Sakura was embarrassed.

Wait. No, scratch that.

She was humiliated beyond belief.

Here she was, scrubbing off the dirt, grime and sweat off her body when she realized how mortified she truly felt.

The top shinobi of her village had to find her in a bar, of all places, drunk off her ass.

"Tch…I knew I should've purged the alcohol from my body using chakra."

Although she was talking to herself, someone decided to grace her with an answer. Someone she'd rather not hear from at the moment.

Yeah. There were a lot of things you should've done but didn't.

Green eyes rolled at the unwelcome but familiar intrusion of her inner self.

Hello to you too

Idiot. You are such an idiot. Worse than Naruto actually. Inner Sakura replied, her voice rough and obviously upset.

What are you talking about? If this is you just being mean, then would you kindly fuck off? I would like to shower in peace.

Outer Sakura mentally gave Inner the finger and resumed washing herself, making sure to wipe all the dirt from her body.

Wow, you're not just stupid. You're blind as a bat if you can't see what the problem here is.

Your attitude?

Ha ha very funny. I'm you so if I'm a bitch then we both know where I got it from.

Sakura sighed and got the towel that hung off the rack near the bathroom sink. Which was fairly clean, especially when compared to the other inns she'd stayed in before. Those places were just nasty.

As she dried herself off and put on her blood red vest, black shorts and knee length boots (clothes she had bought on the way while on the trip back home.) She continued the conversation she had with herself.

I'm not in the mood right now.

Well, I don't care.

This is going nowhere you know.

You're going nowhere!

….Wait what?

You are going nowhere in life without them.

Sakura froze.

What do you mean?

Don't ask silly questions that you already know the answer to. Besides, we're the second top medic in konoha, one of the smartest kunoichi in the village and just about the sexiest. (Outer Sakura rolled her eyes once more at this statement while Inner Sakura smirked.) You know what, or rather, who I'm talking about.

A moment of silence between them passed before Sakura replied.

I know that you mean…the Akatsuki. But what about them?

You left the hottest guys on earth! And to what, go back to konoha?

Yes! I have a life there. A family, a job and friends!

You can have a life with them!

And what? Live as a criminal like Sasuke for the rest of my life?

If it's what makes you happy then yes!

Before Sakura could reply, Inner continued.

Stop making excuses and stop lying. We both know that it doesn't work when you're talking to yourself. They took care of you, dressed you and even loved you! And look how you repaid them. By abandoning them.

She had no reply for the words that left Inner's lips. She couldn't justify or reason anymore. Not when what Inner said was the truth.

I am the side of yourself you hardly show to others. But when we're with them, I almost never show up. Because you allow yourself to be who you really are. With them there's no hiding or underneath. Doesn't that say something?

And with that, Inner Sakura left.

Leaving a pink haired girl alone in the bathroom of an inn, feeling more alone than ever, regardless of her teammates waiting on the other side of the door.

"Are we fucking there yet?!"

Several of the men travelling sighed in annoyance and some shook their heads in irritation.

This was the seventh time Hidan asked the same question in the span of ten minutes.

"Use your eyes Hidan! Don't bother us with that foul mouth of yours!" The blonde of the group said angrily, the mouths on both his hands frowning along with the one on his face.

"Tch…Don't you fucking dare tell me what the fuck I do or don't!"

Just when Deidara was about to yell at the silver haired man jumping along the trees, Kisame spoke, his eyes focused ahead.

"Both of you shut up. We better hurry up before leader catches up to us."

After that statement, no one spoke for the remainder of the journey. Which ended, just outside a tiny village near the border of fire, where an equally tiny inn was located.

Unfortunately for the nin inside, they didn't notice the Akatsuki's presence until it was too late.

"So…"

The only girl in the room pursed her lips before biting it gently, a nervous habit she had developed during her stay with the Akatsuki.

"So.." Shikamaru repeated, a bored expression on his face.

Another moment of silence passed before Naruto decided to break it, with the use of his loud voice and energetic personality.

"I'm so happy we found you Sakura-chan! It's been so boring without you at home. Ino misses you a lot. I mean, who else is going to listen to her chatter about boys non-stop?" The blonde rambled on, his tanned face stretched in a genuinely happy grin. A sight that made Sakura smile as well, only not as big or as bright.

"Alright, let's talk about what really matters here." Kiba spoke up, his voice and expression serious.

Unconsciously, Sakura bit her lip harder and swallowed nervously.

"Do you…"

Green eyes locked onto the fanged man standing before her and the dog by his side.

"..have anymore of these at home?"

Kiba raised his hand, and Sakura was shocked to find him holding a pair of her underwear.

"Oh Kami…is that my-"

She couldn't even finish. That was the last thing she expected Kiba, of all people, to talk about.

"You idiot!" The Nara heir hissed, his eyebrows were twitching in frustration.

"Oi! Sakura-chan, it's not what it looks like!"

This was when Neji joined in the conversation, his features were regal and carefully blank. Although she could see a bit of amusement hidden underneath his cold mask of propriety.

"Then what does it look like Naruto?"

"Eh…"

The pink haired medic couldn't help it. She laughed, long and hard.

The sound was loud and happy. Which made the remaining boys in the room stop and stare at her in wonder, amusement and love.

One by one, they each joined her in laughter. However theirs was more subdued.

"I'm guessing this is what you used to track me down?" Sakura wondered aloud, a tiny smile on her lips.

"I'm quite surprised Haruno-san. I assumed you would be angry at the fact we invaded your home to get this."

Neji inclined his head towards her favorite pair of lace.

A part of her wondered the same thing.

Why isn't she yelling at the top of her lungs at Naruto? At all of them? They did go into her room and most likely went through her entire closet. However…for some reason she couldn't find it in herself to blush about it, let alone care.

Which was odd. Considering that simply being near the Akatsuki brought flame to both her cheeks without fail.

"Well…to be honest, I'm grateful you guys did that."

Her answer brought questioning looks to all their faces.

"If it weren't for this, you guys wouldn't have found me, right?"

Naruto chuckled nervously and nodded, hoping to hide the fact that they had merely stumbled on her by accident.

"Sakura, I have to ask you…" Shikamaru started, His voice grave and stern.

Suddenly, the room was filled with tension. A clear sign that something was wrong.

"..what happened?"

And after that was said, everyone's attention was now on her.

She sighed before answering, her eyes locked onto each and every one of them.

"I was on a mission. Things took longer than expected…however I still have the scrolls that Tsunade-sensei wanted me to keep safe." Sakura replied, her voice firm and strong.

Thank Kami I left it in my pack. She thought gratefully, extremely happy that she had made a habit out of it to carry it wherever she went. The chance for escape was slim however she made it a routine to never leave it in a place to long.

"Hn….that's good. Run to any complications?"

Sakura could hear some kind of undertone to his voice and by the way Shikamaru was looking at her, it was clear that he knew something.

"None whatsoever."

"…really?"

Sakura could literally feel his stare press down on her. And just when she was about to succumb to the pressure and confess everything about her relationship….realationships? concerning Akatsuki, an explosion went off.

It was as if everything was in slow motion. The wall at the side of the building blew into pieces, showering them in wood and glass.

All nin in the room scattered and pulled out their weapons, arming themselves for an attack.

"Now now my precious doll…"

Sakura's eyes widened at the sound of the familiar voice and equally familiar nickname.

"…you shouldn't lie."

The smoke cleared and revealed the very people she had just run away from mere days ago.

"No.." The word left her lips before she could stop it, shock more than evident in her voice and features.

Inside her, Inner was screaming yes at the top of her lungs.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, aren't you happy to see us? Cause we're more than happy to see you." Hidan licked his lips and twirled his staff expertly with his hand.

"It was very rude of you to leave so suddenly." The Uchiha of the group started, his eyes shining a bloody red.

"We missed you blossom."

And with that, all hell broke lose.

Hope you all enjoyed that :) I apologize for any and all grammatical errors I may have. It's quite late but I was determined to update this story and make up for lost time. Till next time my lovely readers :) I thank all those who have stuck by this story even though I hardly update. Something I will change because I fully intend to see this story to the very end.

Till next time

-VZ