Chapter Ten: Auld Lang Syne

"Eww, that looks disgusting!" Sakura sat perched on her stool in the Akatsuki kitchen across from her partner who was drawing a rather gruesome diagram of the effects of one of his new poison concoctions when used on a human. The skin of the human in the diagram had melted off into thick puddles of jelly except for a few patches. The poor soul that he was capturing in the drawing looked in so much agony that it was as if he was praying for death, "How could you ever use something like that?!"

"I already have or else I wouldn't know what the outcome was," He answered her question as if it was nothing, as if it was something he saw everyday. When Sakura really thought about it he probably did, poison was his specialty after all. She had only been on one mission with him so far that involved combat and the things that he did to his victims wasn't something a normal human could stomach. Becoming one of his puppets would have been a blessing compared to being torn to shreds, "If you cannot handle it you may excuse yourself."

The pink haired kunoichi had gotten on his nerves a lot in the past few days. She was bored, there was only so much one could do cooped up inside at Headquarters. Sasori would not allow her to venture out past the grounds alone as she was still considered a flight risk, which limited her activity list considerably. It was probably Pein who had ordered such precautions to be taken but it was Sasori who enforced them so she took note to annoy him to the best of her ability.

"I like mine better, it's nice and happy," A four year old could have beaten Sakura in an art contest; she had drawn a field of flowers with her and Naruto standing in the middle of it. She had used all the brightly colored pencils that Sasori wouldn't touch to make the scene seem pleasant and warm and was pleased enough with the outcome that she signed her name in the bottom corner, "You should lighten your's up a little."

Sasori stopped shading for a moment to look up at her. It was apparent that he didn't feel the same way she did, he was perfectly happy with the horrific appearance of his picture. Instead he seemed rather disturbed at Sakura's work, flowers and vivid colors were not his cup of tea, "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because, it would make it look better," Sakura snatched his drawing out from under his hand and examined it. She picked out a few colored pencils and began drawing hearts, flowers, and rainbows around the shrieking man. When she held up the new, fixed version to him his jaw dropped slightly and he grabbed it back to further examine her new inserts, "What is this?!"

"See, it looks better now."

"That doesn't look better at all; you've gone and ruined it."

"I did not! It looks much happier now…sorta."

"How am I supposed to categorize a poison that causes skin to liquefy and for flowers to grow out of the body?!"

"Well I don't know. That isn't my problem now is it?"

"It's going to be your problem in a moment if you don't fix it."

"I don't get what the big deal is."

"How would you like it if I drew a giant serpent engulfing your friend in your picture, would you like that?"

"You wouldn't dare! I'll—"

"You'll what? Throw a bouquet at me?"

"I think it looks a lot better now!"

"Your opinion doesn't matter; I needed this to display the effects of the poison in order to classify it. I have devised several different—"

He stopped in mid-sentence as Sakura had snatched the paper back from him, stood up and threw open one of the kitchen drawers. Sasori watched as the heated kunoichi pulled a roll of tape out and cut a piece of it off to attach to the picture. She then proceeded over to the refrigerator and taped the picture on the door. Turning, arms crossed and frowning, Sakura looked somewhat satisfied in angry sort of way, "There, now you don't have to categorize it."

'That asshole…'

Sakura was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling of her room. She was still fuming over the fact that he hadn't appreciated her adding on to his diagram. What was the big deal? It was a joke! It wasn't as though he couldn't duplicate it, he didn't even need to; he already knew what the effects of his stupid poison were.

'Ugh! That jerk, I'm going to kill him!'

But as she continued to think about him her irritation began to wane instead of wax. It frustrated her, she was supposed to be mad at him but instead she found herself beginning to worry if she had really angered him. She wanted for him to commend her actions, not condemn them; she couldn't even begin to fathom as to why she desired his approval.

'Just wait… When Naruto and the others come to save me… It'll be me who kills him…'

Why was it that she couldn't ever stop thinking about the puppet master? Lately she just couldn't put him out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried. She tried to ignore the way her heart pounded when she was around him, how the butterflies in her stomach fluttered and flapped their wings whenever she even thought about him. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't stop the feelings that she was beginning to feel towards him. They were just like the ones she had a few years back when she was infatuated with Sasuke Uchiha. The same feelings that she had vowed never to feel again because with them came all that pain.

'I'm supposed to hate him; he's my captor…But…I don't…'

Now they were back and it seemed like there was nothing she could do about it no matter how hard she tried. There were two options, she could either feed the fire and admit it, or ignore them and stay in denial. Which was the best for her? She didn't know. If she did admit it there was a chance that she would find her heart broken all over again which was something she never wanted to happen for a second time. On the other hand if she stayed in denial and he did feel that way then it was just as bad.

'What should I do? I need someone to tell me what to do!'

Before he died he had told her and Chiyo that his heart was as cold as the body that he inhabited, but was it still? He was a mass murderer and yet he was kind to her, even if he wasn't very straightforward about it, he had purchased her such an expensive gift after all that had to mean she meant something to him, right? After all, how many people give their friends heart-shaped diamond necklaces?

'Sasori, you jerk…'

She twisted her precious necklace around her finger; it was a new nervous habit of hers. During the previous night she had come up with a plan that would take her a step further towards discovering what his emotions for her really were. Of course, in order for her to take that sort of action she would have to admit to herself that she did have feelings for him.

'Maybe… No…'

For the past hour she had ran the plan through her head over and over again. If it happened exactly as she pictured it would then she would be able to get him thinking. He would run the situation through his own head, maybe not as many times as she was doing, and it would cause him to question himself…hopefully. But if he didn't or the operation failed then there was a chance that it would become very awkward between the two of them. It would be a chance she would have to take though.

'But… He can't have emotions like that… He never will… He's an s-ranked criminal… He's a murderer…'

What was the chance that he would ever return the feelings that she was denying at the moment? He might be polite and kind to her but that didn't necessarily mean anything. In reality he could have been ordered by Pein to act like that towards her. He could secretly hate her with all of his heart. She had killed him, that wasn't something you just forget overnight.

'But even if that was so… Then why did he give me this?'

Sakura unclasped the necklace around her neck and held it in her palm, examining it. She still couldn't get over how beautiful it was, there was nothing quite like it. The color of the red diamond matched his hair and eyes; she just wondered if it matched the color of his heart, maybe it was still as black as it had been a few months prior.

'If I admit it…'

If she admitted it there would be no turning back. She would be vulnerable to having her heart broken again, but was that a risk she was willing to take? Did he mean that much to her? It had only been a few months since she had come to live with the Akatsuki and yet in that time she had come to see the good in the puppet master, the side that he tried to hide from the others, the part of him that wasn't a mass murderer.

'It's final…'

Sasuke Uchiha had broken her heart but she had recovered enough to try again. The Uchiha had been cold and emotionless however Sasori took those two words to a whole new level. Even though they had both lost their parents at a young age, Sasuke hadn't annihilated entire countries like the Scorpion had.

'That's it then, there's…'

But even so, one cannot rid the body and soul of any sort of emotion no matter how hard one might try. Sakura had witnessed that first hand right before the death of Zabuza Momochi on the Great Naruto Bridge. It was possible to conceal emotions, to hide them away, but no one, no matter how cold or evil, could banish them from the heart. She would bring those emotions he had sworn to have rid himself of to the surface.

'…no turning back…'

Sitting up, she clutched the diamond necklace tightly as she fought back a smile. It wouldn't happen again, she wouldn't let it. She wouldn't feel the same pain that she had felt over Sasuke this time. This time would be different, she knew it. This time she had a battle plan.

'Aishiteru, Akasuna no Sasori …'

"Put that over there."

Kisame, Hidan, and Sakura were arranging the explosives they had purchased in Amegakura for the fireworks display that would go on later that night. Unlike the Christmas festivities that the two of them had put up such a fight against, they were more than happy to celebrate New Years Eve now that they knew it involved fire and blowing things up. Anything to do with danger the Akatsuki had no quarrel with, especially if there was the chance that they could blow Tobi to smithereens.

The fireworks that they had purchased weren't exactly sparklers and snakes, they were as heavy duty as they came with labels all over them warning about the hazards that they could cause. The three of them picked them out; in fact they had basically purchased the whole store. Everyone had pooled their money together to pay for them; Sakura contributed what little she had left. They didn't come cheap but in the long run they'd be worth it, especially if her plan worked.

"Hidan, you idiot! Watch where you're going with that!" Kisame snarled, the sadistic masochist had nearly knocked him over as he was carrying one too many of the fireworks. Hidan always had to get things over with as fast as possible no matter how reckless and careless he was; after all he had nothing to worry about due to his immortality. Shame he wasn't the same way when it came to those lengthy rituals he did to repent for his sins.

"Shut the fuck up Kisame," Hidan threw the fireworks down onto the snow. "You have a fucking problem with the way I fucking do things?"

'Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have had the two of them working together…'

"Kisame, Hidan! Calm down, both of you." Sakura intervened between the two of them, there was sure to be a fight if she didn't do something about it. "We're almost done, let's just finish up."

Her words made no impact whatsoever. Kisame already had Samehada in hand and Hidan his three crescent scythe. There was no helping it so Sakura just stood back, shaking her head in worry. The two of them were obviously not serious about the fight but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be blood.

The shark man made the first move, swinging his sword straight down at Hidan who caught it with his own weapon. Gritting their teeth and taking a sturdy stance, both men attempted to overpower the other with their strength. After what seemed like ages they both pulled back and charged back again. Hidan swung his scythe at Kisame whom jumped over its blades and managed to shave off a portion of the immortal's robes and skin on his shoulder.

The two of them made a long turn into a half circle and met up again, swinging their weapons at each other only to dodge them and turn to make another half circle and repeat the attack.

Both of them had their weapons out in front of them like a knight with a javelin when a large blur appeared from what seemed like nowhere and stopped them right in their tracks, holding on to the weapons and rattling from the output of strength that the two of them were producing.

"Enough."

The three of them turned to see Sasori, standing with blue chakra strings emitting from his fingertips, looking rather cross. It was one of his puppets that had interfered with their attack, as the two opponents relaxed it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. They looked from each other to Sakura, confused looks on their faces.

"Must I babysit you two constantly?" The puppet master growled, his normally dead eyes now filled with fire. Sakura didn't understand what had made him so angry, neither did Hidan and Kisame by the looks of it, there were fights all the time between the members of the organization; he had never acted in such a way before when one had broke out. "Such a simple task and the two of you cannot get it done without a fight."

Sasori walked over and inspected their setup of the fireworks; he seemed satisfied at their work because he made no comment. As he turned to face Sakura his expression looked somewhat softened, "Leader requests that you attend to Itachi, his eyes need to be examined again."

The Akatsuki infirmary was a tiny room near the wing of the complex where Pein, Konan, Zetsu, and Tobi's bedrooms were located. Its walls were painted white and cabinets lined them filled with a large supply of various medications, painkillers, and tools used for stitching up minor wounds. If any of them truly had any big gashes or injuries the supplies just weren't adequate to heal them. Before Sakura had moved in she suspected that if anything really damaging had happened they would have certainly had to go to a hospital or call in a surgeon or something. She would have liked to have seen that sight: some surgeon operating on one of the members nearly shitting their pants from fear.

"I don't understand why you're telling me this," The ex-Konoha-nin sat on the table in the center of the infirmary. "I do not care about your personal affairs, tell someone else instead."

"It doesn't matter if you care or not, I'm the one healing your eyes here. You're going to give me your opinion whether you like it or not. I can make you go permanently blind if you'd rather me do that," Sakura increased the amount of healing chakra in her fingertips. Itachi's sight had significantly improved since she had started healing his eyes, it would never be back to normal but he wouldn't have to walk around half-blind now. The strain that the Sharingan put on the eyes was incredible; it was almost as if the bloodline trait was a curse rather then an asset. "Now, do you think it will work or not?"

"Do not get your hopes up, Sakura," Itachi was the only one Sakura could really come to for advice, for the exception of Sasori but then again she wouldn't want to ask him for suggestions on her little plan…that wouldn't go over very well. It was a good thing she had been summoned to work on his eyesight. She supposed she could have asked Tobi, but that whole seriousness bit might have just been a fluke or something, however Kisame and Hidan were completely out of the question. Not only would they give horrible advice and make fun of her, but both of them wouldn't hesitate to tell the whole town, including Sasori. Itachi might not be thrilled to hear her worries and woes but he didn't have a choice. "However, if it does go smoothly as planned, he will at least reflect on situation and question your intentions."

"That's what I figured."

"Yes, and as promised I will carry out my part of your plan. Mind you, I will only do what you have asked because you have improved my eyesight."

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes; Itachi was a piece of work. She lightened the chakra output slowly down to nothing and then pulled back. Itachi's opinion helped calm her nerves a bit; he had at least confirmed what she had anticipated to happen. But even with his input she was still mentally shaking in her boots, it was a huge risk that she would be taking even though the actual task was fairly simple. Even if it was correctly executed there was still a big chance that it could fail and the puppet master would never speak to her again, "You're all done for today."

"We should get going," Sasuke Uchiha frowned, watching the crouched over Suigetsu Houzuki tend to a mourning dove with a broken wing. How foolish, what was the point anyways? The bird would soon die from the shock of not only being attacked but being held by a human. He turned to look over at Jugo and Karin, both who were looking somewhat impatient, Karin much more than Jugo. "We need to make it to Sunagakura within the next three days; at the rate we're going it'll take us at least a week."

Suigetsu let the frightened mourning dove take cover under an evergreen bush and stood up. Didn't they have any sympathy for the poor animal? They would make it to Sunagakura on time; a short stop wouldn't hurt anyone. How were they supposed to make Sasuke's 'brilliant' plan work anyways? They would never get the two members alone, especially not Sakura Haruno who would be heavily guarded.

"Sasuke-kun? Couldn't you just kill Itachi? Do we really need to bother with the other brat?" Karin asked, her timid tone incredibly fake. She did not want another girl to interfere with her chance at the Uchiha; it was already hard enough to get his attention. If it came down to it she could always overdose her with drugs and make her death look like an accident so she could keep Sasuke all to herself. No competition is the best competition after all.

"We have been over this already, Karin. Sakura Haruno is an asset that we cannot do without," The red headed girl was already getting on his nerves and they had only been traveling for a few days, she was such a nuisance. He didn't think he could do with two infatuated females; one was annoying enough as it was. Needless to say, they were both necessary despite how irritating they were, it would be a lot worse though once they were together with constant non-stop bickering and fighting. It was bad enough with Karin and Suigetsu always arguing.

Defeated, Karin darted off towards the east followed by the rest of Team Snake. It didn't matter anyways, she wouldn't let some brat from her love's old village steal him from her; she would make sure of that.

Akito Kurosuki sat slumped over on an old couch, it springs sticking out through the cushions in several places. He was bored, Orochimaru hadn't let him go out in days, there was nothing more that he wanted to do than go find his beloved Sakura Haruno. It had been too long since he had seen her last; he wondered how she was doing with out him. She probably missed him something dreadful, but that would all be fixed in due time. His rescue of her wasn't a matter of how it was a matter of when; he would save her from that wretched Akasuna no Sasori and his little Akatsuki friends. How dare they keep her from him? They would pay for keeping her hostage, he would see to that.

'Oh my dearest Sakura-chan, I hope you're managing without me…'

He ran his finger down one of the blades of his deceased brother's swords, watching the blood drip onto the floor from the cut he had just made. Orochimaru would need to send him out soon enough; his arms needed healing after all. The Sannin was pretty much useless without his jutsus, although he still sent fear into the hearts of all who opposed him. If he didn't have Kabuto and himself Orochimaru would be rather vulnerable, villages like Konohagakura wouldn't hesitate to send out troops if he was all by himself.

Licking the blood off the blade, his grey eyes narrowed as his lips curled into a grin. The pink haired kunoichi from Konoha would be his in no time. He would spoil her like no one else could; she would have a life fit for a queen. She wouldn't have to long for his return for much longer; he would come for her soon. No one would get in his way of making his dream become a reality, not even Akasuna no Sasori.

'Don't worry, my precious Sakura-chan. I'll rescue you from the Red Dawn's clutches…'

The Kyuubi container flung open the door to the Godaime's office, "Tsunade-baachan!"

"Calm down, Naruto," The Toad Sage ordered, grinning. He had just returned from a long mission which called for him to travel far and wide to gather information on the Akatsuki's whereabouts.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto Uzumaki jumped up and down excitedly. This was what he had been waiting for, after weeks and weeks they could finally pursue his captured friend. Jiraiya was sure to know exactly where she was after all that time he had spent away from the village, "Tsunade-baachan, does this mean we're going after Sakura-chan!?"

"Naruto, calm yourself," Kakashi Hatake appeared with a poof, Icha Icha Paradise in hand. By the look on Tsunade's face she must have called for him hours ago. "Let Jiraiya and Tsunade-sama speak before you draw any conclusions."

"Naruto," Tsunade folded her fingers together and supported her head on them. "We now know that Akatsuki Headquarters is in the area of Amegakura—"

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto headed for the door when the scruff of his collar was grabbed by Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei?! What are you doing? We have to go rescue Sakura-chan!"

"Not so fast Naruto, you can't just waltz into Akatsuki territory and challenge the entire organization," Kakashi pulled him back into the room and seated him on a chair in front of Tsunade's desk.

"That's right Naruto, it's going to take careful planning in order for us to pull this off," Jiraiya sighed, Naruto could be so rash when his emotions were high. "I know you've been waiting for a long time to rescue her, but it's going to take more than brute strength to take down the Akatsuki, we can't send out too many troops at once or the village will be rendered helpless."

"Also, remember Naruto, the Akatsuki are after you as well," Tsunade didn't know why she was bothering to tell Naruto this. Not only did he already know but he wasn't going to care anyways, his friend's life was on the line. She hesitated a moment before she said the next line, careful not to crush the Jinchuuriki's heart; it pained her as well, "Remember Naruto, Sakura is with the Akatsuki now. I know it's hard to imagine, but in reality we really don't know whose side she's on anymore."

Silence.

Naruto looked from Kakashi to Jiraiya, but neither of them would meet his gaze. That meant they also were uncertain about Sakura's loyalty. He shook his head, unable to believe that any of them could even think of the possibility, "Sakura-chan would never truly become one of them! Sakura-chan was forced to become one of them! Sakura-chan loves Konoha and its people! Sakura-chan would never betray us!"

With that he dashed out of the room, unable to be around them anymore. He knew his Sakura-chan, he knew that she had been kidnapped and forced into Akatsuki's ranks. There wasn't even the slightest possibility that she could have agreed to become one of them let alone devote herself to them.

Tsunade looked from Jiraiya to Kakashi and then nodded, "Kakashi, you are to set up the team. Jiraiya, you are to make sure that Naruto stays in the village; he is your responsibility and if anything happens to him you will be held accountable. You are excused."

The two of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving Tsunade all alone in her room behind her desk. She had papers to file and mission forms to fill out, as if her life couldn't get even more hectic now she had to worry about Naruto being reckless and going out after Sakura by himself.

'I hope you're right about Sakura, Naruto…'

Night had fallen already over Akatsuki Headquarters and the six of them stood out in the cold and snow freezing their tails off. Kisame and Hidan were fixing last minute errors in their setup of the fireworks, making sure that their launch would be completely flawless. Tobi had tried to offer his help several times but the two of them declined in a manner that was no-so-polite.

At Sakura's request, Itachi was to watch over everyone and make sure no one interfered with her plan which would probably be harder than it seemed. Tobi would most likely be running all over the yard in panic from the noise of the fireworks and Hidan and Kisame would probably be trying to tie him down to one of the larger rockets that they had. He didn't have control over what Sasori did, that would be up to Sakura and fate to handle.

"Let's go back over there so we can get a better look at them," Sakura tugged gently on the hem of Sasori's sleeve, signaling for him to follow her to the other side of the yard far away from the others. If she couldn't do that there would be no way she could accomplish what needed to be done.

Luckily for her, he followed her back near a grove of trees. She would have liked to get him actually in the woods, although that would cause him to be suspicious as they wouldn't be able to see the fireworks.

Sasori pulled out the pocket watch that Sakura had given him as a Christmas present and checked the time, "They should get going or the day will be over before they set them off."

That wouldn't be good, if there were no fireworks that would completely ruin everything. It seemed like there were a lot more things that could possibly go wrong than she had anticipated. Most of those things were in the hands of Itachi so all she could do was pray that he would do his part and that Hidan and Kisame would get the show on the road.

"Everyone ready?" Kisame called out to the four spectators, waving his hand in the air to signal that they were ready. Sakura's heart pounded faster and faster in her chest and she twirled her necklace around and around to try and calm her nerves. Everything would be fine; it would all go as planned.

Sakura saw light which meant Kisame and Hidan had struck a few matches; she braced herself and then relaxed as the sky was lit up with explosions. The dark sky was filled with the colors of red, blue, green, and white as they continued to launch them at a steady pace. Mechanically, she moved closer to the ex-Suna-nin without him noticing her.

'Step one and two…check…check…'

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Sakura asked, watching different kinds and colors explode and illuminate the night sky. They really were spectacular; she wasn't just trying to make conversation. Some of them made a screaming noise as they were shot up into the air and some of them stayed close to the ground as they showered it with burning ashes. Hidan and Kisame were going crazy, if they didn't stop sending them off so quickly they would be done before the New Year even begun.

"Yes, they are. It's been so long since I've seen fireworks, I can't even remember the last time I did," Sasori kept his eyes locked on to the sky, which was a good thing because Sakura took a step closer to him. "I think it might have been when the third Kazekage was coroneted."

"Was it as nice as this display?"

"No, I don't think there was nearly as many set off and they were all the same kind."

Minutes seemed like hours, if Sakura's anxiety level continued to go up as it was she would surely faint. Her eyes were now planted on Itachi and no longer the fireworks.

He turned a few moments later and gave her a curt nod, and then yelled something out to Hidan and Kisame.

Fireworks were being shot into the sky so fast that Sakura couldn't even begin to count them. This was it, this was the Grand Finale. Hidan and Kisame were screaming at each other, trying to hit Tobi with the remainder of the explosives. It felt as though her heart was lodged in the middle of her throat, if they stopped to look over at her and the Scorpion it would be all over for her. "What time is it? We should only have a few seconds left, right?"

Sasori pulled out his pocket watch again, nodding. He continued to stare at it for a few more moments and then began counting down. 'Step three…check…'

"Ten."

'Okay Sakura, this is it…'

"Nine."

'You can do it; you have to do it…'

"Eight."

'Just stay calm, it'll all be over in a few minutes…'

"Seven."

'It has to be done; it's the only way…'

"Six."

'I'll know soon enough…'

"Five."

'I won't be left out on a bench in the cold this time…'

"Four."

'This time will be different…'

"Three."

'I know it will be…'

"Two."

'Get ready…'

"One."

'NOW!'

"Happy—" Sasori couldn't finish his sentence because the pink haired kunoichi had pressed her lips to his. He stood in shock for a moment and then as his senses came back to him she pulled back.

'Mission accomplished…'

"Happy New Year, Sasori-san," Turning, he saw that she was smiling up at him; her cheeks were a shade of red that wasn't from the cold.

"What was that for?"

"It's a New Year's tradition, silly. If someone kisses you right at the stroke of midnight you'll have good luck all year 'round." She giggled in such a way that Sasori would have normally found incredibly annoying. He would have never expected there to be a New Year's tradition quite like that, let alone for her to use it on him. Wouldn't it have made more sense for her to use it on someone she truly cared about?

"So I have good luck then, does that mean that you do too?"

"No, you would have had to kiss me back right at midnight."

"Oh," Sasori lifted up her chin and looked her straight in the eyes, his own were centimeters from her jade ones. He closed them for a moment to take in the aroma of fresh roses that came from her hair and then opened them again; Sakura could see a mischievous look in them. Smirking, he brushed his own lips against hers and quickly pulled back, "Maybe it'll work anyways."

A/N: Looks like Sakura got even more than she had hoped for. I had to figure out a way that Sasori could 'return the favor' without completely destroying his personality…not that I haven't killed it already. xD At least I didn't have him going all 'ongz Sakura-chan I luvz j00'. xD Oh well, this story is under the 'romance' category so what do you expect?

Looks like three different groups are going to be pursuing Sakura now, she's just so popular. Akito's going to have a rude wake-up call (I seem to use that expression a lot. .) once he finds out that Sakura's got a thing for Sasori, especially now that she's actually admitted it to herself. Shame Sasori hasn't fallen for her quite yet.