I really have to appoligize to you guys. Unreliable internet + fanfiction not letting me upload + serious writer's block chapters coming out later and later. I hope to get the next chapter out on Friday, to make up for the big wait. Again, mucho sorry-ness!

Read on!

:Edit - November 29 - Thank you to blondie4chaos for fixing my 'poop' mistake!:

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Later that evening, Naruto Uzumaki's house

"Hey, Naruto."

"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto said dully into the phone.

"Man, you sound depressed."

"My best friend just deserted Konoha for the very same evil organization that's responsible for killing my other best friend. Ya think I'm depressed?" Naruto replied sarcastically.

"Listen, man. You wanna come to the bar with me n' Choji?"

Naruto sighed. "Why not?"

"Cool, man. See you in a half an hour, k?"

"Whatever."

Same time, Akatsuki Hideout, Sakura's room

Sakura had been thinking about a strange dream she had had that night, about Sasuke coming in her room to say 'Good night,' when she heard her door creak loudly.

She looked up to see a blonde girl starring at her mischievously. The girl was dressed in Akatsuki robes and for a moment, Sakura wondered when the Akatsuki had started hiring girls. Then she realized that that blonde girl was actually the man, Deidara.

"So you're Sakura… un?" he asked her in a deep voice.

She just glared coldly at him.

"Careful, your face might stick like that… un. Not a very flattering pose… un."

Sakura continued to say nothing.

"Now I know why Itachi likes you… un." Deidara muttered.

"What was that?" Sakura asked loudly.

"Hey, hey, keep your voice down… un!" Deidara whispered.

"Why should I?" She bit back, talking still louder.

"Itachi will skin my hide if he sees me here… un!" The blonde man said franticly. "I just wanted to see why he brought you here… un."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Deidara rolled his eye. "Like you don't know… un. Itachi obviously brought you here to be his whore… un. Can't say I blame him… un. You are pretty fine… un." He said, grinning suggestively.

Sakura curled her lip in disgust. "What do you think he'll do if I scream?" she said savagely. Deidara's visible eye grew large.

"Don't you dare… un." He whispered.

Sakura opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

Deidara shot out of her room as if, well, Itachi were chasing him. Sakura chuckled. What an idiot. He left the door open behind him!

Sakura crept out to the door and peered out one way. No one down that hallway. Then she looked the other way.

"Boo!" a harsh voice shouted. Sakura screamed shrilly and jumped back. The door slammed in front of her instantly, and she heard Kisame laughing.

"Keep trying, girl!"

An hour later, Akatsuki Hideout, Front door

"Kisame!" Itachi hissed. Kisame looked at him. Itachi had whole Akatsuki garb on, complete with straw hat. This could only mean he was going out.

"I'm going out. Watch Deidara. Don't let him anywhere near Sakura." Itachi turned to leave.

"She's the one, isn't she, Itachi?" Kisame asked suddenly. "The one on the internet, and the one with Neji Hyuuga. That's why you beat him, up, right? Because you thought he really had killed her?"

Itachi hesitated. "Yes, Kisame. She's the one." He opened the door and left, leaving a thoughtful and somewhat hungry Kisame staring off into space.

Kisame shook himself, much like a dog shaking off a wet coat, and walked into the kitchen.

As Kisame made himself a tuna sandwich, Tobi came in.

"Kisame-sama, who's the girl in the spare room?" he asked, with all the innocence of a convicted felon.

Kisame took a bite of his sandwich. "Name's Sakura. Remember? The girl who killed Sasori."

Tobi frowned. "She killed Sasori-sama?" he asked incredulously.

"Yup."

"She looks pretty weak."

Kisame whirled around. "And how would you know?" he growled.

"I looked in on her when she was sleeping," he said calmly.

"Itachi will kill both of us if he hears about that," Kisame warned.

"She's very pretty, though."

Kisame didn't say anything.

"But I suppose you prefer the more sharky ones, eh?" Tobi laughed.

Kisame scowled at him.

"So why did Itachi bring her here?" Tobi got no answer from the blue-skinned man.

"Well, you're a gold mine of information… I'm going to find Deidara and argue with him." Tobi padded out of the kitchen.

"What a weirdo," Kisame mumbled. He popped the rest of his tuna sandwich in his mouth and headed down the hall towards Sakura's room. As long as Itachi was away, she was in danger.

"Sakura!" he called as he opened her door. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked.

Kisame swore silently.

Sakura was not in her room.

Same time, Naruto Uzumaki's house

Naruto dragged his sorry butt to over to Shikamaru's house. Shika and Chouji were waiting for him at the door.

"You showed up!" Chouji exclaimed, high-five-ing Naruto. Naruto half-heartedly grinned at him.

"Let's go." Shika said lazily.

The trio of young men walked to a local bar not far from the Hokage Mansion, called the Meddlesome Maid. They walked in and looked around for a table. Instead, they heard a familiar voice holler to them.

"Hey boys!" Kakashi called, swinging tipsily. He was sitting next to Gai, Iruka, and Genma, who were both laughing. Naruto, Shika, and Chouji ambled over to them and sat down.

Shika grinned at the silver-haired jounin. "Not normally one for spirits, are you, Kakashi?"

Gai laughed heartily. "Kakashi just beat the bar's record for most (Some alchoholic beverage. Use your imagination!) shots in one minute!"

Naruto's mouth fell open. He'd missed it? Kakashi's mask off for a whole minute?

After a few drinks, all six of them were laughing and having a great time.

Naruto was very glad he'd agreed to come.

He finally got home around midnight, grinning and totally wasted, but at least Sakura was just a little voice in the back of his mind. That is, until he saw the blood on his walls.

YOU WERE WARNED

Naruto sobered up real quick. He was confused at first, but then he saw what the message was about.

Sakura's mutilated body lay under the blood, her lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling, and her skin held a deathly parlor.

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Cliffhanger, hanging from a cliff!

Well, just think. I'm gonna update Friday, so you only have 3 days to wait!

Keep reading, my loyal readers, and pretty-please review!