Happy Pride Month.

In Chicago, where I live now, the skyscrapers downtown light up with rainbows and stuff. They have one building that lights up with the Bisexual colors, and I've decided that building is for me.

They had a 'Pride in the Park' festival too, but then it rained hard all day so that didn't happen. I've never been to a Pride event. I used to live in a small town, and small towns don't really do anything for Pride. It's nice to live in a place that's so gay friendly.

Sakura wasn't a ninja, but she could be sneaky if she really tried.

She creeped out from the elevator, looking up and down the hallway. All the office doors were closed. Carefully, Sakura slipped off her shoes and tiptoed over the red carpet, holding her breathe, so she wouldn't make a sound.

Sakura made it two feet before she was found.

"What are you doing?" Zetsu quite literally appeared out of nowhere.

Sakura bit her lips to keep from screaming. She hissed at him, "Be quiet."

"No one ever hears us," Zetsu said, which was true. "Why are you sneaking around?"

"I don't want to disturb anyone while they're working," she answered. It was a line she rehearsed during her walk to work.

"Especially Itachi?" Even with Zetsu's permanently monotone voice, Sakura could hear the sass in his tone.

"Don't mock me." She glared.

"Itachi isn't in the office this week," Zetsu told her.

All the tension left Sakura's body in a wave. She asked, "Where is he?"

"Pein sent Itachi and Kisame on a mission out of the county. They'll be gone all week." Zetsu leaned uncomfortably close to her. "We suspect Pein sent them away to give you some space. Leader is too soft on you."

"It's not like I asked him to send Itachi away." Sakura bent to put her shoes back on.

"But you're not complaining either?" Zetsu always kept the same plain face, but it was easily to tell he was smirking on the inside. "Guess the honeymoon is over."

Furious, Sakura stood up and prepared to go off on him, but of course Zetsu was gone. He left as he came, without a sound.

Sakura wasn't really angry at Zetsu though. Mostly she was annoyed with how, apparently, everyone in Akatsuki knew about her love life. With a huff, she stormed over and kicked the door open to Hidan's office.

Sakura instantly regretted this decision.

Two bodies were spread across the floor. The first one was a dead man, with a long black spear stabbed into his chest. His blood was dark and drying on the red carpet, somehow staying within the black circle painted around him. The other body was Hidan, who mirrored the dead man's position perfectly. There was a sizeable hole in Hidan's chest, as if he too was stabbed just like the dead man. The only difference between their bodies being that Hidan's blood was fresh.

From his spot on the ground, Hidan yelled, "Can you fucking knock?"

Sakura stood over him. She asked, "Are you dying?"

"Fuck no."

"Then get up so I can kill you," she demanded.

For emphasis, Sakura kicked Hidan's side, but this only gave him the same sick pleasure all pain did. The noise he made was practically sinful.

Hidan smirked up at her. "Is that a promise?"

"You told everyone about me and Itachi?" she asked.

"Is that what you're pissed about?"

Hidan sat up. Fresh blood oozed from the hole in his chest, but this didn't bother him at all. It did itch Sakura's medical scratch though. She crouched down to examine his injury. It was a wide stab wound, but not deep. The hole didn't go all the way through Hidan's body, so the blood loss wasn't life threatening. She took Hidan's shirt, which was thrown to the side, and pressed the cloth against the hole, maintaining pressure.

"I knew you were an asshole, but I didn't think you were a gossipy asshole," she said. It was hard not to sound bitter.

"Look, Pein wanted to know why you didn't come back from medical leave. What were we supposed to tell him? It was obvious anyway. Itachi's been unbearable for weeks," Hidan explained.

Sakura pressed down on his chest. Hidan's blood seeped through the wadded-up shirt, wetting her fingers.

"Hey, look at me. I'm not a fucking snitch, ok?" Hidan covered her hand with his, both of them pressing on his wound. "We only told Pein enough to get the point across."

Hidan was a lot of things, but a liar wasn't one of them. Sakura believed him.

A knock came from the open door. Kakuzu leaned against the frame, watching them.

"I'm glad you cleared that up. Can we focus on the mission now?"

"Yes. Tell me how I can help," Sakura replied. As long as she was working, she wasn't worrying about Itachi.

"Do you have a Friendsbook account?" Kakuzu asked.

Of all the things he could've said, that was the last thing she expected. Even though Sakura liked her coworkers, there was an unspoken rule that their private lives remained private. Whoever the Akatsuki were outside of work didn't matter, and was never questioned. Privacy was especially important for assassins. There was nothing private about social media.

"I never made an account," Sakura answered. She was too busy for that.

"Perfect. We can start from scratch," Kakuzu said.

"Why are we making me a Friendsbook account?"

"The Shichibi created Friendsbook ."

Sakura was amazed. She asked, "The Shichibi is Fu Firefly?"

Friendsbook was the most popular socializing site in the world, connecting people across the globe. Fu Firefly created the site to make friendships, mostly for herself. Through her creation, she became a celebrity and had a reputation for being obsessed with making friends. Sakura could picture Fu's face clearly, smiling on the Friendsbook homepage, her catchphrase, "Fu is your Friend!" appearing right above her head in happy, inviting letters.

"If you know who she is, why don't you go get her?" Sakura asked.

"She's impossible to find in person. Her presence is completely online. No tax records, no bank accounts, no addresses. We spent the last week searching every article, picture and post to find a hint of her whereabouts. There was nothing," Kakuzu explained.

"I have a theory that she's an A.I. created by the government," Hidan said.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "She does interviews with real people."

"That's just a paid actor," Hidan insisted.

Kakuzu smacked Hidan. The movement shook up the stab wound in Hidan's chest. A fresh stream of blood spilled out, but Hidan was too busy cursing to notice.

"Let's continue this in my office," Sakura suggested.

They went down to her medical room. Hidan hopped up on the table, Sakura prepared to stitch him up and Kakuzu explained the plan in more detail.

Sakura would have to become friends with Fu Firefly through Friendsbook . This was easier said than done. Fu Firefly only accepted friend requests from people who already had large sums of friends. Sakura would have to gain an astronomical number of friends just to get on Fu's radar. To do this, Kakuzu and Hidan formed a plan to make Sakura as popular as possible through social media outlets.

After Sakura became Fu's friend, she could lure Fu into meeting in person. Then Kakuzu and Hidan could swoop in to capture her.

"And why can't we use your accounts?" Sakura asked. She stitched up Hidan on autopilot. By this point, she was a professional at sewing up all the Akatsuki members.

"I don't have an account. I was legally declared dead fifty years ago," Kakuzu answered.

"My account was shut down. I was flagged for putting pictures of dead bodies on my homepage," Hidan explained. He made a stink face, because he didn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to see blood and guts on Friendsbook .

"Look, it all comes down to science. Young women gain followers at a higher rate than any other demographic," Kakuzu said.

Hidan put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and said, in all seriousness, "People like cute girls."

Sakura nodded. "Fair enough. Where do we begin?"

They downloaded the Friendsbook app onto Sakura's phone. Kakuzu meticulously edited her entire account. He selected pictures for her to use and outlined what information to make public. He even gave her a list of posts to make at certain times, each carefully crafted according to what other popular accounts posted about.

"Should she really be taking Friendsbook advice from an old geezer like you?" Hidan scoffed.

"Popularity is about numbers. I'm good with numbers," Kakuzu said. They couldn't argue with that.

After they finished tweaking her account, Hidan put the phone in her hands and said, "Now all you have to do is make as many friends as possible."

Sakura looked over the account they created for her. She was surprised Kakuzu and Hidan had the ability to make such a cute Friendsbook page for her. The account was pretty bare so far, but Sakura was excited about it. Only one thing on her account caught her attention though.

Her relationship status was set to single.

Sakura's face must've betrayed her feelings. After one look at her, both Kakuzu and Hidan leaned over to see the screen.

"Look, its not because of all the crap going down between you and Itachi," Hidan said.

"Single women have twice as many friends as those who are in relationships," Kakuzu explained.

They both waited for her to react. A clear tension was in the air.

Sakura closed the app and smiled through the tension. She said, "I'll work on getting lots of friends right away."

Kakuzu actually knew his shit. After a week, Sakura had close to five hundred friends on Friendsbook .

Half of that amount was through her own doing. She friended pretty much everyone she knew, and then people she hardly remembered the name of. Everyone from her college, all her old classmates from high school, neighbors at her apartment building; no one could escape Sakura's friendship. She even friended the guy who bagged her groceries.

The other half of her friend requests came from complete strangers. People who were friends with her friends. People she never met in person. People who friended her just because she was cute. It was very weird to accept those requests, but it was Sakura's job to get the highest number of friends possible.

Kakuzu sent her constant reminders to make posts on her account. He instructed her on pictures to take and things to say. Sakura followed his instructions wholeheartedly.

"I never agreed to this." Sasuke glared.

"Don't be dramatic. It's just a little video." Sakura held her phone in one hand and her coffee in the other. "Now, we all have to drink at the same time."

"What is the point of this?" Sasuke looked at his coffee like it was an enemy.

"People like videos of hot people drinking and eating cute things."

"Sounds like fun." Naruto grinned, holding up his own drink.

Sasuke glared at Sakura and said, "You tricked us into this."

He wasn't wrong. Sakura lured both Sasuke and Naruto with free coffee, but she hadn't told them it was only so she could take a video of them trying the coffee. The drink was trending across the internet, because it was cute. It was an iced drink, that was more milk than coffee. The whipped cream and sprinkles threatened to spill over. Sakura bought one for each of them, and kept her phone handy to record them trying the drink for the first time.

"We don't need Sasuke. I'll be in the video with you, Sakura," Naruto said.

"Sasuke has to be in it. Our combined good looks will get me lots of friends," Sakura explained.

"But you have me! You can use my good looks," Naruto offered.

Sakura looked desperately at Sasuke and begged, "Please be in my video."

The boys crowded around her. Naruto used his long, long arms to get the perfect upwards angle. Sasuke didn't smile at all. At the begin, Sakura told the camera about the drink and then counted down so the three of them would try it at the same time. The coffee was way too sweet, but Sakura pretended to like it. Of course, Naruto loved the sugar. Sasuke took one sip and pushed his cup to Naruto, who downed half of his before the thirty second video was over.

Sakura posted the video. A stream of likes and comments and friend requests flowed in. Most of the comments were about Sasuke, asking whether he and Sakura were a couple.

"Why would they think you and Sasuke are together?" Naruto asked. The look on his face gave away exactly how he felt about his best friends dating.

"Because her relationship status is single," Sasuke answered.

"It is?" Naruto perked up. He turned towards Sakura, and said, "In that case, Sakura, what're you doing this Friday?"

"I'm not single," Sakura snapped at him. Her tone caught them both off guard. She might as well have slapped Naruto across the face, he looked so stricken. Sasuke just eyed her suspiciously. "I mean, well, I don't know what I am right now."

"You and Itachi still haven't spoken?" Sasuke asked.

"He's been away on work," she answered. "Before that, I was still on medical leave."

"Besides your stupid Friendsbook thing, phones can actually be used to call people," Sasuke said.

Naruto kicked him. "Don't push her."

"Don't coddle her." Sasuke kicked back.

"Don't worry about me," Sakura told them both. "I'll talk to Itachi when he gets back. Happy?"

Sakura sipped on her too sweet drink and looked down at her phone, watching the friend count go up.

Right when Sakura came into work, Sasori pulled her into his workshop.

"We've decided to help with your mission," he said.

"We?" Sakura blinked.

Deidara popped out of the side room where Sasori liked to store his finished puppets. The blonde said, "Everything's all set up. Let's get started, un!"

All the puppets were cleared out. The storage room was converted into a photography station. A large, neon green blanket covered one wall. Opposite that, lighting equipment stood. Huge, white, umbrella-like stands directed all the light towards the green wall.

"What the hell is all this?" Sakura asked.

"I told you. We're decided to help you get friends on Friendsbook ," Sasori answered. "We're going to take cute pictures against the greenscreen and edit them to make it look like you're in exciting locations."

"Did Kakuzu ask you to do this?" Sakura asked.

"No. Your pictures are just so bad, we had to help. For the good of the internet," Deidara sassed.

"My pictures aren't that bad!" she argued.

"They really are. Never pursue a career in photography," Sasori said.

"You're not exactly photographers either," she pointed out.

"Yeah but we're artists," Sasori said with finality. His argument made.

Sakura went in front of the green screen. Sasori would take the pictures. Deidara handled the lights. Both the artists directed her poses. They decided on fun locations to edit into the background later, only telling Sakura things like "pretend you're at the beach" and "Now you're in Paris." It was awkward pretending she was traveling the world in her work attire, but the artists would edit her clothing later. She did her best to follow their directions. Even to her untrained eyes, Sakura could tell Sasori and Deidara took better pictures than she ever could.

"Keep your chin down and look up with your eyes," Sasori instructed. "Turn your head this way."

Sakura did as she was told, even though the angle was awkward and unnatural.

"Now stick your tongue out, but in a cute way," Deidara said.

She tried to do that, but how exactly does someone stick their tongue out and still look cute at the same time?

"She looks ridiculous," Sasori said.

"She looks adorable. Trust me, people love it," Deidara insisted.

They took picture after picture, until Sakura's face was sore. All the selfies were basically the same, with only small changes in between. A pouty face here, a kissing face there, lots of cheeky smiles and alluring eyes. Sakura thought all the pictures looked the same, but Deidara and Sasori picked at each one with their artist eyes.

"You should take some with her." Deidara nudged Sasori. "You guys look cute together."

"He's right. It's something about our hair," Sakura said. Pink and red went well together.

"Fine, but only one," Sasori agreed.

It was more than one. Sasori and Sakura took hundreds of pictures together. They began with friendly photos, just standing close and smiling. Then Sasori put his arm over her shoulder and Sakura leaned into him. Eventually the pictures became downright flirty. Sasori even picked her up for one shot, lifting her from behind so her legs kicked up playfully. They did another pose with Sakura jumping on his back, hugging his shoulders.

"You guys are so cute it's sickening," Deidara said, but he took every picture. He directed them where to look.

The last picture had Sakura kissing Sasori's cheek. He pretended to be annoyed with her, even though his arm wrapped around Sakura's back, holding her against him. Her kiss landed closer to his jawline, brushing against his hair. It was a friendly, teasing sort of pose.

It was a cute picture, but also one Sakura hated the most because, right when Deidara took the picture, the door to their little photo both flew open. Itachi was there.

Time froze. A collective breath was held, each of them fully taking in the situation. Sasori still had an arm around Sakura. Their faces were close. Only Deidara moved, looking up from the phone's screen.

"What are you doing here?" Itachi never yelled. He didn't have to. The accusation was loud enough.

Then time moved very quickly. Sasori and Sakura broke away from each other, as if just touching shocked them apart. In classic Akatsuki style, Deidara moved over to his partner. The two of them moved into a defensive stance, guarding each other's blind spots. The odd man out, Sakura stood awkwardly to the side.

She wasn't mentally prepared to see Itachi yet, so all her brain could come up with was, "I t-thought you were on an away mission."

"I was. But then I heard you came back to work." Itachi didn't even look at Sasori or Deidara. He only stared at Sakura. "So I repeat, what are you doing here?"

He was so ruffled, like her very presence both shocked and upset him at the same time. Of course, his tone set off Sakura's temper. She said, "I work here. I'm literally paid to be here."

"You were supposed to quit," he said.

"Excuse me?" Sakura's temper flared."

"Actually, excuse us. We should go." Deidara nudged Sasori towards the door. They edged around Itachi, who fully stepped into the little room. The door shut behind them. Itachi and Sakura were alone.

A smart person would be scared in this situation. Sakura was a smart person, but she was also an angry person. Between smarts and anger, the later usually won out when it came to Sakura. Her knuckles clenched. It was a challenge not to punch the closest wall. "Did you think I'd quit because of our fight? I'm not a child."

"No, I thought you'd quit because you're smart," Itachi snapped back. "But clearly, I have to spell it out for you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"If you stay in Akatsuki, you'll become a monster like the rest of us. You've already killed one person. Soon, there will be another kill, and another." Itachi was losing his temper too. He talked at her, each of his words biting out with a frustrated urgency. "If you continue down this path, you'll be like me. Killing people without a second thought. Even people you care about."

The dots did connect in Sakura's mind, but not the way Itachi expected. He wanted her to understand why she had to quit Akatsuki, but a completely different realization came instead.

"That's why you told me about your parents," Sakura spoke slowly. "To scare me into quitting."

He didn't answer in words, but the look in his eyes said she was correct. That infuriated her even more, and made her incredibly sad. Hot, angry tears spilled over. She refused to wipe them away.

In a broken, almost sob, she said, "I thought you told me because you trusted me. But you were just trying to scare me."

"If you wanted me to trust you, then why did you run away?" he asked. It was a knife to her heart. She couldn't argue with his logic, and that hurt even more.

Sakura wanted to hurt Itachi, just like he hurt her. She wanted to scare him, and so she said the only thing that would terrify him. "I'm never leaving Akatsuki. Ever."

Itachi did not cry. He wasn't capable of showing such emotion. Instead, he became empty. He was not angry any more, or frustrated, or sad. He was cold and quiet and lost inside himself. Her words wrapped around him until there was no more light. What Itachi dreaded was coming true. Sakura would stay in this world of killers and death and murder. She would never leave Akatsuki.

There was nothing more to say, for either of them. Itachi turned and left the room. As soon as he left, Sakura backed herself into the corner, curled up and cried.

It was hard to say how long she stayed there, in the makeshift photo room. Only a greenscreen and very bright lights to see her falling apart. She would've stayed there for hours more, but then a little ring came from her phone. Sakura tapped the screen.

It was a notification from Friendsbook. Someone sent her a message.

"I see you're Miss Popular. Can Fu be your Friend too?" A friend attached, popping out from the too familiar face of Fu Firefly.

(End)

I started listening to a DnD podcast, even though I've never played DnD. It's called the Adventure Zone.

Sometimes I think I would like to play DnD too, but I don't have any friends who would play with me. Do you think they have online sites where you can find other people to play with? I always thought DnD was something you did in person, but all the people on my podcast live in different states so maybe not?

The older I get, the more nerdy I become. Now that I have adult money, I can spend it on my childish things.