I do not own Naruto.
--

"I didn't find any information on the Akatsuki."

"But?" "But I did find out his last name. Kurebakuha."

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize the name." Tsunade stated.

"He says they specialized in subterfuge." Sakura almost pleaded.

"Then that's probably why. They wouldn't want themselves to be found out. They might have kept to themselves and used a lot of pseudonyms."

"Then there might be some others out there." Sakura was excited to hear possible good news about her extended family.

"Just because they use fake names doesn't mean that they're not distinctive. If they were around, you would know it with their style of fighting."

"Or would I?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"I appear to be a member of that clan, and not even I knew it until a few years ago. There could very well be others out there."

"And how many has Deidara found?" Sakura looked timid. "None, except for me."

"Exactly." But how hard has he been looking? Sakura thought to herself.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that he knows?!"

Tsunade pulled back. "Anyways, how much more information do you think you can get without going to far in seducing him?" But who was truly seducing whom?

"If you allow him to train me, I might get him to open up about his former colleagues."

"If he talks about the Akatsuki after taking you on as an apprentice, it will mean that he trusts you," "So I just need to get him to trust me." Sakura quickly interrupted. "To leave the village and go with him back to the Akatsuki."

Sakura was appalled. "I would never betray Konoha." No more than she already had? She had already given a pyromaniac access to exploding clay. Where would she end?

"Which is why we are trying to make him truly need you, not just use you."

When Sakura returned to her shared apartment, she nearly sighed with relief that nothing appeared to have exploded. Of course, this probably meant a sulking Deidara, being so close to his clay and not being allowed to use it.

--

"Hello again." "Hey, un."

Deidara grumbled, "I still don't understand why everyone is so concerned with me blowing anything up, un."

"It's not the destruction of property but the potential destruction of human lives. In their eyes, it would be better for you not blow anything up than risk you blowing anyone up."

"You mentioned in their eyes, un. What about in your eyes Sakura?"

"I suppose it would be okay, as long as nobody is killed or severely injured," Sakura admitted.

"Isn't the destruction of human lives what ninja's do for a living, un? Haven't you, even as a medic nin, killed before, un?"

"That was for my village," Sakura rebutted, "and we are trying to keep you from killing for the Akatsuki."

"I stuck to my word. Isn't that good enough, un?"

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura was confused. What word did he stick to?

"When I was teaching you, I could have swiped some clay and blown myself out of this joint, but I didn't. I'm not here for the Akatsuki, un."

"Are you going back to the Akatsuki?" Sakura questioned. "…"

Deidara had no answer. He didn't know himself what he was going to do. Should he go back? Would they even accept him back? If he was accused of ratting on his teammates, he would be subjected to a fate worse than death. Would it matter if he actually told or not?

Sakura left the den and headed into the kitchen. There she gathered bread and opened the refrigerator for potential sandwich ingredients. Deidara followed behind without her knowing. He spun her around and before she could attack, he clasped her hands in his.

"One of the first things we have to work on is your self-confidence, un." He removed her gloves. "You need to stop wearing these gloves, un."

"If you're so self-confident, why are you so afraid of telling us anything? What could happen?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know, un." That was the end of the conversation. Each was deep in thought during dinner, Sakura thinking about her coworkers and friends reactions to the mouths on her hands and Deidara thinking about what giving out any information would be worth.

What both forgot was that the Anbu were always watching, and had seen the practice session the day before. It was written up in the report and on the Hokage's desk, in a stack of papers ready for Tsunade to read.