A/N : It's so long since I've got time to write and finally, I managed to take a break from studying to write a new chapter. I'm sure some of you thoughts you'll never see the end of this fanfic. You were wroooong! Hehe

Thank you so much to those who reviewed/followed/favorite this story. Love you guys!

Disclaimer : I do NOT own Naruto

Enjoy!

In love with a criminal

Last time:

"Whe-" she started but had to clear her throat before continuing, "where am I?"

"Don't worry, you're safe here," the brunette said, raising from her seat to place the glass from her hand on a table in the other corner of the room.

"Who are you?" asked Sakura next. The woman seemed kind and most probably she helped her last night, but she still wanted to know who her savior was. She fucked up anyways. The whole plan was destroyed.

"Oh, right," the female said more excited this time, and she turned around to face Sakura again, "I'm Tenten," she grinned. "What's your name?" Tenten asked after that, but Sakura didn't have the opportunity to answer.

The door banged open and another person entered, closing the door after him. Sakura's movements were still slow, but her ears registered a smooth voice talking, "Sakura."

Her head slowly turned in the direction from where the voice came –carefully not to aggravate her already strong headache- and her eyes widened. "Sa-Sasuke?"

Chapter 10

~It's beautiful how it all hurts, but we can't find ourselves to give up~

Here he was, after she was sure the plan was ruined; all tall and emanating power and confidence. He looked as gorgeous as the last time she saw him, but this time Sasuke didn't look at all at ease. His gaze was hard and cold, narrowed eyed watching her carefully. Suddenly, Sakura found it harder to breath. She would have like to see a bit of excitement in his eyes, but there was none. It disappointed her a bit, but she tried to push the thought aside. She had more important business for now.

The moment Sasuke met her eyes, he wanted to yell at her; to tell her how stupid she is, how she could have gotten herself killed, how for an unknown reason he felt his blood boil when he saw how her body was covered in bruises again. Why does he always find her in such condition? And why does he even care in the first place? He really wanted to know, but when he opened his mouth, neither of those questions came out.

"Tenten, out," he ordered without moving his eyes from the pinkete who had her eyes on him too. She seemed happy to see him and he didn't like it. But that wasn't all that her body language told him. Sakura was nervous, scared, agitated. Something was off, he concluded.

The brunette didn't move. Her legs stayed put in place, her posture stiff, chocolate eyes glaring. "I said I'll do the talk. I don't trust you with her," she said, giving Sakura a side-glance.

This time, the raven-haired man did move his eyes to her. Sakura almost felt like hiding from him. He wasn't as sweet as he could be in bed. Contrary of her, Tenten stood her ground. Sasuke's cold attitude did nothing to her.

"I need to talk to her, alone," he affirmed. He tried to keep calm because Sasuke couldn't find himself to be mad on Tenten. He knew very well that Tenten would act all protective towards the poor woman. "I won't do anything to her," he reassured.

It seemed like Tenten gave it a second thought before she turned to give a questioning look to Sakura. The wounded woman understood what she was asking without words. Was she ok to be left alone with him? Did she felt safe around him? The answer was no. And for some odd reason she believed that the woman named Tented won't leave her side if she says so. But she needed to talk to him, and it would be better to be alone when they do so. That's what Itachi has told her; and he, being his brother, might be right about that.

"Uhm, you can go," she started weakly. Her whole body was still aching and sore. Even talking felt like a hard action to do. "But thank you." She gave the brunette a half smile.

Tenten nodded once, her expression still serious and unsure, but started to walk towards the door nonetheless. She stopped for a second to give Sasuke a warning glance –which he totally ignored- , before leaving out the door and closing it behind her.

Sakura was sure the air got thick in the room. She was trying to tell herself that all the wounds made it hard for her to breath, but she knew that wasn't the case. She felt so many things at once when he made his way towards the bed she was laying into; attraction, fear, anger. They were all pushing on her chest.

He was silent, and it made Sakura more nervous. His body came into a halt near the wall, leaning into it and just staring at her. No emotion, no readable expression. She felt like being in the same room with Itachi again. And it was understandable; they were brothers after all. Throwing a glance at him, she gulped; the air was still hard to swallow, but she needed to talk.

"Sasu-", she finally got herself to open her mouth but didn't have the chance to even say his name.

"How stupid can you be?" he talked over her and his words hit her like daggers. Very, she wanted to answer; very stupid. All her life was a bunch of stupid actions and decisions. She really hoped this one isn't the same. Even if those thoughts came to her mind, she didn't dare to open her mouth. Instead, she lowered her eyes into her lap where her hands were. All she could do was act like a scared child in front of him now. All the confidence she had last time she met him was gone.

"I told you not to come looking for me. Yet, there you were, getting yourself in trouble because you're a stupid woman who can do what the fuck she's told to do," he talked again. Sakura bit her lip, she wanted to cry so bad. To let everything out, to tell him that it's not what he thinks it is. That she's not just a lovesick teenager searching for another night with him. Yes, she wouldn't deny it; that night, with him.. was special. She felt more alive than she felt for the past years. But that doesn't mean she forgot why she returned there in the first place.

It was a shock, a knife in her heart when Itachi told her who she really spent the night with. He was a bad man, a revenge seeker, someone who doesn't have time to waste on women. Itachi didn't felt like going smooth and nice on her, oh no. He was straight-forward, talking honest and serious. The older Uchiha didn't want to make things easier for her to take in; he wanted to make her understand where she stands, what she has to do and the choices she doesn't have. She appreciated it though; honesty was something she needed after all the lies. And even if it sounded crazy, she believed that Itachi really had good intentions.

Sasuke wasn't a patient man, so when Sakura kept her mouth shut, he exhaled deep through his nostrils before he did something he would regret. He pushed his body off from the wall and started to walk slowly towards the door. Three steps later, he stopped again to glance at her again and said, "You can stay here until your wounds heal, but right after, you go home."

When he was ready to walk away again, she finally found the strength to talk. "I don't have a home. I-"

"Then you'll find one," he retorted, giving her one last cold stare and trying to push his thoughts out his mind. He doesn't care, he doesn't care. He couldn't care. Everywhere was better than there, with him. But what if she is honest, what if she really doesn't have a home? No, he reassured himself. She's just fishing for motives to stay near him. That won't happen. He won't let that happen.

Sakura was desperate. He couldn't leave. She still has to talk to him, about everything. About how she needs his help and how she can help him. "Sasuke, wait, please," she pleaded but it was in vain. His steps were slow, like he wasn't quite sure he wanted to leave the room either, but he needed to. He won't let a woman blur his mind. He has more important things to focus on. His hand was on the doorknob, ready to leave her and all she has to say behind, when he heard her talk again. "I talked to your brother," was all she needed to say to stop him dead in his tracks. His body froze. And Sakura's too. She panicked, so she blurt out the only thing that she thought will stop him from leaving; and she was right. But now, seeing him all frozen in place, his hand squeezing the doorknob until his fist went white, she wasn't so sure of her actions anymore.

What did she say? What? Itachi? She- no. She couldn't have. I- How? She knows nothing. But how- then how does she know? Sasuke felt his blood stop in his veins and his mind twirling like a tornado. His mouth went dry. Then, he moved. His body turned to her in a swift motion and the murderous look in his eyes made Sakura shiver under her blanket.

"What did you say?" he snapped, his words harsh. His feet took him near her bed where he grabbed her face forcefully and made her look at him. Her lips started to tremble, heart beating fast; it was all like a deja-vu. Memories of Sasori grabbing her face and slapping her came to her mind and all she could do was be scared for her life and remain speechless. The violet skin that covered her cheeks stung. She was already hurt and when he didn't get an answer, his hand squeezed her face in order to make her talk. Sakura hissed, tears already gathering in her eyes. "Talk!" he ordered.

"I-", she averted her eyes but he dragged her face closer to his, making her bite her trembling lips to stop a grunt from pain escape her lips again. "Let go, please," she begged, her words barely above a whisper.

Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at her. He was out of control, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself. That's what even the small thought about his bother did to him. "What do you know about my brother?" he hissed at her, ignoring the pain he was inducing her. "Talk!" he repeated.

Sakura wanted to talk, wanted to tell him everything she knew, everything he wanted to know; but she just couldn't. She was in pain, scared, and a trembling mess. No matter how hard she tried to be strong, to talk her mind out, the words won't come out; just small whimpers of pain. It hurt; her wounds, her heart, her head. She needed a break before she'll just crack. "Let. Go!" she pushed herself to yell back at him and he wasn't pleased. Sakura saw it in his eyes. He's gone mad. "Please, Sasu-" but she didn't have the chance to end that sentence.

A hand grabbed Sasuke's and forced it away from her face. Sakura just gritted her teeth as her tears started to fall down her swollen cheeks.

She didn't raise her head, as she broke down into a crying mess, but she heard the voice of the woman from earlier.

"Uchiha, get the fuck out before I kill you right now!" she snapped angrily, eyes full of fire, glaring at him. Sasuke didn't even look at her; his was still focused on the pinkete, that was now crying, eyes still narrowed into slits. All the muscles into his body contracted as his clenched fists trembled near his body. "What the hell gotten into you? I knew it was a bad idea to leave her alone with you," she yelled at him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and making him look at her. Even Tenten was a bit taken aback when he saw the look into his eyes, but she didn't let that stop her. She has seen him like this a few times and she is not scared of fighting him then and there if she needs to. Brown and black eyes got into a fight of dominance when Tenten talked again, "Get out of here. And don't you dare talk to me until you calmed to fuck down, you piece of shit!"

Sasuke gave Tenten another cold glare before he turned his head to Sakura one more time. "This isn't over," he told her, even though her head was bent down. He knew she heard him and she better believe him. He won't have rest until he makes her talk.

"Yes, it is. Get out," repeated Tenten and Sasuke finally left without another word.

The brunette let out a few ragged breaths. That stupid cunt. What the fuck is his problem? I'll fucking kill him with my own hands if he lays hands on her again, she thought before trying to calm herself. Sakura has seen enough madness alone with Sasuke. She can't be the same with her.

Tenten sat down next to Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her body was shaking as loud sobs finally escaped her mouth. The brunette circled an arm around her and brought her into an embrace. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" she stopped. It was too late for apologies now. She took a long breath in. "You're ok, you'll be fine. I won't let him near you again. I promise," she tried to reassure her.

Sakura sobbed a few more times before raising her head to look at Tenten's face and sighed, "I- you don't understand. I need to talk to him. And I want to, but, but he-" she couldn't continue, But Tenten got it very well what she meant. Sasuke is impulsive. If you hit one nerve, he'll go wild. He has grave temperamental issues. Tenten isn't sure what the thing between those two is, but it must be fucked up and important if it got Sasuke acting so crazy.

"I'll talk to him, ok? But he'll need some time to calm down. Can you tell me what happened?" asked Tenten with caution and carefuly not to push her too much.

Sakura looked in her eyes. She seemed sincere and actually really nice. The woman saved her, and has been very caring with her. Maybe she'll help her make this messy situation more bearable; and maybe she'll be able to talk to Sasuke without him snapping at her. She was still in shock after how Sasuke acted. He was like a hungry animal ready to eat a powerless deer. He scared her, more than Sasori ever did, more than Itachi did when he took her. If so, how can he be the one she could trust how Itachi had told her? How, when she made her fear for her life more than anyone?

"Tenten, I-", started Sakura. She really hoped Tenten would understand and help her. Otherwise, she could just die already because that's what will happen to her eventually.

She had found him in their meeting room along with the others. In front of him, on the table, was an empty glass near a half empty bottle of whiskey and an ashtray full of cigarette butts. Tenten has calmed down since she sent Sasuke out of Sakura's room, but that didn't mean she was less angry with him. He was an idiot, losing control with that poor woman. She tried to understand him, she did; but nothing from his past could excuse his actions.

Every pair of eyes in the room was on her. Tenten was sure that Sasuke won't say a word to them. Probably the others didn't even dare to ask. She saw her beloved knife stuck in the table where she usually sat and took it with a swift motion right before she plopped down on the chair. The tip was turned to Sasuke in a second and the later moved his eyes to her face, unimpressed by her actions.

"You touch her one more time and I'll cut your throat open," she told him, eyes fierce. The others in the room looked between the two of them without a word.

"She's one of them. You should be threatening her, not me," he coldly stated. He seemed to cool down too, but Tenten knew better.

Everyone's eyes went wide in the room, except Sasuke's and Tenten's. "She's not one of them, you idiot."

And for the second time that day, Sasuke lost it. He slammed his fist in the table and glared at Tenten. "You are the idiot one here. She was sent by Itachi."

Ino rolled her eyes. Does everything have to be about that noob?

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What? Itachi sent her? Why?" If that was the case, he didn't know what to think of it. Sure, Sasuke doesn't forget to remind them every now and then how Itachi is the bad guy and how he is part of the Akatsuki now; but they never found any proof. He might as well just tell himself that so it would be easier for him to accept that he just left him behind. Shikamaru doesn't put out of the equation how Sasuke might be right, but he can say he believes that one hundred percent. If this woman was sent by Itachi, then she should have some interesting things to say. The genius rubbed his chin. The catch is that she didn't just come there and demand to talk to one of them; she just happened to be on the same road with Tenten and Sasuke, almost raped by some idiots. To plan such thing would be too much even for those from Akatsuki. Or are they that evil? He sighed. It will definitely cause a big scene with Tenten's protectiveness over her and Sasuke's disapproval. "Tenten? Did you talk to her?" asked Shikamaru, after he lit a cigarette and took a drag from it. He really needed it.

"I did," Tenten answered. She didn't like it at all. That girl has been through hell, just like them. She tried to do everything by herself and ended up in a more fucked-up situation.

"What lies did she told you?" asked Sasuke, leaning into his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"If you would have listened to her and didn't start to yell and abuse her, then maybe you'd have realized she's innocent, asshole," Tenten gritted her teeth. She was still so angry. When nobody said another word, she continued with a calmer tone, "She got dragged into this. Itachi helped her escape from a situation from which she could have ended dead by now. He sent her to us so she could be safe and help each other."

This time it was Neji who talked first, "You mean to say Itachi is a good guy?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Of course not. She's a lying bitch. Who knows what stupidities made Tenten believe."

Tenten refused to fight for once, so she gave Sasuke a glare and continued, "I can't say for sure, but I want to believe so. I thought we'll decide this together," she shrugged her shoulders. She buried her hand in one of her jeans pocket and took out a small memory card; she threw it in front of Shikamaru. "Check this. Sakura said it has everything from Sasori's laptop on it."

The said main raised an eyebrow. "Sasori?"

"I'm about to explain it right now," sighed Tenten.

For the next 20 minutes, Tenten explained everything to them. How she was forced into the marriage with some odd guy, about her parents death, how she discovered that her husband was responsible for everything and all about how she tried to go to the police but Itachi stopped her. Everyone listened with interest, even Sasuke who refused to believe a word.

It wasn't like she truly didn't want to, but it was easier that way. If all that Tenten was saying was true, the woman was really innocent, and he had yelled at her and treated her like she was the one who killed his family. It was everything happening fast; he didn't mean to act that way. But when she said his brother's name, all he could think was how he had sent her to spy on them. How last time they met was just a way to get under his skin, and that thought alone made him go crazy. A strange feeling settled in his stomach and he refused to call it guilt.

Shikamaru inserted the memory card into his laptop and started to search through the files he found. Names. Addresses. More names. Coordinates. Information about different people he knew or not. "This, guys," he started catching everyone's attention, "this is really something. There is information and details about everyone in Akatsuki."

Sasuke's eyes widened and almost flew in front of the laptop. One of the files had 'Uchiha Itachi' written on it. He knew it. It was all bullshit, he was one of them. But then another thought came to his mind. Why would he give all this information if he was indeed one of them? "Click on that one," he told Shikamaru.

The later clicked on the file and.. nothing. The folder was empty. Fuck!

"If I have to guess, Itachi deleted everything in his file. Still strange that he left the file with his name on it. He could have deleted it too." Shikamaru leaned more into his chair, a finger tapping on his chin. "Still, there's more than we can ask for, for now. I'll look more into it and call you when I'm done."

"What about her? We're just gonna trust her?" asked Ino, with her eyes on Shikamaru.

"She's harmless. If you ask me, maybe too harmless. We might even need to teach her a few things," it was Tenten who answered. "For now, leave her alone. She's sleeping and she clearly had enough for one day." Her eyes set on Sasuke for a moment before leaving the room.

Sasuke was ready to do the same. He had a lot to process too. If Sakura was to stay with them, everything will go downhill. Even the thought made him want to punch someone. Not to mention everything Tenten told them about Itachi. Did he really save Sakura and just decided to send her to them with all this information? To also keep her safe, Tenten said. But that is completely stupid. Nobody is safe with us. Then again, if all that shit happened to her, she might be safer here than anywhere else. Plus Tenten would kill even us for her, ugh.

"Hey, Sasuke," Ino bought Sasuke back from his thoughts, "Did you fuck her?" Her grin was big; wild and crazy-like just like her. How did she even got to the that conclusion? The blonde seriously had a good eye. Tenten realized something was off even before she talked to Sakura. Maybe Ino wasn't less smart. Anyways, he wasn't going to answer to that. It was none of her business after all. So he just left the room without another word.

He went outside. The cool air will hopefully help him clear his thoughts. First time she met her, he thought about it; about taking her with him and take care of her, protect her from whoever did that to her. Sasuke knew that wasn't possible; but now? Now she was there, in their house, probably crying her heart out because of him. God he was an idiot. He sat down on the grass and rubbed his temples. He was also mad on Itachi. His brother decided to just push her to them with some information and a 'take care of her' word? What about him? Wasn't he important? Did he have other plans and nobody knew? What was going on?

Suddently, someone sat next to him. He turned his head to see Tenten looking straight into his eyes. She was still angry on him, that he could see, but nonetheless much calm. He waited for her to talk and turned his head in front of him.

"Sasuke, you need to fix this?" she started after a few minutes.

"Fix what?" Of course he knew what; he just hoped Tenten would give him another answer.

"Sakura.. Look, I know there's something between you two and I know how easily you can go all crazy when it comes to Itachi." She shut her mouth when his body became stiff. A few seconds later, he turned to face her.

Tenten took his silence as a sign that she can continue. "She's something else. Innocent and fragile and she just discovered this dark part of the world… You know how that is, when the truth hits you in the face."

They looked in each other's eyes. Sasuke and Tenten always got together well. She somehow always understood. Always knew when to talk and when to shut up. That's why the brunette was always the one who would come and talk to him about sensitive matters. That didn't happened too often though.

"What do you want me to do? Apologize?" he scoffed. "She's probably terrified to even look at me."

"Yes, she is," Tented admitted, "but she cares. I can see that. And for the first time in a while, I can see that you do to," she smirked.

"That's not true," he turned his face again, afraid that Tenten would see into his eyes what even he didn't want to admit to himself.

"Of course," she mocked him. Then, with a serious voice, she continued, "She has a message for you." At her words, Sasuke's attention was all on her. Message? For me? Is it from Itachi? Does he really trust Sakura to pass a message to him? "I didn't want to tell you in front of everyone because Sakura told me it's meant only for you. But just so you know, I'm still thinking if I can let you near her alone."

She pushed herself up while Sasuke remained speechless on the grass. She still wants to talk to me? Alone too?

As Tenten started to walk away, her last words kept Sasuke up all night. "Don't fuck this up Sasuke. You finally have a chance to find the truth about Itachi and have a bit of light in your life."

TBC

A/N: I'm sure you expected a longer chapter after my looong break from writing but I am so caught up with studying that I barely made time to write this. I'm sorry and I hope you understand. I'll do my best to write longer chapters from now on. Hopefully.

Thank you to everyone who's still following this and supports me every time I upload a new chapter. It means truly a lot to me.

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Xoxo, Adenna.