Hello there everyone! Sorry if it took me a while for the next chapter D: School is such a drag! I'm getting too many projects D:
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.
Recap
"I don't believe it's any random person either."
Everyone's eyes turned to Shizune, who suddenly made herself visible.
"Don't tell me you got one too." Sasuke hoped. Shizune looked down, pulling her own picture out too. It had been with Sakura and Tsunade, while they were helping her learn advanced medical-ninjutsu.
"What leads you to believe it wasn't just some random person?" Sai asked.
"The day we had her funeral, I checked her apartment… the door had been locked. I never bothered to come in, seeing as it was disrespecting her property… and as we can see," Shizune said, pointing to Sakura's window, "this place wasn't vandalized whatsoever."
Sai stared at his picture, the sun gleaming. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something on the picture. Moving it, to direct the sun on a specific part of the picture, he could clearly make out… lips?
"Shizune, tell me my eyes deceive me but are those lips?" Sai asked, staring intently at the picture.
Shizune went next to him, examining the picture as well.
"I think… I think they are."
Chapter 4: Theories
"Wait, so let me get this straight." Sasuke said, pacing back and forth in Ino's apartment. "You guys think Sakura's… alive?!" he said in disbelief. His friends had officially lost their sanity and should be put in an asylum.
"It's more of a possibility than an assumption." Sai said sipping the tea Ino had prepared for them all.
"And you guys don't think it's just some prankster who wants to play a cruel joke on us?" Sasuke said.
"Look at the clues, teme!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Okay, tell me the clues again, because I just think they're coincidences." Sasuke said.
"Her body was never found." Sai spoke first.
"Blown to bits by the suicidal jutsu." Sasuke rejected the theory.
"Her scent had been completely wiped off." Shizune said.
"We hadn't investigated until several days later, and it had rained the day before we searched for her scent." Sasuke said, rejecting that theory as well.
"Okay, we all found her items under or doors or on our mats." Ino said.
"Could have been a joke played by someone." Sasuke said.
"Her apartment showed no sign of being vandalized." Naruto said.
"Any ninja could have teleported their way in there." Sasuke said. Every theory and clue they brought up, Sasuke quickly rejected as if swatting a pesky fly. And to make it worse, the possibilities he was shooting out made sense too.
"Sakura was loved and respected by everyone in the village." Ino said, glaring at Sasuke. "You think someone would stoop low enough to disrespect her and her property like that? To disrespect the dead is something no one is willing to do. Not even Naruto if he hated the person. Stating such a thing is an insult to her very being." Ino stated, her glare at Sasuke deepening with every passing second.
"It could have been someone from another country."
"Really?" Ino scoffed as soon as the words left his lips.
"You think someone is willing to travel to a different country all for a little prank?" Shizune asked.
"I don't know!" Sasuke exclaimed. "And that's the thing, none of us know! For all we know, it could have been me sleep walking because I've been tormented by Sakura's death!" Sasuke blurted out a random thought.
"You don't sleep walk, teme." Naruto said, pointing a finger at him with an unconvinced expression.
Sasuke thought desperately for an excuse. It wasn't that he didn't want to believe Sakura was alive, because he really did. But he was afraid… he was afraid to get his hopes up; of thinking Sakura was really alive, and then having his hopes burned to a crisp if they found clues that Sakura was really dead. Like her body, for starters.
"What if it was her spirit?" Naruto blurted out all of a sudden, after everyone had grown silent.
"What?" Shizune asked.
"Even that idea is absurd." Sai said, shaking his head at dickless' idiotic idea.
"Well think about it. Ino is able to let her soul wander, and even enter a person's body and control their mind. And, it is no secret Sakura had another being inside of her. Maybe when she died, that being was released and she sent the items to us." Naruto said, shrugging.
Everyone stayed quiet. "That might be one of the dumbest yet smartest ideas you have said all your life, Naruto." Ino said in amazement.
"Thanks," Naruto said with a grin. "I think…" he said seconds later, pondering on whether or not that was a compliment.
"Is that even possible?" Sasuke said, suddenly becoming interested in this theory.
Ino, who had been leaning on the kitchen counter, stood straight and sat down on small round table, in between Naruto and Shizune.
"Well I've certainly never heard of such a case, not only because that idea is somewhat absurd, but because only one in a million people are able to obtain another soul in their body." Ino said. "But, it is possible that once Sakura died, the other being was left without a vessel, so it wandered to the only place it knew to be home: Konoha. And maybe it felt compelled to give us some of the belongings we cherish, and could not obtain because it was in Sakura's apartment." Ino said, moving her hands around while explaining everything.
There was some more silence. "But then again, the whole idea of a spirit doing that is…" Ino trailed off.
"Unbelievable?" Sasuke suggested.
"Yes" Ino said, nodding. "Because technically, a soul can't do anything without a body, like my jutsu. I need a body to control in order for my jutsu to actually do some effect. And well, I don't suppose any of you remember entering Sakura's apartment in the middle of the night to deliver these items for us?" Ino said, eyeing everyone suspiciously.
"What if it wasn't us who moved the stuff, but some other random villager or ninja?" Naruto suggested, shrugging.
"But we must take in mind this… 'Other being'… had a mind of its own. We don't what it's capable of doing by itself. Maybe it didn't need to possess anyone to move on its own accord." Shizune said, noticing how it did, in a way make sense; in a crazed, insane way.
"That would explain why I thought I saw Sakura in the middle of the night before the object was dropped but… how do we know the spirit takes its shape like Sakura?"
"Well, maybe the spirit can shape itself, and it didn't know what else to morph into, because all its life it didn't know anyone but Sakura?" Sai said.
"And Ino, if you don't exclude that one time in the Chunin Exams." Naruto added.
"But wait," Ino said calmly, noticing something. "If this "spirit" or whatever we think it is, gave us items we cherish, to Sakura's most important people, why is it Tsunade, Hinata, or anyone else Sakura is close to didn't get items?" Ino rationalized.
"Well, for all we know, they did. We just don't know it yet." Naruto shrugged.
"No, they would be here by now if they did. It's not just a coincidence we met up at the same time. We would have all met up around the same time period, as we did." Sai said.
"Then maybe the spirit just gave it to her closest of friends?" Shizune suggested.
"No" Ino shook her head. "Because… Sasuke didn't get anything. We just met from sheer coincidence." Ino said, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke.
All eyes turned to Sasuke, who was now looking down in sadness. Why hadn't he gotten anything? Why had it been he hadn't even gotten a picture, or some sort of item from said spirit, if the possibility was correct?
"Maybe it just didn't have time?" Sai said, shrugging.
"Well, there is a possibility that just maybe; the soul couldn't live for too long without its vessel. And that soon enough, it would perish with Sakura's soul too. It just didn't have enough time." Ino said.
"Wait" Shizune said, pausing as she thought things through. "Our story has to be off." Shizune said. "This whole, "other being" theory… it can't possibly be." Shizune said.
"And why not? Everything seems to fit." Sai said.
"Because, we forgot to take in one important factor; the time period." Shizune explained. "Why would the spirit suddenly, out of nowhere, decide to give us all gifts, after one month of her death? And tell me, why would a spirit need to unlock a door to get in, if they could have just gone through the wall?" Shizune asked.
The truth dawned on them, and Ino realized that when she had her hand on the door, she had pushed it open slightly.
"I saw you open the door Ino. And unless you didn't unlock it with a wire and pick, then it had been unlocked the night before." Shizune said.
"And now we're back to square one." Naruto sighed miserably. They were getting nowhere with this, what not with Sasuke rejecting the fact that Sakura was alive, and Shizune ruling out the assumption that it was Sakura's "other being".
"Well Ino? Did you indeed, use something to open the door?" Sasuke asked.
Ino stayed quiet, shaking her head, hesitantly.
What on earth was going on here?
"Thanks for the food." Sakura told the old chubby man, trying to sound polite. He just nodded fearfully, though he flashed her a tiny smile for her politeness.
"Where will I be staying?" Sakura asked, hoping for an answer from either Kisame or Konan.
"We have not yet prepared a room for you, so you'll have to sleep over at someone's room for tonight." Konan said, grabbing her fork and taking a bite from her lobster.
"You'll probably be sleeping over and having a pillow fight with Konan, sharing stupid girly secrets." Hidan mocked.
Sakura didn't even have time to glare at Hidan, for when she even looked at Hidan, a fork was being thrown his way. It stabbed him in the throat and he fell backwards, trying to remove the fork.
Kisame burst out laughing, with several of the people in the room chuckling. To say the least, the chef felt repulsed and seemed as if he were going to throw up.
"You may leave now." Sakura whispered to the man, who thanked her, bowed, and quickly left, not wanting to see any blood flying everywhere.
"I would have thought you've learned to not insult Konan by now, Hidan." Kisame said, sighing and shaking his head in a disapproving manner. "Such an imbecile you are, Hidan."
Hidan stood up, brushed himself off, and brutally yanked the fork out, throwing it on the floor. "You should be talking." He glared. "You look like a shark, you're brain is probably as big as one. Confusing people with seals." He snorted."You must be really a dumbass." He mocked.
"Actually, my previous studies with sharks actually concluded that sharks are quiet smart. They can remember shapes and patterns really well and can find their way through mazes if the occasion is ever brought up. They only confuse seals with humans because the shape we form in the water is similar to those of a seals. It is not a questionable mistake." Sakura said, and it got all quiet around her.
"… You studied sharks un?" Deidara asked, joining their conversation.
"Yeah, in my medical jutsu training. Amphibians are the easiest to heal because some have the natural ability to grow back their limbs if they ever need to." Sakura explained.
"That's so…" Hidan trailed off.
"Cool!" Kisame butted in, grinning like madly. "Believe it or not, I've never seen a shark up close." Kisame said, and Sakura laughed.
"They're pretty cool…" Sakura said.
"Has it ever bitten you?" Kisame asked.
"Nope" she said, recalling the event. She glanced at Hidan. "The shark was smart enough to know I was trying to help it, so it was friendly." She said, smirking in triumph when she saw Hidan glare at her.
Before Hidan could open his mouth and counter-argue the comment, Sakura cut him off. "Back to the subject, where will I be sleeping?" Sakura asked.
Kisame shrugged. "You can sleep in my room." Kisame said.
Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"You're a nasty little kid." He chuckled. "I'll take the couch." He assured her, and she smiled.
"How thoughtful of you Kisame; thank you." She said in awe, giving him a sincere smile.
"I'm not the most experienced when it comes to caring about people, but I'm pretty sure the couch won't do your injuries any justice." He explained, shrugging.
"You're probably right about that but I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own room." Sakura said hesitantly.
"It's okay, I'm a big boy." He grinned.
Sakura laughed lightly, not wanting to her herself too much. After all, the injury through her lung wasn't pretty.
"You guys don't have any kind of medic… at all?" Sakura asked, feeling herself short of breath.
Konan shook her head.
"Goodness, what kind of evil organization are you guys running?" Sakura growled. "You're all bound to get injured every now and then. What do you all do then?" Sakura asked.
"We suck it up and keep going on missions." Konan said.
"Hmm, nice motto, it fits." She said, half joking because really, an evil organization saying "aww, you got a booboo? Suck it up bitch!" sort of, made sense. Don't ask her why, it just did.
"What time is it?" Sakura asked.
"Around 4" Kisame replied.
"Really?" Sakura yawned. "And I'm already tired."
"Injuries do that to a person. I'll take you to my room so you can rest." Kisame said.
Sakura nodded as Kisame lifted her up with his arm, and carried her away. This giant could probably lift her with 2 fingers!
Once Sakura was in Kisame's room, she brushed her teeth, and replaced the skirt and tights with some black sweat pants Konan had given her.
Cozy in Kisame's blue bed, she fell asleep almost instantly, only being woken up once when Kisame entered the room, and fell asleep on the couch. Sakura found it amusing; his feet were sticking out awkwardly.
"So, let me sum this up." Sasuke said, sighing. "We've been discussing this for over 4 hours, and we've come up with a few possibilities. "One, Sakura is alive. Two, its Sakura's other being. Three, its Sakura's spirit, which cannot rest without knowing we accept her crossing. Four, it's all just a prank." Sasuke said.
"Yup" Naruto said.
"Okay, who actually thinks its possibility number 1?" Ino asked.
Two hands shot up, one being Shizune, and the other, Sai.
"Who thinks its option 2?" Ino asked.
Her own hand was raised.
"I think it's either option 2 or option 3. They're mostly the same either way." Naruto shrugged, half raising his hand.
"And I'm guessing Sasuke still thinks it's a prankster playing cruel tricks on us." Ino rolled her eyes.
"But everything else is illogical!" Sasuke said.
"And why is that? "Naruto asked.
"Because!" Sasuke said, not knowing where to start.
"Explain to us how it is, because right now, we don't know what it could have been." Shizune said. "Even you know that the theory of it being a prankster is idiotic, because we all adored Sakura, be it as a sister, mother, lover, or friend." Shizune said, and Sasuke looked down hesitantly.
"Why would Sakura barely do this a month after, and why would she not show herself to us?!" Sasuke said.
"And why would the door be unlocked if it were a spirit! They'd just waltz right in!" Sasuke exclaimed. "A prankster could have picked the lock and forgot to lock it back up again, for all we know." Sasuke said.
"Well… maybe Sakura was very injured, and she didn't want us to see her that way. That's why she's not showing herself to us." Naruto guessed, shrugging.
"You don't think she would have healed herself by now? And why wouldn't she show herself? We'd all be able to help her. Tsunade and Shizune are very skilled medics." Ino said.
"And maybe the spirit wanted to fool us." Sai shrugged.
Sasuke groaned; he was getting nowhere with these people. It was like teaching a child the concept of potty training; if they weren't mentally ready, he'd get nowhere.
But no, theoretically speaking, it was Sasuke who was not mentally ready. He had been living this past month, thinking Sakura was dead… and now to suddenly say she was alive… it was absurd, in his opinion.
But to others, like Sai and Shizune, it was a hope. It was a hope that kept growing because really, they wanted to believe Sakura was alive, out there, somewhere. They had to keep believing, because they loved Sakura, as a daughter, and as a sister. There wasn't much of anything else they could possibly do, beside run around all the nations in search for her, and of course, Tsunade would never let them do that.
"I'm out of here." Sasuke stated, not able to sit in a room with a bunch of… morons. No offense to them, though.
"Wait Sas-" Ino pleaded but he was out the door before she could even say another word. She hated him when he acted boldly, and didn't rationalize with others. He never opened up to anyone at all; only Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were exceptions.
"Don't mind him, Ino. He just-"
"I know" Ino cut Naruto off. "He just misses Sakura." Ino said, looking down sadly.
Sakura awoke with one number in mind.
2
Just two more days before she got her chakra back, and she'd be able to heal herself, and… well, do whatever the hell she wanted to do.
Now that she put more thought into it, what would she do after she healed them all? She had nowhere to go, if she were to be honest with herself.
The possibility of going back to Sound popped into her mind, but she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to be a burden to those people like she used to be before. But then again, this time, she would actually be able to pick up a spoon, so that might actually make a difference.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Kisame joked, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.
"Mornin' sharky." She said. "What's for breakfast today?"
"Haven't you learned already? Anything you want." Kisame replied before locking himself in the bathroom.
After Kisame had finished up in the bathroom, she went in and did her daily routine while he waited for her. She kept the sweat pants on though, it was cold in here, and they were definitely much warmer than the tights and skirt.
"Still wearing your pajamas?" Sakura asked, seeing Kisame dressed in his black pajama pants and matching button up shirt, and it had water puddles on them.
"You'd be surprised how many people still have them on at this time of day." Kisame replied as she took his hand and they walked off, Sakura leaning on him most of the way there. She was feeling like walking today.
"Wow… you were right." Sakura said, eyeing everyone in the room.
Deidara had on clay colored pjs, saying "Art is a Bang!" all over in red letters. He probably paid someone to make them for him.
Tobi had on black ones with pictures of brown teddy bears… oh how gay indeed.
Kakuzu had some black ones with dollar bills everywhere, no shocker there.
Hidan was a dark gray hue, and it would have been the most normal she had seen so far, if it weren't for the fact it had blood stains all over, especially the pants. She didn't care if it was real blood, or fake blood; she still found it kind of disgusting.
Sasori's were similar to Hidan's, but they were black with red blood stains, except the blood stains were only on the shirt, and on the bottom part of the legs, and they looked like they belonged there; unlike Hidan's. His actually looked kind of cool, in Sakura's opinion.
Then there was Itachi, who had black sweat pants like hers, and a v-neck shirt with a fishnet shirt under that. Maybe he didn't like designable pjs… Sakura shrugged; she didn't really care.
"I told you. The oddest pjs here are probably Konan's and Itachi's." Kisame stated.
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"Because Itachi's is plain and well… Konan's is…" Kisame trailed off, trying to explain it. But, he didn't need to; Konan walked in not even a second too late.
"A night gown?" Sakura asked, surprised, staring at Konan, who for some reason looked fairly pissed off.
"Ahh, look who's coming in now. The princess." Hidan teased.
Konan glared a deadly glare. Sakura did too; making fun of night gowns was no joke… they were very comfortable, in her opinion.
"Shut the fuck up Hidan." It wasn't Konan who spoke up, but Sakura instead. Konan looked mildly shocked.
"Why? She looks like a fucken joke! We're Akatsuki, we don't wear night gowns." He stated, and she could see from the corner of her eyes Deidara nod slightly, Sasori smirk, and Itachi and Kakuzu just watch in interest.
"Well, in my opinion, you're outfit is more girly that Konan's." Sakura mocked.
"And why the fuck would that be?" Hidan growled.
"Look at it." Sakura mocked, pointing directly to the crotch area. "It looks like you period stained it all over." Sakura laughed.
……
……
……
Deidara and Kisame burst out laughing, while Sasori and Itachi settled with big smirks. Kakuzu and Konan had fairly impressed smiles and Tobi… well, you couldn't really tell… he seemed to be laughing though.
Hidan blushed furiously out of humiliation.
"If that's not girly, I don't know what is." Sakura continued, trying to settle her own laughter, it was starting to hurt. She looked at Konan, who seemed to be smiling gratefully at her; that was the first facial expression she had seen on Konan when they were around guys.
Sakura just kept adding fuel to the fire… "Are you sure you're a guy? I mean, you have long hair and everything too."
Hidan looked kind of pissed off now, she noticed. She didn't really care though. What could he do?
"That was nice." Kisame muttered, high-fiving Sakura.
Apparently, Hidan didn't like that… he charged after her ferociously.
Oh wait… he could do a lot… he was Akatsuki after all.
Sakura lifted her arms to her head in panic very rapidly, successfully opening up some type of wound, whether it be the one in her abdomen, or her lung, she didn't know. She didn't really care though, she thought; this second would be the end of her, after all.
Being only a few inches from Sakura's frail body, Hidan was abruptly stopped by not only Konan, but by Kisame, Itachi, and Deidara as well.
Hidan just growled even more, glaring at Sakura. He tried to jerk away from them all, but instead, Itachi kicked him harshly against the wall; harsh enough to break his skull. So obviously, he died for what could be the hundredth time his life.
"He'll be knocked out for at least half an hour." Kisame assured, staring back at the frozen in shock and fear Sakura, who could only gulp loudly, and nod hesitantly. Frankly, she wouldn't be that scared if she could only move. But she couldn't, so she was just as bad as a genin facing off against Akatsuki.
Maybe she wasn't as safe here as she previously thought she was… and to begin with, she already knew she wasn't safe… but still… she had thought she'd remain alive these next few days… if she didn't die from blood loss, that is.
"You're wound opened up again." Konan said, a tiny hint of worry in her voice.
"Did it?" Sakura asked almost robotically, obviously still in shock. She put her hands down to cover her abdomen, where it hurt, and when she looked at her hands, they were filled with blood. A lot of blood.
Damn… maybe the sudden movement had opened it more than it would usually have…
The voices around her became slurred, and her vision became blurry after what could have been a mere minute or two, maximum. Standing there limply, clutching her wound, the last thing she saw or felt were strong arms reaching after her… yet, they didn't exactly seem blue either. Funny, she thought, it was usually always Kisame to catch her in her time of need. With that thought behind her, she passed out.
"She'll be okay." a voice sounded worried, though quite positive.
Where am I?
"That's good. I'm sure Leader-sama will be upset to hear our medic almost died." An all too familiar voice said.
Am I still alive?
"…Hn"
That sounds all too familiar too.
"Hidan is still in a rampage un. He obviously can't take a joke un."
…Un?
"We'll need to take turns watching both Hidan and Sakura, making sure he doesn't do anything reckless and kills her, or blows us all up."
A woman's voice…?
"I'll watch Hidan right now un."
That's right… Akatsuki… my eyes feel too heavy to open them. I'll just lay here and listen.
Now fully regaining consciousness, and understanding she was definitely alive, Sakura tried to listen to what they were saying, whoever 'they' was.
"Right. Itachi, I trust you to keep a vigilant eye on her."
"Yes, Konan-san." The person Sakura believed was Itachi, replied.
"She hasn't eaten yet, has she?" Kisame asked.
Konan shook her head. "I'll go and prepare her some food right now. Kisame, do you mind disposing of the bloody towels and clothes?"
"I'll get right on it now." Kisame replied.
"Okay, let's let her rest." Konan said, and Sakura heard the door shut several seconds later. But, Itachi was obviously in the room still. He had been told to keep an eye on her, after all.
Sakura just lay there for about half an hour, feigning sleep. After that, she heard the door open, and she heard Konan come in.
"When she wakes have her drink this. It'll help her heal faster. It tastes rather horrid, but make sure she drinks it." Konan instructed.
"Hn"
"Have her eat her food afterwards, and the pain killers after she's all done with that. I'll have Kisame come by in an hour or so to pick up the food whether she's done or not. She might still be knocked out after all."
"Hn"
"I'll leave her to your care then, Itachi." Konan said once more, before Sakura could hear a clatter of trays, and the door shut once again.
More silence…
The silence went on for about 10 more minutes until Sakura heard what she thought was a book, shut close. "Kunoichi, I find it better you not feign sleep any longer." Itachi spoke monotonously.
Sakura merely hummed in the process, letting him know she was awake. "Too hard to do anything." She spoke bitterly, straining her voice.
"In that case, it would be in your best interest to take your medicine and eat your food." Itachi said, bringing the plate of food over to her, and putting it on a side table next to her bed.
Sakura peered through closed eyelids, trying to pinpoint his exact location. He was on a chair, not too far from the bed. Actually, just short of a foot.
Itachi grabbed a glass that was half filled with some white stuff. At first, Sakura thought it was milk but the texture seemed all wrong. "Drink it." Itachi ordered, handing it to her.
Sakura took it slowly and warily, bringing it to her lips. She took one whiff at it, and immediately crinkled her nose. "This smells horrid."
"I was told it would smell so; drink it." He said once again.
"No, if it tastes as bad as it smells, then I might just have to puke it out."
"Kunoichi, my patience is wearing thin. Drink it, unless you wish for me to forcefully shove it down your throat." He threatened calmly, his voice as smooth as ever. It caused shivers to go down her spine. It reminded her so much of…
Sasuke…
Her mood was immediately brought down, and it was obvious. She stayed quiet, while looking down at the blankets currently on top of her. Itachi still had his hand extended, and a glare formed on his face.
"Must we do this the hard way, Haruno-san?" he asked, his patience now gone. Itachi Uchiha really wasn't a patient man… he really wasn't.
Sakura gave him no reply, not willing to speak to him; it hurt too much. He just reminded her of Sasuke, and Sasuke brought memories of Naruto, who brought memories of Sai, who brought memories of Ino, who brought memories of Saki, and well, you get the point. No good memories came from staring and or speaking to Itachi.
She felt the weight of the bed shift, and she peered over her shoulder seeing Itachi glaring at her. "Don't make me feed you." He said, a small frown on his face.
"…I'm not drinking that." Sakura said reluctantly, because the thought of Itachi saying that not only sounded weird, but it also reminded her a lot of Sasuke, who had previously fed her when she had been sick, or unable to do so herself.
"My patience is wearing thin." He warned.
"Would you want to drink that?" she asked somewhat boldly, glancing at him for only a few seconds.
"That is a different matter." He interjected, not letting her change the subject.
"I can take that as a no, you know." Sakura said.
Before Sakura knew it, Itachi was grabbing her abdomen harshly, making her gasp in pain. What the hell was this man doing to her?! I mean, she knew she was in a base filled with psychotic serial killers, but wasn't she a guest. If this was how they treated guests, then she really didn't want to be here longer than needed to. With her gasp, her mouth was left wide open, and Itachi took this to his advantage, and brought the nasty liquid to her lips, pouring a little bit of it. Sakura coughed a bit, but she had no choice but to swallow it. She crinkled her nose in disgust once again, and tears at the corner of her eyes appeared.
"What the hell is that?!" she whined, glaring at the glass of… whatever it was, and then at Itachi.
Itachi gave her a look as if saying "you think I know?" and Sakura merely glared back at him once again.
"Half of it is almost gone; just drink the rest." Itachi instructed.
Sakura muttered a curse word under her breath, grabbing one hand and squeezing her nose shut. It was bad enough she had to drink it, so smelling it wasn't exactly something Sakura wanted to do too.
This time, Itachi was much gentler as he let Sakura sip the nasty liquid voluntarily. After she was done, she hurriedly drowned a glass of water, hoping to get rid of the nasty after taste in her mouth. After it was finally gone, Itachi gave her the food, which she gladly took with a thank you, and then ate. Soon afterwards, she took the pain killers, and just sat there staring at the roof for what seemed to be an eternity.
She really hated the awkward silence… and she wanted to break it, she really did… but… it felt like she couldn't. She wasn't used to awkward silences with Sasuke… and…
Sakura glanced at Itachi bitterly while he was reading his book in peace.
'He looks so much like him…'
She felt like she needed to talk to him, because maybe picturing him as Sasuke would help her feel better; help her feel at home a little. But… it would also make her go haywire. He had kissed Saki… why?
A small whimper might have slipped her mouth, she didn't know. She pulled the blankets up to her nose, wondering if it were possible to drown herself in them.
Sakura shifted a bit, hesitantly glancing at Itachi again. This time, their eyes met, and she immediately looked back up to the roof in fear… in fear of what, she wondered.
Was it in fear of his Sharingan? No. She had looked into one dozens of times before.
Fear of remembering Sasuke? No. That only brought sadness and anger.
Was it fear of Itachi over all? That was a definitely possibility, she thought bitterly.
She glanced at him once again, but this time she directed her eyes to his hands.
The hands that killed hundreds and thousands of lives, so tenderly and gently grabbed the book in his hand right now. It was hard to believe those hands had been the last thing many people had seen or felt. I mean, staring at them now, they looked like normal hands. There was nothing out of the ordinary or evil looking about them.
But that was just staring at his hands… that wasn't the most dangerous part of his body. It was his face… or more specifically, his eyes. It was those eyes that she had fallen in love with, and those eyes she had learned to trust. It's hard to believe how much a pair of eyes could change when they looked almost identical.
"Is something the matter?" Itachi cold, hard voice broke her away from her thoughts, and she just… flinched and gulped in response, fleeing back to the comfort of her blankets.
Sakura didn't respond at all, and after several minutes, she could still feel his eyes on her frail body. He could probably kill her with one pinky, if he wanted to right this second. And with another pinky, he could probably make her death torturous.
Boy was Sakura glad when Kisame came walking in.
"Look! Kitten's up." He joked.
Sakura merely nodded and blushed all at the same time.
"Can you move?"
Sakura shook her head.
"Did you finish your food?"
Sakura nodded.
"Do you want more?"
Sakura shook her head once again.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? You seem more like a mouse right now." He complained, half joking.
Sakura glanced at Itachi for a microsecond. Still staring… damn. Heck, it was like a cat got her tongue. And she really was feeling as meek and weak as a mouse, compared to a cat.
"Well, I'll get this out of the way. It probably hurts to talk, is all." Kisame said, picking up her dishes. Sakura opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She really wanted to tell him to stay… curse her mousy-ness.
"Konan said that Sasori will come by to watch her in about an hour."
Itachi nodded.
Kisame left, and Sakura could only hope Itachi forgot about his question.
He didn't…
"Hmm?" he said, as if waiting for the answer.
Sakura mentally groaned, peeking from the blanket and glancing over to Itachi.
"Any reason for your abnormal behavior?"
"There might be." Sakura responded blankly.
Itachi didn't question any further, she was glad to find out. It seemed unlike some people here, he knew how much was too far. Maybe it had something to do with his past… whatever, she really didn't care about that right now. She'd just be here for at most, 3 more days until she could either let them kill her, or she wandered this world alone, like a ghost.
And yet again, the thought of going back to Sound popped into her mind. It honestly wasn't such a bad idea. They loved her, and heck, now she wouldn't be a burden. On the contraire, really. She could start teaching the little ones about the ninja arts… and whoa, look how far she could go.
'That's not such a bad idea.'
The next day was rather action less, around the 5 Great Nations. Sakura mostly sat in bed all day, having Konan help her bathe and use the bathroom when necessary. Much to her great relieve, she only saw Itachi twice: once when he dropped off her food, and the second, when he picked it up.
In Konoha, no one went in any missions, for it seemed the Akatsuki wasn't on the move just yet. This seemed to unnerve Tsunade slightly. They had been on the move frequently… what had been stopping them now? Maybe they heard of Sakura's…… departure……
Around late afternoon that day, Sakura was able to feel the seal weaken, slowly but steadily. Her chakra filled her body and for once in what could have been a month and a half, her body felt warm and cozy with her chakra acting as a blanket.
By 12, even though she was knocked out, fast asleep, her chakra started entering her body slowly, and by 12:30, her chakra was back!
(A/N: Okay, before I continue, let's all do a happy dance for Sakura, because she finally has her chakra back!! I've been hearing a lot in the reviews you're all pissed off at Saki –and so am I- but it'll be a while until Saki pays big time… :) Oh, and sorry I skipped a day of the unsealing… I couldn't think of anything exciting)
So when early morning struck, about 7:30, everyone had been awake… why?
"OHH MY FUCKEN GOD!!"
Sakura's voice had erupted, and working everyone up, including a very shocked Tobi, who was thinking maybe Sakura was bleeding to death again.
Within a split 10 seconds, everyone was in her room, Konan ready to rip the blankets to shreds and tend to her open wounds, and kill Tobi for not noticing earlier.
"It's a fucken miracle!" she exclaimed, putting her hand up high in disbelief.
"You can move your hand un?" Deidara guessed. It would have been a big shocker anyway: Sakura could barely move after her wound opened up again.
Sakura's hand glowed green.
"Oh my god! Finally!" Kisame exclaimed.
"And look!" Sakura shouted, pulling the blankets off harshly.
Everyone had a ghastly expression on their faces; not because such fast movements could practically kill Sakura, but because most importantly, there was nothing there.
"What the hell happened un?" Deidara asked.
"My chakra must have come sooner than expected, and I must have healed myself unconsciously while sleeping." Sakura exclaimed, examining herself all over. "And guess what, I don't feel like shit!" she exclaimed loudly, jumping up and down on the bed in joy.
Mind you, this was really something to be happy about. After not being able to heal yourself for over a month, and going through excruciating pain each day, this truly seemed like a miracle.
"That's great news kitten! Now heal my arm please." He deadpanned.
Sakura stopped jumping up and down in joy, and stared at him blankly for a few seconds. She then grinned madly at him and jumped on him, hugging him as if it were for dear life.
"Of course! I'll do anything for you guys! Anything! You guys practically saved my life!" she exclaimed.
She paused shortly, glaring at Hidan. "After you almost killed me."
Hidan merely chuckled.
"By the way…" she walked up to him slowly, and innocently. Everyone watched her curiously.
She flicked Hidan in the forehead with her middle finger.
Two seconds past and all of a sudden, Hidan was thrown against the wall, breaking it, and going through a few more before she heard the damage finally stop. "How's that for a tiny little pinky you bitch!" she shouted after him, hearing a growl of pain several seconds afterwards.
Before they asked her again, Sakura went up to Kisame, green chakra already flowing around her hand.
"Nice move." He snickered.
"Thanks sharky" she whispered, taking off his bandages and beginning to heal his arm. To say the least, most of it had healed by itself. She just needed to connect the tissue back again.
After she had healed Kisame, and things had settled down, a long silence erupted.
"So…… who's up for breakfast?"
"I sure am!"
And thus, the silence was broken, and they all scurried out of Sakura's room, totally forgetting about Hidan.
"Baa-chan! Can I get a mission please." Naruto whined for the hundredth time that hour. Sasuke was just staring out the window, with Saki in between the two, not sure whether she should flirt with Sasuke, or scold Naruto. Flirting with Sasuke it was.
"Fine! How's a damn B-ranked mission for you?!"
"A!" Naruto whined.
"Will it get you to shut up?!" Tsunade said, her anger rising dramatically.
"Yes!"
"Fine!" she shouted.
Tsunade sat there thinking for a moment. "Sasuke, pay attention know, it's very important." She said.
As if on cue, Sasuke stood up straight and paid attention… too bad Saki was too busy ogling at Sasuke.
"Recently Akatsuki has been spotted near Fire Country a lot… but since last week, or about 5 days ago, we haven't seen them at all." Tsunade explained. "I don't know whether they're preparing for another attack or they have a reason to retreat…"
"And you want us to investigate?" Sasuke summed up, sighing.
Tsunade nodded. "First you look all around the Fire Country. If you don't find anything there, send me a report, and head to Sound. They've been with no leader, and maybe Akatsuki will take that as an advantage. If you ever do find Akatsuki, retreat. If it's one, weigh your options, but don't do anything rash." Tsunade explained.
"Naruto"
Naruto's head snapped wide, as he stared at Tsunade.
"You're the captain."
"Are you serious Baa-chan?!" he exclaimed.
Tsunade nodded. "The decisions you make will go right to the information we'll look for when choosing the next Hokage, so make sure you choose wisely. Sasuke, you're next in charge. You leave tonight, dismissed." Tsunade said, not wanting to talk anymore. They left within a few minutes, not saying another word.
"Why'd you make Naruto the captain Tsunade?" Shizune spoke, from the corner of the room.
"You're getting better and better at sneaking up on me." Tsunade muttered.
"I'm not sneaking up on you… you've just been distracted." Shizune said, holding Ton-Ton close to her.
Tsunade looked down hesitantly, opening her drawer and pulling out a portrait of Shizune, Sakura, and herself, Sakura in the middle, Shizune on the right, and Tsunade on her left.
It had been taken for Sakura's sixteenth birthday. "I'm doing the right thing." Tsunade mumbled. "Sasuke's even worse than I am. He can't lead a group right now." She snorted robotically, her eyes going distant.
"What about Sai?" Shizune asked.
"He's locked himself in his apartment for a few days now. He won't come out." Tsunade responded.
"And Kakashi?"
"Drunk in his room, in denial."
"Who's the sane person around here?" Shizune mumbled.
"Saki's the only one who hasn't been the least bit affected, besides the old bags, Ibiki, and Anko." Tsunade said glumly.
"Ahh" Shizune muttered, mostly to herself as she stared out the window, some more rain clouds beginning to form. It would rain soon enough, she guessed.
End of Chapter :)
Sorry I left it there people, but I'm out of ideas for what could happen this chapter…
I don't know why, but I feel like this chapter is the worst so far :-/ But, I guess you reviewers will be the ones to tell me whether you liked it or not…
And wow people… my reviews keep increasing with every chapter!! If I average it out, this chapter should get me about 100 reviews!!! In 4 CHAPTERS!!! If I haven't died of happiness already, then I might just die tonight :P If I do get 100+ reviews, I might just have to bake you all cookies filled with love 33
Any and all feedback is much appreciated :)