So it only took me two months instead of three... I'd count that as improvement! Thank you to cherryblossom1423, Guest 1, Guest 2, and 101 for reviewing and reminding me to update. I'll try and be more punctual in the future!
Disclaimer: If you recognize them they aren't mine!
Pein sat in his office, looking out the window at the gloomy scene of Amegakure. Today was his only daughter's sixteenth birthday. He had thought of making a trip to spy on her, but deemed it too risky. From what he had heard, she was happy now. He had no reason to ruin that for her.
He thought back to the day eight years ago when he and Konan left her in Konaha. Sometimes he wondered if leaving her there was the best thing. If he was honest with himself, he still didn't know.
"Oh Leader-sama!" Tobi sang as he entered the room. "Deidera-senpai has a surprise for you!"
Pein wasn't sure what annoyed him more, the fact that Madara spoke like a hyperactive three year old, or that one of the Akatsuki (Deidera this time) was going to disrupt his peaceful day off. The door to his office flung open with a small explosion of smoke. Pein couched as the dust drifted towards him. Apparently the bomber had a greater death wish than he thought.
Just as he was about to pummel Deidera into next week, Pein realized that the figure at the door was female, and had pink hair.
The only person he knew that had pink hair was….
"I'm home." Sakura said, smiling at her dad.
"It was Deidera's fault." Sasori said, walking past the door.
"Um, surprise, un?"
To an outsider Pein didn't look to have reacted at all. However on the inside the normally stoic leader was a stuttering, gaping mess. He was in this same state when Konan came rushing in.
"Sakura!" she exclaimed, running to hug her daughter.
"Mom." Sakura said, sounding relieved as she returned the hug.
Pein was still standing in a stunned silence.
"Pein I swear if you don't get over here and hug your daughter now then I will hide all the chakra gauges so well that not even Zetsu will be able to find them." Konan threatened, still hugging Sakura.
Finally Pein realized he was making an idiot of himself (and that was not proper for a god) and moved to hug Sakura. When the hug broke he asked the question that had been running through his mind.
"Why are you here?"
Sakura's face fell.
"Pein, don't-." Konan began to admonish, but Sakura interrupted her.
"I knew, since you gave me up, that you probably didn't want me. If you thought I'd be useful here you'd have kept and trained me. In coming here I also knew you probably would be angry or disappointed, but I had to come. My entire life in Konoha I felt like I was missing something. I never knew what it was or why I felt that way, but I just knew. Once I figured out how to find you guys I had to come back, if only once." She responded, her face almost devoid of expression. To herself she admitted that it was probably for the best that they didn't want her, considering how they were hunting Naruto.
"Sakura –" Konan tried to speak.
Suddenly Sakura turned around. "I'll leave once I've looked around a bit. You don't need to worry about me leaking the hideout's location. I don't rat out on family." Before either parent could say a word, she was gone.
Konan sharply turned and glared at Pein. "I blame you, go fix this." With that having been said, she left.
Pein sighed. 'Wonder where Sakura got her temper.'
Sakura paused at the door of her old bedroom and fingered the flower engraved in the wood. With a sigh she opened the door and stepped inside. The room looked exactly the same as she remembered it. In the far left hand corner of the small square room was her bed, the cover a blood red with black flowers on it. Her dressers faced the bed and sat against the opposite wall. On little shelves lining the walls were little trinkets given to her by different members of the Akatsuki from their various missions. Sakura looked at them fondly before removing a scroll from her pack. If she couldn't come back, then she was at least taking these with her as a reminder.
As she laid the scroll on her bed, she heard the door open.
"You don't have to leave you know." Konan said from her place at the door.
Sakura looked over to her. "I wouldn't want to stay where I'm not welcome."
"But you are welcome, more than welcome actually. Your father is just a dolt when it comes to emotions."
Konan entered the room and sat on the bed, motioning Sakura to join her. When the two were seated next to each other Konan hesitantly placed her arm around Sakura's shoulder, ready to let go should Sakura object. However the teenager leaned into her mother's own shoulder and rested her head.
"Why did you guys give me up?" Sakura asked after a time had passed. "Not that I'm not happy in Konoha, but I don't understand."
"We wanted to protect you. Even though I wanted you to stay with us, it was too risky. Being part of this organization would've given you powerful enemies. By hiding you in Konoha your father hoped you would be protected by anonymity. I can't say I disagree with him, and you have grown into a strong kunoichi."
"Ok, but why Konoha?" Sakura asked, curious.
Konan smiled and tapped Sakura on the nose, "That you'll have to ask your father. I want you two to have a heart to heart later."
"Fine." Sakura huffed, playfully rolling her eyes at the familiar gesture.
"So you'll put that scroll away and stay?"
"I-"
"Oi Sakura-chan," Kakuzu called, coming down the hall with several Akatsuki members in tow. "So we've heard that you've become a….decent kunoichi."
Sakura twitched. Decent was not the word to describe her, she was way above average and she knew it.
"That sounds like a challenge to me." Sakura said, bristling as she got up from the bed.
"Good, because that's exactly what Deidera wanted it to sound like."
"What, un?"
"Oh really?" Sakura asked with a grin. "Let's see his impression of my skills after a fight."
Deidera tried to save himself. "Wait I didn't -," but Sasori covered his mouth.
"He accepts your challenge and says he won't lose to a pink haired girl." Kakuzu said, sealing Deidera's fate.
"You're on Deidera-sensei!" Sakura yelled, grabbing the bomber by his cloak and pulling him down the hall.
"Alright, Deidera's gonna get his ass beat!" Kisame cheered.
"What do you people have against me, un?!"
Poor Deidera, I don't know why I like picking on him. Thanks for reading and please review!