E n d e a r
M e
{ 6 0 }
…
Deidara wasn't sure how the Hokage, a woman whose volatile temper reminded him very much of a certain pink haired medic, was going to respond to their presence here. But he wasn't stupid. He knew that there would be some kind of investigation, questions, maybe even some demands of proof whether or not they had any malicious plans involving stealing a loudmouthed tailed beast. All the suspicion, which quite honestly they all deserved, did make sense. In fact, he expected it, maybe even some rough treatment after what they all did to the village and its inhabitants. So when he heard about the possibility of spending the night in the jail cells, he wasn't surprised. Hell, a prison sounded much better than a torturing chamber. Besides, how else would any village leader act after not one, but two groups of missing nin came waltzing through her office doors? So when Sakura called out on their behalf, he felt a rush of warmth fill him at her obvious concern. However right this moment, after hearing the Hokage's verdict from the masked shinobi, he sincerely wished he stayed by Sakura's side at the tower and so he could simply create a clay bird they could have flown off on once everything went south.
He knew he wasn't the only one feeling regret and anger. The sudden near painful rise in chakra was a clear indication of who else was affected by the news.
Kisame grunted, shaking his head in dismay, his eyes glancing back at one of the doors plastered with seals and practically painted with chakra. That flimsy piece of wood held all their weapons. Not that they were vulnerable without them of course. But ransacking the prison would be bothersome without his clay pouches, not to mention boring.
After arriving just a few hours ago, the ANBU demanded they empty their pockets of any kind of weapon, scroll, kunai or anything remotely dangerous, throwing them into an empty room connected to this large one. The urge to take back their weapons, pummel each guard in this building, which he would blow up later on, then rescue Sakura was overwhelming.
He quickly looked around the room and saw everyone, save for the younger Uchiha and his team, were thinking the same thing. Bloodlust and pure rage seemed to flow from each of them in waves, almost tangible if the slight staggering of the ANBU operatives were anything to go by, especially the one frozen by the door. Masked as he was, it wasn't easy to tell if he was afraid or not. Yet the tiny quivering in his boots and shaking fingers on the door's handles gave him away.
Itachi, a man he didn't like but right now he could say without shame he was glad they were not on opposing sides, glared at the man, his eyes glowing an eerie, bloody red.
The blonde slowly stood up, the mouths on both his palms were smiling, the tongues licking lips, hungry for bloodshed, for any kind of retribution.
This was ridiculous. Sure they weren't exactly the ideal kind of souvenier one would bring back after a mission but for Sakura to be branded a traitor after coming back and confessing her crimes? It didn't make sense. The masked nin did mention the fact she healed Akatsuki of her own volition, something that again touched him, but that was just a small mark in an otherwise squeaky clean report. She had tried to escape a number of times, before and after feelings got tangled up in this mess. How can the Hokage not see that? No one was hurt, not fatally and even then it was the medic who suffered the most injuries. The tailed beast was still alive and kicking. Dammit, he didn't even blow up one single thing with the intent to kill for weeks now!
The worry and anger that welled up inside him was too much. It was a volatile, red mass of emotion that demanded to be set free, to be released in the most beautiful and fiery way possible.
Deidara needed to make an explosion, a perfect bang that would save Sakura-chan.
He licked his lips in anticipation.
Just when his foot made the first step, towards the doorway (the ANBU who delivered the news would be the first to taste his wrath before he even stopped to get his clay) a hand on his shoulder held him back.
"What the hell-"
"Don't fucking move a damn inch, blondie."
Hidan growled low in his throat, sounding damn well threatening but Deidara was too far gone to care.
"Tch. Let me go. I'm going to get Sakura-chan yeah."
"No, you're fucking not. We're not gonna fuckin fight."
His jaw nearly dropped at the implication that Hidan, of all people, didn't want to get into a bloodbath.
"So sit your skinny ass down before I make you."
What the hell?
Goddamn, there wasn't any time to argue, Deidara could sense the ANBU slowly backing away.
"Stay if you want. I'm not leaving her alone to rot in some jail cell."
"Yes, you are."
Hidan's eyes were hard like chips of ice as they stared each other down. Deidara didn't understand the complete change in the jashinist but as the grip on his shoulder tightened ever so slightly, it finally dawned on him that Hidan was trying to send him a message.
Purple eyes glinted and glanced pointedly at Itachi. Both men could see the tension coiled tight in the older Uchiha's muscles, large bursts of chakra and anger rolling off his form in heady amounts. Deidara was mildly shocked that the ANBU wasn't shaking in fear curled up in a fetal position on the ground.
Slowly, the doors creaked shut. He could practically hear the men on the other side heave a sigh of relief. As soon as the chakra signatures bringing the rogue nin disappeared, which left about two squads of ANBU to guard their perimeter, Deidara shook his shoulder free of Hidan's grip, his fingers itching to rip those damned seals off so he could get some clay and blow certain people to bits.
"Great! We just lost our chance to follow those bastards and find Sakura-chan yeah!"
"You fuckin' blamin me now? I was actually using my brain you dumb ass, seriously!"
"Tch, every second we waste in here, they could be doing something to her!"
"You don't think I fuckin' know that?! Shit, don't you realize that those masked bitches are just waiting for us to screw up so they can fucking attack us?!"
"So what?! The priority is-"
"Shut up!"
Both men looked at the mist-nin, their fists already in the air, ready to fight just to get their point across.
"You're both acting like idiots. You think arguing like freaking kids is gonna save angel? No? Yeah, didn't think so!" Kisame sighed heavily, physically deflating at the huge mess they were all currently in. Although fighting was never an issue with him, worry was biting at his nerves, his mind unable to wrap around the mental image of their pink haired medic in a stone cold cell.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but Hidan did you a favor."
Deidara's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing into slits. The larger man saw this and held up two blue hands in a gesture meant to placate his rising anger.
"One wrong move, and we'd be surrounded. This way we have time to think about what to do now."
"The answer is obvious. Save her." The mouths on his palms grit their teeth in frustration.
"Agreed." Sasori stood up from his perch by the window, impatience etched on his wooden features. "But you're forgetting we are in the middle of a village that clearly hates us. Leaving now would only aggravate them."
Dammit. The puppet master was right. Hell, they all were. But his mind couldn't seem to focus properly, not when Sakura wasn't safe. Nevertheless, he tried to erase all the horrible mental images in his brain, calming himself down with memories of huge explosions.
"Fuck's sake! Something's fishy here, seriously! Oh, pun intended." Hidan glanced at Kisame, ignoring the deadpan expression on his face.
The mist-nin rolled his eyes before flipping the jashinist his middle finger.
"I mean seriously! Don't you think it's fucking weird how that Hokage bitch just decided to throw her student into jail for some shit reason like-"
"Treason?" Sasori remarked dryly.
"Yeah! So she heals a couple bastards, so what?" Hidan continued, completely ignoring the blonde's sarcasm.
"So it's betraying her village, you moron." Sasori shook his head. "Imagine if we offered aid or gave our loyalty to the enemy while under Pein's leadership?"
"...we technically did." Kisame winced at the sheer irony of the situation.
"Tch, that asshole can't do shit about that now."
Itachi nodded. "He wouldn't risk a war with such few alliances, especially without the aid of the tailed beasts."
"See? Problem fuckin' solved!" Hidan clapped his hands before rubbing them together, a devilish glint in his purple eyes. "I can't wait to see my bit-"
"Just shut the hell up Hidan! And stop calling Sakura-chan your bitch."
"Ooh, you're just jealous I have a sexy as fuck name for her."
Deidara was this close to punching that damned smirk off his face.
"I need some sake." The mist-nin said to no one in particular.
"Sucks being second best huh, blondie? Guess we all know how my bitch prefers real men." Hidan came closer and tried to touch his ponytail, a feral grin on his face.
"Like a gallon of sake." Kisame continued.
The bomber sneered, walking away from an obvious attempt to rile him up. Once a safe distance away from Hidan's stupidity, Deidara spoke.
"Although Sasori makes a point. Leade-I mean Pein wouldn't just let us walk away. He'd kill us. At least she's just in jail." Not a graveyard. The blonde artist mentally added.
That only brought another problem to the table. He had no doubt that their previous leader already knew they abandoned their cloaks and rings. Obviously the next step would be to track them down, getting rid of any loose ends. The five of them knew too much. However Itachi was right, the orange haired freak didn't have the manpower right now to kill them off, which just about guaranteed their safety for a while, but sadly not forever.
Itachi locked his red gaze with him unexpectedly. It didn't last long but something was off with that look. As if he knew something but wouldn't say. Deidara made sure to catalogue this particular reaction from the usually brooding man, reminding himself to bring it up later when they rescued their medic.
"Still! Compared to us, she's less of a criminal." Hidan grunted to which several of the males agreed.
"Konoha isn't the epitome of compassion." Itachi muttered darkly. The way he said it made it sound like he was speaking from first hand experience. Although curiosity bit at him, the desperation to find Sakura and make sure she was okay was stronger.
"What's the plan then?" The puppet master interjected once more, his eyes darting around the room as if waiting for an incoming attack.
"And by plan, I mean an actual one. We can't just blow up every door, looking for my doll."
Sasori gave a pointed glance his way, one he rolled his eyes at.
"I'm gonna ignore your stupid as fuck nickname for my bitch cause we're in a shitty ass situation." Hidan drawled, his purple eyes rolling at the red head's answering glare.
"But fuck it, I'm with the puppet freak. What the hell do we do now?"
"The Hokage isn't blind. She'll take preemptive measures to ensure Sakura is well guarded. They'll expect us to go to her." The dark haired man crossed his arms as he addressed all of them, his sharingan flaring.
Realization dawned on him.
"We're not going to Sakura-chan are we?"
Itachi shook his head.
"Why the fuck not?! We're strong enough to take all these fuckers and rescue her! We sneak past these masked bastards, find the prison cells and take her! There's no way they'll catch up to us in time. We'd be long fuckin' gone when the hokage bitch realizes my bitch ain't here anymore."
"It's not the question of strength or skill." The older Uchiha continued, speaking slowly much like how a parent would to his child.
"If we were to simply attack and take her with brute force…" He left the sentence hanging in the air.
Sakura would be upset.
It was times like these that Deidara was annoyed with caring about another person so much. Their feelings affecting yours could be bothersome to say the least.
"So we'll just waltz up to the Hokage and ask for her to release her apprentice? Just like that?"
"Or at least come to an agreement."
"Diplomacy? Really?" Kisame sighed again.
"I'm surprised you don't wanna rip some throats out and just go on a rampage. I dunno about you guys but I sure as hell do."
Itachi regarded his partner with hooded eyes.
"The temptation is there but it would only aggravate my blossom."
"Tch. Fuckin whipped." Hidan snickered.
"Oh like you're not?" Deidara shot back.
"Whipped by Sakura?" The silver haired nin was suddenly lost in thought then his tongue came out to lick his lips as if he was starving, his eyes glazed over and he had a dreamy expression plastered on his face.
"Now that sounds like a fuckin' great time!"
Kisame actually face palmed.
"Idiot." Sasori grumbled.
"Alright. So we try talking to the Hokage. How do we get outta here yeah?"
At this Itachi gave a confident look.
"Hn. That's the easy part."
It was almost too easy.
The five nin masked their chakras, created clones with the exact signature and snuck out, expertly evading all the ANBU stationed by the door and gates with Itachi's carefully planted genjutsu. Sasuke and his little team was a combination of surly, uncaring and curious. All of which escaped the notice of the men who were clearly in a rush. They wasted no time, quickly weaving through the empty streets, bounding soundlessly off tiled rooftops, all set one one destination; the hokage tower.
Shinobi of their caliber didn't have to worry about being followed or discovered. At least, not for a while. The guards were gullible but one of them probably had the brains to figure out something was up. Time was obviously not on their side. It was almost pathetic. How their mere hope for Sakura's life depended on the whim of an alcoholic woman with unchecked anger issues and whether or not they could convince her that they were no threat. Or at least, that the pink haired medic didn't deserve to be in jail.
...well damn.
Guess the Uchiha wasn't the only one who was whipped.
Deidara almost shook his head in amusement. Once again wondering how the hell a petite, volatile, loud woman managed to ensnare him along with the rest of Akatsuki-well, former Akatsuki.
Already they were at the tower's rooftop, each man glancing at the other.
The moon hung high in the sky above their heads, shedding some light on the sleeping village. The blonde cleared his throat when he noticed not one of them had even moved.
"So…"
"Are we fuckin' going or what?" Hidan shifted his weight from one foot to the other, restlessness evident in his gaze.
"I just realized," Kisame rubbed his temples, his eyes squeezing shut as if he was hit with a sudden migraine. "How the hell are we gonna convince the hokage of a village we had tried to steal from, several times, to just let angel go?"
"We bribe her."
Deidara's jaw almost dropped at Itachi's blunt and crazy statement.
"You're kidding. Please tell me you're not serious, Itachi! This isn't some random thug on the road, it's a leader of a fucking village!" The mist-nin groaned, feeling the chances of rescuing their medic slowly dwindle into nothing.
"Hn. Appealing to her compassion would be a waste of time. The best course of action is to negotiate." Red eyes regarded all of them with a cold calculating stare.
"Simply bring up how beneficial our presence in konoha would be."
A metaphorical lightbulb blinked to life in Deidara's mind.
"That's actually smart."
At this the Uchiha gave him an almost exasperated look. Or at least, that's what he assumed was an exasperated expression. But given Itachi's barely moving facial muscles, all the bomber saw was a slight furrow of dark eyebrows.
"Sakura's freedom for our power."
The blonde artist nodded, his confidence in their plan suddenly growing.
"Hn."
"Tch. Not exactly my idea of fun-serving a village I don't know or give a damn about." Kisame muttered.
"Then come up with an alternative." Sasori challenged, his hazel eyes scanning the area around them, still wary of their surroundings. Anytime a patrol guard could spot them. Even without their trademark red and black cloaks, they weren't exactly the most subtle of ninja.
When the mist-nin couldn't muster another solution that didn't result in serving yet another leader, they all nodded in agreement.
"Fuck it. I mean, we did pledge our fuckin' loyalty to her and all that. And since she's a sappy bitch who can't leave her shitty ass village, guess we've allied to leaf now."
The jashinist shrugged before crossing his arms behind his silver head of hair.
"Enough talking. Let's go." The redhead of the group jumped from his position on the roof, landing on the window ledge and vanishing altogether. Deidara had no doubt he was already standing in front of the hokage. Hoping to any gods up there that their crazy plan would actually work, the blonde artist followed suit. Judging by the familiar feel of wind and movement around him, the rest of the guys did the same.
The second all five of them were lined up, a wooden desk came flying towards them with a surprising amount of speed and deadly accuracy. Obviously they avoided the airborne furniture but Deidara suddenly found himself wishing he had been knocked out cold. The woman standing with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face looked like she was about to nag them to death.
Bombs and deadly nin? Easy.
Angry, slightly drunk and a loud as fuck woman who looked like she was going through that time of the month? Now that was a battle.
Itachi, being the eloquent (and annoying) man that he was, broke the tense silence.
"Hokage-sama," he began-
"Let my fuckin' bitch go, seriously!"
-only to be interrupted by a yelling, smirking Hidan.
Kisame face palmed for the second time that night.
Tsunade (was it?) glared even harder if that was possible and Deidara smothered the urge to kick the jashinist in his dangly bits so hard that even his god would feel it.
"You've got some nerve." She cracked her knuckles forebodingly. "Ordering a goddamn hokage around like that."
"Excuse him. He's an idiot." Itachi tilted his head towards Hidan, who in turn fumed and attempted to punch the Uchiha. Kisame predicted this and caught the man's fist easily then stood between the two, gesturing very obviously with his eyes to the busty woman in front of them in hopes to remind Hidan of the reason they were here.
"Clearly." A sake jug materialized out of nowhere along with a ceramic cup. She slowly poured herself some alcohol, her movements measured but Deidara knew better. If they weren't careful, things could get messy real fast.
"So care to explain why you so rudely interrupted my drink?"
Her hazel eyes left their forms for the briefest of seconds to rest on the wall behind them. But as soon as something passed through her gaze, it was gone, replaced with a detached simmering anger dedicated just for them.
"We've come to negotiate for Sakura's life."
"Negotiate?"
Itachi nodded while the other four either followed suit or grunted their agreement.
"I think you don't understand the situation you five are currently in. You have no right to negotiate any terms, much less demand for anything or anyone in this village or in several villages for that matter."
"The circumstances are not ideal. However given light of how this exchange can benefit you and the village, I believe it would be in your best interest to consider our offer."
A heavy silence followed Itachi's statement.
It seemed like their next stop would be the jail cells when she finally replied.
"Oh? Fine, I'll bite. But only because it's boring drinking alone." She shrugged and filled another cup for herself.
"Then what, pray tell, is exactly on the table?"
Deidara glanced at the broken furniture for a moment and decided now was not a good time to make a joke.
"The sharingan."
It's as if a small bomb had gone off in the office. No one spoke. The hokage herself froze, her cup halfway to her lips and looking for all intents and purposes, dumbfounded at his simple yet heavy declaration.
The Uchiha gave a subtle glance towards Kisame, who was on his right, signalling him to speak next.
The larger man set his jaw and narrowed his eyes, his tone intense, a complete contrast to his gruff and light manner of speaking. Although he wasn't carrying his huge blade, the way he carried himself and the sheer determination in his eye was enough to intimidate anyone.
"Samehada."
Deidara didn't have his clay pouches to throw at the damn woman's feet so he settled for slightly raising his hands, palms facing her.
"My kekkei genkai."
Sasori had no need for any weapon. Not when he was one himself.
"My puppets."
Lastly Hidan came up, his arms crossed, looking, for the first time that night, serious.
"This hot piece of ass-ow! You fucking fish breath," Hidan jabbed the mist-nin in retaliation for the elbow to his ribs.
"Fuck fine! What I meant to say was, my fuckin' immortality. Yeah, you heard that right. I can't die, so I'm pretty much the most useful fucker in here."
The woman looked at each of their faces, her mouth set in a firm line while she swirled the liquid in her glass with a finger, an expression of contemplation on her face.
"Hm. That's quite an offer. All of this," She quickly swallowed the burning liquid and sweeped an arm over them, her flowing sleeve following the movement.
"For just one woman?"
No one responded. They didn't need to. In their faces were matching expressions of determination.
The Hokage clicked her tongue then sat on a chair, pouring herself yet another cup as she addressed them, a calculating gleam in her eyes.
"Let's pretend I allow this. What then? There are villages who want you dead, villages that are our allies. Why the hell would I harbour traitors?"
"Power." Itachi replied, his gaze never faltering.
A bark of laughter left her lips, humor evident in her eyes.
"Ha! We've got enough of that in a blonde brat who has a nine tailed fox inside his gut. Power isn't an issue here."
"Don't you want more bitc-" Kisame delivered a quick blow to Hidan's jaw, his expression turning innocent as he wiped off the blood on his pants.
"Greed can lead to a village's downfall. It has in the past and I won't make the same mistake in mine."
"No one has to know." The Uchiha pointed out.
"You're telling me to lie?" She arched a brow in his direction.
"I'm reminding you that we're ninja. It's what we do."
The woman gave a barely there smirk at that.
"So can we make this hypothetical situation'-" Sasori began, impatience coloring his words. "-a reality?"
The blonde woman downed yet another cup of sake, completely missing the look of longing in the mist-nin's eyes as the alcohol went down her throat and blatantly ignoring the obvious tension in the room.
Once she was finished savoring her drink, she smacked her lips and stared them down.
"There's still people to go through. Processes, a council and a whole room of paperwork to start on..."
Deidara bit back a groan.
"But screw it. I'm the hokage."
Hope suddenly erupted in his stitched chest.
"Of course there will be precautionary measures. We haven't established any trust between us yet. The only proof I have that you won't steal Naruto or attack the village is your self-proclaimed loyalties to my student." The Hokage stood up, abandoning the jug of sake in favor of walking right in front of them, arms crossed with fire blazing in her hazel eyes.
"Loyalties I obviously still need to see proven. However, what you offered me just now is a start. Wouldn't you say so Sakura-chan?"
"Yes shishou."
A familiar, sweet voice filled his ears, shocking Deidara and the rest of the males in the room. They all turned to see the air in front of the door suddenly ripple. In its place was a smiling, pink haired medic, a slight flush on her cheeks. Without thinking about the other occupants of the room, he surged forward and engulfed Sakura in a bone crushing hug, relieved that she wasn't alone in a jail cell.
She was soft, warm and real. Her arms came up to wrap around his waist, a gesture he hoped everyone (especially Hidan) saw. Unfortunately, the heartfelt moment didn't last. The pinkette was pulled from his arms, leaving him feeling distinctly empty. He looked up to see red eyes glinting at him. Huh, it seemed the cold and emotionless Uchiha was as territorial as he was.
Every male gravitated towards Sakura then. Tsunade watched with calculating yet amused eyes, noting how they didn't even seem aware of their actions.
"Hey, that ANBU said you were in jail." Deidara wondered aloud, the confusion of the situation suddenly catching up to him amidst the happiness at finding Sakura.
"Oh that." The older woman waved her hand dismissively.
"I told him to make it seem like Sakura-chan was in trouble. Big enough that you all would come pay me a visit."
"What the fuck?!" Hidan was in the process of pushing Itachi away with his foot when the information reached his brain.
"You planned this fucking shit show?!"
The hokage merely smirked in reply.
"I fuckin' knew something was up, seriously!" Hidan grumbled to himself, hands still trying to grab Sakura, specifically her ass.
"Didn't find it the least bit odd how no one stopped you?"
"I placed them in a genjutsu." Itachi said easily, turning around so his back was to the jashinist and he was still holding the medic in his arms. Who at this point was blushing furiously and threatening to do some bodily harm if he didn't release her, to which he gave a soft smile, obviously confident she wouldn't hurt him.
"They aren't the only shinobi stationed in this village. There were dozens of jonin tracking you, all told to signal a warning if you went somewhere besides the tower."
"Why go to such lengths?" Sasori questioned, throwing an irritated glare at the dark haired man currently holding the pinkette captive. The glare soon turned into a smirk when she stepped on the man's foot, chakra powered apparently if Itachi's face was anything to go by.
"I had to see if what Sakura-chan told me was true. That you are all head over heels in love with her." She winked at the younger girl.
The pinkette's cheeks burned.
"I did not say that shishou! I said their loyalties belong to me. Not that they're-"
"Relax, I'm just teasing." Tsunade rolled her eyes at her student's reaction.
"Anyways, I'll send a messenger to the ANBU at the Uchiha compound. Only three will remain for patrol duty-like I said, you all still need to earn my trust so for now, probation, all of you. I doubt Sakura-chan's apartment can house five grown men comfortably which means, you all move there, for now. No one is to know about your presence. Mask your chakra and no fighting. I don't know how my apprentice manages you all...too much testosterone if you ask me." She shook her head at the smirk inching its way up Hidan's face.
"Oh wait, what about Sasuke?"
Sakura looked genuinely curious, completely oblivious to the irritated looks that passed through their faces.
"Ah...almost forgot about him. He'll be interrogated of course, along with his team. He hasn't committed any serious crimes so the council may be lenient with him. We'll see. Why?" The hokage leaned close, curiosity and mischief obvious in her tone and features.
"Do you intend to pick up where you two left off all those years ago? In the dark...just the two of you-"
Deidara felt his jaw actually drop this time.
Sasuke and Sakura?
She didn't show any kind of affection towards the Uchiha brat, quite the opposite in fact.
Mental images of them, intimate and close, sparked jealousy in the pit of his gut.
"I think the sake has gone to your head shishou! Better stop now before I tell Shizune to cut you off…" Sakura said with a forced laugh. "...again." Her voice deepened at the last word as green eyes glared daggers at the hokage who in turn found her reaction even more interesting. She chuckled and shook her head in amusement, her pigtails following the slight movement.
"Tch, what a vindictive streak. I suppose you really are my student. You're free to go and rest. Though I doubt you'll be getting much sleep tonight." A saucy wink was sent her way.
"S-shishou!"
Deidara smirked at the blush covering Sakura's cheeks, already liking the alcoholic woman much more than he did five minutes ago.
Their strange group walked towards the door when a voice halted them in their steps.
"Out the window, not the damn door! You five are a village secret now. For the love of…" Tsunade grumbled before tipping her head back and swallowing yet another cup of sake.
It was about three am in the morning. Highly doubtful anyone would see them but he wasn't going to argue with her now. Evidently everyone was thinking the same thing. They all nodded and made their way out of the room through the open window. Sakura was the first to leave, clearly desperate to get away from her mentor's relentless teasing. As soon as her petite figure disappeared, the hokage addressed them again. This time her tone was serious as she stood up and pointed at them.
Shit, maybe this was really a trap all along? The blonde didn't know if he could take any more surprises tonight. It seemed everyone else felt the same way. Their faces all matching expressions of wariness and apprehensive.
But a threat didn't come their way. When she spoke, her words carried more force than any jutsu or flying furniture.
"Take care of her."
He felt his eyes widen in disbelief.
It sounded like she was letting Sakura go. As if she understood.
"Or I'll castrate you all, one by one, with a rusted teaspoon."
Then the moment ended and she was back to her temperamental self.
Kisame let out a chuckle, nodding at the woman who had her hands on her hips, completing the image of an angry mother. He jumped out of the window and was gone. Sasori gave a curt nod and followed. Hidan was about to give a rude gesture but thankfully was dragged outside by Itachi who tilted his head to Tsunade, which in Uchiha-nese was an affirmation. Deidara was the last to leave. But before he vanished from the window's ledge, he bowed his head for a brief moment.
"Thank you."
He pretended that he didn't see a small, genuine smile grace the woman's lips.
Instead, he left.
Away from the hokage tower and towards the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with.
"Get out."
"But Tobi thinks it's so warm near Kakuzu."
"Get...out."
"But Tobi is too cold."
"GET. OUT."
"...Tobi-"
A large muscled arm came up and dragged the cuddly masked shinobi who was much too close to his body and threw him against the inn's wall. The poor guy groaned pathetically, rubbing his head with both hands. Kakuzu grumbled, taking note of how much money he had within his wallet before allowing himself to sleep once more. This time, his threads were awake and ready in case someone decided to snuggle up to him for warmth.
Zetsu watched the pair with a bored expression, his mind still centered on a blossom that he was very eager to pluck.
Two more days until they would arrive at konoha.
Sharp teeth glinted underneath the moonlight.
He couldn't wait.
Hello my lovely and loyal readers!
I know it took a while to get this chapter up but at least it's quite long, amiright? So yeah, hope you enjoyed this little confrontation and don't forget to leave me a review and tell me whatchu all think.
By the way, I started up a new story.
" C h a i n e d - t o - y o u "
With Kakashi Sakura Sasuke
Yes, I've never made one with these kinds of pairings before but screw it, I couldn't decide which hot male so I put in both lol.
Anyways, stay safe everyone, with the virus situation going on.
Till next time!
MKSS