Thank you maxridelover, oOtsmOo, and Odious Feline for reviewing! And Odios Feline I couldn't find where I initially said that it was spring, but I did see where I switched it to fall and that's fine! It definitely was supposed to be spring at the time! Thank you for catching that!

Deidara and Tobi were just about to the village. One of his large birds carried the unconscious Two Tail Jinchuriki. She had been a handful and it annoyed him to no end. He didn't even want to go on the mission in the first place, but it was a good escape to continue to keep his skills strong. He admitted to himself that she was a formidable foe, she just wasn't strong enough to be him. He chuckled slightly at that thought as he put one foot in front of the other.

One thing that he didn't expect was that other ninja had tried to attack them on their way back to Konoha. There really was a war brewing. He and Tobi didn't wear Leaf Village hitai-ate, but it clearly had spread that they were in Konoha and were now considered a threat. The old bag would probably be interested in knowing that little tidbit. So far, three groups of ninja had tried to attack them on their way back. Of course none of them had been successful, but he was dangerously low on clay. They were pretty tired as well from all the fights.

Deidara brushed his blonde locks over his shoulder. It sure was starting to get hot and the stupid Akatsuki robe he wore seemed to hold in heat. When looking off in the distance, he could see the heat waves making everything look blurry. The insects chirped loudly in the forest surrounding them. Luckily the woods had a bit of a canopy to shield them from the beating sun. Only about an hour left before he got back to the village. He wondered what Sakura was up to. They left off on pretty good terms for once. At first, he liked to get on her nerves because he just liked to get her riled up. It was funny how easily she was set off. After a while, he kind of looked forward to seeing her.

Then there was that moment back at the bar. Had he really meant what he said? No, it had to be because of the alcohol. He was blitzed off his ass and barely remembered some parts of that night. They'd have to do that again sometime.

"I can't want to see Sakura-chan!" Tobi exclaimed while hoping excitedly from one foot to the other.

It was weird when that idiot did that. Somehow he seemed to be able to say what Deidara was thinking sometimes. It was really fucking creepy. "Why are you excited to see Sakura?"

"I just have a lot of fun with her," Tobi explained. "She's so nice to Tobi. She's nice to all of the Akatsuki…except Hidan-san."

"Tch," Deidara scoffed. "He deserves it. He's such an asshole."

Tobi nodded solemnly in agreement. The two Akatsuki members walked side by side into the warm morning, hoping to get home soon before it got too hot.

Sakura wrung her hands together as she paced back in forth. Her cascading coral hair got in her way each time she turned and she annoyingly flipped it over her shoulder for the umpteenth time. She stopped for a moment, serious expression in her green orbs. Pink eyebrows furrowed in seriousness as she bit her lip. Deidara and Tobi were back and on their way to the lab with the Matatabi Jinchuriki. This would be their first test of the machine to see if they would be able to extract the Tailed Beast's chakra without killing the host. Sakura looked over at Shizune, who also had a serious expression on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and when the door opened, they both turned their gazes to the sound. In walked Tobi and Deidara. Tobi jumped up and down twice before running to the younger medic.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura just realized that both Tobi and Konan referred to her as Sakura-chan. If they were going to use honorifics, it should have been "san", but for some reason it didn't bother her coming from Tobi, or Konan for that matter. The masked man wrapped his arms around her. That did bother her.

"Tobi get off," Sakura commanded.

Tobi pulled Sakura to arm's length. "But Tobi has missed you so much!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's only been like two weeks."

Tobi dramatically dropped to his knees. "Two weeks too long!"

"Get up, you dork," Sakura said while pulling the man to his feet by his robe.

"Still just as mean as ever."

Sakura looked up to see familiar blonde hair and cocky grin. He had the Two Tails tossed precariously over his shoulder as he entered the room. Sakura didn't have time to respond. When she saw the Jinchuriki, she knew they needed to get started. Snarky banter could always be done later. Sakura pointed to the chair that was connected to the chakra separator machine that the research division had made for them.

"Put her there," she instructed while moving over to the right side of the machine.

"Aww, no sassy comeback?" Deidara teased as he did what he was told.

Sakura's expression remained serious. "Not now, we have a mission to see through."

Deidara was impressed. The look on her fact let him know that now was not the time for games. Not like he cared, but being with her in a science lab didn't sound like a smart place to poke fun at her. She might throw him into something that might burn his skin or cause extra growths. Sakura and Shizune began hooking up little pads to the unconscious Jinchuriki after securely strapping down her arms, legs, and head. The little pads went on each of her chakra points and after a few moments, Sakura nodded at Shizune.

"Here's goes," the older woman said as she pulled the lever on the side down.

The machine whirred to life, each of the laser heads swiveling around before pointing at each of the pads. A bright red beam shot from each one and the dark blonde woman arched her back and cried out. Her eyes shot open wide as the lasers began to slowly move down the trail of her chakra network. The red lasers began to turn blue at the pads before inching upwards until they were at the pointer's holder. Blue chakra began to seep into the clear glass collection tank.

"We did it!" Sakura cheered.

"We didn't do anything until she comes out of this alive with our intended results," Shizune said solemnly.

Sakura knew she was right and turned to watch the Jinchuriki. She felt bad for her. If she remembered right, the woman strapped to the table name was named Yugito. Sakura felt her heart sink at the sounds of her screams. She watched her thrash about and hoped that they were indeed going to be able to save her. They didn't know how long the process would take, but at the rate it was going, probably a long time. Sakura's gaze fixed on the container and she frowned as a purplish color began to seep through. The Tailed Beast chakra was blue, but now it was turning violet so that must have meant that Yugito's chakra color was red and hers was being pulled out still connected to the beast's chakra. Soon there was no chakra filtering through at all.

"On no," Shizune said while moving to her side. "Turn it off!"

Sakura immediately jumped from her spot and switched the lever. When the lasers stopped, Yugito was breathing heavily and red lines lined her skin where the chakra network was. Shizune placed her hand on Yugito's arm.

"It completely burnt her chakra network," she stated before dropping her hand to her side. "Her chakra is stagnant. We've failed."

Those words echoed in her mind over and over again. Why in the world would the machine burn the chakra network? It seemed to have been working just fine at first. Sakura watched in silence as Shizune put the woman in a medically induced coma while she struggled against her restraints. When she relaxed, Shizune's dark gaze met Sakura's.

"We'll have the research team look into it and see what went wrong," she said. "This woman will have to go through the Akatsuki's normal route of retrieving the beast.

Sakura nodded numbly before turning and leaving the lab. She exited and walked down the Akatsuki hallway. Luckily no one came to her because she really was not in the mood for company. They could have saved her life, but something went wrong and now she was going to be a casualty of a war that hadn't really started yet. Sakura dragged herself along and became lost in her thoughts. Was there something she could have done to save her? Maybe she didn't research enough or…

"Do not blame yourself Sakura."

The pinkette looked up to see that she had walked into the training forest. She recognized that voice, but she couldn't see him. "Where are you Zetsu?"

About five feet away, he immerged from a large oak tree half way, his bottom half still submerged within the tree's surface. Sakura walked over to a tree on the opposite side and leaned against it while crossing her legs in front of her. The sun was beaming down, causing a sheen of sweat to bead on her forehead. Thankfully, there was a breeze, but it was warm as well. The medic watched as Zetsu moved through the ground to stop in front of her.

"Everything happens for a reason. It's not your fault. Instead of moping about your failure, it should give you motivation to try harder."

"I sure feel like it is," she breathed while trying not to show that she was on the verge of tears. "I just don't want anyone to die."

"That's not possible in a war."

"I know, but it doesn't stop me from wishing it anyway."

Zetsu moved to Sakura's right side before coming out of the ground to sit next to her. His different colored orbs gazed in front of him at first before he turned and looked at her. "Don't tell me you're going to sit here and wallow. That doesn't sound like you."

Sakura frowned. "You don't know me."

"I know a lot more than you think," Zetsu answered.

"Yeah, but you don't actually know me," Sakura countered. "I know you're the recorder and spy for the Akatsuki and you may know some things about me, but don't sit here and try to tell me you know me!"

"Well isn't that the same thing?" Zetsu questioned while turning to face her.

Sakura did the same and turned to face the much larger male. She propped her elbows up on her thighs and looked off in the distance before locking eyes with Zetsu once more. "It's not. Once you really get to know someone, you know more than just their generic information. You can read them. You know what things they'll like or won't like. You'll know how to make them genuinely laugh. And you'll care about them. "

Zetsu listened intently. He didn't know anything about that. All he had was himself…well he was technically two beings forced into one, but still. All he had was himself. He was working for Pein, but that didn't mean anything. Pein counted on him because of his loyalty and agreement with the ultimate plan. He didn't know what was meant to truly know someone. He thought he knew the people he hunted well. He knew about their families, about their abilities, their stature, even things like their childhood. He didn't truly understand what Sakura was saying because he had never experienced something like that.

"Can you show me what this is? I want to see what it means to know someone."

Sakura looked up at him curiously. "Haven't you ever had a friend?"

"None that I can think of."

That was honestly the saddest thing she had heard. It reminded her of Naruto so many years ago. She wondered if Zetsu experienced any of the same things her best friend had. Going your whole life without a friend sounded impossible and extremely lonely to her. Well, she had to get to know the Akatsuki anyway if she was going to be working with them and expecting their assistance during war so what could it hurt?

"Sure, we can be friends." Sakura stood to her feet and brushed off the back of her shorts. "Have you gotten a chance to check out the Yamanaka flower shop yet?"

"I haven't," he spoke while also getting to his feet.

"Let's go," Sakura called. "It will be a good way to get my mind off of what happened earlier."

Zetsu and Sakura spent over an hour at the flower shop. Honestly, it had never interested Sakura before. In fact, going into the shop often caused her allergies to act up, but it was interesting to see how interested Zetsu was in the plants. Ino was there when they stopped by and seemed to immediately grow attached to Zetsu despite his appearance. They chatted a lot as they moved from row to row, studying different plants. The duo colored man ended up buying quite a few. He even showed Sakura some that she could use for medicinal herbs. She knew a few tricks of the trade from all her years as a medic, but it never hurt to learn something new. Zetsu promised that the next time he got injured, he would show her how to mix some herbs to form an antibiotic cream that fought infection if a medic ninja wasn't available.

That little trip made her feel much better and as she headed home, Zetsu's words echoed through her mind. She had to stop blaming herself and move forward. They would just have to figure out what happened. The research team currently had Yugito before the Akatsuki got to take her Tailed Beast to study why the machine may have completely charred her chakra network. She nodded to herself, fully looking forward to what the research team would find so they could regroup and try again.

The sun was high in the sky and the heat was sweltering. Sakura was drenched in sweat just from walking around with Zetsu. A dip in the nearby lake sounded like a great idea. What better way to cool off than to dive head first into the water's crystal clear embrace. Her feet moved as if they were on auto pilot. It was the waterfall that Yamato had made during Naruto's training to better learn his affinity for wind chakra nature. It was a nice little touch and the water was luke warm. It made it so much easier to swim in.

It didn't take long for her to weave her way through the thick woods and maneuver quietly through its mass of trees. The smell of pine invaded her nostrils as the sound of leaves crunching underneath her feet sounded in her ears. She also could hear the sound of rushing water softly in the distance. Sakura continued to familiar path and soon came to a clearing. In front of her, the large waterfall was thundering softly and falling gracefully into the pool below. The closer she got, the more relaxed she felt. She didn't have a swim suit to change into, but her red spaghetti strapped shirt and the shorts she was wearing would probably work.

Sakura stopped at the edge of the water and pulled her long hair into a bun. She looked down at her shorts to realize that they were too uncomfortable to swim comfortably in. She was wearing black underwear shorts and they could pass for shorts, although they would be quite high. Green eyes embraced a thoughtful expression as she weighed the pros and cons of swimming in her underwear. She had never seen anyone here any time she came unless she came in the evening. It was only two o'clock in the afternoon so she was sure that no one would come.

"Why not?" Sakura said to herself as she kicked off her shoes and shimmied her shorts off.

The medic stepped out of them and didn't think twice before diving in. Despite the pool of the waterfall being longer than having width, its depth was pretty impressive. The warm water slid over her as she swam underneath the surface. She could see little colorful fish swimming around her, almost losing her breath from wanting to giggle at the tickling sensation when a fish brushed against her. She broke the surface for air and wiped her face. As soon as she did, there was a splash behind her. Sakura's eyes shot open and she turned around. At first, whatever had jumped in went underwater. Her cheeks flared brightly when she saw bright yellow hair coming up.

"This is nice yeah?"

"What are you doing here Deidara?!" Sakura exclaimed while covering her chest even though she still had a shirt on.

He chuckled and slicked his hair back. "This looked like a nice spot for a swim."

"You were following me!" she accused.

Deidara gave her a smirk. "I don't think so. I'd like to think we just happened to be walking to the same place."

Sakura shook her head vigorously back and forth. "If that were the case, I would have felt your chakra. You masked it! Why would you need to mask your chakra if we just happened to be going in the same direction?!"

"Okay, you got me," Deidara answered. "I like how you were trying to keep such a nice place to yourself."

"You're impossible!"

Sakura swam surface and stomped out. That jerk! Why in the world was he always following her and showing up out of nowhere? She figured he would want to go relax and enjoy being off his mission, but no, he had to immediately start getting under her skin. And to think she had actually noticed he was gone while he was on his mission.

"I didn't miss him."

"Didn't miss who, hmm?"

Sakura jolted and whirled around to see Deidara standing a few feet behind her. If her face could turn the color of a fucking tomato blushing, it would have. Deidara was not wearing any underwear. In fact, he wasn't wearing anything. Just his skin sweater. Sakura turned away as fast as she could.

"Would you put some damn clothes on?! Who doesn't wear underwear?!"

"Not me, "he answered from behind her. "It's too hot for underwear underneath my robe."

"Then get in with the whole damn thing on!"

Deidara chuckled and did put his clothes back on. That startled Sakura enough that she wanted nothing more than to go home and hide underneath a blanket on her couch with a cup of tea. She turned around once Deidara was dressed and went to go get her shorts. It was then that she realized that she was still in her underwear.

"Don't look!" she demanded while sprinting to her abandon shorts.

"Too late," Deidara answered while crossing his arms over his chest. "I was following you remember?"

Sakura put two and two together. That peeping tom saw her when she took off her shorts to begin with! "You pig!"

She ran at him, fist humming with chakra. She threw hard rights and powerful kicks at him, but he simply dodged, which threw her anger into an all-out rage.

"Hey!" he shouted as he dodged another kick. "You're the one who decided to strip out in the open!"

"Shut up!" she roared.

Sakura punched the Earth beneath them and it began to crumble like an earthquake had just struck. Deidara's balance wobbled for a bit before he jumped backwards to avoid the breaking ground. He landed, but not far enough away to avoid her again. Sakura moved like lightning towards him and punched him square in the jaw. He went flying and was stopped gracefully with a hard smack against an unforgiving tree. Sakura moved over to him, dusting off her hands.

"That will teach you," she said while turning away in order to try and get her shorts again.

"You cheated!" he shouted. "I don't even have any clay on me!"

"Why would you not have your weapon on you?" Sakura asked nonchalantly while finally pulling her shorts up her wet legs. "You are a ninja aren't you?"

"Well I didn't think I would need it around you!" he snapped as he slid down the tree and held a hand to his back.

Sakura paused at that. "Why not?"

"I ran out during the trip and didn't bother to go make more," he answered. "Plus I don't attack people I like unlike you."

Did he just say he liked me?

Sakura wanted to know in what context. Did he like her as you would a friend or someone you worked with or was it more than that? The question lingered on her tongue, but she held it back knowing he would probably just pick on her for it. Well she guessed the least she could do was heal him. She honestly wasn't afraid to be in her underwear around most people, but it was different for some reason because it was Deidara. Why did that matter? Sakura pulled herself from her thoughts as she walked back over to a limping Explosionist.

His sky blue orbs gazed down at her. "Are you going to hit me again, yeah?"

"No," she answered quietly.

She walked behind him and placed her hands against the sides of his spine. She had tweaked it pretty good. She eased her chakra gently into the large area she knew was bruised and gently massaged his spine with her right hand. It would help to loosen up the tight muscles after they healed. She heard a small sigh from the blonde man in front of her and realized he was leaning into her hand. It would be much easier to fix the injury she caused him if he wasn't wearing his robe.

"Take the robe off," she instructed.

Deidara looked over his shoulder at her. "Didn't you just attempt to break my back for not wearing clothes?"

Sakura sucked in her cheeks. "No, I attempted to paralyze you for peeking on me!"

Deidara shook his head and unzipped his Akatsuki robe. Underneath it was a black half shirt like what Sai wore and a mesh undershirt. Sakura reached underneath his two tops so her hands were against his slightly damp skin. She used both hands this time to massage deep into the muscle after making sure she fully corrected the small injury to his spine. She could feel his taunt muscles relaxing under her gentle touch. His skin was smooth and warm. She didn't know if the warmth came from the atmosphere or that was just him naturally.

"You should give me a full back massage," Deidara said over his shoulder. "I think you owe me after this."

"I don't owe you anything!" she snapped.

Even still, her hands didn't move from his back. They seemed to be moving all on their own. Suddenly Deidara turned around and grasped Sakura's wrists. She looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," he answered, single sky blue orb locking with hers.

Sakura's heart began to beat faster when she noticed that he was leaning down towards her. First, their foreheads touched, wet hair plastered against each of them. Then he placed her hands against his chest and grasped her elbows, closing the distance between them. Sakura wasn't sure what to do. Had anyone else tried this, she would have knocked them into next week. There was something about his closeness and the way he gazed at her. It wasn't that cocky arrogant expression he normally wore.

They were so close that she could feel his breath fanning against her face.

"Ho ho ho! What did I walk into?!"

Sakura and Deidara separated as if they had just electrocuted each other. They turned to see Kisame standing there with Samehada in hand. He had a wide grin on his face. "You have a thing for blondes, Pinky?"

"Shut up Kisame!" she shouted while turning away.

"She didn't deny it!" he howled and he doubled over and laughed.

"Why are you hear Kisame, hmm?"

Kisame managed to contain himself before standing up straight and saying, "The research team will be finished with the Two Tails in the next two hours. Leader wants us to prepare to seal it."

Deidara turned and looked at Sakura. He gave her a smirk before walking off with Kisame, leaving a confused woman to stand there and mull over what just happened.

Whoo! I'm starting to realize I love writing fluff, holy shit. I hope you enjoyed it!