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Temari had managed to stay around Han despite his constant pestering her to leave. Luckily, he only became violent the first time she had shown up. Granted, it was a little rude of her to just waltz in his house like she owned the place, but then again the blonde didn't care. She had that invasive type of personality or at least that was what Shikamaru was constantly telling her.

Smiling at the thought of the lazy ninja, dark green eyes gazed over at Han, who was leaning against a tree gazing up at the night sky. It was a starry night and although the moon wasn't out, their surroundings were still beautifully lit with the pale light of the stars. It was still pretty warm despite that it was night time and without a breeze to help cool them, Temari was starting to feel like she was at home. In the Village Hidden in the Stones, the air wasn't dry though. It was humid and was doing some unsightly things to her hair.

Temari attempted to brush her poofing ponytails down, but to no avail and sighed irritably as she stood up. Maybe it was time to try and speak with Han again. Too bad the most he had done throughout the afternoon was glare at her.

"Han," she started as she placed her gloved hands on her hips and looked up at the dark-blue atmosphere. "Which beast do you hold? I know it's the five-tails, but what kind of creature is it?"

Eyes that looked like jewels in the dim lighting turned to gaze at her. His arms were still crossed over his chest, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. It was uncanny how much Han and Gaara were alike. Gaara wasn't always the way he was now...he had a hard life and Temari could bet that Han's was somewhat similar, probably more difficult since he was older. He didn't know how to respond to someone not being afraid or disgusted by him. It was perfectly understandable and the female Jounin felt her heart go out to the man.

"Why do you care?" he murmured, looking at the grass in front of him.

"Well, my brother was a Jinchuriki too," Temari started, walking over to Han's side and leaning against the opposite side of the same tree. "He had the Shukaku until the Akatsuki kidnapped him and took it."

"Gaara of the Sand is your brother?" the host questioned blandly although interest could be heard sparking in his voice.

"Yes he is," Temari breathed with a smile on her face. "It's amazing how far he's come. People hated and feared him all his life, but he made them respect him. Now he's the Kazekage and the same people who dogged him smile at the thought of the protection he provides for the village."

Han remained silent, seeming to drink in every word that Temari said. "It's funny that the children are the ones who love him the most, the teenagers too. It proved to me that it's the parents who instilled fear of the Jinchuriki into the children. Some of those bastards still don't give a rat's ass about Gaara despite what he's done for the village. It's sad how closed minded people can be."

The Jinchuriki still did not speak and they remained in a comfortable silence as the fireflies danced in front of their faces. Insects chirped their love songs and when Temari gazed around the tree at Han, he seemed to be deep in thought. What was he thinking about? She asked and when he looked at her again; the Sand shinobi could almost see the pain that had been dealt to him in his eyes. Han was a stoic and serious person, but his emotions that he tried to conceal were portrayed openly in his cinnamon orbs.

"I've always been on my own," Han started. "My parents...they didn't want me either. I had been chosen by the Tsuchikage to have the Five-Tails sealed inside me. People have always looked at me with disgust and I can say the same for them. They are pathetic things, always pointing fingers at someone else's flaws before looking at their own. It wasn't like I had a choice on if I wanted the Gobi sealed inside me or not. Because of this beast, I've never had a friend in my life."

That was a sad thing to hear. Everyone deserved to have someone. At least one person who cared about them. Temari didn't know what would have happened if Gaara hadn't met Naruto Uzumaki. It was because of him that her little brother realized that he wanted to be needed by someone, that one person did in fact care for him.

The kunoichi really felt for Han. He wasn't that bad of a guy despite his temper and cold, distant attitude, but there was a reason for that: he didn't want anyone to see into him.

"You idiot."

Han's visible features hardened as his head snapped to glare at her. Temari only smiled and moved around the tree to place a hand gently on his shoulder. "I'm a friend. You aren't as scary as you think you are so you can't get rid of me easily."

Dark eyebrows shot up in surprise at her words before he snatched away and began walking towards his small cottage. Pausing in his steps, he looked over his shoulder at her and said in his deep voice, "Thank you."

With that he disappeared into his home and a smile crossed her full lips. Han would come around eventually. He wasn't as hard to crack as she thought and Temari meant what she said: she would become friends with Han. He deserved one. Everyone did...

"Temari, we need you. Come in!"

Gazing down at the walkie-talkie on her hip, Temari unhooked it and pressed the button to speak. "What's going on?"

"The Akatsuki are here," Shizune's said quickly. "They're after the Roshi! We're in the field just three o'clock from the Tsuchikage's home. Come as fast as you can and do not bring the Fifth Jinchuriki if he is with you."

"Understood."

Temari clipped the walkie-talkie back into its holder, adrenaline already flowing through her body. Her heart was pounding as Shizune's words replayed in her mind: the Akatsuki were here. Protecting the Jinchuriki was the whole reason they had come so she had to do her best to complete this mission.

Moments before she was about to take to the trees, the door of the cottage swung open. Han was glaring at her again, but it was different this time. This glare was full of anger. He was pissed off, that much was certain.

"You're leaving," he stated bluntly.

"Yes," Temari answered, turning to face him. "The Akatsuki are here and are trying to get Roshi. I have to help my teammates Han." Chuckling, she then said, "I thought you wanted me to leave anyway."

His piercing stare did not lighten at all. It was like he didn't want her to leave now. Wait, that wasn't it...did he think she had faked caring about his wellbeing? That would make sense. Han had no reason to trust her and he was already weary of people. If anything, it seemed like he was maybe...hurt more than anything.

Shaking her head as she smiled at him, Temari walked over to stand in front of the much taller man. He peered down at her angrily.

"I need you to stay here," Temari said seriously. "I don't want the Akatsuki to get their hands on you alright? Friends have to keep friends safe."

Finally the look on his face softened a bit and the quiet male slowly dropped his arms to his sides. He didn't speak for a few moments, but then surprised the hell out of Temari when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Don't die," he said quietly before releasing the shocked female and turning on his heels to go back inside his home.

If that wasn't adorable, I don't know what is, Temari thought as she took to the trees, her mind set on saving Roshi and Han.


Zetsu watched from the camouflage of a tree as the little pink-haired morsel gazed around, trying to locate him. She was something different. No one had ever attempted to be civil with him that didn't need to. Many were afraid because of his eating habits that they would be next on the lunch menu. That was one thing that annoyed the plant Nin. Just because he was a cannibal didn't mean he ate anybody. He had standards as well. Men were preferred. Usually ones that had strong builds because hard muscles were very tasty. Females were only alright if they were kunoichi because their bodies were toned and Zetsu didn't have to worry about fat except in their breasts if they had any. Fatty tissue had such a slimy feel to it and it was something he'd rather not eat.

He also didn't like to eat genitals. Not everyone kept clean and it was just something he wanted to stay away from all together. That was disgusting. Zetsu also didn't eat the tips of fingers or toes because of the nails on them nor did he like having to eat men who were very hairy. Luckily he carried a special "gardening" tool that would relieve the body of its follicles.

True when Zetsu first laid eyes on Sakura, the first time he smelled that hint of cool, fresh hazelnuts, the man with two personalities could hardly contain himself. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to eat her, but she was the only one who accepted who he was and wasn't using that to her advantage.

The feelings he felt for her were confusing to him. Was this what it was like to have a friend? The feel of being comfortable as oneself around another being? The only person was comfortable with was himself...but he found himself alright around the young girl. Her bubbly personality was quite different than what he was used to.

"I've got you Sakura."

Said girl whirled around just as Zetsu locked his different colored arms around her small frame and pulled her flush against his body.

"Damn it," Sakura cursed as she looked up at him. "How the hell do you do that Zetsu?"

The strange looking shinobi gazed down into those innocent eyes of hers. They held no fear whatsoever. Anyone else would be fighting for their life, but Sakura was placid at the moment. This girl was either not very bright or just trusted him.

The sun had long gone down and Sakura had only managed to catch Zetsu four times, but he caught her twenty-six times. It seemed she just couldn't figure out how to locate him without relying on his chakra to sense him. She would one day figure out how to do it.

"Lots of practice."

Sakura smiled at him as he released her and they began walking back towards the hideout. Hidan and Deidara were no longer outside so they must have quit their fight. Those two could be so ridiculous sometimes. It was annoying as hell, but Sakura had grown used to it...somewhat.

As she walked alongside Zetsu, she studied his features for a moment. He seemed to fidget underneath her gaze. "What is it?"

"So your halves are kind of like two different people?" Sakura questioned. "That's why you guys sound different?"

"Something like that," Zetsu said as they entered the hideout, "but I am Zetsu. Both sides are me."

"Like two halves of a whole right?" the short girl asked.

Zetsu looked at the teenager again. Why was it that she seemed to understand him so well? "Precisely."

"That's pretty awesome," Sakura mused as they walked through the kitchen.

"I suppose. Well, I must take my leave. Our spar has made me quite hungry."

Sakura's face crunched up. "Just make sure it's a bad guy you eat okay?"

Zetsu nodded and slipped through the floor. Walking over to the refrigerator, Sakura poured herself a glass of water. It had grown hard to swallow from how dry her throat had gotten. The inside of her neck felt like a sandstorm was going on and when Sakura took that first sip of cold water, it was like heaven. The blessed liquid moved over every parched crevice of her throat, calming the raging fire within.

Sighing happily, Sakura placed the empty cup back on the counter before frowned at the pile of dirty dishes in all four of the sinks. Her moment of relief was morphing into annoyance at how the guys never cleaned up after themselves. Sakura wasn't exactly a neat freak, but was it that hard to wash a plate after you used it? She couldn't really talk since she had just placed her own cup on the counter and had every intent of leaving it there.

"Sakura-chan!"

Perfect. Tobi would gladly help her wash the dishes. He was just sweet that way. Turning to look over her shoulder at him, Sakura chuckled when she felt Tobi's body heat against her back. The masked man was such a loving person. She still couldn't understand just what exactly he was doing in the Akatsuki. Sakura hadn't seen any of his abilities and he shied away from battle. That was obvious from watching his and Deidara's daily spats. Just why was he in the Akatsuki?

Tobi nuzzled her neck as much as possible with his mask on then moved to help her stack the dished out of the sink. "Tobi will help wash the dishes."

"Thanks Tobi," Sakura said gratefully. "These guys are so messy."

Tobi nodded as he moved to the island counter to gather the plates, cups, and silverware out of those sinks. "It was worse before Sakura-chan came."

Laughing, the young kunoichi could picture just how disgusting this kitchen could get with the likes of Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan living here. Tobi too on certain occasions was pretty messy. Only Kakuzu and Itachi weren't. Sakura rarely ever saw Kakuzu and that was just fine with her. Something just didn't seem human about that guy.

"Itachi..."

He was still out gathering the Jinchuriki. Sakura hoped he was doing alright. Ever since he left she had been struggling with keeping the dark-haired Uchiha out of her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, her mind always wandered back to Itachi. Sakura tried to convince herself of all the reasons why she shouldn't like him. He murdered his family, put his little brother through hell, put her through hell, was going to try and take her best friend for who knew what. Then again, Sakura had always been attracted to guys with issues. Just look at Sasuke. He was bent on revenge, so serious about it that he wouldn't allow anyone to get in his way. He went to Orochimaru in order to gain power knowing that the former Sannin wanted to use his body for his next vessel. Plus Sasuke tried to kill Naruto...that was borderline unforgivable.

Her heart was being tugged between the two brothers, but was now starting to lean towards the older one. Was it a curse of being a female to fall for anything hot enough? Sakura was angry with herself for the feelings that were starting to bud concerning Itachi, but it wasn't like she could control them. Maybe she should just push them away for now, but the way he felt against her when she hugged him...It felt so...right. Sakura had hugged Sasuke plenty of times, but she never felt a twinge in her chest like how she did when she wrapped her arms around Itachi. The fact that he let her hold him for a few moments was also confusing.

"What about Itachi-san?"

Sakura jerked out of her thoughts and blushed, realizing that she had spoken his name out loud. "I um, I was just wondering when he's coming back. I have to perform a surgery on him."

"Oh on Itachi-san's eyes? Yeah, they are getting pretty bad."

Sakura blinked. She had completely forgotten about his eyes. Maybe she could help there too. There was an extensive library at her disposal so Sakura could do some studying to see if there was anything she could do. She remembered reading that if he continued using his Sharingan, he would go completely blind.

Tobi and the distracted female cleaned the kitchen and the entire thing took well over an hour. Sakura quickly fixed herself something to eat afterwards. A bath sounded perfect after a good workout. She felt gross now that the sweat she built up had dried on her skin.

Saying her good nights to Tobi, Sakura began walking towards her little home. In the large throne room, she saw Deidara walking towards her and she smiled. "Did you have fun getting your ass kicked by Hidan?"

"He didn't kick my ass," the explosions artist scoffed. "...he cheated."

Sakura laughed out loud. "I wouldn't put it past him."

Deidara opened his robe and lifted the mesh shirt underneath it to show a deep wound on his left side. There were a lot of smaller cuts on his body as well. He was pretty well banged up.

"I suppose you want me to heal that?" she questioned as she walked past him towards her room.

Deidara followed without a second thought. "Of course you will, un. Your job is to be the Akatsuki medic. Don't make me tell Leader you are refusing your duties."

"You're such a brat," Sakura muttered as she turned around and placed her hands over his wounds.

He only smirked at her. Sakura growled at him. She wasn't really angry with him though. Even so, the annoyed girl would get him back some other time. Right now, she was just ready to get her shower and lay down for the night.

When she finished, Deidara muttered his thanks and started walking towards the kitchen. Sakura shook her head then quietly entered her chamber. Even though Itachi was gone, Sakura could still feel him in her room. There was just something about that man that made it so you know when he had been somewhere. There was just an aura about him that he left wherever he went.

Sighing at the new stress added on to what she already had to deal with, Sakura readied herself for a shower. The exhausted girl could already feel the warmth of the water pelting her sore muscles.


Temari dropped to her knees, her breath coming in shallow gasps as the Akatsuki member gazed silently at her. Her insides felt as if they had been ripped to shreds and coughs wracked her body. Watery eyes gazed at the crimson orbs staring back at her.

"Give up kunoichi," the one known as Itachi said. "You have no chance."

Looking around, Temari saw that Shizune was attempting to heal Chouji who was sprawled unconscious on the ground and Shino was locked in a water prism from the other Akatsuki member. Roshi was slung over the blue one's shoulder. He too was unconscious.

The battle had been fierce. Chouji and Temari had tried to take down Itachi while Shizune and Shino battled his partner. They fought hard, but these rouge ninja were on a completely different level. Itachi didn't have to move and already had Chouji trapped in genjutsu before he could even get close. Whatever illusion he was shown made him attack his own teammates and Shino and Shizune had to put a stop to his rampage.

Now here they were bloodied and bruised, completely humiliated and defeated while the Akatsuki walked off with the Fourth Jinchuriki in their possession. There had to be something she could do.

Standing up on wobbly legs, Temari held her fan in the air and brought it down in one long swoop. The wind from the large weapon sliced everything in its path, rushing towards Itachi. Temari smiled triumphantly when Itachi was cut mercilessly by the raging winds.

"That is a powerful attack."

Temari whirled around to see her foe standing behind her. He moved so fast that she hardly had time to register what had happened until a sharp pain radiated from her stomach.

"Too bad it won't work against me."

The Sand Shinobi fought hard to remain conscious, but it was to no avail as her world faded to black.

Itachi and Kisame walked away from the group of injured ninjas and began their journey back to their hideout. It was a good thing that Pain wanted them to retrieve only one Jinchuriki at a time because the way things were headed with the ruckus the two caused, it would be too much of a bother to try and fight all the ninja plus the Fifth Jinchuriki at the same time. Granted, they were not very tired from their previous fight, but Itachi needed to rest the Sharingan. He had already overused it in that night's battle.

"That wasn't so bad," Kisame said, giving his shark-like smile. "Pretty persistent bunch of ninja if you ask me."

"You did release the jutsu on that boy with the sunglasses correct?" Itachi questioned as they began climbing the mountain they had only a few hours ago.

"Yeah, he would have drowned if I hadn't. Not that it matters to me, but orders are orders."

Itachi remained quiet after those words were spoken; gazing at the unconscious man that was atop of Kisame's large sword. Four down, five to go. The goals of the Akatsuki were still far from finished, but the process was easily seen.

"Let's check in with Leader," the Uchiha said as he sat down near a large oak tree that seemed to be the only one on the mountain of its size.

Kisame sat across from his partner, Samehada and cargo perched on his broad shoulder. Closing their eyes after doing a few hand signs, the two man squad found themselves standing in the room where the bijuu was separated from the host. The waving images of the other members could be seen perched on the fingers of the statues.

"You have obtained the Four Tails?" Pain questioned, the Rinnegan in his eyes the most visible part of him.

"Yes," Itachi answered. "We are on our way back now."

"Good." Pain looked around at the group of rogue ninjas surrounding him. "We will seal it when you return, then we will wait a few days to retrieve the Fifth Jinchuriki. Zetsu will keep an eye on the ninjas in the Stone Village to see what they're doing."

"Alright, we'll be there by tomorrow afternoon," Kisame said.

"Very well."

Kisame and Itachi opened their eyes and got to their feet. Kisame's beady orbs turned to his partner. "We better get going."


Temari...

Someone's calling me, the strangely relaxed female thought as her eyes fluttered underneath her eyelids. Whose voice is that?"

Temari wake up...

Groaning quietly and opening her eyes slowly, Temari looked up to see Shizune bent over her. The dark-haired woman smiled. "Good you're awake."

A confused look crossed the Sand Sibling's face. It wasn't Shizune's voice she heard calling to her. Gazing around at her surroundings while shakily getting to her feet, Temari saw the familiar glint of steel. What was he doing here?

Cocoa orbs turned to her accusingly. "I told you not to die."

"But I didn't," Temari responded, amusement sparkling in her tree green irises. "If I didn't know any better, it sounds like you were worried about me Han."

The Jinchuriki only growled in response. Temari laughed at that and saw her other two teammates standing over in the distance, talking quietly amongst each other. Her heart fell when she realized that Roshi wasn't with them. They had failed their mission. Temari had no idea that the enemy would be that strong. They would need more than just a four man squad to defeat them. Even Roshi with all the power that he held wasn't able to defeat those two.

"So we failed," Temari said quietly. "What do we do now? There's no doubt that they're going to come back for Han."

Shizune gave her teammate a watery smile. "There's nothing else we can do. The Tsuchikage doesn't believe we were much help and has asked us to leave."

"What!" Temari exclaimed, clipping her fan to her back. "That midget bastard."

"We're moving out now," Shizune said, her gaze falling on Han. "Let's go."

Temari turned to her newest friend and walked over to him. He was giving her that silent look again, but his eyes were now calm, not full of annoyance like they had been earlier. It was amazing how quickly had had grown alright with her being around. Pretty adorable too. The kunoichi had only spent a few hours with him, but already she didn't want him to die because of those bastard Akatsuki members.

"Looks like I'm leaving," she said quietly.

"I see," was his short response.

Temari continued to watch him and an idea formed in her mind. Maybe there was a way she could help Han, but it all depended on his answer. Flashing him a smile, Temari said, "Pack up your stuff. Let's go."

Han blinked. "What?"

"You're coming with me," the female shinobi said. "That's the best way to make sure you stay out of trouble."

The host turned away from Temari, arms crossing over his chest. "No."

It was her turn to look surprised. "Why not?"

"If I am to die then so be it," he answered stubbornly.

Temari exhaled irritably. "I don't want you to die, you idiot!" She gazed up the stars and remained quiet for a few moments then whispered, "I don't want any of the hosts to die. They deserve to be treated like people too."

Han curiously gazed at the smaller woman at his side. Never had anyone ever said that they cared about the wellbeing of the hosts. Not unless it was for their own gain. This woman was somehow different from those other people. Han had listened closely when she spoke of everything that Gaara had accomplished. Maybe it was time he found his own group of people who did not care that he harbored a Bijuu. This group of Akatsuki were going to have to find someone else to do their dirty work.

Exhaling, the blonde turned to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "I'll come with you."

Temari smiled. "Good, I can't wait to introduce you to the people I know. Don't worry, they won't care that you're a Jinchuriki. In fact, one of my friends happens to be one."


I enjoyed writing this chapter. I really did. Sakuraxmulti is like my new obsession, but I tried not to make it romantic between her and the Akatsuki members although I am writing a chapter story that is Sakura multi called war Brings Peace of Mind. Please review guys!