Go me, another long chapter!! I am posting this one earlier than usual (I know thats gotta make you happy) since I'm not sure if I will be able to post on Friday like I usually do. I hope you enjoy and I still don't own Naruto for any of you too thick headed to realize this on your own accord!

Chapter 12

"N-Naruto-kun?!" Hinata exclaimed surprised.

"That's right! Naruto Uzamaki is here to save the day!" He yelled while smiling from ear to ear.

"Naruto! You idiot! What the hell are you doing here?!" Shikamaru demanded.

"What? Why else? To save Sakura-chan!" The blonde shouted back.

"Don't you think that Hokage-sama had a reason for not sending you with us! You're not supposed to be here, go back now!" Shikamaru shouted.

"No! I'm not abandoning Sakura-chan! She risked her life to save me, now I'm gonna do the same for her!" Naruto's blue eyes were set hard with determination as he glared at Shikamaru.

"Naruto, we both know why you can't come. Why do you still-" Shikamaru tried calming down to reason with his friend before being cut off.

"I don't care." Naruto interrupted.

"Look Naruto, either you go back to Konoha or we force you back. What's your choice?" Neji stepped in, frustrated with both of them.

Not only are they wasting time, but they know something I don't. Why does is bother Shikamaru so much that Naruto is here? This sounds more of an argument I'd expect between Naruto and Uchiha. But if Shikamaru is so strongly set against having Naruto with us, I'm sure there is a strong reason.

"Che. Just let the idiot come with us. It's not worth wasting our time and energy over. He won't be captured with all of us there." Sasuke said.

"What?! You've got to be kidding Sasuke! You know why he can't come." Shikamaru stated.

"Yes, I know why he shouldn't, but I just told you why he can. Besides, Naruto may be a loser, but he can still help with the mission." Sasuke insisted.

"W-why can't Naruto-kun come with us?" Hinata asked, braving the question that was running through the rest of the group's minds.

"Is there something you three wish to share?" Neji asked annoyed.

Naruto began shifting uncomfortably under all of their gazes. Sasuke simply stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked off into the woods. Finally, Shikamaru broke the tense atmosphere.

"Che. Whatever. But Sasuke, if anything happens on this mission, I am holding you accountable, got it? Sakura is already going to be pissed off at Naruto for coming, but she is going to be even more upset at us for letting him come."

"Nani?! Why would she be mad at me?!" Naruto asked exasperated.

"Naruto, you really are an idiot, geez. The girl risks her life to save you and now you are once again coming within their grasp. This whole mission screams suicide for you Naruto. Sakura isn't expecting you to come, so you shouldn't. And we both know how much Sakura hates surprises." Shikamaru said, putting up his last arguments against Naruto.

"I don't care what Sakura expects. I know she is in danger and I'm gonna save her!" Naruto argued back.

"Before you start with your heroic speech, maybe you should remember how and why she ended up in danger." Shikamaru countered.

Naruto had no reply. He was fully aware that it was his fault she was captured and he knew why the Hokage had not assigned him to this mission. The very action of being outside of Konoha was suicidal for him while Akatsuki was on the move. But he had every intention of resolving his initial mistake of allowing his friend to be caught by rescuing her, even if it cost him his life.

"I know." Naruto admitted looking down at his feet. "I know it is my fault that Sakura was caught." Naruto's fist clenched as the shame of his mistakes taunted him. "But I refuse to let Sakura suffer for saving me while I coward in the safety of our village! I will go to whatever length necessary to get her back!"

Shikamaru stared at the blond. Naruto knew the risks and consequences and trying to talk the shinobi out of coming was about as worth while as telling a dog to sweep the floor. Neither would listen, and attempting to force either was just a waste of time.

Shikamaru let out a long sigh before turning to face Neji.

"Tsunade-sama appointed you as the leader of this group Neji. It is your call," Shikamaru said in the same bored tone that the group was so used to.

"I can't spare any of you to take Naruto back to Konoha, so he will have to come with us."

Naruto's face lit up as he jumped to the ground.

"Alright, let's go save Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted exuberantly.

"We have to find her first dobe." Sasuke voiced.

"Oh right." Naruto agreed sheepishly as he began scratching the back of his head.

"So, Neji, tell us all the information you have gathered so far." Shikamaru walked over to their mission leader as he switched subjects to the more pressing matter at hand.

"Hai." Neji agreed as be began debriefing them, but still his mind wondered.

Why was is so much more dangerous for Naruto to be on this mission than any of the rest of us? Shikamaru and Sasuke know something, and it irks me to be short changed information, especially if their secret is going to put one of us in more danger.

OoO

Sorry bastards.

Sakura continued working out using one of the many exercises that she learned from practicing with Lee.

She balanced precariously on one finger as the rest of her body made a perfect vertical line. Slowly she bent her elbow, lowering herself until her nose was within three inches of the top of her wrist. Sakura closed her eyes while exhaling, and after a second of hesitation, she slowly pushed her body back up.

"Eight...hundred...thirty-seven." She whispered quietly to herself.

Within the week, I should be back up to full charge, and I'll take them all out. Nothing to it but to do it. I should probably wait for most of their Akatsuki asses to be gone on a mission. For each one that is gone, my chances of success are raised.

"Eight...hundered...thirty-eight."

I'm already aware that I can easily take Kisame and Deidara since I have alrady fought with them. In my previous fights I was careful to only use taijutsu and basic ninjutsu so that they wouldn't learn about my true strengths in battles, but when I start this time, I'm going all the way.

"Eight hundred...thirty...nine."

When I do make my move, it will probably be best to provoke one of the member into a fight. That way I'll be able to take out one of them before the others even realize that I'm actually going after them.

"Eight...hundred...forty.

Once the first one is dead, every member within the building will come after me. I've noticed that at least three lower members are always around, but they only have a small amount of strength with simple training. Their jobs are simply to take care of the actual shinobi members.

"Eight...forty...one."

But, I don't want to overlook them. A couple of them may have a trick up their sleeve, I need to expect that. I can't risk making such a stupid mistake, especially in the presence of such a tough enemy.

"Eight...forty...two."

But I need to try and launch my attack when Uchiha Itachi is not here. That will be crucial. I would be able to take him on if it were just the two of us, but for all the chaos I'm going to cause, I couldn't possibly attempt to keep up with him and every other asshole that stepped up. Besides, falling into Itachi's Tsukuyomi is still too risky for me. I've trained a lot with Kakashi-sensei, but I still haven't perfected my ability to predict my adversary's ability while not looking at their face, or eyes actually.

"Eight hundred...forty...three."

Besides, Itachi would be a pain in the ass to deal with. Any jutsu that I perform, he could easily add to his already impressive list. I definitely can't risk that. I only have a couple techniques that I could use on him that he wouldn't be able to mimic immediately, but those require a great deal of concentration, control and chakra. I have no doubt the Uchiha could learn them, however it he would need to see it two or three times in order to understand the complexity of it.

"Eight hundred...forty-four."

It doesn't matter though, I'm planning this around Itachi's absence, so I won't even have to deal with him. I need to stop thinking about what to do about him and start focusing on the opponents I am going to fight. I must be ready, I can't fail. Failure means death, but if that is what i meet, then I will die a proud shinobi of Konoha while taking some of those assholes with me.

"Eight...hundred forty-five."

OoO

"Oi, Itachi. It's done, but do you think they will really work?" Kisame walked over to his partner with Deidara close on his heels.

"Yes it will work. The kunoichi left a clue to her team mates that they should have followed to Stone. The only thing they could do once they arrived in Stone was question the civilians in hopes of finding a lead to her. Did you describe the girl to the shop keeper in detail?" Itachi asked, though he didn't really seem to be listening as his gaze seemed far away.

"Of course. We went to two different clothing stores, so Konoha's shinobi should find at least one of them yeah. But do you want us to give these outfits to her? I mean, she's been in those same clothes for a while yeah." Deidara asked.

Maybe I shouldn't have asked, that way I could have just gone ahead and given them to her and they really couldn't complain. Now I have given them a choice. Poor Sakura, she must be intently wishing for something different to wear. Especially since her current outfit is torn up pretty badly and has been stained with all sorts of blood and filth.

Deidara stared expectantly at Itachi, awaiting his answer. Since the kunoichi was brought by Itachi and Kisame, they had the primary say in what she did and what happened to her.

Luckily for her Itachi could care less about her presence. Actually, Itachi has always been decent to his prisoners. He gets whatever information is necessary using whatever means necessary, then disposes of them quickly. Compared to what Zetzu does, hell, Sakura is getting the royal treatment.

"Might as well, eh, Itachi? It's not like we have any use for these clothes." Kisame agreed.

"Hn." Itachi turned his back to his comrades as he made his way back to his room.

"Here Deidara, your idea, go give 'em to her." Kisame dropped both outfits into Deidara's arms before heading back outside.

"Hai, you sorry lazy ass." Deidara murmured as he made his way through the long corridors to Sakura's secluded room.

Deidara knocked hard on the door twice before calling out her name.

"Sakura-san, I'm coming in!"

Deidara hesitated a second before turning the knob and opening the door.

"It is considered rude to simply demand you are coming in before waiting for a reply." Sakura's dry voice commented as Deidara stepped in and shut the door.

As Deidara looked up, his mouth already opening to quip back, his eyes widened a fraction as he stared at the kunoichi.

Sakura had obviously just finished taking a shower. Her pink locks were a darker shade, magenta and clung to her body. Small rivulets of water still dripped onto the cold grey cement floor. The dim light reflected off of her wet skin, making the kunoichi look even paler while casting an ethereal image. But what caught Deidara off was the single black towel wrapped around her body. Sakura's left hand held the two ends of the towel together in front of her chest, covering all of the necessary areas, but sagged a little towards her back, creating small folds that dipped down showing the square of her back. It was then that Deidara noticed several areas where the light seemed to reflect just a little more.

A shinobi's tattoos. Deidara thought as his eyes roamed over the scars adorning her skin. The only flaw in a true work of art. I wonder how many she has...they seem to cover her entire back and chest, along with her arms.

Finally, Deidara's eyes rested on Sakura's stern face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Sakura prompted annoyed, but maintaining the same emotionless expression that seemed to forever grace her face.

Deidara almost burst into tears at the thoughts that came to his head.

There are several things that you could help me with, but I doubt she'd agree.

But he blinked back the thoughts and pushed the image of the woman before him to the back of his mind.

"Here. I'm sure you'd appreciate these yeah." Deidara said off-handly while crossing the room to give her the outfits.

Sakura took one look at the bundle and began mentally thanking whatever god existed for giving her new clothes.

"Thank you Deidara-san. Perfect timing, I really was sick of wearing this." Sakura motioned to the tattered clothes folded at the end of her bed. Sakura then looked up at Deidara, and for the first time, Deidara saw the pink haired girl give a small smile, and he too flashed his own lopsided grin.

Sakura quickly grabbed the first outfit and walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door as she began to dress.

Deidara chuckled lightly at her as he waited for her to walk back out.

Within two or so minutes, Deidara heard the door handle twist and Sakura emerged in tight fitting capris that extended down to the top of her knees and a hunter green sleeveless top with a v-neck. Deidara watched as her dripping hair left darker spots on her new shirt.

"So, what purpose did my new outfit serve?" Sakura asked while performing some simple stretches and nodding with approval that her new threads still allowed her to move easily.

"Now what would give you that notion Sakura-san? Can't a friend give a friend something they desire yeah?"

"Normally, yes. But a criminal doesn't give a prisoner something unnecessary for survival." Sakura replied simply while continuing to move around and get accustomed to the new clothes.

"Heh. So skeptical yeah." Deidara joked.

"On the assumption that I'm bait to bring Naruto here, you probably went to a nearby town and described my appearance for an outfit. That way, when the others show up, they'd take it as your miscalculated mistake and their big break in finding me when they finally find a villager that knows something about how I look. I guess there are two outfits because you wanted to make sure my comrades found at least one of the leads, so that meant you had to go to two different shops. Or at least something to that like, ne?" Sakura finally stopped moving around and stared at her capturer.

Deidara smirked in spite of himself," I told you to quit analyzing everything so much little kunoichi yeah."

"I was pretty sure that was your purpose for keeping me here. Thanks for confirming that for me, now why don't you run along and go play with your clay my little blond friend." Sakura added with her own smirk, as Deidara's eyes narrowed slightly at her taunting.

Damn Konoha kunoichi! Why do the pretty ones have to be such a big pain in the ass yeah? But still, she surmised so much information so accurately with little to no information to go on. Sasori-sama would enjoy speaking with her, she seems to be very tactical. But I don't know who she thinks she is kidding, she can say whatever she wants for all I care, I'm aware that she hasn't confirmed anything from this conversation.

"Well, Sakura-san, I need to go now, but I'll vome get you for dinner yeah. Take care." Deidara added as he crossed the fllor to the door that held her in.

"Hey, Deidara-san. You have anything spectacular planned for tomorrow?" Sakura asked the blond surprisingly.

"Um...no. Why?" Deidara asked curiously, stopping with his left hand resting on the door knob as he partially turned to look back at the pink haired captive.

"I was wondering if you have nothing better to do, if you could stop by for a little while. It gets pretty boring pretty quickly in here all alone." Sakura said.

Deidara continued staring curiously at her.

She's wearing that emotionless face she seems to always have. What is she trying to hide? Is she really just bored? But I guess I would get pretty bored too yeah.

"Alright. I'll try to come by. If I have enough time, I might even take you on a walk yeah. The flowers have bloomed and they truly are an amazing display of art."

Sakura's mask faltered a second as the sentimental note of what he said threw her off. But she collected herself before Deidara noticed.

"Hai." She accepted quietly before Deidara left.

Sakura watched the door close and waited until she felt his chakra signature head back down the corridor before she allowed herself to relax. Sakura then became filled with pleasure at her accomplishment.

What an interesting character, I definitely didn't expect a comment on flowers or art. Where the hell did that come from? But he agreed to come, so I may get my answers out of him tomorrow. I think Deidara is the best person for me to question, he has a personality at least, all the others are a bunch of hard asses.

Sakura fell back on her bed as she began running through a list of information she needed to slip out of him and began thinking of ways to broach each topic without seeming to pry.

OoO

"I see." Shikamaru mused. "That is a pretty big mistake from a top organization such as Akatsuki."

Neji stared at him critically.

I just told him everything and all he can do is remark on Akatsuki's screw up. Figures, we spent two weeks gathering all of that information, talking to every civilian, asking questions, then cross-referencing each of our individual data.

"Itachi wouldn't do something that stupid, he's leading us into a trap," Sasuke mumbled, but nobody missed the way Sasuke ground out his elder brother's name, like it was some sort of curse that should never be named.

"That's what I think. How many people had information regarding Sakura?" Shikamaru asked the group.

"Um...t-two did Shikamaru, a-and both owned clothing stores. Neither said that they actually s-saw Sakura-chan, b-but they knew h-her age, height, weight a-and her general build." Hinata answered.

"Why does it have to be a trap? What if they just made a mistake? Simple and clean, nothing to it." Kiba asked annoyed. "You're just complicating it and giving those bastards too much credit."

"We need to look at this from every angle Kiba. It is very likely for them to be setting a trap. Nobody said we weren't going to follow, but being aware a trap is at the end is crucial for us to be successful in this mission." Shino added.

"It doesn't matter if there is a trap or not, we will still succeed in rescuing Sakura-chan!" Lee cheered.

"But Shikamaru still has a good point. Considering who we are up against, this would be a set up. So then, I guess the next best question would be what are we going to do?" Tenten said as she let her mind wander, playing out different scenarios.

"We only have one thing that we can do." Neji began as the rest of the group looked over to their leader. "We have to take the bait and follow the information to where ever it takes us. With the consideration and possibility of it being a trap we will just have to proceed with more caution."

"Hai," they all agreed in unison.

"We are going to split up into four groups." Neji told them. "Shikamaru, I want you to take your original team of Sasuke and Kiba to investigate everything within a five mile radius north of this town. Shino, you and Lee will search within a five mile radius east of here. Hinata and Tenten will go west. And Naruto will search the south with me."

"You sure splitting up is a good idea Neji? We would be stronger if we all stayed together." Tenten asked concerned.

"There is too much ground to cover for us to worry about something so trivial. As it is, we each will have a lot of ground to cover and we are pressed for time." Neji told her.

"Heh, I doubt that clumsy idiot will run out of energy any time soon, good luck dealing with him Neji." Sasuke added while smirking at Naruto.

"Shut up Sasuke! I'll show you who the clu-" Naruto began furiously.

"Knock it off!" Neji interrupted. "Meet back here in ten days. You are to question every civilian in the other towns on appearances of either Akatsuki or Sakura in addition to doing an investigation and thorough search for Akatsuki's hideout. Thier base should be well hidden and in an isolated area. At any sign of danger, back off immediately and come back here to wait for the rest of us. Understand?" Neji asked curtly.

All of them nodded their heads to show they understood before jumping into the trees and heading in their respective directions.

Yeah! Another chapter!! Boy am I tired, I wanted to make sure I posted another chapter this week so I had to finish it early! But thanks to everyone that reviewed! I always love reading them! They make me feel special!

Ja ne and don't forget to vote!!

P.S. I hate school and really really don't want to go back!