Crimson Shuriken

by ScarlettKunai

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Previously in Crimson Shuriken...

Kakashi nodded. "Okay then. We should be home within a week, if this ferry gets to the next stop in time and we use soldier pills on land. Is there anything else you needed to tell me."

"No, but I do want to ask a favor."

"Anything."

"Tell the boys not to ask me about this," Sakura said. "And don't tell them what I've told you. Not until we can tell Tsunade."

"Done."

"Thank you." Sakura stood up again, wincing at the pain between her legs. "I'm going to go walk around. Do we have anything to eat? Sasuke did something to drain my chakra, I need to get it back."

Chapter Thirty-Five: Her Pain and His Confusion Part 3 of 4

Kakashi stood. "I'll find you something."

"Thanks. And in the mean time, send Deidara in here, will you? Just Deidara."

"I will." Kakashi opened the door before looking back. "Anything you want to eat in particular?"

"Anything full of carbs and protein." Sakura drew her knees to her chest. "I don't care what it is as long as it gets my strength back."

Kakashi nodded and closed the door behind him. Detouring to where he had left Sai and Deidara, he walked up to them.

"Sakura wants to talk to you," he said, nodding at Deidara. "Alone," he added, turning away and walking off.

Deidara and Sai looked at each other in surprise for a few seconds before Sai spoke.

"What does she want?"

"No idea...Maybe something medical, un." Deidara shrugged and stood up. "Kakashi wasn't with her for very long..." He shrugged again. "I'll be back," he said before setting off for their room.

In front of the door, he paused before knocking. A soft, "Come in," sounded and he pushed open the door. Sakura was sitting with her one knee to her chest and her arms around her leg. Her other leg was stretched out in front of her. As Deidara closed the door behind him, Sakura reversed the position to stretch out her other leg.

"Sempai said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah." Sakura crossed her legs and lifted her arms above her head. "I want to apologize."

"Apologize, un?"

"Yeah." Sakura got off the bed and arched her back; Deidara could hear her spine pop several times. "First, I want to apologize about not getting to you faster when you were fighting Juugo. If I hadn't been so slow fighting Karin, I could have gotten to you before you got hit in the chest."

"Sakura—"

"I'm not finished." Sakura began to stretch her arms. "I also want to apologize about your chest. When we get back to Konohagakure, I'm going to work harder to find a way to help you."

"Sakura, the Hokage herself can't figure out what to do, un," Deidara said. "If she can't do it, how can you, un? Or anyone else for that matter, yeah?"

"I think we gave up too soon," Sakura said. "If we can help Itachi with his Sharingan, we should be able to help with your chest."

"Okay...Is that all you wanted to talk to me about, un?"

"No." Sakura stopped stretching and looked at Deidara. "I gave Sasuke information while I was in his genjutsu. I told him everything I know about you. And for that I also want to apologize."

"Sakura, you were in a genjutsu, yeah. It wasn't your fault—"

"I know that. I know that even a genjutsu type like me can't fight the Sharingan. Even Sharingan users have a hard time fighting each other. But I'm still going to apologize, because I know things about you that you don't remember yet. And if Akatsuki didn't know about it before, they're certainly going to know now."

"Sakura—"

"I'm not finished." Sakura sighed. "I also wanted to ask you something."

"What, un?"

"Who found me?"

"Huh?" Deidara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, un? Were you lost earlier or—"

"No, who found me when Sasuke was finished with me?" Sakura said impatiently. "I get the feeling Kakashi doesn't want to talk about it and—"

"Oh. I—I did. Pakuun and me, un. We found you."

"How?"

"I followed the direction you had gone when you went to find Sai, yeah. Sai was alone with a corpse, un, and he told me you'd followed someone who looked like me, un. I went in the direction you said he'd gone and met up with Pakuun who was following Sasuke's scent on the ground, un."

Sakura sighed and sat back down on the bed. "So that's his game."

"Huh?"

"Hmm?" Sakura looked up at Deidara. "Oh, just talking to myself." She shook her head. "Go get Sai for me, would you?"

"I...don't really think that's the best idea, hmm," Deidara said slowly.

"And why not?"

"Because Kakshi-sempai's pretty mad about all this, yeah. He's blaming Sai, yeah."

Sakura's brow furrowed in annoyance and confusion.

"How'd he figure that one out?"

"I guess he thinks that since Sai was with you he either should have been the one to go after Sasuke or at least have stopped you, yeah."

Sakura frowned, saying, "That's a little idiotic of him. Not to mention sexist. For one thing, Sai couldn't go himself, he'd just been thrown into a tree and knocked unconscious. He could barely sit up, let alone stand and follow someone. Second, Sai did try to stop me, but I knew we had to go after whoever the hell had ruined our chances of getting information on Akatsuki and Team Hawk. We needed to know who had done it and why, even if it was only knowing what he looked like. I had hoped whoever it was would have released their transformation jutsu a distance away from where I had left Sai so I'd at least know what he looked like. And thirdly, even if Sai had been with me or gone in my place, if Sasuke wants something, Sasuke gets it."

Deidara nodded, lips pressed together. "I see."

"No, you don't see." Sakura frowned. "Even if you remembered everything about him, you wouldn't understand. You never knew the Sasuke I knew."

"That's what Kakashi said, yeah."

"Did he?" Sakura was gazing into space. After a few moments her gaze focused and she shook her head. "I don't care what Sensie said, send Sai to me. I need to talk to him, too."

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Sorry it's short, but I figured shorter is better than nothing. No rant this time. The next chapter may be a while coming, so sorry for a long wait in advance.