A/N: Haha. Sorry, it's Monday. I promised the chapter by the end of the week. To be completely honest, I finished this sometime around two AM Saturday morning. My beta hasn't been online, so I got my friend to beta it just now. Sorries k92littered D: I'm a tad impatient. Plus, I didn't want to get whacked with a fish.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to MK ):
Chapter Nine: Worry
I froze, speechless. "What?" I finally managed to mouth.
"Marry me." Deidara said softly again. His face dropped infinitesimally at my shock.
I couldn't make my mouth work.
"Please," he whispered, cupping his hand gently on my cheek.
The tears began streaming down my face. I was so torn between my love for him and my loyalty to Konoha.
"Please," he whispered again, broken. There was too much moisture in his eyes.
"Give me a minute." My voice was raspy with the tears.
He nodded and hope returned to his eyes.
My heart and my mind were dueling it out.
On one side, I loved Deidara more than anything.
But the same went for Konoha.
How could anyone ever choose between their two greatest loves?
My mind was screaming to be sensible. Be logical; it would never work. It would ruin me. My heart was telling my mind to shut the fuck up.
I hesitated a moment longer. I had to choose. Now.
I made my choice. I couldn't change it now.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, preparing myself.
"Deidara," I whispered. I had to tell him now. Now was the time to give up one of my loves.
--
The preparations were nearly set.
The squad could move out in a matter of hours.
The members of said squad included Sakura's cell—Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai—along with several members from other teams; Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, and Lee.
Normally, Naruto would not be allowed on such a retrieval, considering it guaranteed close contact with the Akatsuki, but under the particular circumstances they had made an exception.
"Can we go yet?" Naruto groaned.
Kakashi sighed. "In just a bit, Naruto. We need to wait for them to finish."
The blonde ninja was starting to bounce on the balls of his feet.
"Relax, Dickless." Sai gave one of his stone smiles. "Sakura will be fine."
Naruto grumbled something about penises.
Kakashi chuckled softly at him.
Tsunade emerged from her office, gesturing for them to come back in.
"It's all set." She smiled grimly as soon as the doors were shut. "Shikamaru is the strategic coordinator."
All three nodded.
"You can go."
Naruto lingered the longest.
"Bring her back safely, Naruto." Tsunade murmured.
"Of course." He said firmly.
"Ready?" Kakashi asked the assembled team.
"Let us go!" Lee said enthusiastically.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes."
"Let's bring her back." Kakashi said before taking off at a sprint.
Everyone trailed slightly behind him.
Except for Naruto.
"Calm it." His former sensei warned.
"We need to hurry." Naruto argued.
"We have to pace ourselves; we have no idea where she is and we need to conserve energy."
"But Sakura—"
"She'll be fine."
"She's with those monsters."
"Sakura can take care of herself, Naruto."
"I know, but—" he started to argue again.
"No buts. She will be perfectly fine. A few hours will not make a difference if she was not captured in order to be killed."
"How do you know she wasn't?"
"Because you're here."
Naruto lowered his eyes. It was his fault she's been taken.
"It's not your fault, Naruto." Kakashi said, reading the look in the younger ninja's eyes.
"It is."
"If you say so." Kakashi sighed. He'd let the boy think whatever he wished; they had to concentrate now. "I should summon Pakkun soon. We'll need the help tracking, even with Akamaru and Shino's bugs."
"Damn Akatsuki." Naruto grumbled.
"Kiba?" Kakashi called, falling back slightly to the other ninja. "Anything yet?"
"No, not yet. I'll let you know as soon as we catch something."
"Shino?"
"Not much. Just a very faint chakra trail left from the bird. It's not defined enough to tell which direction it's going, though."
Kakashi nodded.
"Let me know if you find any more."
The group ran in silence for a long time before Kiba shouted for Kakashi.
"There's something over here!"
In less than a second, Kakashi along with Pakkun were standing at his side.
"There's something here, alright." Pakkon confirmed.
"Let's get going then." Naruto sighed in frustration.
Pakkun nodded before starting to follow the trail.
Progress would be slow since the Akatsuki members and Sakura had been in the air, paired with the fact that the Akatsuki were notorious for meticulously covering their trails.
The large cell only made pace of about a mile every two hours.
Naruto's frustrated sighs were constant, and the worry radiated from nearly every cell member.
It was nightfall before they'd even made three miles of progress.
"We'll need to set up camp." Kakashi stated. There was no trace of worry in his voice, but if you knew him well enough, you could find it in his one visible eye.
Frustration radiated from everyone in the group. No one felt comfortable at the amount of progress they were making.
"She'll be okay." Hinata reassured Naruto at one point.
"Yeah." He'd replied. "She'd better be."
--
I nodded as I spoke. "I will,"
His eyes gleamed for the second before he pulled me into, quite frankly, the most passionate kiss we'd ever shared.
Tears of happiness were streaming down his face now.
"I love you." He whispered.
"And you know I love you." I sighed happily.
I collapsed in his arms, suddenly tired.
After a minute, Deidara sheepishly mumbled, "I don't have a ring."
"I know."
"Do you want one?" he asked, sincerity dripping in his voice.
"I don't care."I said softly. I wouldn't tell him that as a little girl, I'd always dreamed of a beautiful ring. Though, I honestly didn't mind since a stupid ring had no worth when I had Deidara.
"I'll get you one." He promised.
"N—" I started to protest.
"I'll make you one." His smile widened.
"No explosions?" I checked.
He sighed. "No." It almost sound reluctant.
A small giggle escaped my lips.
He chuckled. "You think that's funny?"
"Yes, actually I do."
"You know what I think is funny?" he smirked.
I simply raised one eyebrow.
Deidara started tickling me. I couldn't breath because I was laughing so much.
"Stop," I panted. "Stop."
"It's gonna cost you." His smirk widened. "One kiss."
I grinned. "Of course."
This kiss wasn't as passionate, but it was extremely sweet.
"We should go back." He murmured after a few moments.
He was right. It was almost too dark to see.
I nodded and stood, offering a hand to help him up.
He took it and heaved himself up. He didn't let go when he was up though. We walked the whole way back still holding hands.
Itachi and Kisame were nowhere to be seen, which luckily meant they'd at least made it to their room.
I dragged Deidara back to ours.
"So when exactly are we getting married?" I asked him quietly as I pulled him into bed with me.
"Oh, how about tomorrow?"
My jaw dropped.
He grinned.
"I'm pretty sure Kisame got a clerical license once. He claims it's his 'back up' for when he gets out of Akatsuki. Why anybody who wasn't completely desperate would hire him for something like that, though, completely escapes me."
"Are you saying we're desperate?"
"Maybe." He kissed me softly. "I'll make a ring tonight." He grinned.
I smiled. "It better not be explosive." I teased him gently.
"No promises."
"If you blow off my finger, you'll never get a piece of jewelry on me again, especially a ring."
He rolled his eyes.
"I'd better see if Kisame really did get that clerical license." I snorted at the thought. Seriously? Kisame?
"I'd wait until the morning if I were you." Deidara smirked.
I held my finger to my lips for him to be quiet.
When he finally shut up, I heard the soft moans coming from the room down the hall.
"Gross."
That had Deidara very near falling on the floor.
I frowned at him. "It's not that funny."
"No, no." he agreed.
"Then why are you laughing?"
"You. You're funny."
I frowned again.
"But it's cute." He amended.
"Sure it is."
"It is." He promised.
"Good."
He smiled and kissed my again.
"So do we get to celebrate with mind blowing sex now?" I asked.
"Not yet." He chuckled.
I groaned. "You're killing me."
"Sorry." He gave me a small smile. "I'll get distracted and forget to make you a ring."
I rolled my eyes. "Rings-shmings."
Deidara snorted. "Let me do just one thing right, okay?"
"Fine." I sighed again, but my smile made up for my tone.
He grinned widely. "No looking. I want it to be a surprise."
"Okay. I have to find a dress or something anyways." I suddenly found myself wishing I'd taken more of an interest in the sewing classes kunoichi were given. I'd sucked at it.
"Ask Itachi. He has a weird way of getting a hold of things."
"I'd rather not, at the moment."
He grinned at me. "They'll be done in a few hours."
I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I should just take my chances and hope they still have enough mind to sense approaching chakra." I hopped up.
"Best of luck." Deidara's smirk had me wanting to just tackle and take him right now. Rape. I thought with a grin. Since he seemed so uninterested right now, that's probably what it would end up being. I sighed, figuring it's a good sign when a guy would rather make a ring than have sex.
I padded down the hall to the door of Kisame and Itachi's room.
I tried to hold my breath to hear if there were any more noises. There were none.
I knocked.
There was a second of silence before Kisame's gruff voice called "hold on".
A moment later, the door swung open to a shirtless Kisame. Itachi had all of his clothes on.
"Enjoying yourselves?" I mumbled, embarrassed.
"Yes, actually." Kisame said bluntly.
I rolled my eyes.
"I had a few favors to ask of you two, actually, which is the only reason I risked coming over here." A smirk spread on my face.
"And that would be…?" Kisame raised an eyebrow.
"Is it true you got a clerical license?"
There was silence.
Itachi was the one who broke it, a few awkward minutes later.
"What?" he asked, surprise coloring his tone. That was a feat.
"Um… did you really get a clerical license, Kisame?"
He nodded, stupefied. "Why?" he asked, somewhat reluctant.
"Because Deidara asked me to marry him." I blushed. "Tomorrow."
Before I knew it, I was swung up in a hug by the other ninja.
"Our little Sakura's growing up." Kisame crooned.
I blushed while Itachi rolled his eyes at Kisame.
"I'm assuming your other request would be a dress?" he guessed.
I nodded as I wiggled free of the choke-hold.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Sakura?" Itachi asked. It seemed almost parent-like. Something I would expect from Tsunade.
I sighed. "Yes. I thought over it a million times before I answered. It worried him."
Itachi nodded. "You know you won't be able to go back to your village?"
"Yes." I said softly. "But I can hope. Naruto wouldn't let it be that easy for me to leave."
Itachi nodded again. "Just like he won't give up on my brother."
I flinched; Sasuke was still a touchy subject for both me and Naruto. Although I didn't love him anymore, it didn't mean I didn't care about him. Like he was a brother to Naruto, he was a friend to me. Part of me wished he would just come back.
"Well, I'll get on that." Itachi said, walking out of the room.
"Kisame?" I asked again. "You never answered."
"It's true. Sad as that might sound. A guy's got to have his back up."
I rolled my eyes. "You want out of Akatsuki?" I asked.
"Yeah." He sighed. "Not gonna happen unless Pein dies though. If you ever do get back into Konoha, get them working on that. Only a few members actually like being in the organization; the rest of us are here so we don't get killed."
"It's kill or be killed." I murmured.
"Yeah."
