Salvation – An Itachi & Sakura story.

By: Mitsuki Shiroi

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: Wow, 100 reviews already! Thank you all so much!

Sorry that I posted the same chapter twice. Fanfiction was acting weird and I had gotten several emails that the review function wasn't working, so I reposted the chapter. I'm sorry for the false alert!

Chapter Two – Tempting Offer

If she turned around, he would go away.

She was sure of it.

If she turned around, he would fade away, leaving only a memory in his wake. If she turned around, she would still be able to hear his voice but he would be gone. And if she turned around, the warmth of his Akatsuki robes around her shoulders would disappear.

But she couldn't live in a memory.

This was just an illusion. It probably was just another S-Class missing-nin who had his nails painted purple like all Akatsuki members had. She was just imagining his voice to be similar and the blonde hair that caressed her cheek as she was pressed against his chest.

"Deidara…?" she asked tentatively, almost certain that he would vanish any minute now, yet she relished in the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

"Shh…" Deidara whispered, putting his index finger on her lips in an attempt to shut her up. It didn't take Sakura long to notice that the mouth that was once a prominent part of Deidara's hand, now had vanished.

"Thanks… yeah," he said to the young man who had laid the key to Sakura's room on the counter.

He bowed quickly and released Sakura before grabbing her hand, dragging her with him into the hallway that led to the floor where Sakura would stay. Vaguely, Sakura noted that the hall had pastel blue walls, just like Deidara's house. Just like the room where she used to sleep in.

Still shocked, Sakura's mind hardly registered that Deidara had pushed her against a wall and was kissing her gently on the lips as he held her in his strong arms.

She didn't know how long the moment stretched, but all she could recall was moving her lips against his.

Sakura loved Deidara, she knew this. But this kiss was something other than love. It went beyond friendship. Perhaps Sakura was just kissing him to see if he was real, still convinced that he wasn't there, that he wasn't alive.

But as she felt him smirk against her lips before reciprocating to her lips, she knew.

Deidara is alive!

After what seemed like an eternity, Deidara leaned back, grinning like he always grinned while pressing her against his chest in a bone-crushing hug. Unable to control her emotions, she snaked her arms around his waist, crushing herself against him as she wept quietly; silently thanking the heavens for bringing him back to her.

"Now that is what I call a nice welcome home…" Deidara chuckled.

Sakura laughed softly before unwrapping her arms from his waist, allowing herself to look at him.

He hadn't changed a bit. His hair was still long and in a ponytail and his lone, sky-blue eye sparkled in joy and the same goofy grin adorned his lips. Sakura felt her eyes burning with unshed tears, unable to comprehend how he could be with her again.

"Deidara… I thought," she whispered softly as tears streamed freely down her cheeks. "I thought you were gone… I was so sad…"

"I heard," Deidara's eyes saddened slightly as he caressed Sakura's cheek lovingly. He wasn't ready to tell her what happened to him. Not yet. "But I'm here now, that's what counts… yeah."

Nodding vehemently, she smiled through her tears and allowed Deidara to hug her once again.

"Four years," Deidara said as he inhaled softly to catch a whiff of her scent.

"Four years…" she echoed.

"Come on… yeah," Deidara let go of her before grabbing her wrist gently. "I'm sure everybody would love to see you."

"Everybody…?" she asked hazily, trying to figure out what he had meant by that.

"Akatsuki, Sakura. Akatsuki," Deidara replied enthusiastically as he tried to drag Sakura with him.

Itachi…

Eye grew wide as she tried pull free from Deidara's grasp, making the blonde look around in shock as his hand let go of her wrist, a questioning and rejected look in his eyes as he whirled around.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Deidara asked. "I thought you wanted to see the others… yeah."

"I do…" she whispered ruefully. "But I can't…."

"Don't worry… yeah," Deidara said after a short pause. "He isn't here."

She looked up to meet his gaze and found out that he was smirking once again. He shook his head slightly before stretching his hand, silently asking her to accept it. "We haven't seen him in months… yeah."

Part of her was relieved; relieved that she could be with Akatsuki without having to confront Itachi head on. But her other half was distressed. From what she had gathered in the few months that she had spent with Akatsuki, they had to have regular correspondence with the other members… But if Itachi hadn't shown himself for months now…

"He'll be fine," Deidara answered as if he could read her mind. "You know Itachi. He's one hard bastard to kill… yeah."

She snorted slightly. "Yes, he is."

"It's just Salmon-chan, Sasori-sama and Tobi… yeah," Deidara smiled encouragingly.

"Tobi?" she asked as she finally accepted his hand, allowing him to lead her to the room where the Akatsuki members resided.

"My new partner… yeah," Deidara grinned. "Akatsuki is different now… I'll explain it to you later on."

With that, he stopped in front of a door and slid the door open. Sakura smiled happily as she heard Kisame's familiar, rough voice above all noises in the room while Sasori's soothing and calm voice was attempting to calm him down. In the midst of it all, she could hear an unfamiliar voice. She guessed it to be Tobi.

"Back!" Deidara shouted even before they had even entered the room. "Guess who I found in the lobby?"

"Your brain?" Kisame said rather bluntly, making Sakura chuckle softly.

"Very funny Salmon-chan," Deidara snickered good-heartedly before taking Sakura's hand in his once again, leading her into the room.

It was silent for five entire seconds and Sakura started to feel a tad uncomfortable as she felt three intense gazes focused on her.

"Hello," a man with a mask greeted after the intense pause, obviously unaware of the thick tension that had filled the room.

"Hi," Sakura greeted politely as she forced a smile on her lips.

"….Damn," Kisame suddenly started laughing. "I lost my bet."

Sasori's shocked face turned into a smile as he nodded towards the stunned pink-haired kunoichi. "It's been a while Sakura-san. You look good."

"Thank you," Sakura smiled back, feeling the tension that surrounded them fade away as Kisame continued laughing.

"What bet, Salmon-chan?" Deidara's voice sounded slightly threatening from next to her and as she looked up to meet his gaze, she found out that he was staring at Kisame, his eye narrowed dangerously.

"I had a bet with Sasori," Kisame hastily explained as he searched his pockets. "That Itachi had probably found Sakura again and they had eloped together."

"I told him not to think such a foolish thing," Sasori pointed out as he stood up to fetch another chair from the second table in the small room. He flashed a slight smile as he put the chair in front of her and gestured for her to sit down. "Please, sit."

Sakura nodded and sat down; Deidara following her example as he sat down next to Kisame.

"It's been a long time kunoichi," Kisame growled good-naturedly. "At least you're doing fine."

Yeah, she thought absentmindedly. Just fine.

"I am," she lied quickly, relieved as she noticed that everybody believed her. "I'm glad to see you're doing fine as well."

"We can't complain," Kisame said rather gruffly. "Except Deidara that is."

A piercing look was shot towards Kisame and whatever light-hearted mood there was before had vanished in an instant.

Sakura sat completely still, watching the faces of the Akatsuki members as Deidara wordlessly shut them up. She saw that Sasori wanted to open his mouth and tell her something but he decided against it, closing his mouth again.

"… Deidara?" her voice was questioning and Deidara nearly flinched. "What's wrong?"

"Later… yeah," Deidara flashed a smile, but Sakura could instantly see that it was a fake one.

Whatever happened to Deidara, it was clear that he wouldn't talk about it until he was ready.

Sakura nodded before looking at Sasori. "Deidara told me that a lot has changed in Akatsuki since I left…"

"Oh yes," Sasori answered before pouring some sake into Kisame's cup. She chuckled softly as she saw the shark-man close his eyes as he downed the sake.

Now that she looked around, the entire table where they were seated was littered with sake cups and several bottles of sake. Sakura prayed that most of them were still full. She had never seen Kisame drunk before. The same could be said about Deidara. She knew Sasori wouldn't get drunk though; being a puppet automatically stopped him from drinking.

She had seen him eat though, but she knew that he rather did it to show himself that he was still human. He didn't need anymore food to live on. Not anymore.

"For instance, our teams changed," Sasori said simply. "I'm teamed up with Kisame at the moment and Deidara and Tobi are another team."

Her lips felt dry as she uttered the next question. "Itachi?"

Sasori frowned momentarily. "He's been traveling alone for a few months now."

"Alone?" Sakura inquired.

"Yeah," Kisame answered. "Leader expected you to join and switched the teams already since he was convinced that you and Itachi would make a good team."

"Itachi and me?" she questioned, shocked.

"Itachi asked you to enter right?" Deidara replied this time. "Leader deemed it best for the medic to be with the one whose eyesight is deteriorating whenever he used the Mangekyou."

"Itachi-san is a prized member," Tobi suddenly spoke up. Sakura looked up, slightly startled. She had already forgotten that he was there.

"True," Sasori nodded. "Leader's favorite."

She laughed softly. "So he's all alone now?"

"Yeah, we haven't seen him in four… perhaps five months," Sasori answered casually.

"I see," Sakura whispered softly. "Any other changes?"

"Well, we've stopped hunting Jinchuuriki… yeah," Deidara said as he grinned.

"You have?" Sakura asked, stupefied. She didn't know much about Akatsuki's objective, or what they wanted to do with the Jinchuuriki and the Bijuu they captured, but from what both Deidara and Itachi told her, they resealed the demons into their own bodies.

Sakura had tried to persuade both Deidara and Itachi to stop hunting, but neither of them listened to her. Deidara already had the Shukaku and was waiting for the process of sealing while Itachi would still hunt Naruto's Kyuubi.

And now they told her that they'd quit.

"Why?" Sakura asked, noticeably interested.

"Look at Kisame… yeah," Deidara gestured. "Don't you notice a difference?"

"I'll try not to feel insulted," Kisame growled before refilling his sake cup.

His eyes… And his eyebrows…and his skin have changed, she thought, but kept quiet. Nodding towards Deidara, he noticed it and started explaining.

"We went after that sanbi about half a year after you left… yeah," Deidara explained. "And we found out that he had the other half of a Jinchuuriki sealed inside of him."

"The Isonade to be precise," Sasori interjected. "So we found out Kisame had been walking around with half a Bijuu inside of him."

"And Sir Leader sealed the rest of the Isonade inside of Kisame-san," Tobi continued.

"And this was the result… yeah," Deidara said with a tinge of humor in his voice. "Salmon-chan has evolved to Sharky."

The blonde laughed out loud as Kisame tried to hit him, but missed. Sakura smiled slightly as Kisame attempted another hit but gave up due to his alcohol-induced state.

"Plus, it seems that the Bijuu don't like it when they are re-sealed in another body and they start to fight it," Tobi said knowingly. "It happened to Zetsu too. That's why he was so easily defeated."

Deidara nodded, trying to look serious as he pushed Kisame back on his chair, commenting that his breath stank.

"That basically sums it up," Sasori said amusedly as he watched Kisame muttering some obscene words under his breath. "Sakura-san, would you mind if I ask you a few questions now?"

"No, of course," Sakura smiled. "Go ahead."

"Why did you refuse Akatsuki's offer?" Sasori asked casually.

"She's friends with Naruto… yeah," Deidara answered before Sakura could even answer.

"That's right," she nodded slightly as her thoughts flew back to the blonde shinobi she had left behind in Konoha.

"Ah, the new Hokage," the redhead commented.

"What?" Sakura looked absolutely stunned as she stared at Sasori. "He's the new Hokage?"

"Well… Yes," Sasori frowned slightly. "I thought you would have known about this."

For a moment, she was speechless. "And… Tsunade-shishou? What happened to her?"

"She's alive," Deidara said reassuringly. "We assume she thought she was too old for the job and wanted a younger Hokage. We all know what happened to the Third."

"A wise decision too," Sasori replied.

"Hokage…" she whispered happily. Although Naruto had always said that someday, he would become the next Hokage, she never would have believed that he would become the Hokage at such a young age.

Faintly, she wondered how his face on the mountains would look.

His grinning face would ruin the serious looks of the previous Hokages, she thought while grinning widely. I'm sure of that.

"One other question, Sakura-san," Sasori's soft voice awoke her from her reverie.

"Yes?"

"Now that we've stopped hunting Jinchuuriki… Would you enter Akatsuki?"

Suddenly, she could hear nothing at all. Deidara had a dead-serious look in his eyes as he stared at Sasori before watching Sakura intently. Kisame looked like he had sobered up and was waiting for an answer, just like Tobi.

Sasori was smiling at her, undoubtedly knowing what he was doing to her.

"It depends…" she answered evasively.

"On what?" Sasori didn't miss a beat.

"What you guys are doing now," Sakura answered. In truth, she didn't really want to enter Akatsuki since there would always be the chance that she could be coupled to Itachi.

She coughed softly, ignoring the dull pain that welled up.

"Nothing much really," Kisame commented, his speech slightly slurred. "We roam around, collect jutsu from various towns. We perfect them and we move on until we know all the jutsu in the world."

Ironically enough, it somehow reminded her of Orochimaru.

"And you have nothing to do with the Bijuu anymore?" Sakura asked sharply.

"We're smart shinobi, Sakura… yeah," Deidara propped an arm behind his head as he leaned back. "We've seen what the Bijuu do to some of our members. We don't want to die like that… yeah."

"Hunting Jinchuuriki would be meaningless now," the red-haired Akatsuki member said softly.

Sakura coughed violently, rubbing her sore throat as she looked at the Akatsuki members.

"You have one nasty cough… yeah," Deidara pointed out. "How come?"

"While traveling towards River it was raining constantly, so I just have a cold," Sakura explained quickly. "But if I understand this correctly…the offer to join Akatsuki still stands?"

"Yes," Sasori answered.

"You're going to enter?" Deidara asked incredulously.

She remained quiet after this.

To be honest, the idea to enter Akatsuki was plaguing her mind. She had entertained the idea on several occasions since leaving the Akatsuki members, but never really acted on it; knowing that they were still hunting Jinchuuriki.

But they've stopped hunting them. And Deidara would be there.

He would be there too.

"I… I don't know," Sakura whispered truthfully.

Sasori nodded curtly. "Think about it."

"You look tired, perhaps you should go to sleep… yeah," Deidara grinned at her.

"I will," Sakura stifled a huge, tongue-curling yawn as she stood up, only noticing how tired she actually was after standing on her feet again. Picking her backpack off the floor, Sakura turned around before seeing that someone was moving at the table.

Deidara was standing as well, fumbling in his pocket for the key to her room as he brushed past the table and waited for Sakura to follow. The roseate kunoichi smiled softly before following Deidara out the door after saying goodbye to Sasori and Tobi.

She smiled slightly at the sight of Kisame who has long since passed out.

She never really knew how much she had missed all of them. Of course her mind was constantly occupied with both Itachi and Deidara, but Sasori and Kisame definitely held a place in her heart.

To Sakura it felt as if she had two older brothers.

They stopped in front of her door – which conveniently enough, was next door - and after a chaste hug from Deidara, Sakura said goodnight before walking into her small, yet comfortable looking room.

It was decorated simply, with long crimson curtains and white carpeting. The bed looked warm and comfortable, and oh-so-inviting. She smiled slightly before throwing her backpack on the floor, not even bothering to unpack as she kicked her sandals off before jumping on top of the bed.

She drifted into a deep slumber and that night, she dreamed of crimson eyes.

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A loud knock on the door awakened her quickly.

Shaking off the daze that came after sleeping she instinctively grabbed the kunai that she would hide underneath her pillow in case of a sudden attack.

But instead of a kunai, she found sheets.

River… Hotel… Akatsuki, she quickly went over her memories. Right.

"Sakura, are you decent?" Deidara's deep voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, come in," she called back as she sat up straight, facing the door as it opened, revealing Deidara who was grinning sheepishly.

He pushed the door open with his foot, revealing a tray of food as he stepped inside; hissing softly as the kettle filled with hot water for Sakura's tea almost fell. As he looked up, he found Sakura beaming at her and he grinned back.

"Breakfast is served," Deidara smirked as she smiled and revealed the food and fruits he had gotten for her.

"Thank you," Sakura accepted the tray before picking up some rice.

"Eat… yeah," Deidara ordered half-heartedly. "You look pale."

"Is the pot calling the kettle black?" Sakura joked as she brought some of the rice to her mouth.

"Yes he is," Deidara said, humor laced in his voice.

A pregnant pause ensued as Sakura continued eating while Deidara watched her.

Deidara knew that the inevitable was about to happen. He knew so much about Sakura and one of her more prominent characteristics was the fact that she was too curious for her own good. After last night, he was certain that she would ask about his resurrection today.

And Sakura didn't disappoint.

"Deidara?" her tone was inquisitive as she stopped eating, yet chose to look at her food, rather than him.

"I know what you're about to ask," Deidara answered, letting his hand run through the long bangs of hair that hung in front of his eye. "I was waiting for it."

Sakura set down her small bowl of rice with a sigh and looked at him as his eyes were downcast.

"Sasori saved me," Deidara whispered slowly. Memories of that fateful day flooded his mind. He could vividly remember every detail of that night; even the feel of the burning pain through his chest and stomach.

Deidara remembered the rain; his confession. He remembered that she tried to heal him, but failed. He knew that he had fainted at some point, but that Sakura thought he was dead. He had tried calling out to her, but his mouth wouldn't move anymore.

Seconds later, he felt the rough hand of Itachi checking his pulse. But even Itachi thought he was dead and carried him inside his house while contacting Sasori.

Deidara could still hear Sakura scream his name, late at night. He could still see his blood coating his fingertips and his entire Akatsuki cape.

But the thing he would never forget; was the fact that Sakura resigned herself for death as Tooya's lethal attack hurtled towards her. She was prepared to die and didn't wish for anyone to save her at their expense.

The look in her eyes scared him more than the attack.

"But… how?" Sakura whispered softly. "I checked your pulse… I'm a medic-nin, how can I make such a critical mistake…?"

"Because I did die… But not completely… yeah," Deidara answered, hoping that she would figure it out without him having to spell it out for her.

The fact that he was a doll – a mere puppet – still hurt him. Deidara would have rather died than become another doll in Sasori's collection.

"… But…" Sakura started to protest, before her beautiful mind pieces everything together and her eyes grew wide with realization. "Oh…"

Deidara chuckled ruefully. "Exactly my reaction when I found out."

"I'm sorry…" she said, still shocked. "I shouldn't have asked."

"I would have told you either way."

A sad smile and then: "I know."

Deidara fidgeted nervously as he scratched his head. He thoroughly disliked uncomfortable silences; especially after dropping a bomb like that. Unable to think of anything to say, he settled for counting the grains of rice in Sakura's bowl as she thought everything over.

"So… have you thought about joining Akatsuki?" he finally asked, getting sick and tired of the thick tension that hung around them.

"Yes," Sakura answered truthfully.

"Sasori-sama probably understands if you tell him no," Deidara tried to smile, but failed miserably. He had hoped that Sakura would say 'yes' and stay with them forever. Life with Sakura would be twice as better as life was now. Even if it was probable that her partner would become Itachi, it still would have been nice.

"I'll do it."

Deidara thought he had fainted and gone to heaven anyway. There was no way that he had heard that sentence correctly.

Mentally berating himself for not cleaning his ears on a daily basis, he looked up to meet her eyes as she repeated those beautiful words.

"I'll join Akatsuki."

He wanted to seize her up in his arms and swing her around the room. He would love to kiss her until she begged him to stop because she wouldn't be able to breathe. He would give his life this instance in order to make love to her over and over again.

There were so many things he wished for and so many things would be unrequited for eternity.

Not only was there Itachi in the picture, but he was a doll. A mere puppet.

Sakura could never fall in love with a puppet.

So instead, he opened his mouth and felt how dry his tongue had become. "…Y-you will?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "I don't want to spend my life alone. And if you guys really stopped hunting Jinchuuriki, I see no reason not to join you."

Deidara was positively beaming by now, the sparkle of delight and joy returning to his lone eye as he regarded her.

"Welcome," he said quietly before wrapping his arms around her, careful not to touch the tray of food that still lay in her lap.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

When he released her, he smiled at her and cupped her cheek lovingly before standing up.

"I'll tell the others about your decision… yeah," Deidara almost skipped to the door. "Eat your food."

She giggled before replying. "Yes mother."

Deidara chuckled before turning around. "What made you change your mind?"

Sakura remained quiet for a while before answering with the saddest look he had ever seen in her eyes. "Pain."

"I understand…" Deidara answered after a long pause, before leaving the room.

But Sakura knew that he didn't truly understand what she had meant with that one word.

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A/N: Another chapter finished! This one was pretty transitional, sorry. So, Sakura entered the circle of assassins and is waiting (although she won't admit it) for our Sharingan-user Uchiha Itachi. But where is he?

Love to Stem for betaing!

See you next time!

-- MitsukiShiroi