Plato's Law

Author: Mask of Mirage

Rating: T

Comments: I'm busy working on HBAB so these chapters may slow down some. I'll still try to get them up as soon as I can, though.

Mood Song: The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars

Chapter 6: Secrets of Konoha

Sakura yawned deeply as she staggered onto the veranda, her bowl of cereal shaking dangerously in her hands. She thought maybe the cold air would wake her up, nope, just made her cold.

Sliding down, she backed up against the far wall and pulled her cloak tighter up around her chin. Taking a small whiff, she quickly identified the owner of the red and black robe she had blindly grabbed earlier, Minato.

Now don't confuse this, they didn't smell bad, they all smelled wonderful in fact, very masculine. It was funny, she'd only been here going on four days now and she could walk into a room and know exactly who had been there before her.

Sakura's eyelids threatened to close; she shouldn't have stayed up so late talking to Sasori. He was more of a gentleman than she took him for; not once during that time did he try to make a move on her. Not that I would have stopped him if he tried. She shook her head. Gah, what was she thinking? He may not be a monster but he was a very deceptive human being that could as easily turn on her than look at her. She was playing a very tricky game and a stubborn part of her brain said she was losing.

Sometime between his charm and smiles she had grown attached; maybe even loved him already. Which, in itself, was stupid; how can you fall in love with someone in only 4 days!?

But in the realistic part of her mind she knew it was futile. Her village was no doubt looking for her and any day someone, probably Naruto, would show up to rescue her. There would be a huge fight and she would leave and forget all about being in love with a psychotic S-class missing nin. 'If only it were that simple,' she thought closing her eyes and banging her head against the back wall.

She suddenly heard a whooshing sound to her left. Opening her eyes, she gasped and prepared to scream, as a hand covered her mouth and Sharingan orbs flashed angrily at her. She reeled at the sight, shrinking back against the wall in disbelief. Her mind was not registering this. Someone she hadn't seen in nearly 5 years had their hand over her mouth and was angry with her, no less. His eyes glanced over her form, taking in the high-collared Akatsuki robe.

She inwardly cursed painting her nails the mandatory purple that all members wore earlier yesterday when she grew bored; it so did not help the situation. The man removed his hand from her face and sat back, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sasuke! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," he whispered back just as fiercely.

"I'm here…well it doesn't matter why I'm here…first things first."

She then reared back her hand, ready to slap the mess out of the Uchiha in front of her. He caught her wrist, holding it away from his face.

"You self-centered, inconsiderate ass! Do you realize how long and hard we looked for you? I should really kick your butt, you know that, right? Now answer me, why are you here?!

"I'm here to avenge my clan and finally kill Itachi," he said solemnly.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," she countered angrily.

He fell silent, his long hair shielding his eyes. Sakura fought against the thought that threatened to surface. How in the world did he get this hot-ter? Long ago, she stomped on her petty crush over him and she refused to go back.

"What's with the get-up? When did the ever-loyal Sakura become a missing nin and a member of the Akatsuki at that?" he burst out.

Sakura opened her mouth but closed it. She wasn't about to tell him the real reason she was here so she decided to lie. "I figured the only way to bring you back was to wait here where I knew you would eventually show up."

Suddenly the side door opened and Sasori stepped out. "Sakura, Minato wants to know if you've seen his cloak?" he began before he came to a sudden halt, his blood eyes locking on Sasuke. "Sakura, why is Itachi's kid brother here," he questioned, confused.

"I have no business with you, now step aside," the raven ordered.

Sasori narrowed his eyes.

"He's here to avenge his clan," Sakura deadpanned.

"Oh, well if that's the case, I'm not really fond of Itachi," he took a fighting stance, "but if you want to kill him, you have to go through me first. Akatsuki rule. We don't really care if you die but if there's a fighting chance to save your brother, go for it."

"I have no business with you," Sasuke repeated, a light blue forming in his palm.

Sakura's eyes widened and her heart stopped. He was going to use Chidori and Sasori had no clue. The sound of birds filled the air and the blue fire grew bigger in his hand. Sasuke's foot was the first to leave the ground. They flew toward each other through the air.

Sakura had an extreme case of déjà vu as she ran toward them; it didn't seem so long ago that she was doing this exact same thing with Naruto and Sasuke. Except this time there would be no Kakashi-sensei to jump in and break them apart. She cried out as Sasuke's Chidori slammed into Sasori's abdomen, bringing him to his knees heavily. She watched in horror as he rolled over on his back motionless, lifeless.

If she ever felt any animosity toward Sasuke it was now. He stood over him, his breath coming out in little puffs. Sakura watched in suppressed fascination and awe as Sasori's eyes suddenly snapped open and Sasuke was the one on the ground. Removing something from inside his cloak, he shoved it in Sasuke's gut. The younger boy cried out in pain.

"That one was for bringing your problems to my doorstep."

Sasori shoved another one in, a smile lighting up his face.

This one's for hitting me with the weird-ass blue thing which hurts like hell, by the way." Another one which he twisted, much to Sasuke's discomfort. The redhead leaned close to his ear. "And this one is for hurting my girl all those years ago."

Standing to his feet, Sakura caught sight of the weapons. Poison darts. She shot an apprehensive look at Sasori who in turn nodded.

Jerking the dark-haired boy to his feet, who grimaced in pain, he tossed a vile to him that contained a sickly yellow liquid. "That's the antidote. If you don't drink it by tonight, the poison will have already entered your bloodstream and you'll die in less than three days. Now leave here and next time you want to kill Itachi make sure you take it outside the gates."

Sasuke growled in his throat but shot off into the trees. It was silent.

"May I have permission to do something that I didn't want to do with him here?" Sasori suddenly murmured. Sakura nodded. He then proceeded to clutch dramatically at his stomach, a wide smile spreading on his face. "Oh my god, the pain! Get Deidara, hurry," he screamed.

"No need to yell, I'm right here, un," the blond man said, appearing out of nowhere. Picking him up, he carried him through the doors into his room and gently laid him on the bed. The Iwa-nin disappeared only to return moments later, black bag in hand. Removing Sasori's cloak, Deidara examined the wound, wiping the blood from around the edges. The redhead howled in pain, clenching the sheets tightly in his fists.

"Will he be alright?" Sakura asked, worried.

Deidara rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly. "He'll be fine. He just forgot what pain felt like, un. The Chidori didn't penetrate all that deep; the pain is about the equivalent of slamming a finger in the door."

Sasori glared up at him, crossing his arms on his chest. "Just shut up and bandage me."

"Hey," Sakura exclaimed, "you knew about Sasuke's Chidori which means you were watching the whole time!"

"Yes, Sakura-san, tell me, how hard were you planning to hit the boy if he hadn't stopped you? Good thing Sasori-Danna showed up when he did; the boy looked angry, un."

Sasori stared between the two, his face growing white. "H-he put his hands on you," he sputtered, "and you let me let him escape!"

"He was just surprised to see me here," Sakura defended, not sure why she felt obligated to the younger Uchiha.

Deidara nimbly tied the bandage off and stood. "That should do it, un." Quietly as possible, the blond Iwa-nin left the room, the door making a soft click upon closing. The room was filled with an awkward silence. Sasori stared at a spot on the ceiling above her head, his mouth set in a stern line.

"You're mad, aren't you?" Sakura questioned, curling up next to him.

"No, I don't get mad. Fustrated is a better word. Is it too late, Sakura? Should I just have died and left it alone?"

Sakura's eyes squinted in confusion. "Why are you saying these things?"

Sasori sighed and sat up, wincing in pain as he did so. He took her hands in his. "Last night, Hidan killed an ANBU Black Op less than a mile from here. Your village is searching for you, Sakura. Any day, they will find us and you will have to leave me; perhaps forever." Sakura's heart thudded loudly. "Before I tell you what we can do, I need for you to see something."

Standing, he led her down the hallway toward Minato's room, their footsteps echoing almost menacingly. Minato was at his desk, as always, in deep concentration on a paper, his tongue sticking out one side of his mouth.

"I've decided," Sasori said, gaining the blond man's attention.

"Oh, yes," Minato mumbled, digging in his desk for something.

He produced a manila envelope. It plopped with a heavy thud on the desktop. Sakura moved forward slowly and opened the folder. Flipping through the stack of papers, her eyes widened and a heavy knot settled in her stomach.

"T-these are letters between Orochimaru and K-Konohagakure! What am I looking at here?"

Minato leaned back in his chair and made himself comfortable, propping his legs up on the oak desk where papers weren't stacked.

"In the War, the Hidden Sound Village gave an ultimatum to the Hidden Leaf without the knowledge of the 3rd Hokage. Hand over the Scroll of Sealing or the village gets it, pretty much. The advisors of the 3rd came up with a plan. Allow Sound to attack, leaving with only a few Shinobi casualties and the death of the 3rd Hokage! Sarutobi had a great amount of secret jutsus and whatnot that Orochimaru would love to have. A year after his death passed, Leaf received money, a private transaction with Sound forgiving them of past grievances. Blood money. Those two old coots were responsible for the death of the 3rd and innocent villagers. The sad thing is, they had planned this before you were even born, before I was named Hokage. That's why I faked my death and left because if I had stayed I would have been in the 3rd's place and you know Orochimaru would love to have some of my jutsus. I realize it seems cowardly but it seemed the best thing at the time to fake my own death. Konoha's government is warped, Sakura, crooked," he recited, almost bored.

Sakura stood, frozen in one spot. How could her whole way of life be a big lie? Minato had turned to Sasori. "We'll release her south of here. It's completely up to her after that. If she does decide to return, we'll begin her orientation then. If not, you know what you must do."

"Yes," Sasori nodded, looking far more composed than he probably felt.

"Orientation? What is he talking about?" she asked, later in the hallway.

Sasori stopped and took her hand once more. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. There are two options you can choose from. When you reach your village, you can decide to stay and live your life the way it was before I came along. Or, you can come back and become a member of the Akatsuki. That's what he meant by orientation."

"Become….A-Akatsuki?" Sakura stuttered.

"Yeah, we do need someone new to replace Orochimaru. Besides you're a talented medic nin; Deidara and Kakuza can only do so much."

"Akatsuki?" she repeated, shell-shocked.

"Tell you what, you don't have to decide now. Go home, spend some time there and then decide," he murmured, brushing her hair behind her ear. "We should probably get going," he said solemnly.

In that moment, Sakura realized these might be the last moments she was going to spend with Sasori. So why was her heart breaking?

Mask of Mirage