitting down on a low wall a safe distance away. He was still sheltering me with his own body and I still felt disconnected from reality though.

Itachi soon joined us and told Kisame that Sasori and Deidara were on their way before once again kneeling in front of me, trying to get me to respond.

When an identical black Ford explorer to the one parked outside my building came to a stop next to us he still hadn´t had any success with me. But it wasn´t like I was unaware of what happened around me, I saw what happened and I understood it but the part of me that was trapped in the past made me unable to react to it.

On one hand I was in the present and aware of what went on around me, on the other hand I was back in my old house, watching my father´s dead body.

I watched as the two people named Sasori and Deidara exit the car and rush over to us. They were both around 5 feet 11 inches tall and had the same lean and athletic yet muscular build.

The one named Sasori had dark red hair and warm brown eyes; he also seemed to be older than his partner with a few years. I would say that he was about 28 years old. His partner that was named Deidara had long blonde hair that was partly up in a ponytail and the rest of it hanging loose. His eyes were a beautiful sky blue and I recognized him to be the youngest Akatsuki member at 24 years old.

"What happened? What´s wrong with the girl?" The redhead Sasori asked Itachi.

"My guess is that someone broke into her apartment when she was out shopping for food and staged her bedroom to look like the murder scene of her father. They also rigged a bomb in the apartment that was probably set with a timer. When we returned we found her on the floor in her bedroom like this, she doesn´t talk or indicate in any way that she is aware of what´s going on around her and I can´t get a response out of her no matter what I do." Itachi explained and the redhead kneeled in front of me and shone a light in my eyes that I allowed without blinking.

"Did she see the scene of her father´s murder in real life?" He asked Itachi and I saw him shake his head slowly while answering.

"I don´t know… I haven´t seen her since I turned eighteen… damn it! I knew I should have checked on her after she lost her father, you think that might be the case?" Sasori nodded thoughtfully.

"It might, there is no physical reason to her behavior so it has to be a mental one. If she saw the real murder scene the fake one might´ve triggered some bad memories that put her in this state."

"Either way we should get out of here now, it´s not safe to be out in the open when she is like this. There´s no telling who´s watching us." Kisame said and stood up.

They all followed his example and in less than a minute we were all seated in the car and headed for the Akatsuki headquarters. And despite everything that happened around me and the memories that kept replaying in front of my eyes I managed to fall asleep in the security of being held by Kisame.

When I opened my eyes again I was in an unfamiliar environment. I was in the middle of a rather large bed but it was not my own. That´s when I remembered what had happened to my apartment.

I sat up quickly, frantically scanning the room for any dangers. I found none but got off the bed anyway and searched for a weapon to defend myself with. The last thing I remembered was riding a car with Itachi, Kisame, Sasori and Deidara but that didn´t mean that I was safe.

Since I fell asleep I couldn´t know where I was and I was sure that if I in fact was at the Akatsuki headquarters they would understand my way of thinking.

The room I was in was painted in different shades of blue and had two doors connecting to it. I ignored the doors for now and instead searched for some kind of weapon, it didn't take me long to find the gun taped to the back of the bed´s headboard.

I checked it for bullets and to my satisfaction found it to be fully loaded. I heard the door open behind me and instantly took a protective stance with the gun held steady in front of me.

I recognized the long blonde hair immediately though and lowered the gun almost before Deidara had reacted to it being pointed straight at him.

"Whoa… easy there Sakura, no need to point that thing at me, yeah." Deidara said and approached me slowly.

"Yeah sorry about that… But I wasn´t sure of where I was and I didn´t want to take any chances." I apologized and gave him the gun.

"It´s okay, how are you feeling?" He asked while placing the gun back where I had found it.

"I´m fine… trying not to think about what happened to my apartment and all my stuff though…" I replied and sank back down on the bed.

"Sorry about that, yeah… But I´m sure everything will work out." Deidara reassured me and I shrugged.

"Maybe… but everything feels so chaotic now… I do not have a place to stay nor do I have any clothes or other necessary items. You guys are only helping me because of the contract my father made and for some reason the Sound apparently wants me dead…"

"You shouldn´t worry so much, yeah. But if you want I could take you to Pein so you guys could talk, it might make you worry less, yeah." Deidara offered and I gave him a shy smile and said.

"I think I´d like that… Thank you Deidara."

"It´s no problem, yeah. Hey how do you know my name though? I never introduced myself, yeah."

"Oh… I heard it when you and Sasori picked us up outside my apartment building. I heard and saw everything that happened around me but it was like a part of me was locked inside my memories, freezing my body." I explained and saw his forehead form a frown.

"You should talk to Sasori about that, yeah…" He said before leaving to fetch Pein for me. Not two minutes passed after he left before it knocked on the door and the redhead Sasori and Itachi entered the room.

"We met Deidara in the hallway; he said you needed to talk to us?" Itachi said and took a seat next to me on the bed. "This is…"

"Sasori, I know." I answered shyly and turned away from Itachi's questioning gaze. "I was aware of everything that went on around me earlier; it was just my body that had shut down." I explained and Itachi and Sasori discussed what might´ve been the cause for that to happen before Sasori asked me.

"Did you see your father´s murder scene in real life? Was that why you went into mental lockdown?" A flash of pain echoed through my heart but I knew he wasn´t trying to be mean when asking that question, he was trying to help me.

"Of course I did, who did you think found his body if not me? It was just me and him at the time, remember?" I said calmly and tried to keep the picture´s out of my head. I heard Itachi whisper a curse and then Sasori asked another question.

"Then what help did you get after that?"

"None, after the funeral the police told me that there was no way to find the one who had murdered him since it had been ordered by the Sound gang leader, Orochimaru, who at the time was already in prison. Since I had just turned eighteen I was on my own… But I had Sasuke and Naruto to help me so it wasn´t all bad." I explained, trying to make it sound less lonely and awful than how it really was.

We sat in silence for a while since neither Itachi nor Sasori seemed to know what to say in response to that. I saw that both of their hands were fisted tightly though so something was clearly on their minds.

"I´m sorry you had to go through all that alone Sakura…" Itachi said suddenly. "I should´ve checked on you, made sure you were alright but I didn´t know that you only had Sasuke and Naruto to help you out…"

"It´s alright Itachi, you have your own life to live, you don´t have to worry about me…" I tried to tell him but he didn´t listen.

"No Sakura, you´re wrong… We practically grew up together, you´re my adopted baby sister, remember? Of course I worry about you."

His words brought forward a memory from my childhood that I had almost forgotten, and I let it overtake me.

"Sasuke you´re so lucky to have an older brother… I wish I had one too…" Eight year old Sakura told eight year old Sasuke at their first sleepover at Sasuke´s house.

"Yeah Sasuke, it´s really unfair, believe it…" Naruto agreed and got a cute pout on his young, childish face. All three of them were in Sasuke´s room, on mattresses on the floor and were supposed to be sleeping.

But Sasuke´s parents, Fugaku and Mikoto, didn´t want the three children to be all alone in case they had nightmares from being in a new place so Sasuke´s older brother Itachi was to sleep in the room with them.

Itachi was twelve years old and the idol of all three children.

So they were talking quietly, waiting for Itachi to join them with the hopes of that he would read them a story before going to sleep.

Sasuke seemed to be thinking really hard about something, neither of his friends had any siblings and while he might get annoyed at Itachi from time to time, he also couldn´t imagine life without him. So he was trying to think of a way so that his friends also could get to know how it was to have an older brother.

Suddenly the door opened and the children immediately became quiet, afraid that they would get yelled at for being up late.

"Why are you three still awake? It´s really late you know." Itachi said and closed the door behind him before going over to his own mattress.

Suddenly Sasuke came to think of a solution to his problem and exclaimed rather loudly.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Can´t you be big brother to Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun as well? Pretty Please?" The older Uchiha looked surprised at his younger brother's request but after a look at Sakura´s and Naruto's joy-filled faces he said.

"I guess I could do that…" What else he might´ve intended to say was drowned out in the happy screams from the younger children but the small smile on his face told them enough.

The memory faded and I was back in the room with Itachi and Sasori, judging by the small smile on Itachi's lips he too had revisited that memory. Itachi then turned to me and said.

"I might not have been there for you four years ago, but I am here now and this time I intend to fulfill my duties as your adopted big brother." He said all that with a smile on his face that made me believe that despite everything that happened right now, despite everything new and chaotic and scary things that went on around me, things would turn out okay anyway…

So what do you think? Do you follow the story or am I going too fast or writing it too messy?

Question: Who is your favorite Akatsuki and why?

My favorites are Hidan and Kisame because they are awesome! Hidan because he is immortal and Kisame because he is so big and blue and can breathe under water!

Love C