Chapter SEVEN

When Sasori returned with Sakura's dinner tray in his hands, Yahiko, Itachi, and Deidara were still loitering around. He had half a mind to simply turn around and wait until they had left, but a part of him just knew they would be there until he arrived, and another part of him questioned why he cared that they were. He simply marched past them and entered the room.

Sakura had looked up when he appeared, and she watched with what he thought was curiosity as he placed the tray on the table beside her bed. Her gaze then shifted from him to the tray. She did not move towards it.

"I don't know what you like, and it's not like I'm the one who prepared it, so if you have complaints, you can just not eat it," he told her curtly. The door had closed behind his entry, but he did not doubt for a second that everyone outside was listening in.

"That is for me?" Sakura asked.

Sasori nodded. "Dinner."

"Oh," Sakura shifted on the bed. "I can eat it?"

Sasori suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "What else do you want to do with it?"

Sakura did not reply, and she continued to stare at the tray. Just as Sasori was about to prompt her once more to eat it, she slowly reached out towards it. Sasori reached out and helped her lower the table attached to the bed frame, then placed the tray in front of her. Sakura curiously eyed the utensils placed at the side, and for a moment Sasori was worried she would ignore them and starting eating with her hands and was surprised when she hesitantly picked them up, then began to use them with surprising skill and grace.

"Where did you learn manners?" He asked.

Sakura paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth. "I am trained in a lot of fields," she told him. "It was required of me and my role."

"You did infiltration?" He guessed.

Sakura blinked up at him, then glanced at the door where Deidara, Itachi, and Yahiko were still standing around. He could not see them, but he could see their shadows from where they were just around the corner. He wondered how much they had gotten out of her. "Among other things," she said.

Sasori did not press and, instead, he took a seat by her bedside again. Sakura ate slowly, and he sensed it the moment Yahiko appeared to lose interest and wandered away from the door. Deidara followed soon after and Itachi went with him. He had a feeling the Uchiha had stayed just to make sure no one childishly barged into the room. He glanced over at the watch and noted that it had almost been an hour since he had entered the room. He scanned his eyes over Sakura's meal and noted that there was still a bit of it left.

"Why were they watching me?" The pinkette asked suddenly. "It is not as though I can escape."

Sasori shrugged. "They're idiots," he said. "Ignore them."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Oh."

He glanced over at the clock again, deciding that his friends deserved the benefit of doubt, and concluded that they had left because they had better things to do and not because they had to in order to make it to dinner in time. "There is a meeting in a few minutes," he said. "We will be discussing you, and I am expected to attend."

Sakura turned towards him but remained silent. Sasori stood up and stretched, wondering why he had sat and watched the girl eat for an hour. "You can keep eating," he told her. "When you're done just lift that hatch thing to raise the table and leave the tray to the side. Someone'll come to get it later."

Hopefully, it wouldn't be him.

"Okay," Sakura said.

Sasori nodded. "I'll...I'll see you later."

Sasori knew he was probably a troublesome friend to have. Deidara had once told him that he was the kind of person you knew was reliable, but there was just that something stopping you from trusting them to keep themselves alive through the simplest of tasks. Even after all these years Sasori didn't know what that something was, but as he found concerning amusement in building a mountain from his mashed potatoes, he could feel that something right there.

Usually, members ate dinner whenever they pleased, wherever they pleased, but on days with meetings everyone was required to eat together, to make sure they were all present for the gathering after. Deidara hated these meetings with a passion, simply because they were so boring, but everyone knew that the main topic of today was Sakura, and Sasori felt annoyingly compelled to give his own two cents about her, especially from what he had gauged while talking to her.

Honestly, though, he doubted that anyone who had actually spoken to the girl would disagree that, beneath the damage years of abuse at Orochimaru's side had caused, she was a kind girl.

Soon after, dinner ended. Nagato gestured for them to move into the meeting room, and Sasori sat down in his seat with a sigh. He knew that the chairs in this particular room were better than any of the others found around their base. He closed his eyes while everyone else tried to get comfortable. Honestly, most of them disliked these meetings without even knowing why.

Finally, once Hidan had finally taken a seat, just on the edge and looking ready to bolt any moment, Nagato brought a single file into view and placed it onto the table. "I hope you're all rested," he began. "As I'm sure you know, today's focus is Sasori's girl currently sitting in one of Orochimaru's containment cells."

Sasori was careful to keep his expression blank. He could feel several of the Akatsuki glancing over at him.

Nagato flipped open the file. "Itachi, could you go over the time of her finding?"

Itachi nodded. "During our operation against the Northern Base, we came across Sakura in one of the holding cells located on the lowest floor, which was reserved for the most dangerous of experiments. Sasori had been suffering from pain shared between the bond, with constant pain in his hands suggesting stimulation of the wound after the initial injury. The girl was heavily injured and unconscious and was sitting in a pool of her own blood. Her hands," Itachi raised his own, palm up, "were pinned to the wall of the cell with a knife, and the moment it was pulled out, Sasori's own pain immediately resided."

Konan raised her hand. "If Sasori started hurting during the operation, doesn't that mean someone did this to her while you were in the hideout?"

Itachi nodded. "That is the likely assumption.

"You didn't see anyone leaving her cell? This corridor you found her cell in is rather long, and is only one way."

Itachi shook his head. "We were still rather far away when it started," he admitted. "Perhaps her attacker was among the sea of men we managed to round up."

Konan hummed and leaned back in her chair.

"Thank you, Itachi," Nagato said. "If there's anything you want to add, Sasori, feel free to speak up."

Sasori jumped at his own name, then frowned. From the corner of his eye, he could see Yahiko trying to suppress a grin.

Nagato hid his amusement much better, but Sasori had known him for years and could see it dancing around in his eyes as well. "Now, after you brought her back, Kakuzu looked over her, and it was established that she is definitely a chakra user, though how much of that is a result of Orochimaru's tampering is still unknown. Yahiko and Itachi also talked to her a little, as did Sasori." He linked his hands in front of himself. "Before we go further, share your opinion."

"She does not seem to have been filled in on anything too important," Yahiko immediately said. "Considering the state she was found in, I doubt Orochimaru puts much value in her."

"She might not know names and numbers, but she knows faces and places," Itachi said. "I think there is a chance we can bring her to our side."

Konan ran a hand through her hair. "There isn't really sides, I think," she said carefully. "At least not in her mind. Orochimaru was her captor and abuser, and it's possible that in her eyes, she was simply passed from one person to another."

Sasori steeled himself for what he was about to say. "I told her she would not be hurt here," he admitted. "She appears to believe me."

"Isn't that just going to screw us over when that isn't the case?" Hidan asked.

Sasori's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to torture me alongside her for information she probably doesn't even have?"

He watched the realization hit his friends. He knew that sometimes, it was easy to forget that he and the girl currently held prisoner in their base were Soulmates. Sasori's problem had always been real to them, but they had managed to work around it. It was so much different when the other half of his bond was suddenly right there.

"For now, there is no interrogation planned," Nagato said firmly. "Nor will it be considered in the near future."

"She can be a liability," Kakuzu pointed out. Sasori found himself glaring again.. "If she is caught or captured, she can literally be used to torture Sasori from miles away."

"Sakura herself appears unaware of the Soulmate bond between her and Sasori," Yahiko said. "In fact, she seems to not know of it at all. I mentioned it, but I doubt it actually stuck with her nor do I think she understands it. Unless Orochimaru somehow already knows, I doubt he'd find out through her."

"She wouldn't tell him something that'd make him hurt her more, right?" Deidara asked.

"It's not only Orochimaru, though," Zetsu pointed out. "Wasn't she someplace else before she was handed over to the snake?"

"She said there were others like her," Sasori added. "And she also said she was no leverage against Orochimaru. I see no reason why Orochimaru should come after her in particular."

Yahiko nodded. "If she's disposable, I doubt he'd waste resources on retrieving her, especially since she currently is sitting in the heart of our headquarters."

"What are we going to do about the council?" Konan asked.

"I still haven't made any mention of her," Nagato admitted. "On that particular topic, we'll have to make a decision and stick to it."

"Hand her over like we're probably supposed to, or hide her here?" Kisame asked.

"Men like Danzo will have no qualms with hurting Sasori to get information from the girl," Itachi said.

Sasori found himself nodding. Shimura Danzo had been a long time thorn in their side. The man held a high ranking position within the council and simply put, he was dangerous. The Akatsuki suspected he might actually have something to do with Orochimaru, but they had no proof, and the man was powerful enough to shut down any official search in the upfront, then take down who every cast the doubt on him through political measures. They had never seen eye to eye, and between them, it had mostly been a game of not showing a weakness the other could take advantage of.

Especially due to the Orochimaru case, they could not risk creating any more problems. If they made the slightest of mistakes, Konan was sure Danzo and his followers would move to disband them.

"But if he finds out we had her all along, that'd sure give him a reason to pain us negatively to the public," Zetsu said.

Sasori did not think Zetus, or anyone for the matter, wanted to hand the girl over to Danzo if only to spite him. Still, it was a valid point being made.

Sasori scoffed. "I'd rather keep her here," he said. "I'll have to watch her and make sure she doesn't get another paper cut." The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Konan casually cover her mouth, eyes smiling. Kisame was grinning, and he ducked away when Deidara tried to pat him on the back.

Nagato managed to take the comment in professional stride. "Is there anyone here who'd like to hand the girl over to the council," he glanced at Hidan when he raised his arm, "and has a valid reason for saying so?"

Sasori's hand remained firmly on the table as he looked around. Everyone else appeared to be doing the same, but apart from Hidan, who muttered under his breath she lowered his hand, no one else made any moves.

Nagato nodded. "All in favor of her staying," he noted. "Sakura will continue to remain under watch. We will see if she has valuable information without the use of violence. Sasori, you are in charge of making sure she is comfortable."

Sasori tossed his hands into the air, knowing that it was rare for him to lose his composure like this but no longer caring. "I knew it," he muttered.

Update!

Darque: Sorry I'm late again, I had a portfolio for a Uni due TONIGHT and I just started like, yesterday, and I pulled an all-nighter right after I spent 12 at my part-time and having 4 hours of sleep the night before...soooo...yeah...

Raven: Look at you, all grown up, talking about Uni and work and lack of sleep...

Darque:...I tired boy.

Raven: Nawww, go rest. No gaming.

Darque: Yes mother.

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