Chapter 14: Soon To End

This will not be the last chaotic chapter.

Sakura woke up without Itachi beside her the next morning. She stretched around in the bed and stood up to go back to her room. When she got there, she immediately took a quick shower and dressed up rapidly. Then she went outside to get breakfast-in-a-bag from Diedara.

After Sakura had eaten in the training hall, she cleaned up then sat there for a while, waiting for her food to digest. Then she started training.

Soon, Konan came in. "Sakura," she said. Then Sakura came to her. "We should get you ready now." And they walked out the training hall and went to Konan's room.

Sakura sat in front of the mirror in Konan's room while Konan fetched her outfit. "Konan… thanks, but you know I could do this on my own. You don't have to do it for me."

"No need for you to thank me, Sakura," Konan said, walking back to the chair Sakura was in. "Now, pick your size." She showed Sakura three similar outfits in hangers with different sizes that had very little difference at all.

"Why do I get the feeling these clothes aren't normal ones…" Sakura muttered as she chose the one in the middle that fitted her perfectly. "Are they?"

"No, they're not. As a matter of fact, they are more flexible than normal clothes. And these are stretchier, too which make it easier and more comfortable for anyone."

"Great, then I'll get dressed… do you mind?"

"Sure." Konan said then she went out. After Sakura had locked the door, she put on the given clothes. When she looked in the mirror, she seemed to have seen a long-gone friend, her inner self. She sighed. "Are you done?" Konan said from outside.

Sakura unlocked the door and let Konan in. "What do you think? Am I me already?"

"Well… you do look great in that outfit," Konan complemented, "Well then, let's get you that wig…"

"Uh… I changed my mind. I want my old hair color back." Sakura said immediately before Konan could open her cabinet. "I kind of miss my old hair color."

"Okay," Konan said, she opened the cabinet then took out a canister that read, 'Hair Works—the best outcome is within!' "Now, you put on that plastic so your new outfit won't be ruined and I'll spray this on so your hair will come back," Konan said, she pointed to a folded plastic cloak (or whatever those salons use) on the side table.

"Are you sure with this?" Konan asked. Sakura breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. She nodded as she watched Konan spray water-like liquid onto her hair. After Konan has done it, she told Sakura to put on a cellophane cover then wait for at least 15 minutes. "After 15 minutes, you can rinse it in the shower," Konan said, "And while you wait, maybe you can help me get dressed as you."

"Sure, that's a great idea." Sakura said, "But… you're taller a few inches than me. How are you gonna pull that off?"

"Well… right now, I'm wearing 2-inch ninja shoes with heels. So that isn't much of a problem unless those friends of yours have pictographic memories."

"Some of them kinda do," Sakura admitted. "Anyway, do you have ninja shoes that don't have those heels?"

"Surely I do," Konan said, "I've also got some of those old ones that'll probably fit you nicely. But they are kinda beaten up."

"It's okay, I'm supposed to look beaten up anyway," Sakura said. So Konan showed her a cabinet with a 2-compartment shoe rack inside. Sakura saw five kinds of ninja shoes—those with heels, those meant for kicking really hard objects, those that were really meant for water, those that were for jumping, and the normal ones. "Whow…" Sakura muttered.

"Yeah, wow," Konan agreed. Then she took the normal ninja shoes which fitted her perfectly and gave Sakura smaller ones that really were beaten up. Sakura tried them on and they felt perfectly perfect and warm.

"They're perfect. Thanks," She smiled at Konan. And they both told stories while fixing Konan till 15 minutes were over. Then Sakura went to the bathroom to rinse her hair. Konan gave her a special cloak to wrap around her body so her clothes wouldn't get wet, of course her feet had to be wet. Meanwhile, Konan fixed the wig she was wearing.

Soon, after 10 more minutes of preparation, Deidara called them. Konan, who now looked a lot like who Sakura was (even sounded like her), went out the bedroom with Sakura. "Here's something for you…" She whispered in Sakura's ear as they walked towards the training hall. "As I am you right now, let's trick Deidara. I can sound like you and you've got to sound like me. Besides, there aren't many differences between us now, are there?"

"Okay. I'm in with you." Sakura agreed. She had the perfect line in mind to trick Deidara. And she was practicing what to say in her mind.

"Yo," Deidara said as the girls approached them. "So… are girls you ready?"

"Hell yeah, we are!" Konan said confidently. Sakura thought she heard her inner self once again. "Uh… I mean, yeah we are, right Konan?"

"Sure we are. What do you think we came here for?" Sakura shook her head like Konan would usually do to answer the obvious and philosophical.

"O…k…," Deidara muttered, "Aren't Konan supposed to be the Akatsuki Sakura? Then again, it could be better if Sakura did become the Akatsuki…"

"Dumbhead!" Itachi said who sat down on a corner, he sounded bored. "Can't you see they're playing you?"

"They are?" Deidara asked.

'Damn…' Sakura thought, 'He doesn't have to be that mean… It's not like Deidara is close to him anyway... or is he?'

Sakura and Konan looked at each other then at the men with innocent looks. "We are?" they both asked in unison, large grins on their faces. This had Deidara dumbfounded. 'It's like Sakura has a mirror beside her. Or she has a twin that just has a different hair color and clothes…"

Deidara was just about to say something when a big explosion was heard from all over the cave. Their world shook and they all had to hold on to the walls to not fall down. Some rocks also fell from the ceiling.

When the shaking stopped, Sakura asked, "What was that?"

"That was… an intruder." Itachi said. He quickly rushed towards a corridor where the sound came from. Diedara, Sakura and Konan followed.

Sakura was yet to be amazed at what she'll find.