Sakura sat in front of a small fire in a huge cave outside of Sand country. It was the safest place for them to camp now that Sand and Konaha were on such good terms. She glanced over at Deidara and felt herself reaching out to touch his cheek. As she stroked the soft flesh of his face she felt the muscles under the pale skin twitch in response and his eyes fluttered open. "Your awake." She said smiling softly. "Yeah." He smiled and sat up stiffly before turning his whole body to face her. "So what now, Hmmm?" He said and his smile faltered the slightest bit. Sakura bit her lips and trough a twig into the fire. "I don't know. I can't just let you escape, they'd have me on trial for high treason." Deidara nodded. "Then just let them take me back to Konaha. I'll just be a prisoner for a while, I can make it out, Hmmm.?" He said smiling Sakura's favorite crooked smile. Sakura felt her heart flutter and then sick back down again. "Tsunade won't let you live long. When she realizes that you wont talk she'll have you executed." Deidara looked puzzled. "But isn't it the law that you must keep all captured S-class criminals alive for interrogation for at least five years, Hmmm?" Sakura let her head fall in shame. "It is. Unless you have reasonable cause. Like rape." She was so disgusted with herself for not thinking her decision through all the way. To think that she used to pride herself on her sharp mind and sly disposition. "Well why would they have a bogus charge like that?" He didn't seem to be able to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Sakura almost smiled, difficult thinking had never been his strong point. "I kind of told Tsunade that you raped me." His eyes bulged and he looked desperately at her. "Why would you do that, Hmmm!?" He yelled throwing his hands in the air. "I didn't think all the way through my actions! It was the only way I could think of to cover up for the Kekei Genkai. The only way I could cover up my mistake!" She yelled back tears springing to her eyes.
"Is that what you think of me as, Hmmm? A mistake?" His voice broke only slightly in his last sentence. Sakura reached out to grab him but he pulled away quickly. "You know I didn't mean it like that!" She pleaded with him to understand, to hear her unspoken words and apologies. "Do I Sakura?" He said turning away from her and almost catching his blonde hair on fire in the process. "Deidara, please don't do this to me! Not now I can't take it." She said shaking her head lightly back and fourth to dismiss the tears that were finding there way down her cheeks. He stayed silent and Sakura put a hand on his back. "Please. I know you understand what I meant. I love you. I can't loose you too. Lie to me! Tell me everything is going to be alright!" She screamed throwing her arms around him. She realized how weak and weepy she had been lately but she couldn't help but break so easy. She had lost so much and now she was about to loose even more, her heart couldn't take it. He turned around in her embrace and circled his arms around her. "Sakura, don't cry. I know what you meant and it will all turn out all right. I can't really tell you how it will because I don't know, but we'll be alright." Sakura pulled her face out of his shoulder and looked up at his face. He was smiling again and Sakura's heart stuttered rapidly. Sakura felt her friends chakra approaching and she pulled away from her lover. "The others are coming, you should pretend to be asleep." He nodded and plopped down in what looked like a painful manner. "Be careful." He chuckled and then all was quiet.
"Sakura something incredible has happened. All but this one and one other of the Akatsuki are dead." Shikamaru reported no sooner than his face became visible in the cave. Beside her Deidara shot up and stared wildly at the three approaching ninja. On Akamaru's back was a bag and it was soaked through with blood. "What's in the bag?" Sakura questioned as Kiba settled it onto the ground. "Their heads. There were six with red hair, and it doesn't add up like it should." Shikamaru's face held a look of bewilderment. "The red heads are leader-sama, or known as Pein, he had six body that could all act as one, Hmmm." Deidara's eyes were on the ground and they held a strange emptiness Sakura had never seen in them as he nodded his head. "And the blue one is Kisame." Kiba added in. Deidara nodded. "And we're missing Hidan, Sasori, Orochimaru, and Itachi." Deidara nodded again, his face still empty of anything. "The plant head was Zetsu, The woman was Konan, And the one with the mask was Tobi, Hmmm." Neji's face twisted up slightly. "There was no masked one. He must be the one that did that to them." Deidara looked up suddenly. "Tobi did this to them, Hmmm? I never thought it possible." Shikamaru looked at Deidara his face puzzled. "Why are you telling us this?" A smile graced the blondes face. "Because it's not like it'll get me killed to talk now, Hmmm. There're all dead. It can't hurt any of them now." Sakura wanted so badly to comfort the man before her but she knew she could not. Deidara may not have liked many in the organization after Sasori died but it was still the closest thing he had ever come to a family. She knew no matter how much he disliked some of them he was hurting right now because he had no where left to return to. "Your cooperation will be held into account at your sentencing." Deidara nodded and rose to his feet. "Is it possible to get back to Konaha tonight, Hmmm?" Sakura looked at him puzzled. "If Tobi killed the others he'll be after me, Hmmm.? And he'll kill you too if you get in the way." Sakura got the feeling that if it had just been the guys and Deidara he wouldn't have opened his mouth and they all would have died. She mentally thanked Tsunade for assigning her this mission and un-knowingly saving her loves life along with the lives of three great Konaha shinobi.
"Well we need to leave right away then. Kiba get those heads back on Akamaru.." He pointed at Deidara. "You ride on his back too." Sakura was the only one who noticed the man cringe. He nodded anyway and Sakura sighed out loud. "What's wrong?" Neji uncharacteristically asked her. "This is all just so much trouble." She took her position in between the Hyuuga and the over sized dog as they began to run. "Well when we get to Konaha Tsunade has ordered that you give her the mission briefing with Shikamaru and Kiba and I will escort the prisoner." Sakura nodded and focused her attention on avoiding the blood droplets that were leaking from the bag. "Oh and Sakura, I know about the baby." Neji said in a voice only she could hear. "And I know you lied to Tsunade." Sakura turned to look at him and almost fell from the tree she was standing on. "What ..what do you mean?" He voice was hoarse and her throat was tight. "Sakura I know the truth about you and him."