Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto - and at this point, I wouldn't want to. I'd know how it ends, and that would just ruin the suspense.
A/N: So there I was, just cruising along, enjoying my first few months of high school with no worries when all of a sudden I remember the gigantic evil cliff-hanger I left this story with. Um, oops. What can I say? It slipped my mind….this chapter will be really good, worth the wait, I promise.
For Sakura, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Her mind had simply shut down, and she couldn't even find the voice to scream. For all she knew, she was falling backwards - the fabric of Deidara's Akatsuki robe was slipping through her fingers, her lips left his, her clothes were pulled forward, then hung at her sides as they were released from a many-mouthed grasp.
But of course she wasn't actually moving. Rather, Deidara was being pulled away from her. More and more ANBU were swarming the alley by the second, being directed by none other than the fifth Hokage herself. Tsunade said nothing to her shocked student, but instead approached the struggling outlaw. Deidara's clay pouch had been ripped from his waist and his robe lay several meters away. Panting and wide-eyed, he was on his knees, arms pinned by masked ANBU. He stared up at Tsunade through his curtain of blonde hair, completely defenceless.
The Hokage glowered back, eyes devoid of mercy.
"Take him away!" she barked "I'll deal with him this time."
Tsunade and Sakura looked on silently as Deidara was hauled roughly to his feet and shoved off into the descending darkness, still in the firm hands of the ANBU squad. Tsunade said nothing to her pale, whimpering student. 'They brought it on themselves.' was the only thing she could think, and with that thought, she walked away, leaving Sakura alone in the darkening alley.
Sakura stayed in that alley until she lost track of time. The festival torches burned low, and all but a few stragglers had headed home by the time she gave a thought to how cold, or hungry she was. Not that those things seemed to matter. She had lost Deidara, perhaps for good this time; their love had been torn from them by force. She was overcome by fear for both of them. How would she cope without him? And more importantly, what would become of him? She would have been able to get on with her life, had she been living with the knowledge that Deidara was alive and well and running free. Now, his life could be forfeit, and it was all her fault. Her whimpering accelerated into hiccupping sobs.
All of a sudden, a good-sized stone came hurtling through the night, striking Sakura squarely on the back of the head. A man jumped down from the city wall, gathering the girl's unconscious form in his arms.
Itachi shook his head, looking down at Sakura's limp form. The sound of her sobbing was just too annoying; he'd had to shut her up somehow. Moving as quickly and quietly as a shadow, he darted through the sleepy Konoha and flung Sakura through her open bedroom window. There. Good deed accomplished.
While Sakura was landing on her bedroom floor with considerable force, while Itachi was feeling disgruntled and Deidara was writhing in his cold cell, another fairly important person was drawing near the village. This person was completely unaware of the forbidden romance that had blossomed between medic and criminal; this person was equally oblivious of the consequences now being served to those two young lovers. This person was merely tracking his older brother, hoping to get some long-overdue revenge for the massacre of his family.
After years of absence, Sasuke Uchiha was heading back to Konoha.
Sakura's eyes opened slowly the next morning. Her head throbbed violently, and her muscles protested every attempt at sitting up. Not to mention the inescapable emptiness that now flooded her being. Her green eyes scanned the room uninterestedly, trying to figure out what had woke her. A pair of heels settled into focus. She looked up. Not Tsunade, but Shizune. That was just as bad.
Shizune looked nervous; she couldn't bring herself to meet Sakura's gaze. She knew why Tsunade had summoned Sakura, and none of the reasons were good for Sakura. Nevertheless, she led the girl in silence across the town, and up to the Hokage's office. As soon as Sakura was standing sullenly in front of her master, Shizune slipped out of the room and shut the door. She knew what was coming and didn't want to be any part of it.
Tsunade poured herself a cup of some steaming liquid and drained it in a single mouthful. She laid her cup back on the desk and sighed deeply. As angry as she was, she didn't want to do this.
"I had a rough night, Sakura." Tsunade began wearily "I had a lot of trouble to sort out, a lot of paperwork to go through."
Sakura stiffened. She could guess what that paperwork was about.
"Technically, you can't be punished for anything that happened. The criminal confessed to entering the city of his own accord. He says you didn't help him." Tsunade eyed her student doubtfully, then threw back another cup of the steaming liquid.
Sakura began to grow uneasy. Tsunade was obviously anxious; she seemed to be leading up to something. What could she possibly be trying to say?
Tsunade blurted out "Despite this, I have no choice but to revoke your duties as a ninja!"
Sakura felt her world fall around her. The office, Tsunade's face, all fell away, until she was left with her hopelessness. "Ninja" wasn't a career; it was a life choice. Her life choice. And now it was all going to be taken from her. A quiet sound of disbelief escaped her lips.
Tsunade watched the face of her student with an uncharacteristic amount of sympathy. She knew Sakura was hurting, and there was worse news yet to come. Tsunade of all people could appreciate how painful matters of the heart were.
"Sakura!" she barked, trying to retain a tough façade. The girl's blank eyes stared back into hers.
"This isn't permanent. You can resume ninja duties - after the baby is born."
There was a moment of tense silence as Sakura processed the meaning of this. She whimpered quietly and clutched her stomach. Tsunade sighed heavily.
"One of the Hyuuga clan was among those ANBU last night. He saw the beginnings of another chakra system, separate from your own." Tsunade explained.
"Deidara." was the only thing Sakura could manage to whisper. Tsunade stood suddenly, and walked past the trembling young woman, headed for the door. But before she could leave, she turned around and told Sakura one last thing, something that would shatter her world.
"Sakura, this Deidara. The Akatsuki member. He's been sentenced to death."
With that, Tsunade slipped from the room. She never saw Sakura fall to her knees, or the tears that came afterwards. The shell of who Sakura had been lay huddled on the floor for hours, until Shizune was sent to escort her home.
A/N: There, wasn't that worth the wait? It's a little shorter than most of the other chapters, but I think it's eventful enough to make up for it. There! No more cliff-hanger! But now I'm kind of curious about where I'm going with this…..
Am I really going to shamelessly plead for reviews? Hmm…Yes, I am. A big thanks to everyone who's ever reviewed, and I hope everyone would care to leave me one. I want to see which direction you think the story is going.
