TK: Good to see people are still interested in this story! I want to finish this up so that anyone who's ever read it can have closure at last. It's a story that deserves an ending. And hopefully, I can do that ending the justice that you all deserve. Here's to everyone who came back or will come back to this story to finally see what happens next!

There are two scenes from the Book in here, but they are both small. Sorry! I have the rest of the Book sections written already, so I need to space it properly throughout the remaining chapters.

There's also a Friends quote in here, for people who have the eye to spot it.

Pairing Note: So, I chose Shizune for Itachi, mostly because it's such a side, minor, tiny aspect of the story that it really shouldn't matter, but also because of her age. She's closer to Itachi in age, not that their age difference is a whole lot to begin with. I could have paired someone younger with him, but Sakura is friends with most if not all of the girls her age from the series, so it was unlikely that she wouldn't know Itachi already if that was the case. Plus the whole, him not getting on with Sasuke thing, and yeah. Basically I just wanted another couple in there so the dinner party had more than Konan and Sakura for females. Aside from this opening scene for the chapter, you probably won't see her again, so don't fuss if you don't like her paired with Itachi. It is insignificant to the story.

A Third Chance

TK Grimm

Chapter Ten:

An Emotional Dilemma

"Immortality?" said Orochimaru. He twirled a lock of his long black hair around his index finger. "I know that desire." His golden, snakelike eyes shifted to Sasori with a perceptive calmness. "It is a longing that resonates to my core. Human beings are just so… fragile. I will transcend humanity, and in doing so, achieve something far greater."

Sasori looked at his partner for a moment, only a moment, and then he resumed his work. "Perhaps for some. For me, it will be when this puppet is complete." He threaded his chakra through the empty eye sockets of the puppet. Eventually, he would carve out his own and put them there. Maybe that pain would make him feel something… anything…

"Yes, through your… art," Orochimaru recalled. He eyed the puppet briefly. It was incomplete, a ghastly half-human figure lying at Sasori's feet while the puppet master worked. "I know the desire for immortality. And I know what that desire looks like."

Sasori said nothing. He simply continued his work.

Orochimaru wore a curious expression as he regarded his teammate. "And yet I don't see that in you."

And still, Sasori did not reply. He didn't need to convince Orochimaru of anything. He just had to work with him so long as the two were partners in Akatsuki.

What Orochimaru said was true. He didn't see the desire to live forever in Sasori. Instead, all he saw was the desire to die.

It was Tuesday morning, and that meant Sakura had class before work. A few days had passed since she went to dinner with Sasori. It had been a fun night, and she was eager to see Konan again. She had read a bit more of A Third Chance, but it mostly sat untouched at her bedside. Despite having not read much of it lately, Sakura did call the library and ask to renew the book.

"Are you enjoying the read, Sakura?" Chiyo had asked her on the phone.

Sakura didn't know how to tell the old woman that she was taking a break from the book. "Well, yes, I—it's very good. It's a bit of an odd coincidence that the names of the characters are a lot of people I know, though…"

"Yes, that is an odd coincidence…"

Sakura thought about asking more about it, but she didn't know how to word the questions without sounding crazy. Instead, she simply renewed the book and ended her phone call.

At class, Sakura met up with Ino, who was happy to see her. She also saw Shizune and even invited her to sit with them, much to Ino's surprise.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" Sakura asked, smiling at her.

Shizune happily accepted. "Oh, thank you, Sakura. How have you been? I haven't seen you since the dinner party."

Ino's eyebrows rose. "Dinner party? You went to a dinner party?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Sakura said. She realized she hadn't remembered to tell Ino about it. She couldn't quite get into it there, though, because Shizune thought that she and Sasori were dating, and Ino knew they weren't. "Yes, but it was with Sasori and Deidara's friends. I'll tell you about it later, if you want."

Ino instantly looked suspicious. "Okay," she agreed. "After class, then."

The professor for this class was a woman named Tsunade. She had a famous reputation as a doctor and medical professor, and Sakura really enjoyed learning under her. Tsunade had long blonde hair and big brown eyes. She was a lot older than she looked, too. She could have been a supermodel in her twenties, but there was no way she had the experience and degrees that she did if she was under thirty years old.

Her cup size was also mythic, but Sakura wasn't going near that one with a ten foot pole.

"So," Tsunade began, "we've been studying up on EKGs for some time. Now I'd like to put what you've learned into practice. Go ahead and get with your lab partners, and I'll give you further instructions in a minute."

Tsunade assigned lab partners in the beginning of class. Sakura's partner was Shizune, which was how they'd met and become friendly. Ino was paired with a young man who was also taking the class.

"We'll be using a 12-lead electrocardiogram," said Tsunade. "Decide amongst yourself which of you will have the leads attached and then have your partner attach them. You can reference your text books if you need to."

Sakura and Shizune exchanged glances. Neither of them really wanted the electrodes attached to them, but one had to volunteer, so Sakura gave in. "I'll try it. Let's see… can you flip to the page in our book?"

"Sure," Shizune replied. While she fished through the textbook, she asked, "So how have you been?"

"Oh, really great, thanks. How about you?"

"I'm doing pretty well, too," said Shizune. "Friday night was a lot of fun." She found the page and ran her finger along the side of it. "Okay it says ten electrodes for a 12-lead ECG."

"ECG?" Sakura asked. "Oh, right, EKG is Greek. They really need to make up their minds on which abbreviation is correct. I hate having more than one answer in these classes."

"So do I," Shizune admitted. "It can get confusing. Okay, well… let's get these attached…"

The class passed fairly uneventfully. Shizune attached the electrocardiogram to Sakura, and they recorded some of the data of Sakura's heart. Tsunade walked through the various groups and made comments here and there or asked questions to make sure her students understood what they were reading.

When the class was over. Sakura had about twenty minutes to get to her next class, which was more than enough. She usually spent the twenty minutes chatting with Ino. Shizune stayed with Sakura and Ino on their break between classes. She didn't have another class for an hour, so she was glad for the company on her long break.

"This is usually when I get lunch," she explained. "It's early yet, but my next class is three hours long."

Ino looked like she'd just swallowed something particularly nasty. "Three hours? That's horrible."

"It's only once a week because it's so long," Shizune said. "But yeah, it's not fun."

"Ino and I are both done a little bit before noon," Sakura told her. "I usually grab a bite to eat and head to work. Of course, today Deidara suckered me into going to Subway for him. Lazy jerk. I should probably get something for Sasori, too."

Shizune smiled at her. "That's so nice of you. I would bring Itachi lunch if I had time between classes. But his work at the office is too far for me to get food, get to him, and get back in time for my next class."

The three of them were so preoccupied by their conversation that they didn't notice when Sasuke Uchiha, of all people, walked up to them. He was wearing a really nice gray suit that brought out the onyx in his eyes. He held a briefcase in one hand, and checked his watch on the other. "Sakura," he said, lowering his arm. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sakura's eyebrows rose. "Me? Uh, sure. What do you need Sasuke?"

A flash of irritation crossed Sasuke's face. He hadn't expected to have to talk to Sakura in front of her friends, and she apparently didn't get the hint that he wanted to speak to her privately. "I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me tonight."

Ino made some sort of squeaking noise in her throat and not-so-discretely nudged Sakura a few times with her elbow. Sakura was just as surprised. Sasuke had rejected her in high school, and now that they were in the same university, he still didn't seem to have the time for her, so she didn't know where this newfound interest was coming from.

"Err, well, I—"

"Sakura already has a boyfriend," Shizune said, frowning at Sasuke. She didn't appear to like him very much, if her facial expression and tone were anything to go by.

In a rare, once-in-a-lifetime occurance, Ino and Sasuke spoke in complete unison. "She what?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Shit.

"Uh…" she said eloquently.

"You have a boyfriend?" Sasuke asked. His tone and facial expression implied he didn't believe it.

Ino seemed to have completely forgotten Sasuke was even there. "You got a boyfriend and didn't tell me?"

Sakura saw the hurt in her best friend's eyes, and she felt bad. She should have called Ino and told her about the dinner party, but the thought hadn't even occurred to her. She assumed once the party was over, her and Sasori's façade would be over as well.

Shizune, on the other hand, was completely oblivious. "Of course," she said, sounding as if it should have been obvious. "We went to a dinner party, and Sakura was there with her boyfriend."

"I see," said Sasuke. "Well then. See you around."

"Eh—" she broke off when Sasuke turned around and started to walk away. His pace was oddly slow, as if he were waiting for someone to call his name or say something that would stop him. Sakura paid it no heed, though, because she had something more important going on. "Listen, Ino—"

"So who is it?" Ino asked. She wasn't smiling, like she usually would when she got a piece of juicy gossip. This time, Ino's face was blank, as if holding in her emotions and even anger.

Sakura made a pained noise in her throat. "Ino, I'm not—I mean—" she looked at Shizune, knowing she couldn't admit to the lie in front of her, and then back to Ino. "It's Sasori, but it's complicated."

"You're dating Sasori? Your boss?"

Shizune looked surprised. "I didn't know he was your boss."

"It's not like that!" Sakura said quickly. "Well, it is, but it's also different. I mean—"

"Let me get this straight," Ino interrupted. "So, we fought all those years ago because we both wanted Sasuke, and we were rivals and whatever. And now that we're finally BFFs again, you go and do this behind my back, and you don't even tell me about it? Have you been lying to me about Sasori this whole time? How long has this been going on?"

"It hasn't exactly…" Sakura trailed off. She couldn't deny it. "That doesn't matter. Ino, listen to me—"

Ino cut her off again. "No. I think I've heard enough. See you around, Forehead."

When Sakura finally made it to work, she'd forgotten all about getting Subway sandwiches for her and her bosses. The incident with Sasuke earlier had been a draining nightmare, and she was sure it showed. She stepped inside the studio to find Deidara playing games on her computer.

"Hey, Cherry Chick," Deidara said, pausing his game. When he caught sight of her, he actually grimaced. "Yeesh, you don't look so good… yeah. Well, come here and hug me then. I haven't done my good deed for the day yet."

Sakura laughed in spite of herself and walked over to her desk where he was sitting. She hugged him from behind while he played Tetris. Deidara kept his right hand on the computer mouse and raised his left behind his head in his interpretation of a backwards hug.

While still playing his game, he kept his eyes on the screen and asked, "Rough day, yeah?"

Sakura sighed and nodded, knowing he could feel the movement. She lowered her face into his long blonde hair and let out a groan of frustration. "I'm sorry, Dei. I was going to go to Subway for us, but I completely forgot. Class was difficult, and then there was some drama, and just… Rough day doesn't even begin to cover it."

Deidara paused the game again. He slowly spun the office chair around so that he could look at Sakura. "You're not the only one, yeah. I'm in artist's block. Do you know what that's like to be in artist in artist's block? I think I'd rather blow up. Hey, that'd be artistic… yeah. I'll just go kill myself in a beautiful explosion. Out with a bang, just like my art."

"Deidara," Sakura said, laughing despite the situation. She tried to sound sympathetic for him. "Don't be so dramatic. It'll be okay. What do you usually do when you get artist's block?"

"I usually break things, yeah," he said cheerfully. "Last time, I tipped over a vase. It was beautiful. True art. Got me inspired right away. Sasori wasn't happy though," Deidara added as an afterthought. "How was I supposed to know it belonged to his mother?"

Sakura covered her mouth in both shock and laughter. "Deidara!"

"What! He didn't say, yeah!" Deidara frowned and looked up at the ceiling. "But I said I was feeling artist's block today, and he kicked me out of the work room upstairs, yeah. How am I supposed to get out of artist's block now?"

Sakura decided not to mention that Sasori was probably just preventing Deidara from breaking more of his things. She offered him a smile and said, "Well, maybe some lunch will help. Do you want to go to Subway with me? I'm sure Sasori can handle things here."

Deidara practically jumped out of his seat. "Yeah, I do! Do you want to take my car or yours?"

"What? Neither! Subway is less than a hundred steps away."

He looked skeptical. "It's across the street and down a ways… yeah. There's no way it's only a hundred steps away."

A mischievous grin crossed Sakura's lips. "Oh? Are you sure about that?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Sure enough to bet a sandwich on it?"

Deidara looked thoughtful. Finally, he stuck out his hand. "Deal, yeah."

Sakura shook his hand and nodded. "Deal. You get ready to go. I'll go tell Sasori where we're going."

"Okay."

Sakura left him then and headed up the white staircase in the back of the studio. At the stop of the stairs was a door that led to Deidara and Sasori's workroom. It was where they made all of their artworks, from clay sculptures to paintings to wood carvings and more.

She knocked on the door lightly and said, "Sasori? It's Sakura. Can I come in?"

At his confirmation, she opened the door and stepped inside. Sasori was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room surrounded by various sheets of parchment paper. He had a piece of charcoal in his hand and was sketching on one of them. There was a small black line from his temple to his cheekbone from where he had likely brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Sakura grinned at him, finding it strangely adorable. She walked over to Sasori and said, "You have a bit of charcoal, just there." Sasori looked at her in surprise as she knelt down in front of him. "Here, let me get it."

Sakura licked her finger and gently rubbed at the mark on the side of Sasori's face. Charcoal was easy to clean, and the mark disappeared very quickly. Sakura pulled her arm back and set it in her lap. "All better."

Sasori tilted his head, looking at her in fond amusement. "Thank you."

She smiled widely at him. They stayed there staring at each other for several seconds before Sakura remembered what she came up there to do in the first place. "Oh!" she said. "Deidara and I are going to Subway real quick to get lunch. Do you mind? I can pick you up something if you like."

Sasori nodded. "That's fine." He reached for his wallet in his back pocket and handed Sakura a black credit card. "I'll have what you usually get me. Use this to buy yours and Deidara's as well."

"Oh, Sasori, you don't have to do that," Sakura told him. "Deidara has his own money, the mooch. And I'm okay, really. I appreciate the offer, though. It's very nice of you."

He shook his head once. "I insist. It's really no trouble. Consider it my thank you for going to the dinner party with me under those… circumstances."

Sakura knew immediately what he was talking about. She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Well… about that…" She hesitated. "So, you remember I have Shizune in one of my classes?"

Sasori looked as if he didn't recall the name at first. Then he said, "Oh, yes."

"She sort of mentioned our relationship today—in front of my best friend Ino. Who is a notorious gossip. Seriously. She's nosier than most middle-aged women."

He raised an eyebrow. "I see."

Sakura tried to look apologetic. She knew it wasn't Sasori's fault that Ino was mad at her, and she didn't blame him for it. "I went along with it, of course. But that, um, complicates things a little, doesn't it?"

"I suppose," said Sasori. He pondered it for a moment. "But to come clean now would probably not be a good idea."

Sakura looked a little sheepish. "We may have dug ourselves a bit of a hole with this one."

"So it seems," Sasori agreed. "Does it bother you?"

"Eh? Oh, no, I mean, if you're going to be in a hole, might as well be there with a friend."

Amusement lit up Sasori's face. "No, I meant… does the situation bother you?"

"That people… think we're together?" Sakura asked. Well, Deidara knew the truth, but he wasn't going to talk. The only thing that bothered Sakura about it was that it wasn't true. "No," she said, "it doesn't bother me at all. That is—does it bother you?"

"No," said Sasori. "But…" he trailed off. Sasori hesitated for a moment. "You're a lovely woman, Sakura. I'm sure you have other suitors, and this lie could ruin opportunities for you. Is there someone else who has your attention?"

Sakura's face turned several shades of pink. "Um. No. No one has my attention." Except you. "It really doesn't bother me, Sasori." He called her lovely. Lovely. Sasori thought she was lovely! Her heart soared.

Sasori considered that. "Then I suppose… we'll leave things as they are for now." He looked at her, a frown forming on his usually serene face. "Are you all right? You're looking a little flushed."

Sasori reached over to her then and felt her forehead with the backs of his fingers. Sakura stayed very still. It was just like that moment a week ago when she had felt his forehead, thinking he wasn't feeling well. She swallowed hard in her throat, not daring to breathe.

He lowered his hand.

"I'm okay," Sakura promised him. She lowered her gaze, still smiling at being called lovely. "Just… happy."

Sasori tilted his head, watching her perceptively. "All right, then," he said at last. He held out his credit card once more and reminded her, "Deidara is probably waiting for you."

"Oh, no!" Sakura exclaimed. "I completely forgot. Okay, you want your usual. Oh, wait—I forgot, Deidara is buying mine."

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "…Is he?"

She nodded absentmindedly. Sasori's credit card had a holographic picture of a scorpion on it. She turned it a couple times as she answered him. "Yeah, he bet me that it was more than a hundred steps to Subway, when I know full well that it isn't. So he'll be buying me a sandwich."

"I see," Sasori said. "Then I'll see you when you get back."

"Okay!"

Sakura let Sasori get back to his work and headed downstairs. Deidara was sitting at her desk with his Akatsuki coat on. He was playing video games again.

"Sorry that took so long, Dei," she said. She buttoned up her white trench coat and grabbed her purse off the desk.

"It's okay," Deidara said. He closed the internet window and looked at Sakura with what she could only describe as amusement. "So what were you two doing up there, anyway? Anything romantic, yeah?"

Sakura playfully punched him in the arm. "Cut it out," she said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

They left, and in accordance with their bet, Sakura counted their steps out loud. Deidara pushed the button by the street corner for pedestrians to cross the street. All the way across, Sakura continued counting. It was a cloudy day in the city, and the air felt damp with an impending rain.

"So what do you think of Sasori, yeah?" Deidara asked.

Sakura nearly tripped. "Fifty-two-oooo!" she squeaked, catching herself. "Uh, fifty-three. He's great. Fifty-four. You both are great. Fifty-five. Fifty-six."

Deidara shrugged, easily accepting her answer. "Okay, yeah."

They walked down the street a little ways more. Someone walking by gave Sakura a very strange look for counting out loud, but she paid it no heed. When they made it to Subway, Sakura counted as she walked inside. "Ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six! Ha! I told you it was less than a hundred steps!"

Deidara smacked his hand against his forehead. "You've got waaaay too much free time."

They bought their sandwiches. As promised, Deidara bought Sakura's lunch. When they returned to Akatsuki Studios, the three of them took a lunch break together. Despite the initial stressful confrontation with Shizune, Ino and Sasuke, Sakura was finally able to relax and be at ease. She was grateful to Deidara and Sasori for always being able to cheer her up when she needed it.

After work, Sakura decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing. A lot had been happening lately, and she wanted to have a nice evening to herself. She ran a bath with some candles and soothing music. She ordered delivery from one of her favorite restaurants and watched girly movies.

And, as she laid down for bed at the end of the night, she picked up A Third Chance and did some reading.

Eventually, Orochimaru's search for immortality bade him leave Akatsuki. Their goals were not his own, and his attempt at taking over Uchiha Itachi's body had been unsuccessful. He required a new host, and he would further his goals towards immortality from there.

That left Sasori as the only one in the organization without a partner. He preferred it that way, but it was short lived. Soon, he was introduced to his new teammate. He wasn't stoic like Itachi or odd like Zetsu or polite like Kisame.

He was blonde.

"Sasori-danna," he always addressed him that way, and it was one of the few respects that probably spared his life. "Take a look at this! It's my art."

He claimed he was an artist, but Sasori didn't believe it. Deidara's technique involved molding clay with the mouths on his hands—an ability Sasori admittedly had never seen before in all his travels. He held out a small clay bird and, with his jutsu, the bird came to life.

It wasn't actual life. It was simply animated. Deidara could give it simple commands. Sasori supposed he should be impressed, and he would have commented on Deidara's art, if the idiot hadn't gone and blown it up immediately after.

"Did you just—"

"See?" Deidara asked him, looking extremely pleased with himself, the fool. "Art is a bang, Sasori-danna, yeah!"

"No it isn't," Sasori said, his voice a deadpan against the settling explosion. "Art is eternal beauty—something that lasts forever."

Deidara scrunched up his face—he actually scrunched up his face in what could only be described as distaste. "I respect your opinion, Sasori-danna, but that just isn't right. My art is far more explosive, yeah! True beauty is fleeting. Imperfect. Gone in a blast, yeah!"

Sasori let out an aggravated sigh. "If you live through this without me killing you, I'll be very surprised."

Deidara was young—younger than most of Akatsuki. Of course, Sasori was over thirty now, and while that was young by most standards, he believed it gave him a right to look down on youth as inferior. He was older than Deidara, and therefore, he knew more than him.

And Deidara's vision of art was just… unacceptable.