Soo finally there will be some action: I know you all have been waiting for it. I'm trying to slow down the fight scene a bit, because it seemed a little too fast for me at first. Tell me how you like it. Thank you for all the reviews! I'm thinking only a few more chapters left to this story.

Akatsuki Angel 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Walking through the hallways, Sakura found Sai easily enough. Whenever Sakura had been in Konoha, the young artist seemed incredibly difficult to find. She guessed Pein had given them guest rooms just out of politeness, and possibly as a way to keep them under supervision; she probably wouldn't have trusted them either. Either way, Sakura was happy that she found the raven haired man alone; she didn't think she could have managed talking about the jutsu with anyone else around.

Walking into the bedroom without knocking, Sakura shut the door immediately behind her; this was going to be a private conversation. She didn't need anyone from Akatsuki worrying about her, nor did she need any of Konoha's nin worrying about her. Looking across the room, Sakura noticed that Sai still had not looked up from the sketch pad that lay in his lap. A small smile tugged on her lips as she thought to easier times; Sai had always seemed so busy with his artwork. Only as Sakura progressed closer to Sai did he finally look up and greet her.

"Hey Ugly," Sai said tonelessly as he gave her a once over. Sakura knew Sai to be blunter than the almost unemotional man he was pretending to be. There was a question in those dark black eyes, and even though Sakura knew Sai had an idea about what she wanted to talk to him about, he seemed still mildly curious. It was obvious that he knew which jutsu she had used to resurrect the dead Akatsuki; it was the jutsu he had ultimately told her about. She was the one he had entrusted to safe guard the technique and the scroll; she wondered if he was disappointed in her.

"Sai," Sakura said with a slight frown. "I think you know why I'm here. Can you tell me anything more about the resurrection jutsu?"

"What did you have in mind?" Sai questioned easily as he pushed his drawing to the side; it seemed she was going to get his full attention, which made Sakura a little nervous. It was rare to see Sai so involved in something… he had to know more about the jutsu than she did herself; maybe that was what was causing him to look so interested in the topic.

"Recently I have read up more on the resurrection jutsu, and have read that it steals my life force and places it into the ones I resurrect. The scroll said the limit for the number of resurrections in the past have been three, but I have resurrected almost twice that amount. I haven't felt the shift in my life force… I don't' feel tired at all, but I am a little bit worried..."

"So you are concerned that if you resurrect one more person you will die?" Sai questioned slowly, it was almost like he was thinking which words he should use and how he should use them. He was censoring himself, at least as best as Sai could censor himself; Sakura was at least a little appreciative of him for that.

"Yes," Sakura nodded a little. "I know this is supposed to be a forbidden jutsu, but I know in this upcoming battle against Madara we are going to be needing it somewhere. I still have to resurrect Kakuzu, and I refuse to let anyone die from the battle against that monster. I want to make sure none of my precious people die while I could have done something to stop it."

Sai looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "The theory has not been tested yet, but as far as I know, your life force is not totally gone when you complete the resurrection jutsu. It is only redirected into the body that is being resurrected."

"So… does that mean when I resurrect the men, I give them some of my life force?" Sakura questioned as she thought over the idea. "It's kind of like a trade then?"

"Precisely," Sai nodded. "If you want to think of your life force in another sense, many people use the term soul instead of life force."

"So if I wanted to regain, a part of my soul, would I be able to gain it back if one of the people I resurrected died?" Even though Sakura did not like this train of thought, she knew she would have to explore every avenue. It wasn't like she was going to go around killing the guys she had just resurrected (and it's not like she could in most cases); no she was too loyal to Akatsuki for that. If Zetsu was to die, however, she was sure everyone would be totally okay with that one.

"In theory, again, you would be able to gain parts of your soul back. No one has ever tested this theory, though."

"Okay," Sakura said as she thought over her options. She still did not know her limit of how many people she could resurrect, but at least she knew a little more about the task at hand. No matter what, Sakura knew she had to do at least one more resurrection: Kakuzu. It all depended on whether she would live after that, she supposed. "Thanks Sai."

She exited the room without another word, and immediately started walking towards the medical room. She assumed that if she flared her chakra enough, everyone would understand that she was ready to start healing Kakuzu.

She had thought over the pro's and con's in the situation she was under, and she knew that if she died now, then she would at least die being semi-happy. She was still confused about whom she would choose to be with, but if she was dead, than her relationships with the men around her really couldn't get any further. As morbid of a thought as it was, if Sakura were to die, then she at least would have lived without the heart ache she was sure one of these males was going to cause her.

Pein had ordered her to heal Kakuzu, anyway, and as the loyal Akatsuki member she was Sakura would follow that order. She wouldn't tell him about the side effects of the jutsu, though. Pein didn't need to know that one.

Arriving at the room in question, Sakura was a little surprised to find most of the shinobi (both Konoha shinobi and Akatsuki shinobi) in the room already. They must have realized she was going to finish this resurrection process today, and had stayed near the medical facility. Flaring her chakra for a second time, Sakura noted the only absent members were Sai and her leader. She could clearly explain why Sai was not present; she had just talked to him. If Sakura knew Sai at all, she was sure that Sai had went back to drawing after she had finished talking to him. Art seemed to help the male decompress, and if Sakura was to live through this whole event, she knew she would have to take up drawing in her free time.

Nodding slightly towards Kakashi, Sakura fought off the frown that threatened to show. He looked so tired. Sakura hadn't remembered a time when her sensei had looked so run down, and Sakura was worried for the man's health. It took a lot out of a person to make a deal with the devil, not that she would know or anything.

Moving to the center of the room, Sakura found herself near Kakuzu's body. Her ex-teammates stood a meter or so back behind her, while the rest of the Akatsuki stood on the other side of her. It was so weird to have so many eyes on her; she was a little surprised that everyone in the whole hideout could fit into the small medical room.

With a swift opening of the door, Pein entered the room quickly followed shortly by Sai. Sakura's eyes widened slightly at the thought of the two entering together; did it mean something? Watching Pein, she noticed he looked stoic, and seemed to be unfazed; she hoped that meant that Sai had chosen not to tell her leader about the jutsu then.

Smiling slightly, she turned to look at Pein again; this time he stood across from her. Pein stood calmly; a familiar looking container in his large calloused hands. Those hands had been able to obtain a still beating heart thanks to Sasori's old heart container. She didn't dare question where he had gotten the heart because Sakura herself didn't have the heart to know. But Sakura had been the one to ask for this. This is what she needed to resurrect Kakuzu. Taking in a deep breath, Sakura bit her thumb finger and began to spread the blood to all of her fingers.

She idly wondered if her old sensei had seen this jutsu before, it would not surprise her. After her blood was placed on all ten of her fingers, Sakura immediately started to do hand signs. The hand signs were so easy to remember now, even though they lasted a while. Dog, ram, boar, horse, dog, ram, tiger, ram, horse, snake… and so on.

As Sakura finished her last hand sign she felt the pink chakra flicker over her body. Sakura knew at once that the pink chakra, was actually not chakra, but her life force; her soul. It was weird to think that she had this much left… after everything. It was stupid to compare the first time she had done the jutsu to now, but Sakura could only feel a slight difference in the amount of power she was experiencing. Other than that, Sakura could sense no unwanted side effects that would possibly lead to her death; this resurrection seemed just like the previous five.

Taking a moment to look behind her, Sakura noticed Kakashi's eye as it narrowed; so he did know what she was doing? It didn't matter, Sakura thought as she placed her hands on Kakuzu's body, this was the last time she was going to use this jutsu… hopefully.

It was a kind of promise she had made to herself before walking into the room. The only way she would break that promise was if something happened to one of her precious people; she would do whatever it took to heal them then.

Bringing a hand up, Sakura grabbed the container in which Kakuzu's new heart resided. Sakura did not flinch as she opened the container, and practically dropped the new heart inside of Kakuzu's body. Connecting the heart valves to the arteries, Sakura was so entranced by what she was doing, she didn't even feel the large earth quake that shook the building..

"It is time, then," Pein's voice rang out as he looked to everyone in the room. The group had been biding their time until Madara had showed up, and it appeared now was the time. They could easily feel the dark man's chakra signature outside. Pein's ringed eyes looked to Sakura's emerald as she finally felt the sinister chakra that came from outside. "Finish up, then stay inside the base. That is an order. Get Kakuzu up as quickly as possible. Send him outside."

Sakura's eyes widened but before she could protest her leader as well as the rest of the shinobi in the room started to head out the door. No one even questioned or fought the idea of her staying inside… of her staying away from the battle. Frowning, Sakura pushed a little more pink light into Kakuzu's body.

Once again, she was being treated like she was some fragile little girl. The thought irked her more so because the order was from Pein; it had not even come from her previous teammates (she had expected as much from them), but not Pein. Hadn't Pein been the one to trust her enough to protect his men? So much for putting his faith into her abilities, Sakura thought bitterly.

Concentrating on the body before her, Sakura found it increasingly difficult. She could feel all the strong chakra signatures that were outside; it made her nervous, and made her even more determined to finish up with Kakuzu here. Pushing more pink light into Kakuzu, Sakura thought to the battle starting outside. She would be there soon, she was sure of it.

He stood across the field from five shadowy figures, and even though he was facing a man who wanted him dead, all Pein could do was sigh. He was growing tired of the games Madara was playing with him. And if Pein questioned Madara about it, he would surely know what the orange haired man was talking about. Pein could easily tell who the first four ninja's identity… it was the last one that was giving him the most trouble. Madara, Zetsu, Kabuto, and a still kyuubi chakra-powered Naruto were the four he knew.

The latter three were racing past him at the present; Pein didn't even worry about the men behind him. It was obvious Madara and Pein were to settle this battle leader to leader. It confused him however, that there was still one person that had not charged ahead; one person besides Madara that still stood before him.

Following the curved lines of the stranger's body, he immediately determined the person to be female. She was slim, but strong; he could tell she was a kunochi straight away. Pein cursed the shadows of the setting sun as he tried to identify the mysterious woman, though the black cloak she was surrounded in did not help him either. Pein's rinnegan did not detect any chakra coming from the woman, making the whole situation even stranger.

Taking a step forward, Pein looked to Madara in question before he saw the sinister smirk that was plastered to the man's face. The look irritated Pein to no end; what was he so amused with?

"I find it hard to believe you do not know the identity of our fifth member," Madara spoke silkily as his eyes traveled across the shinobi that battled behind him. Pein froze at the words of his previous leader: he had known this woman? "Of course, you are a little too infatuated with another woman at present, so I'm guessing it would be easy to forget the one you had loved before."

As Madara's words left his mouth, Pein's eyes darted to the woman as she stepped forward into the light of the setting sun. Slowly, she dropped the hood that covered her cobalt colored hair, making Pein freeze even more at the sight. This had to be some kind of sick joke, because this couldn't be real.

It was Konan… his Konan. It was his previous angel. She was standing right in front of him, and Pein felt the sudden urge to go to her. Taking in her appearance, he noted that she was under some sort of resurrection jutsu. Her face, though still unbelievably beautiful, was completely marred with scratches. It was almost as if someone hadn't even pieced her together before calling her back from the dead.

It was obviously a sick joke of Madara's, and the thought that Pein had allowed this to happen to Konan made him cringe slightly with disgust.

Looking behind him to the group of three enemy shinobi, his eyes immediately narrowed at the silver haired man who was currently fighting Sasuke, Hidan, and Sasori. This was why he had not been able to find Konan's body after the attack; she had already been taken by someone else.

"You seem surprised Pein," Madara spoke with mild amusement in his voice. "Surprised and angry; I'm sure you believed you would not see Konan again. Would you like to embrace her? I'm sure she would allow it."

Pein ignored the elder Uchiha's words as he took light but determined steps towards his previous lover. He didn't even think about how his next actions were going to be perceived; the man just acted. He didn't even have time to contemplate how Sakura would react to all this. His mind was only on Konan, this woman always caused him to feel this way.

He stood in front of her only seconds later, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He ignored the smell of grave yard soil and decay; she had not been buried properly. Gripping onto her tighter, he felt the blue haired woman start to respond to him back. Her arms slowly started to skim his back as they made their journey to the base of his neck.

She was not alive, he could feel no heart beat against his chest, and the thought that she was dead in his arms made him frown slightly. He had not done his job as her leader; he had not been able to protect her. He silently promised to Konan that he would never repeat this mistake again; he would protect his new angel with his life.

Pein closed his eyes and leaned in towards the woman in front of him; he promised himself this would be the last time he held her like this, and Pein wanted to enjoy it a little longer. As Pein's arms began to loosen from Konan's body, he felt Konan's body flinch. Frowning, Pein's eyes opened and he felt a flicker of chakra exit the hideout.

"Pein!" Sakura's voice sounded urgent, and closer than what he would have liked. He had told the woman to stay inside; having her outside only complicated matters more. Seconds later, Sakura's body rammed against his own, and he was pushed several feet away from Konan. Pein's eyes narrowed as he looked to the pinkette, before he noticed her new position.

Sakura was standing with a kunai drawn, and was currently protecting herself from the blow which he would have received had she not shoved him out of the way. Konan had created a sharp origami sword; realization was shown clear in his eyes. He had seen this attack before; the blue haired woman could create a sword in a second flat, and it was something she liked to use during a personal kill. "Konan?" Pein asked in a voice that meant no argument.

"She can no longer control her own actions," Sakura spoke out carefully as she leaped backwards, away from the sharp origami birds that flew towards her. Watching the two of them fight like this… Pein did not like the feeling that was settling in his belly. "This is Kabuto's jutsu: the dance of the dead."

Pein stilled entirely as he looked to Konan, and then to Sakura. "I will handle this; go back inside."

Sakura's gut wretched at the feeling this situation was giving her. Pein was looking to the blue haired woman now, and Sakura could see the look in his eyes. Sakura was almost sure he had never given her that look before…

Taking a step back, Sakura's mind reeled as she ignored the other battles and looked directly at the man with the orange hair. This stabbing pain in her stomach: she noticed he had caused this feeling. Had he never really cared about her? The way he had just treated her would seem to confirm that her previous thought would have been correct. To her it looked like Pein was still very much in love with Konan.

Taking another step back, Sakura's body halted when she watched the eldest living Uchiha move. He was in front of Pein in what seemed like an instant; a wild look was in the man's eyes, and Sakura was more than concerned for Pein's safety.

"Why don't we let the girl's fight this one out, hmm?" Madara questioned as he threw a kunai towards Pein. Pein dodged the offending item easily, though the object seemed to do what Madara had intended. Pein was moving back away from where Konan and Sakura now stood staring at each other. His gut twisted again, but he as Madara came towards him again, Pein knew he would have to pay attention to his own battle.

"Don't kill her Konan," Madara spoke easily as he drove Pein further away from the two females. "I have reasons for needing her around."