First off, I want to apologize for taking so damn long to update this story. I never intended for it to take this long to pump out a chapter. But here we are, so forgive me? Sadly, this chapter is no where near as long as the other chapters have been, but I did say early on that not all the chapters would be 8000+ words. Regardless, I hope it was worth the wait.

Anyway!

I do not own Naruto or its characters, just the plot to this story and the OC featured in it.

If you enjoyed, please leave a review, favorite, and follow!

S Lyubov'yu,

Casper.

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Previously;

Once the door was shut firmly, Sakura flung herself of her bed and made her way towards Deidara's. She motioned for him to scoot to the side of the bed and he complied with a look of confusion. Once he was moved, she slid into the bed next to him and gestured for Sasori to join them. When he looked at her questioningly, she sighed and explained.

"I thought I was going to lose you two today. I failed to protect you two after I promised that I would never allow harm to come to the people I cared about. I just want some reassurance that you two are still here.", she admitted with a small sigh.

With a gentle smile, Sasori nodded and slid off his own bed. He slid into bed next to Sakura, effectively sandwiching her between himself and Deidara. She let out a contented sigh when she felt both males swing an arm over he waist. After a little wiggling, the partners got comfortable and were asleep within minutes. Sakura's head was buried in Sasori's chest and her back pressed comfortingly against Deidara's chest.

None of them were even aware that Vorona had slid the door open and had watched the entire scene unfold. The white haired woman smiled gently and closed the door once more before padding off towards her own room.


Sakura sighed with content as her body slowly woke up. Last night she's had the best sleep that she could remember ever having in her eighteen years of life. She buried her head further into Sasori's chest, unwilling to leave the comfort of his and Deidara's arms just yet. The night before she had come close to losing two people that she held very dear to her heart. Guilt ate away at her nerves as she recalled the images of Sasori being thrown carelessly around like a rag doll and the look of pure fear that had etched its way onto Deidara's features.

Even reliving the memories were almost too much for her to bare. She felt two arms stiffen around her, both of them pulling her closer to their respective bodies. She held back a small smile, her boys were finally deciding to join her in consciousness. She rested her chin on Sasori's chest and watched as his eyes opened blearily. He shot her a lazy smile before closing his eyes again and resting his weight back on his pillow. She snickered at his morning laziness and looked over her shoulder and caught Deidara pouting at them.

"It's a little early to be pouting, don't you think, Dei?", she laughed softly, her laughter growing slightly in volume when his pout became more pronounced.

"Why does he get better cuddles than me, yeah?", the blonde whined before pulling the pink haired medic away from his red headed partners chest.

"I was comfortable, you brat.", Sasori grumbled before blindly reaching out his arm in search of the woman to had been forcibly removed from his chest.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at Deidara and Sasori's complaining. If someone had told her that she would become a pirate and get dragged around for cuddles when she became a runaway, she probably would have asked them how much they'd had to drink. When she felt Sasori blindly grasp her arm and start to tug her back into place, she shook her head at his pushiness.

Instead of allowing herself to be dragged back and forth like some sort of rag doll, she untangled herself from Deidara's grasp, ignoring his protests as she did so. Once she was freed, she rolled onto her back and tugged both boys towards her, both of them rolling and landing on her chest. She felt both boys stiffen at their position and she let out a small bark of laughter.

"If you two can't learn to share then we are just going to have to cuddle like this until Vorona comes and grabs us.", she explained, running her hands through their hair. Once they heard her explanation, they both relaxed into her bosom. Normally, she would have beaten the ever loving shit out of anybody who dared touch her chest, but these two were different.

They were her partners for this mission.

And if she was going to cuddle, she was going to be comfortable while doing so.

"If anybody had suggested that I would be getting a face full of your chest while out on this mission, I would have smacked them and laughed in their face, yeah.", Deidara mumbled into her chest.

"For once, I agree with the brat.", Sasori agreed with a small sigh.

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual but it's better than you two yanking me around like a teddy bear.", Sakura smirked.

The three partner's laid in silence for about ten minutes, absorbing each other's presences as much as they could. All three of them lifted their heads when they heard the door open and watching as Vorona stepped into the room. She smiled gently at them, as if she had expected to find them in the position they were in.

"It would seem that you three certainly made yourselves comfortable. Are you guys up for a quick breakfast before we make the trip to your ship or would you rather we waited until we got there to eat? The choice is yours, I don't mind either way.", the white haired woman asked with a small tilt of her head, her smile still firmly attached to her lips.

"It would probably be best that we make our way back to the ship. The Captain is probably worried that we never returned and I'm sure the other's have already made their way back without us.", Sakura suggested.

"That would probably be our best choice.", Sasori agreed before slowly removing himself from Sakura's side. If he'd had his way, he probably would have laid there all day with her. Normally, he couldn't stand the thought of human touch, but with her, it just felt right. He was actually comfortable around this woman, which was a completely new feeling for him. He was sure that Deidara shared his thoughts as well.

But then again, you never knew what was going on in the blondes head. And part of him really didn't want to know either.

"I guess we're heading back to the ship to get a bite, yeah.", Deidara sighed with a nod before rolling himself off the bed and landing in a graceful crouch on the floor.

"That works just fine with me, let us depart then. I would like to get this done with so I can get started on tracking Tsunade for you.", Vorona nodded with a small shrug. She had no idea what had compelled her to actually choose to help these people. She supposed that she owed them for not turning her in and allowing her to be killed. She couldn't really continue her work if she was dead, now could she?

"Ready when you are.", Sakura replied with a nod of agreement.

Vorona nodded easily and tossed the each of the pirates a cloak with a hood. It was better that they stayed as hidden as possible. One never knew when any one of them would be recognized. They were all wanted criminals after all. You could never be too careful when out in the open.


Once the trio of partners and their unlikely friend were ready, they exited the small cottage that Vorona called home. She led them through a winding path full of twists and turns, explaining to them along the way that the trails were needed. If they weren't there, it was likely that she would have been captured and executed long before they'd met her. They traveled in silence, not wanting to alert any hunters in the area of their presence. While they knew they would have no problems fighting off anyone that attacked, they wanted to get back to the ship as quickly as they could. They had no idea what sort of mood Pein was going to be in after their little disappearing act, after all.

Even if it wasn't really their fault that they'd been ambushed. They were more worried about his reaction to them not turning in the woman they'd been ordered to hunt down, instead opting to bring her back to the ship. They really had no idea what to expect when they returned to the ship. But then again, if the white haired woman agreed to help them in the future, none of them could picture him being too angry with them.

It was always wise to have a few friends in the areas you visited often and the placement of Vorona's home was the perfect place to hide out when they spent time on the island. If Vorona agreed to house them when they visited the island, that is. Sakura couldn't picture her turning them away though. She had almost looked excited to have some form of company in her little home. Life as a wanted woman couldn't have been kind to her and Sakura could understand her feeling of loneliness.

"The docks are just through those trees, make sure you do not speak my name until we are safely on your ship. I'm sure you can understand that I don't wish to be seen. You never know where hunters are hiding out during the day.", Vorona whispered just loud enough for her companions to hear. When she saw all three of them nod, she pulled her hood tighter over her face, blocking the view of her striking features and easily spotted hair from view.

The white haired woman led them through the last lining of trees and took a small moment for all of them to soak in the warm rays of the mid morning sun. She silently gestures for one of them to take the lead sense she had no idea what their ship looked like. When Sasori took it upon himself to lead them way, she followed after him when he waved his hand towards them, silently telling them to keep up.

They weaved through the small crowds of fisherman trying to sell their first catches of the day and passed by small stall run by women and children selling all sorts of assortments of goods. The four companions nodded respectfully towards everyone they passed as the made their way towards the Akatsuki's ship. They traveled as quickly as they could without seeming like they were up to no good.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura finally saw their ship coming into sight. She let out a small, silent breath of relief. While she wasn't worried about being discovered, it didn't mean she enjoyed taking the risk. But she knew deep in her heart that this was their best chance of getting some answers. She had been left in the dark for so long and she wasn't about to give up the one chance she had at learning more about herself and her abilities. She didn't know what compelled her or her boys to trust the white haired woman, but she knew that their new companion wouldn't dare try to betray them now.

Especially when they were surrounded by who knew how many hunters and the fact that the rest of the Akatsuki crew here within shouting distance. The pink haired medic knew for a fact that Vorona wasn't suicidal, she had made that much clear when she had spoken to them the night before. Sakura just hoped that the rest of the crew would have some faith in the strange white haired woman.

Sakura slowed her pace just enough to fall back to Vorona's side before she whispered just loud enough for the woman to hear.

"Our ship is the one next to that pathetic looking black one a few ships down. Do not speak until we give you the okay once we get on deck. We have no idea how the captain or the rest of the crew are going to handle your presence. We aren't exactly fond of outsiders.", the medic whispered under her breath.

She was satisfied when she saw the white haired woman nod in acceptance out of the corner of her eye.


After what seemed like an eternity, Sasori led the group of five onto the ship. Once the three members of the Akatsuki and their guest were safely on the ship, the trio of pirates tossed the hoods of their cloaks over their heads and breathed a sigh of relief. They'd doubted that they would be spotted or stopped, but that didn't stop the anxiety of being chased by more hunters from rearing its ugly head. Vorona was advised to keep her hood up just in case a stray from the village decided to creep onto the ship in search of an easy steal. She had easily agreed to the suggestion knowing that she was better off following their instructions while she was a guest on their ship.

"I'll go let the Captain know that we've made it back in one piece. I'm sure he's pissed or worried that we didn't come back last night.", Sakura sighed before turning towards Pein's office door.

She supposed that it would be easier for her to speak to Pein about the situation they had found themselves in the night before. As the medic of the crew, she knew she would have an easier time explaining to the Captain why it had not been wise to return after their run in with the people who had held Deidara captive so many years ago. The pink haired pirates temper flared at the memory of the obscene things that the disgusting human beings had said about her dear friend. Vorona had assured her that they were no longer among the living, but it didn't help soothe her raging temper.

The fact that Deidara had been forced to face the people who haunted his dreams again wa what angered her more than anything. She had told him that she would shoulders his burdens and never allow such horrible suffering befall him again. But she had failed to protect him. She had not been able to keep her promise. And he had been hurt due to her failure. That was what angered her the most.

The medic quickly shook those thoughts from her mind and raised her hand to knock on the solid, wooden door that led to Pein's personal office. She knocked once, harder than she intended and flinched when she heard the wood creaked in pain at the sheer force of her knock. She knew that she failed miserably at controlling her inhuman strength when she was under a great deal of stress, but she didn't think that she would end up damaging the Captain's door.

"Sasori's going to kill me when he finds out I ruined another fucking door.", Sakura muttered in annoyance.

Once she heard Pein's voice beckoning her to open the door, clearly understanding that Sakura was the one standing on the other side, she gently twisted the knob and pushed the door open. She stepped into the office quietly and shut the door as gently as she could behind her, not wanting to damage the poor door anymore than she already had.

"Sorry about the door, I didn't intend to knock so hard.", the medic sighed as she took a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of the orange haired Captain's desk.

"An easy fix, that. I'm more interested in why you and the other two did not return last night. Hidan was on the verge of a rampage because nobody could find you, Sasori, or Deidara. Care to explain?", Pein replied sternly, clearly not in the mood for small talk.

"I understand, I guess there's a lot of explaining to do, isn't their.", Sakura sighed in agreement.

"Indeed there is. Explain what happened last night, if you would be so kind.", Pein nodded as he sat back in his own chair, waiting for his medic to explain the events of the night before.

"Well, it started as any other job, I suppose. We went searching for a woman by the name of Vorona Dikaya. She was wanted for the slaughter of her entire village. The boys and I agreed that there was something sketchy about the job request, but we continued looking for her anyway. We wanted to question her more than anything since nobody just wakes up one day and decides to murder everyone in their village, you know?", Sakura began.

When Pein nodded in agreement, she took a breath and continued her explanation.

"Deidara ended up taking to the sky on one of his transports when looking for Vorona on foot proved useless. At some point, we ended up losing sight of him and didn't realize it until we heard explosions in the distance. Sasori and I tore off in the direction of the explosions because he was clearly in trouble. We'd thought that he'd found the woman we were looking for. I ended up running ahead of Sasori and found that Deidara hadn't found Vorona, but somebody else.", Sakura continued, her small fists trembled with anger as she explained what had happened.

"Who had he found?", the Captain questioned with interest.

"He had come across a few of the people who had managed to survive the explosion he had set off when he was a kid. They were trying to take him back! Sasori arrived shortly after I did and it ended up getting pretty violent for awhile there. But they ended up hitting all three of us with poisoned darts that ended up rendering us helpless. Just before we succumbed to the poison, I saw a flash of white and then my vision went black. We didn't wake up until hours later. And when we did, we found ourselves in the home of our target.", Sakura finished with a sigh.

"This Vorona woman is the one who came to your aid, is that correct?", the orange haired Captain asked skeptically.

"Indeed. She was the flash of white I saw. She assured me later that the ones who had attacked us were no longer among the living. She had treated out wounds and had given us shelter. We ended up asking her about her story and we found that her reasoning for slaughtering her village was justified. She knows about my gift and it turns out that it's called the Mystical Palm.", Sakura explained with a nod.

"And how did she come across such knowledge?", Pein asked with a raised brow.

"Because she knows someone with the same gift. She agreed to help me find them as well.", was Sakura's response.

"And just where is this Vorona woman now?", Pein asked next.

"She's on deck with Sasori and Deidara."

"I think it is time that I met this woman, don't you think?"

"I think that would be wise, she had been quite helpful to myself and the boys."

"I shall be sure to thank her for her help."

And so, the medic and the Captain vacated their chairs and made their way out of the office and out onto the deck.


Pein's eyes immediately honed in on the cloaked figure standing between Deidara and Sasori and made his way over to the trio.

"I can only assume that you are Vorona?", Pein asked with interest.

"That would be me, I can only assume that you are the Captain of this ship?", came Vorona's response.

"It would seem that we have much to discuss.", the Captain answered.

"It would seem that we do.", the cloaked woman agreed.

"I think it would be wise for us to talk in my office. If you would follow me, we can get started.", Pein suggested before turning on his heel and made his way back towards his office.

The white haired woman followed silently behind the Akatsuki captain, leaving Sakura and her boys alone once again.

"I feel like our lives are about to get a lot more interesting.", Sasori groaned.

"Agreed, yeah.", came Deidara's response.

"Hey, at least life is never boring around here.", Sakura pointed out.

Before either of her partners could give her a response, a flash of silver blurred past them and Sakura's yelp of surprise shook the entire deck of the ship.


Alright, so there's chapter seven for you. Again, I'm sorry that it isn't as long as the chapters normally are and for how long this took. I'm hoping to keep up with all my stories a little better from now on. Just be patient with me? Please?

I do not use a beta, so please excuse any mistakes I may have missed during my editing.

As always, if you enjoyed, please leave a review, favorite, and follow!

Until Next Time!

ALSO!

I am still looking for requests for pairings for this story! No pairings have been decided and I'm leaving it up to the readers! We're going to be sailing into fluff territory soon, so we need a pairing, my friends! All suggestions are welcome!

Okay, I'm really done this time...

Until Next Time x2