A/N: Here we go again. I have a bottle of red eye and a packet of salt and vinegar chips and nothing much else to do, so I'm thinking, hell, why not just pull out another chapter.

It's cos I'm awesome like that.

Sadly, there have been no spoon related deaths at my work yet, but there was a burnt hand. (I had nothing to do with that, I swear.)

But enough of that, time for story.

I don't own Naruto, but if you didn't know that already, you deserve a burnt hand.

The blank walls around Sakura were starting to really get on her nerves.

Back in Konoha her walls were covered with pictures of her family and loved ones. Here there was nothing but grey stone.

She hated the colour grey. It was too bland for her nature. It made her feel dull and tired.

Her muscles ached with boredom.

What she wouldn't give for a few hours of training.

Any excuse to get outside and feel a breeze on her face and grass between her toes.

Unfortunately, her ring only gave her access to places inside of the base, not outside.

The only chance she would ever have of getting outside is if she got one of the others to join her.

Maybe she could ask if one of them wanted to spar with her. But then again, without her chakra, it wasn't going to be very much of a fight.

Damned Sasori. If she wasn't still mad at him, she'd ask him if he could give back her access to it, even just a little bit would be better than none.

Anyway, it's not like he would say no. He wanted to get into her pants, he'd do anything to make her happy… wouldn't he?

She growled and punched her pillow.

This was so frustrating!

She just to break something, or someone…

The pillow she had punched suffered some more abuse and was hurled at the door, incidentally at the exact same time that Sasori walked through it.

Sasori must have forgotten his ninja skills for a split second because the pillow smacked him square in the face and knocked him halfway back into the hallway.

Naturally, an unexpected pillow the face of anyone was enough brighten up Sakura's mood and she couldn't help but laugh at the look of absolute surprise on the red-heads face.

In fact, she literally fell backwards as she pointed and laughed at the less than amused Sasori.

"You should see your face." She giggled, holding her sides. "I can't believe that actually hit you!"

He watched her calmly until she had finally stopped laughing.

"Done?" he asked.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

She kept nodding at him.

"It's wasn't really that funny, you know."

Her cheeks were red and her lips were pursed as she tried to hold back another bout of laughter.

"Alright, just let it out Sakura. I can't talk to you until you're done."

She nodded again and burst out laughing for another few minutes.

Sasori stood at the doorway observing the pillow that lay still on the ground.

He lifted his nose haughtily and turned to face something else

Sakura couldn't stop herself from laughing at the stuck up way he had regarded the pillow and continued to laugh for a little while longer until she could laugh no more.

"Ok, ok. I think I'm done." Sakura was breathing heavily for exertion.

That much laughter could really take it out of you.

He looked at her sideways, his eyes untrusting.

"I'm good, I'm good. Carry on." She heaved.

"Good. I think it's time you got back to training."

The left over giggles stopped immediately.

"Wait… What?" Sakura blinked.

Sasori cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"If you really do intend on surviving this attempt to save your friend, then you're going to need to be in top physical condition. You can't do this alone. So you will be training with different members for different skills."

Sakura nodded, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I will be teaching you chakra control-"

"Hold it right there pillow-face, I don't need you to teach me anything. I was appren-"

"Apprentice to the fifth Hokage. I know. Stop interrupting me and be quiet."

Sakura was about to say something back but quickly decided against it. If he was teaching her chakra control then he was going to let her use her chakra again.

"Now, as I was saying, I will teach you chakra control, Kisame will teach you stamina and Kakuzu will teach you anatomy with the help of Hidan."

(Sakura didn't even want to think about what that entailed…)

"Zetsu, when he feels like it, will teach you about healing plants and such but be careful around him. He bites."

Sakura let out a little smile but it quickly faded when she realised Sasori wasn't joking about the mysterious plant-man.

"Any questions?"

"Will Deidara be teaching me anything?"

"What on earth do you think that idiot could teach you?" Sasori gave a snort.

"Nothing. I just want him as a sparring partner."

Sasori looked intrigued.

"Why would you choose him?"

Sakura gave the sweetest smile she could muster.

"I just want to beat the crap out of him."

A glint of amusement flashed in Sasori's eyes and Sakura took that to mean yes.

"Come to my room in 2 hours and I'll remove the limitations on your chakra."

Sakura nodded and waited until Sasori had left the room and shut the door before she jumped onto the bed and danced for joy.

Things were looking up.

Sasori gave a smile as he shut the door, hearing the kunoichi squeal with glee and jump around.

At least he had done something to make her happy.

He wasn't really too keen on the idea of her hanging around the other members, but Leader had insisted on it. He said that she needed to become strong and that strength could only come from the others.

He was a little suspicious of leaders motives, but he had never questioned them before and he wasn't about to start now.

Not when his life was finally getting worth living.

Sakura had never felt better. Her chakra rolled and danced all around her insides, healing every little scratch and bump on her body.

The feeling of finally being whole again was almost too much for her to bear and she hugged Sasori in thanks before she could stop herself.

Sasori stood there with an uncomfortable look on his face and Sakura's face turned bright pink.

"I, umm, it's just, you know," She started mumbling.

Sasori gave a simple nod that conveyed his understanding.

She contemplated punching him just as retribution for blocking it off from her in the first place but just as quickly dismissed the thought.

"Remember Sakura, having your chakra is a privilege, not a right. I expect you to behave."

Sakura pouted.

"Sakura." He said reproachfully.

She gave her best dramatic sigh.

"Fine. I'll try. No promises though. Deidara might get a broken jaw every now and again. But just so you know in advance, I didn't mean to. It was clearly and accident."

Sasori's face did not smile but his amusement was clearly written in his eyes.

"How can it be an accident if you have even done it yet?"

"I'm just giving you a heads up so we can collaborate our stories faster just incase."

A light chuckle left Sasori's mouth and Sakura beamed back at him.

Finally the man with the frostbitten asshole was warming up.

The sooner he trusted her, the sooner she could exploit that trust.

She was a kunoichi after all and she did have a duty to perform for her village and her friends.

Especially to Naruto.

She gave a sigh as she thought of her hyperactive friend.

Sasori looked cautiously at the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

He knew what she was upset about.

It was quite obvious considering the fact that she hadn't mentioned Naruto for a while and it was clearly putting a strain on the young woman's nerves.

He knew all too well the pain that came with caring about someone so deeply, yet not talking about them at all.

He had done the exact same thing when his parents had died. He carried on with what he knew and tried to keep everything locked up inside.

Maybe that was why they all thought him to be insane…

Hopefully she wasn't going to end up like him. He liked the way her emotions ruled her face. It made her look like a truly living doll.

Her anger, her fear, even the way her heart broke as she thought about her friends, everything about her emotions made her fascinating.

Unlike him, she was truly alive.

He guessed the only reason why she was trying to hide it was because she was worried about losing face in front of the others.

She tried so hard to appear strong. It was part on the ninja code. A ninja must be free of all emotions.

The poor girl must have been told off a lot for never mastering that value.

Sasori considered asking her if she wanted to talk about it, but he knew he was lacking in the sensitivity department most of the time and would probably say something stupidly insensitive and end up making the girl irate all over again.

An irate kunoichi was not what Sasori wanted to deal with right now.

Instead, he took her hand and kissed it.

Sakura's train of thought stopped immediately.

Her hand felt warm and Sasori's lips felt soft against the burning skin.

Her face flushed but she didn't move her hand.

Sasori gave her a smile. An authentic smile.

It was comforting but not demeaning.

How was it he always seemed to know what she was thinking?

She knew he could read her emotions but knew he understood better than to point it out.

It was almost like he knew her better than she knew herself.

He always figured out exactly how to reassure her without making her feel like a failure.

She gave him a weak smile.

He nodded in return and stood up, their hands still locked together.

She was almost afraid to let go.

She stared into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but his gaze had turned emotionless and empty.

"Shall we start the lesson?" He asked quietly.

Sakura removed her hand from his and quietly nodded.

Kisame watched as the kunoichi pushed the green chakra into her arm.

He had to admit she was good, but not good enough to completely dodge his last swing of Samehada.

"Getting tired, Pinky?" he called out.

Sakura stood straight and grinned back at him.

"Not at all."

He fist hit the ground and created a massive rift in the training ground.

Kisame felt his groin stir.

Damn she was strong.

He'd always had a thing for strong women. Not many girls survived long after he was done with them and none of them gave it back as good as he gave it.

If it wasn't for her ridiculous pink hair, she would be the perfect partner.

His mind must have wandered a little too far as she appeared from behind him and gave him a strong kick to the arm.

He felt the bones shatter and his arm went limp.

Oh she was good.

He countered with another swing of his sword and caught her with his fist as she tried to jump out of the way.

She went hurtling back into a tree and landed on the ground with a thump.

Kisame laughed and prepared himself for another strike as she spat out some blood and tried to rise again.

"Enough." Sasori said from the sidelines.

"Aw come on. We were just getting started."

He watched the red heads gaze shift over to the panting girl.

"No. I think that's all she can handle for today. She needs to shower, eat and rest."

Sakura raised her head and pouted.

"But I want to keep on playing."

Kisame gave a loud, rumbling laugh.

"You're my type of girl alright, Pinky."

She smiled back at him, her hand pressing healing chakra into her hip.

Kisame felt his arm throb and gave a slight wince.

"What up Bluey? Get hurt?"

Kisame's eyebrows lifted.

"Bluey?" he said incredulously.

Sakura gave him another smile.

"Oh I get it," he said laughing. "Ok, Pinky, Bluey it is. Now can you fix my arm?"

"Sure." She walked over and placed her hands over his arms.

Her chakra was cool and relaxing.

"Hmm." She said, clearly in medic-mode. "Seems every bone was shattered."

Kisame grimaced, "Gee, I wonder how that happened…"

Sakura poked her tongue out at him and went back to healing his arm.

Her chakra numbed the pain but he could still feel the bones shifting and moving back into place.

The girl was good.

Eventually he felt her chakra leave his body.

"There, all done." She said. "Now, It still needs to do a bit of healing on it's own, so don't push it for then next 24 hours or so."

"But-"

"No buts. Follow your doctor's orders or you won't get a lollipop."

"Fine." He said smiling. "But next time you heal me, I expect you to be doing it in a cute little nurse's outfit."

Sakura gave him a light punch in his sore arm.

He winced again but continued smiling.

"Ahem." Sasori cleared his throat.

Sakura quickly looked back at the puppet master and blushed.

"Oh, right. I should be going." She turned and ran back towards Sasori's side, waving at him as she left. "Catchya Bluey."

"Cya later Pinky." He grinned.

"I was very impressed with your training today Sakura." Sasori said amiably as they walked to Sakura's room. "You're not quite at Akatsuki level yet, but you do have some skill."

Sakura smirked at him.

"Don't forget, I've killed you before." She said darkly.

Sasori nodded.

"And I've beaten you. Hence why you're here. You only beat me before because of my grandmother and the only reason I chose not to kill you was because you interest me."

Sakura stopped walking and glared at Sasori.

Noticing that she was no longer next to him, he stopped and turned around.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

Her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

'Damn. I've said something stupid again. I'd better fix this.'

Sasori walked up to her and could see the hurt in her eyes.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He wasn't sure if she was going to spit on him or slap him.

"I'm not use to giving compliments so I'm not sure if this is going to sound ok." He cleared his throat. "Sakura, you are a very talented fighter but you don't have the skill of an s-class ninja. It's most likely because you're a girl and you have something we don't."

Sakura's eyes hardened and her chakra became menacing.

"This isn't coming out right is it?" he sighed.

Sakura gave her head a slow shake.

"Ok, just bear with me on this." He took her hand in his. "Sakura, you are amazing. You have so much potential and I know that soon you will be just as strong, if not stronger as any Akatsuki member here."

The hate in Sakura's eyes appeared to had softened a little, so Sasori continued.

"The best part about it is, you won't learn from us to get power; you will learn so you can give your friend life. You have a great heart, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes never left his and neither did her hand.

"And so I guess, that's why I find you interesting."

Sakura's heart fluttered in her chest as she took in everything Sasori had just said.

It was obvious that the man had very little in the way of social skills and had probably never given a compliment in his life but she had never heard him sound so sincere before.

Maybe he was telling the truth?

The way he held her hand made her feel like he would never lie to her.

"Sasori?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Thank you."

Sasori gave her a small smile and continued to walk her to her door.

Sasuke sat outside in the evening rain.

What the hell was going on?

It had been a long time since he had felt that chakra but he knew it the instant he sensed it.

Sakura.

For some reason the girl was here but no one had even thought to let him know.

She was, in spite of everything, his old team mate.

The silly girl probably still had a crush on him.

Maybe that's why she was here.

She must have run away from the village and became a missing nin to search for him.

Pathetic.

Still, he wondered what she looked like now.

Sasuke was a grown man now and had all the urges that a grown man has.

Maybe she wasn't as awkward as she used to be.

He did need to start rebuilding the Uchiha clan. Maybe the foolish girl from his childhood could still be of some use in that area.

Sasuke felt the rain around him stop.

Pein only stopped him downpour for one person.

"Konan."

The blue haired woman stepped out of the shadows and stood behind him.

"Hello Uchiha."

"What do you want?"

"Oh nothing really. I just wanted to give you this."

She handed Sasuke a small origami blossom made from pink paper.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Konan smiled.

"It's just a little something I thought you might like."

Sasuke looked at the paper flower.

"She's still a virgin you know."

"What makes you think I care?" he growled.

"Nothing. I just thought you might like to know she's still pure. For now…" She gave a small laugh and disappeared again.

The paper blossom in Sasuke's hand became crushed as he clenched his fist.

"Damn nosey bitch." He grumbled.

A/N: Is it just me or are the chapters getting longer?

And just to let you guys know, next chapter Sasuke and Sakura will be meeting…

Now you can all sit there and get cranky at me for making you wait.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm so evil. I love it.

Well, sadly it's back to work for me. I'll try get the next chap out soon.

Luff luff and knuffles till then