Chapter 12: We've Found You!
AN: Sakura will be named Shindez till I forget she was supposed to be named Shindez. ^^
*Naruto's POV **back to narrative style
This chapter will be better than the last… I hope. Please enjoy.
Kakashi led his team towards a bunch of hills. 'He pointed to one and said we'll climb it. We saw cherry blossom trees and a cottage on the other side of the hill. Kakashi used his Sharingan and told us that there were two people in the house—a girl and a boy. He doesn't want to say who they were. But I guessed it wasn't Sakura since he looked like he didn't know them, or her, rather.' Naruto thought as they approached the house, but the two people went out the door.
'It seems that they've been expecting us.' Sasuke thought, but he stopped in his tracks, 'Wait, that outfit… these people must be Akatsuki!'
"Hi there, Kyuubi boy!" the mysterious girl said, "Watcha got for me today? And don't say we've never met before… Teeheeheehee!"
'Kyuubi boy?' Naruto thought, 'This girl… she's got something in her that makes her so familiar. I don't know what but I think I've met her before… in a fight maybe?'
'She looks exactly like… Sakura!' Sasuke thought in alarm and awareness. 'Is she… could she really be… Sakura?! But… it's almost impossible!'
"Shindez-san, I don't think that's the best thing to say to our guests," A long-haired, blonde boy said, "I bet they don't even know about the pinkette's new captors!"
"What have you done with her!?" Sasuke heatedly said, "Where is she?"
"Oh," Shindez said teasingly, "Her boyfriend misses her, ahahahaha! Aren't you just the most romantic thing?!"
Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke all happened to realize that this so-called Shindez girl knows that Sakura was Sasuke's girlfriend. 'S-she knows? How!? Unless she really is who I think she is…'
"I'm asking you, where-is-SAKURA!!!" Sasuke shouted, "And what have you done with her?!"
"I don't think I'll answer that question… you're too contemptuous! But if you want her, hand over the Kyuubi boy first." Shindez said mockingly, "And you've got until tomorrow to decide. If you don't get to this same place at sunset tomorrow, your friend will just have to… die."
"And don't even think about using traps," the blonde boy said, "I want to see the same faces tomorrow and only the same faces. And if we sense traps, we might never show up and the deal could expire (He made a snap with his fingers) just like that."
"Bye," said Shindez, "C'mon, Deidara-senpai, let's go."
"Fine, we'll think about it." Kakashi said. Team 7 watched as the two Akatsuki disappeared in smoke.
Later, not so far away from the cherry blossom cottage, Shindez and Deidara arrive in a secret, underground place. "That went well," Deidara said, "Don't you think?"
"Hn." Shindez muttered, "What will we do if they do give us Naruto?"
"We will need you to go back to your old looks and Konan will become Shindez." Deidara said, "If you don't like having your hair back to color, then you'll have to wear a wig. Itachi is coming tonight. He will be brining the things you wore when you were captured."
Shindez winced at the name. "I told you never to mention his name." She said. Deidara shrugged, "It's necessary, unless you two did something UNnecessary in the middle of the night."
'Ugh… he could really be a pain sometimes.' Shindez thought. "So, Konan's coming here and so is the Uchiha. Where are the others gonna be?"
"Actually, Konan and Itachi are coming together. Kisame is going to be the boss's temporary partner while she's gone." Deidara explained, "And since Itachi can't find your gloves, you're gonna have to wear these. And you will have to make your own clothes tattered for yourself."
"These gloves, am I gonna destroy these too?" Shindez asked when Deidara handed her the gloves that looked exactly like her old ones. "Where did you get these? They're just like the old ones I had."
"They just gave it to me. I bet he had it costume-made just for you."
"He? Who he?" Shindez asked. She was afraid the answer would be Itachi. And she was right, Deidara lipped his name and went to a door in the cave that led to a hallway with lots of doors. 'Sigh… I hope this goes well. It's still early. I guess I could just train or something.' Shindez thought as she went into the door as well and into a door just a few doors away from the door leading out the cave. This was to be her room.
She lay down on the bed and wondered if she would train or get ready for tomorrow. She thought it better to train so she stood up again and took her kunai pouch which she took off when she got in the room. She sighed and opened the door to find Deidara walking to the training area in the cave.
"Deidara-senpai," she said, catching up to him, "Are you going to train, too?"
"No, I'm just checking around the cave, I couldn't actually remember where the bathroom is, hehe." Deidara laughed, and he brought his hand up to behind his head, scratching it for that comic look.
"Okay," Sakura said, walking to the door that lead to the wide training room, "I'll just be training here."
"Ok, whatever," Deidara said as he marched away. Then Sakura continued on her way and trained till Deidara called her 4 and half hours later.
"What is it?" She said when she arrived, bathing in sweat, at the dim-lit corridor. She saw Deidara and two unmistakable shadows of Itachi and Konan. Her heart doubled its beat and Sakura felt a faint tingle in her stomach when she saw those two very unique eyes that remarked of the Uchiha clan. "Oh," she managed to say, "You're here…"
"Yes," Konan said, stepping into the light, "And we should get ready for tomorrow, too."
"Konan, you'll help Sakura get ready in her room with these clothes. I'll get the traps ready," Itachi said. Hearing his manly voice made Sakura's knees weak. She wondered how she could've left that last place; she wondered how she could have left him. She remembered, he was standing alone in the rain and he was trying to explain to her what her purpose had been. She remembered her forgotten anger and it seemed to become stronger inside her. But when he stepped into the light, she saw his face—the face that had made her heart beat triple, the face that she was so vulnerable against. She couldn't resist but stare at him.
But Konan stepped in front of her and waved a hand in front of her face. Sakura immediately recovered and lead Konan to her room with her. And later, everything was ready. Deidara gave them each their dinner-in-a-paper-bag and they all went into their rooms.
Sakura had eaten (and drunk) the jumbo chips, cookies, water and yogurt which were all in the bag that Deidara gave. But she didn't finish the jumbo chips at all. Actually, she had just eaten half of it. But she really loved the cookies that she finished them in a jiffy. Then she drank water and left some for brushing her teeth. And in all these things that she did, her mind was preoccupied with Itachi. There were many things a cave could lack and those are water faucets, water systems, complete bathrooms, sinks and hot tubs.
After she had brushed, she went to bed and tried not to think about Itachi anymore. But she couldn't help it. Because since the moment she saw his perfect features, she craved for his scent and his warmth and his reassuring voice. She tried hard to control herself from leaving her room and finding his.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She got up and walked bare footed in the hall as she looked around and guessed a door. She tried the 5th door she saw, but it was empty. She went for all the other doors when Konan came out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "Sakura-chan?" she said, apparently dazed at what Sakura was doing. Sakura straightened up when she suddenly heard Konan.
"Oh, I was, uh…" Sakura said, trying to think of some excuse, "I was… looking for the bathroom."
Konan approached her, her eyes narrowed at Sakura. "What were you really doing?" She asked suspiciously.
"Ok," Sakura finally said. She couldn't take it much more already, she had to see Itachi before she slept at the least and apologize to him. "I… I'm looking for Itachi's room."
"Why?" Konan asked, her suspicious voice became gentler. Then she gasped, "Y-you missed him, didn't you? After all these weeks that you've been away from him, you miss him, didn't you, didn't you?"
"Huh? No," Sakura said defensively, "I-I only want to talk to him about something, okay?"
Konan became serious immediately. "I bet there was something between you and him that wasn't clear, right?"
"Uh… yeah, I just wanna clear up something with him. Listen, do you know what that ghost girl was guarding back at the first hideout?"
"Sorry, I can't tell. But I've seen it," Konan said, "It was full of black light that… Well, what are we doing? Let's get you to Itachi's room already, you poor lovebird."