Love is War

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Chapter Seven

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DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO

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A few weeks passed by. In that time, we'd gone through half our inventory. Thanks to Sasuke's friend, Sai was finally back on his feet. I wouldn't let him go on any jobs, maybe after a few more weeks, but for now he was piddling around the garage and glad that he was at least able to socialize with the gang. It had surprised me at how good that medic was, and though originally he hadn't wanted to stay with us full time, I ended up making him an offer he couldn't refuse.

I was glad it had worked out, we needed someone trustworthy to patch us up on occasion. The guy, Kabuto would definitely be worth having around. Things had been busy. Countless jobs had come up over the last couple weeks and some days consisted of several drops, whereas on others we only had one or two.

The guys were the busiest out of all of us, and they were working like hell to keep me off of the road most of the time. I always had things to do on the inside, and for the last week I'd done nothing but spend my days and nights in my study, preparing for our next pickup. We were selling quickly, and I couldn't wait until the last minute to get it all done, because it was such a time-consuming task.

There were several customers I had to speak to, to know what they'd be needing over the next few weeks. There were some who always got the same shit, so I always ordered it anyway. The order needed to be in at least two weeks in advance- so today, I was finalizing my list to make that call finally. Then I could take a breather… If only for a day.

It had been nice for me honestly, Sasuke was helping with running the drops, usually going out once a day, sometimes even more often and with me being locked away in my study, I hadn't seen much of him at all. The only time I did see him was when I wandered out into the halls, mostly in the bar around dinnertime, or if he happened to be in the garage when I went out there.

Still, within the past two weeks, I hadn't seen him but a handful of times and I was glad about it. Surely, there was a part of me that really, really wanted to see him. But, after that stunt he pulled I wasn't sure how to face him again, at least not without losing my cool. After I finished this order though, I'd have some down time, and I'd want to spend some time with the guys. I only hoped he wouldn't be pissing me off anymore.

Once I finished my list and found it satisfactory, I went in search of Gaara with my book to get him to give it a read over as well. He was so good at the shit, if he already didn't have so much else to do, I'd get him to help me from the beginning. The job would be a lot easier, but he had enough on his plate as it was. Still, he could spare a few minutes to look over it for me. A second opinion never hurt.

When I went to walk through the bar on my way to the garage, I found the entire room packed. One quick glance and I knew that every member was there, aside from a few who were gone at the time. They all turned as a group to look at me as I entered, to which I raised a brow. It was late, well after dinnertime and even if several of the guys were drinking together, it was rare to find them all there at once unless summoned.

After pushing my curiosity aside, I continued into the bar, forgetting all about the book in my hand. The silence in the room was uncomfortable, and unsettling. It didn't take me long to figure out something was going on and the thought alone was enough to piss me off instantly.

"What did I miss?" I asked lowly, my brows furrowing as I stopped to look at the group until my eyes settled on the several of them huddled in the center of the room, Sasuke, Gaara, Neji, Shikamaru and even Kakashi were there, and all of them had the same look on their faces, pure distress.

My heart fell to my stomach and without waiting for an explanation, or giving myself time to come to any conclusions, I ran through all of them until I made it there. But, as soon as I saw Naruto on the floor in a bloodied mess, with Kabuto working on him, I lost it. I saw nothing else but black, that was the last thing I remembered.

…

"Sakura, Sakura… Wake up."

Someone calling to me was what startled me awake. I shot up into a sitting position and looked around frantically to see what was going on around me. I was in the infirmary, and the first person I noticed was Sasuke as he took a firm hold of my shoulders.

"Calm down, you're okay… you just passed out."

"Wh…where's Naruto?" I croaked, avoiding the Uchiha to glance around the room, but nobody else was there.

When he didn't answer, and I found nobody else in the room, I looked back to him worriedly. I didn't ask again, but I knew he could see the question in my eyes.

"Kabuto is still working on him." He explained and I shoved him away from me to get up, but the bastard didn't move. "You just stay here, damn it. As soon as he can, Kabuto will have Naruto moved here as well. If you go in there and lose it you'll only distract everyone."

I jerked free of his hold and laid back with a groan, covering my face with my hands. This couldn't be happening to me. Not now. Naruto was my right hand. I couldn't lose him. Sai was just getting better. Having Naruto out of the game would be devastating to the business, and all of us as a family. All I knew was, he'd better not die.

Sadly, Sasuke was right. I'd be better off just waiting for some news. I didn't need to lose my temper, or distract Kabuto from his work. That guy sure couldn't have come at a better time. But even having him, I was still sick to my stomach with fear and grief.

"What happened?" I asked after taking a deep breath to calm myself and prepare for the news.

"Akatsuki. It was on the open road, not far from here. Naruto was completely unsuspecting and he got hit a few times so they came straight back here instead of confronting the bastards."

My teeth clenched so hard my jaw hurt, and I couldn't even think about removing my hands from my face. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was so pissed I just wanted to cry. "You were there?" I asked, unable to keep my voice calm, just as I wasn't able to keep any part of me calm at the moment.

"No." Sasuke sighed. "I made a run earlier, but I've been back for a few hours. Naruto went out with Neji, Shikamaru and Kakashi. The drop went fine, they just happened to run up on the bastards, not even a mile from here on their way back."

"Fuck." I growled.

This was too depressing. It was the last thing we needed. I wasn't sure how I could get over this and I was really struggling to keep myself from leaving the infirmary and running to Naruto. Even though I may have lost it, I needed to be there for my men, for Naruto especially. We'd all be fucked up after this.

"Maybe this isn't the best time to make the suggestion, but I really think it'd be wise if we started looking into those bastards, and picking them off until there's no more of them. They'll just keep causing more problems in the long run, and I know we have a lot more going on and starting a war may seem like it could do more harm than good, but I think it may be in our best interest."

I finally pulled my hands down from my face to look up at him from where he hovered over the bed I was in. Though he hadn't sounded like he was angry, and he seemed calm enough, there was a storm brewing in those obsidian eyes that let me know he was just as pissed as I was, and he wanted to end those fuckers just as badly as me.

"You're right. We'll look into it." I nodded, turning my eyes to the ceiling as I went about suffering in silence.

All I could see was Naruto lifeless on the bar's floor, blood all over him, the whole family surrounding him. He was unconscious and I had no way of knowing if he was brought in like that, or if Kabuto put him out to tend to his wounds. Either way, I was too uneasy to just sit around and wait. For all I knew, Naruto could have been dying at this very moment and I should be with him. I could keep myself calm, somehow… for my right hand, I could.

"I have to go to him." I grumbled, moving to sit back up, but Sasuke immediately forced me back down.

"Don't bother, someone is coming anyway."

He was right, just after the words left his mouth, the door swung open and in came Kabuto, followed by Genma, Kakashi and Gaara who carried Naruto in and to the bed next to the one I was occupying. I jumped off the bed then, drawing my gun and pointing it at Sasuke meaningfully. He wasn't about to stop me this time. I wouldn't really shoot him, but I'd send a bullet right by his head to let him know not to fuck with me. He caught my drift and didn't make a move.

"How is he?" I asked, walking up to the bed just as the guys gently laid him down and then backed away to give me some space by Naruto.

"There were three shots, luckily they weren't deep and also easily removed. I gave him something to help him sleep and managed to clean everything and stich him up." Kabuto explained.

"So, he'll be okay?" I frowned, looking over Naruto and the way he looked so pained, even in his sleep.

"He'll need to recover. He'll more than likely be in pain for several weeks, that will be the worst of it. It was good that they were so close and I was able to work before he lost too much blood. If they'd been half an hour later, he probably would have bled out."

I shuddered just at the thought, feeling the blood drain from my face. Sasuke was definitely right, we had to get rid of those Akatsuki bastards so we could live and work in peace. I couldn't have my men taking shots like this. There would always be enemies out there, but the Akatsuki hated us just as much as we hated them, and they'd never stop aiming for us. They had to be ended. I was tired of dealing with their shit. Tired of losing men, and of seeing my men hurt.

"Don't get so worked up." Gaara came over, wrapping a comforting arm around my shoulder and whispered those words to me. "Naruto won't give up. He's stronger than most of us, he'll pull through this and he'll be ready for revenge too. You know he will."

I nodded, my lip trembling with how I was being bombarded with emotion. I would not let myself cry though. Naruto wasn't dead, he was still here, and I wouldn't let my men see me like that. Comforting was something I needed right then though, so I leaned into Gaara, all too aware of how badly I was shaking. His arm wrapped even tighter around me in return.

Now I was feeling run down, as if all the work over the last few weeks hadn't been enough, now this had to happen and I was to my wits end. There was so much to be done, but how would I get anything done at all with Naruto's condition on my mind?

"You don't need to be stressing this shit. I've got your book in my vest, come on… let's get out of here and I'll go through it with you."

"Alright." I stepped back from Gaara then, thanking him silently for being so on top of everything. I'd completely forgotten about making the order, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to get it in tonight, it would probably have to wait until morning. I needed a drink for sure though, and now would be as good a time as any to have Gaara look over it as I'd wanted him to.

"It would be best if everybody cleared out, I'll stay to keep an eye on him, but he needs to rest."

Nobody argued. We all left the room without another word. When we were in the hallway, I holstered my gun and led the way.

"We're going to your study?" Gaara asked when I walked past the bar.

"Yes." I muttered. The last thing I wanted to do was walk into that bar. All I could see now was Naruto in his bloodied form. I couldn't walk back into that bar just yet.

"Could I join you two for a drink?" Sasuke piped up, earning a curious glance from Gaara and myself.

I shrugged when Gaara's eyes turned to me right after. "I don't see why not." Now wasn't the time to be acting like a bitch, and I'd be drinking anyway. Tonight, I really needed to get wasted. I wanted to forget about all the bullshit that had happened lately, and even all of which would be happening from here on out.

…

As soon as we were comfortable inside my study, I went about pouring us each a drink while Gaara wasted no time in going over the book. We were all quiet, even as we drank. A lot was on my mind, mainly Naruto and the fucking Akatsuki bastards. There was nothing that would have made me happy at that moment other than facing them head on and popping a cap in each of their faces. To see them dead at my feet, only then would I feel alive again. It may take some time, but eventually I'd make every single one of them pay for the shit they'd put us through.

It seemed as if things were getting worse and worse. I wouldn't have been surprised if we hadn't seen the worst of it, before things would finally start to look up again. I only hoped Naruto would pull through this. We all needed him. He'd been with me since the beginning, he always knew how to work through the bad times, always had a way of reassuring me, and even cooling me off when I needed it. Me and him were closer than any of the rest of us, and losing him, for me… just wasn't an option.

"Okay, I added a few things that we could use for ourselves. But other than that, everything looks good." Gaara spoke, pulling me from my thoughts and I gave him a quick nod as I took the book back.

I checked the time and realized it would be pointless to even try and make the call tonight, which only pissed me off more. "I'll have to call it in tomorrow. We'll be late but hopefully it will work out. I'd hate to have reschedule any meetups."

"I know." Gaara sipped his drink, seeming just as thoughtful as I. "If you can work it out though, try and have it delivered at the same time. They're capable. They're just assholes."

He was right. They could definitely work it out if they would, but I felt that sometimes they just tried to piss me off. Either way, I hoped they could get it to me without being even a day later, much less a week, as they had done me before.

Sighing in my misery, I continued to drink, wishing by some miracle the alcohol would drown all my worries. "We're going to move against those bitches soon. It's time to make a plan." I muttered aloud to myself.

Sasuke and Gaara both eyed me from across my desk at my declaration.

"Well, I know you've been busy these last weeks and we haven't discussed much…" Gaara began, looking rather serious. "But, I've been still keeping tabs on them. Since they lost all those members, they've only doubled their numbers."

"Fucking idiots." I hissed. "Always recruiting so carelessly. I fucking hate that shit."

"They see it as having power in numbers." Sasuke supplied.

"I think so too." Gaara agreed. "Even having skilled members, taking on triple, or even double our size would be costly."

"That's where the plan will come in." I muttered from behind my glass.

"That's right." Sasuke confirmed. "We'll need to research them and their facilities thoroughly, find out when they're making moves, and when the majority of them are just sitting around their hideout."

Gaara looked from me to Sasuke before nodding his agreement. "As far as I know, I think they're around mostly at night, but I can set up some cameras to keep an eye out for a while before we make any sudden decisions. But, they've always had a tendency to move during the daylight, especially early mornings."

"Okay, there's a lot to discuss and plan out over these next several days. In the meantime, I think it best if we change our entire schedule. Throw them off a bit. They also know we stick to the daylight hours. I'm sure the clients will understand, as long as it doesn't last forever."

"I agree, it would be less likely for us to run up on those fuckers, and the clients will still come for the goods, day or night."

I nodded at Gaara and his words. Finally, we were taking the first step in ending those bastards after all this time. Once they were out of the picture, life would certainly be much simpler. Just discussing it now had me hyped up and ready. The next couple weeks would surely prove to be interesting. I wasn't sure how I'd ever wait it out, but I'd have to… There was much to be done before we could ever go through with it.

A/N:

Thanks for reading!