A/N: I'm really in trouble now for not staying true to my word…

Maybe I should shut up now.

When's the last chapter coming anyway?


Miss Trouble Magnet

Chapter 19:

The first thing that came to mind was to keep Sasuke safe and more importantly alive.

I slowly stepped forward, my hand slipping right out of aforementioned boy's in the darkness. I was shaking uncontrollably as I put my foot firmly on the ground. Two men stood at the entrance door now, the taller one's stance relaxed and almost casual. The streetlights shone inside from behind him, making an outline of his form. It was lithe but masculine; slightly baggy pants, wide shoulders and sweater.

I took another step forward and Sasuke immediately pulled me back. He was glaring at the figures standing across the dark room from us. The panic set in as I realized that he may not be able to see Sasuke clearly. I turned around; my pink hair whipped my face from the rapid turn. "Run, please! Go!" I told him in a hushed whisper, my hands against his chest, pushing him.

"Sakura…" The venomously voice hissed, creating echoes throughout the room.

Sasuke stared ahead with wide eyes, and then he looked down at me, his eyes flickering in the light. "What the hell is going on?" He asked angrily, though his voice was nearly as loud as mine.

"Please, just go… go…" I was sobbing now, attempting to send him back by hitting his chest with my fists, "Please… please…" I whispered, my own will simply drained out of me.

"Sakura, what-"

"Did you bring a souvenir?" He said now, his voice pleasantly amused.

I shuddered at the last word, the 's' exaggerated and dragged out. Sasuke held me and pulled us both backwards. "Sasuke," I hissed, "Please, go! Run!" I kept telling him.

"Who the hell do you think I am? I'm not running." He said roughly, pushing me behind him the second a click was heard and a bright beam appeared, a circle light on the carpeted floors.

Flashlight.

"No…" I whispered, "No, Sasuke, please, listen to me! I can't let you do this; you have to get out of here, now. There's no time to waste, please, run, Sasuke! Please!" I told him, trying to pull him away again. The beam of light was moving now.

"Sakuraaa…"

I began hyperventilating madly as it studied one corner of the room. I whipped around to the entrance door. Where'd the other one go? Sasuke turned around, facing me. I couldn't see his face, but I could just feel the confusion and panic and anger bursting right out of him. "Who the hell is he? Why are you trying to make me leave? What the hell is going on?!" He nearly yelled, containing himself just enough to be heard only by me.

I felt the tears filling my eyesight again and I tried to choke out an answer. "If you don't leave he'll get both of us. Do you understand? He'll get us." I cried.

He just stared at me. "I'm calling the police." He suddenly said, reaching into his pocket and immediately dialling the three digit number.

I could only stare at him in awe. "Sasuke, no… He'll get them, too! No, you can't call th-"

"Found you!"

I froze.

"Hm… Not here either…"

I was hardly able to control myself; suddenly I stood and stalked to the middle of the room. The beam of light immediately stilled. "I'm here, okay? All alone. Is that what you want? Is it?" I asked, my tears drying uncomfortably on my face.

I nearly jumped at the sound of Sasuke's sneakers squeaking on the floor. "Sak-"

"What're are you waiting for?" I said louder.

Please, Sasuke, just shut up.

The beam from the flashlight was creeping to towards me. "Oh… but what about your trip? Hm…?"

I gulped as the light reached my ankle. I opened my mouth to speak.

"Sakura!"

I felt my heart sink.

No… no, no. No!

"I'm calling the police!"

Clank. Thud.

"NO!" I screeched as I slammed my fist against the floor.

The man hissed, the flashlight rolling away and stopping to aim right at my face. I let my head rest against the floor, letting out a trembling breath. Sasuke slowly moved away from his spot on top of me, holding my shoulders and helping me up.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke…"

He chuckled and pulled towards him, my body still shaking violently.

"You know… I really love you, Sasuke…" I continued.

He rest his chin on my head as I pressed my cheek against his chest. "Hey…" He started.

"But you seriously messed up."

I felt his chin move a bit, and somehow I knew he was, for some reason, smiling. "Hey, Sakura…" He said again.

I closed my eyes and listened. Ready to here his, probably, last words.

"He's gone, dummy."


"So… basically…"

"Someone is trying to kill you." He mumbled. His voice was barely audible.

I could barely nod my head at this. It suddenly struck me that this was all real, that this was no dream, nothing to be brushed off. Someone was seriously trying to kill me. And then I was still shocked by the fact that I'd told Sasuke everything. And that it'd felt good to tell him.

But now he was a target, and we needed to find a solution to all of this. Fast.

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell me this before." He told me, rubbing his temples as he struggled to keep his calm.

I opened my mouth and paused. I gulped and tried again. "Sasuke, you can't forget that I wasn't even supposed to tell you, and now-"

"Yes, you were!" He yelled, rising from his chair.

I only stared at him as he put his hand back to his head and began pacing the room. "… and now you're a target, too. How could I live with myself if you were dead?" I asked him. The word itself was too hard to think about, let alone say. I fell onto the bed, too faint to stand.

He stopped pacing, facing me from the other side of the room. "What? 'How could I live with myself'? That doesn't even qualify as an excuse. You would already be dead." He hissed.

I flinched away from his stare and bit my lip, tears welling up in my eyes again. As soon as one fell over the edge and ran down to my jaw, he rushed next to me and held me.

"I'm sorry. Don't cry, okay? Everything will be fine." He told me, wiping away my tear with his thumb.

I nodded my head. "I know, I know. It's just really, really overwhelming and I don't know what I'm supposed to do now." I blurted, the reflexive hiccupping action taking over me as I began to sob. He pulled me onto his lap, and I smiled sadly at how snugly I fit into his arms.

We may never be able to fit this way again.

I ignored the though and looked up at him. He was just in the middle of opening his mouth. "What do we do now? We tell, of course."

My eyes widened. "No! They'll-" I shut my mouth as he quickly kissed it, staying close so that his cheek was against my forehead.

He sighed as he tried to continue, "How can one person-"

"Two, maybe even more - possibly a whole cult of them, running wild outside and killing random people!" I said, growing even more frantic. I calmed as he kissed me again, longer this time.

When he pulled away from me he smirked. "Or he's trying to scare you, Sakura. He may seem like a man with a lot of power, but what if he's bluffing? He's obviously terrified of getting caught. As soon as I said I was calling the police he disappeared. Thing is, I didn't even see him leave. He may be tricky, but I bet that underneath it, there's really nothing to be afraid of."

I sighed. Okay, maybe he was right, but I still had reason to be at least a little fearful. "Okay, fine. Go ahead and call the police." I sighed.

He laughed quietly, leaning in to kiss me again. And still, despite what was going on, he was gentle and soft in the way he pushed me down onto the bed, and moved his lips against mine perfectly. He lied over me as he kissed me; he laughed, his fierce and dominant eyes catching mine. As soon as our lips parted, his arms slid under me. I let my eyes open wide to stare at him, but couldn't keep my head straight enough to protest.

He was proving to be quite the distraction.

I moaned as he pressed against me, his hot breath blowing into my face as he breathed. I took a second to breathe as well as he rolled onto his back, pulling me over him. I calmed at the feeling of his warm hands sliding underneath my shirt to hold me closer, drawing circles on my lower back, while the other held my head. I held his own head in my hands for a moment, afterwards sliding my fingers into his hair. I paused for a few seconds, just staring into his eyes. He stared back.

I heard the door open.

I rolled off of him so fast that I fell off the bed.

"Oh… uh…" Sai mumbled, scratching his chin as he stood at the doorframe, rooted at the spot. I stared up at him from my spot on the floor. Sasuke swung his legs over the bed, and tried to keep from looking anything but innocent. My face reddened as I pulled down my shirt and smoothed out my hair.

"Did I… interrupt something?" He asked hesitantly.

Suddenly, Sasuke was nudging me with his toe. I looked up at him. He nodded his head sideways to Sai, his eyes never leaving mine. I licked my lips and looked away.

"What?" Sai asked.

I took in a deep breath. "We need to talk about something." I said.

He paused. "… We…?" He repeated slowly.

Sasuke said, "Get Hinata, Gaara and Naruto. Now."


I felt my eyes water at the sight. Gaara had long ago stormed out of the room to then lock himself in his own. Hinata stared at me, her eyes terrified yet calm at the same time. Naruto was holding her, staring at the floor angrily. Sai looked like he was going to burst out crying. The room was tense and quiet. The hotel's pleasant perfumes weren't making any of it better.

"I knew it." Hinata said quietly.

Naruto's head jerk upwards as he stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… it all makes sense now. That car accidents, way back. When I found Sakura terrified in our dorms… That time were Sakura freaked out at the building, I swear I heard a voice but I thought maybe I'd imagined it! I mean, she was so terrified-" She rambled.

"You saw her freak out and you didn't say anything?!" Sai all but barely yelled.

Hinata flinched as her eyes welled up. Her face was streaked of mascara already. "I didn't know, Sakura could've been crying over anything, I didn't-"

"Sakura might die!" He yelled again, though not as loudly.

Naruto held a shaking Hinata closer as he turned to glare viciously at Sai. "No one is going to die." He seethed, "Not if I can help it."

What Naruto said; he meant.

Sai breathed deeply before leaning against the wall limply. "Now what?" He asked.

The breath I took was instable and made me shudder.

"You're the one who knows everyone. If Sakura can describe him…" Sasuke murmured beside me.

Sai's face lit up momentarily.

"No… I've never seen him," I said dejectedly.

Everyone seemed to slide back into their depressive state. Hinata shook her head. "I should've said something… I knew something was wrong. You were basically on the floor, in the elevator, and-" She cried, burying her face in her hands.

"And I asked you not to tell anyone." I said, smiling sadly, "You listened - you trusted me. You're a good friend, Hinata. Please don't blame yourself…"

She shook her head violently. Her words were rushed and they stumbled over each other. "A good friend said something, I just-"

Naruto hushed her and rubbed her arm affectionately.

"You just did what I asked you. If anyone's to blame, it's me. I took advantage of your trust and know I'm paying for it. So please, not only Hinata but all of you, don't blame yourselves." I told them. No one was looking at me anymore.

It seemed like an eternity before anyone said anything.

Sai put a hand to his forehead. "How did you do it?" He asked quietly.

I looked up to him. "Do what?" I asked.

"How did you get threatened for your life and keep it all secret? All those times when you nearly dead… did you know? When did you figure it out? Despite everything you've been through… how did you keep it in for so long?" He asked me, his hand sliding down over his eyes.

I blinked at all his questions, and slowly looked down to my feet. "I'm used to it, I guess."

He smiled. "Right." He said. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or he just thought that it was impossible.

Naruto turned to face Sasuke, glancing at Sai for a moment. "We should go get Gaara… quickly." He mumbled.

"Yeah… You do that." I sighed.