Hey! I got bored and decided to put up another chapter! Besides, I love how many reviews you all keep giving me! Yay! Thank you all!
FYI, I changed this around a little, it'll be a hard pg13 between chapters 13 or so to 19. At 20 it will be rated R! I went on a mad pervert thing, so you'll have to excuse me.
I may be doing two chapters a day from now on, or changing it day by day. I dunno yet.
Anywho, on with the show!
Disclaimer- P-shaw! In my dreams would I own something worth more than $150!
Chapter 8
Sakura woke the next morning to find Diedera had already made breakfast. She ate quickly and dressed. "Diedera, I need you to go into town, we need more supplies, from the sounds of the letter they may be here a while. Itachi, I'd ask you to stay here and let them in, but I can't see that being a good idea. Why don't you follow me for the day?"
Itachi looked at her and nodded. "That's fine, here's hoping they don't run into Diedera first."
Sakura frowned but nodded. "I can't really help it. I need more supplies, but I can't really go myself, I have a lot of people to see today." Diedera nodded.
"Oh, Miyabi at the corner asked if you had anymore of that potion done. She's having trouble with her knees again." Sakura nodded and handed him the vial, giving him a pleading look as she gulped down her tea.
"It's on my way, I'll drop it off on my way back. I need to head to the shop and get more of the clay." Sakura nodded and looked over at Itachi. "I'm headed out!"
Itachi jumped up and grasped his cloak, clasping it on his way out the door. Sakura smiled and ran up quickly, hugging Diedera. "You take care." Diedera waved at her, blushing lightly from the hug.
They were at the end of the yard when Itachi looked over at her, curious. "Why did you hug him?"
"He needed it. I could tell." Sakura turned and smiled, nodding. "Something's been bothering him since yesterday."
Itachi looked at her a little surprised. "Sakura, are you saying you don't know?" Sakura turned to him and slowed, eyes wide. "What's happening?"
Itachi just looked at her, trying to wrap his mind around the thought that she was oblivious. He smiled and shook his head with a light smile. "What's up?" She said, noticing the humor and he looked at her, his smile stopping her for just a second.
She just looked at him, eyes wide, her heart pounding. Itachi stopped and turned, looking at her.
"Sakura?"
"I, Let's go." She took off as quickly as she could.
Her heart still pounded. She smiled at herself sadly. All that time she wanted Sasuke to look at her, she was imagining things with Itachi. That look...
She turned, looking at him. He was so different from Sasuke. He wasn't so cold, he was soft and gentle, he had a sense of humor, he was so...
He was wonderful. She smiled and looked ahead, seeing the house coming into view. He was great, he was hot and she was so hooked on him after the tragedy with Sasuke that she was imagining things.
She laughed as she came to a stop, Itachi turning to her, noticing the tone. "Sakura?"
She stepped ahead and knocked at the door, straightening her cloak. "I'm fine."
Diedera went and did the shopping, happy about one of the local merchants. She would randomly show up with honey and candles, but on rare days she would have flavored honey sticks. Diedera carried a large bag over his shoulder with random items, meat and ramen mostly. He knocked at the door towards the evening with a honey stick hanging out of his mouth.
The door opened to a older woman who was smiling wondrously.
"Oh, Naruto!" Diedera smiled and handed the woman the vial that had been in his pouch on his hip. "Sakura asked me to drop this off to you. She'd already had some brewed yesterday."
"Oh, Thank you three! I know that Sasuke's been helping with her gather her herbs. I got this for you!" The woman handed him a large loaf of bread and Diedera shook his head. "That's not necessary, Miyabi-san!" Diedera smiled, waving his hand and the woman shook her head. "Yes it is! You guys have been taking such good care of us! I heard that you and Sasuke caught that guy that was robbing the merchants last week! I don't know what we would do if you weren't out here!"
Diedera smiled at her, calming for a moment. "Miyabi-san, Thank you." He took the bread and bowed.
"No, thank you! I better go, sounds like the kids are at it again."
"I can't do stitches, tell them to chill!" Diedera laughed and Miyabi laughed with him. "I'll see you." Diedera turned and froze, hearing the door close behind him.
"Diedera?"
"Naruto-kun." Diedera smiled and walked off down the street, waving Naruto to follow him. "The house is hard to find sometimes, you'll wanna follow me, yeah."
"Why, you're dead. Why am I following you?" Diedera turned and narrowed his eyes. "Because I'm not going home if you don't. Sakura would kill me." Naruto stilled, running ahead and grasped his kunai to Diedera's throat. "You better not have TOUCHED her!!" Naruto gritted his teeth just before he felt something contact the back of her head. He turned, seeing a small group of people gathered around. "Leave Naruto alone!"
"Don't you dare hurt him!"
"Sasuke could hunt you down in a second!"
"Sasuke?! Naruto?!?!" Naruto turned to Diedera who grinned at him. "A lot has happened, you'd do well to just follow me." Naruto stood, sliding the kunai back into his pouch.
"Hey, Everyone, this is just a bit of a misunderstanding, yeah. He's a friend of ours, another Naruto, actually." Everyone stilled and talked for a moment. "Please, excuse us." Diedera smiled and nodded and took Naruto by the arm, turning and headed out.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked and Diedera turned. "Sakura didn't want to let it out who we are. She came up with the first names that popped into her head." Naruto looked over at him with a frown.
"We heard that Sasuke killed you. How did you survive blowing yourself up?"
"You don't think I'd blow up every inch of myself. There were still a few pieces of myself left, it just took me a few years to gather enough pieces to really put myself together. This is nothing, though. Just wait, yeah." Diedera knew the story of the Konoha ninjas and Itachi. He knew this was going to be awesome.
Sai sat by the front door and stood when he noticed them approach. Diedera smiled over at the two of them as he unlocked the front door. He walked in, tossing the bread onto Sakura's work desk before taking the bag to the kitchen. "Naruto, Sakura told me to get you some ramen. Does this work?" He held out one of the cup ramen he'd bought and Naruto's eyes widened.
"Sakura-chan said to get me ramen?" Diedera nodded as he pulled out the other dozen containers. He slid out the beef and chicken, sliding them into the drawer in the bottom of the fridge. "Sakura-chan should be back soon. She's usually back in about half an hour." Diedera walked out, sliding his cloak off and sneakily took the picture off of the wall before it was noticed.
Naruto looked around and Diedera smiled, waving to the chairs. "Please, have a seat."
"What in the hell..." Naruto stared. "You tried to kill me once. Now you're... like this." Diedera smiled and nodded, sitting on one of the dining room chairs, turning it and leaning his arms against the back. "She's wonderful. Sasuke really screwed up, yeah."
Naruto stared, eyes wide. "Uh, yeah. You can't have her."
"I know." Diedera stood and walked out to the kitchen, throwing water in the kettle. "Trust me, that realization wasn't the best in my life." He walked back out with a grin and looked over at Sai. "You're kinda quiet, yeah."
Sai just stood there, staring, looking over at Naruto. "Didn't you kill Gaara? Aren't you the one that tried to kill Naruto and Kakashi-san?"
"I am." Diedera grinned, leaning back against the wall.
The door tumblers alerted everyone to the fact that someone was home.
Sakura opened the door and looked in. "SAKURA!!" Naruto ran at her and threw his arms around her before jumping back, screaming like a little girl.
"WHAT IN THE HELL?!?!?!?"
Sakura turned to Itachi who was just standing there with a suddenly satisfied smirk.
"Ah, the Kyuubi boy. This ought to be fun."
Naruto spent the next two hours sitting in a chair, staring at Itachi no matter what happened. "You were dead. Sasuke killed you."
"Around here I'm Sasuke. He's Naruto. You're the new guy. Don't start anything, you won't win." Itachi grumbled, sucking down his third cup of tea. Itachi turned to Sakura with a frown. "I see why Diedera reminded you so much of him. Neither one has any sense and they both talk too much." Sakura covered her mouth with a giggle and looked over frowning. "Diedera, where's the picture?"
"Oh, I didn't wanna ruin the surprise, yeah. It's under my cloak." He poked his head out of the kitchen with a grin and Naruto looked over at him, more shocked than anything. Sakura walked over and pulled out the picture, wiping it softly and smiled at it. She hung it carefully from the wall as Naruto walked over and looked.
The looks of the faces in the picture, the look of contentment on Sakura's face, it tore him apart. "Sakura, you know who they are. You know what they've done. Why would you do this to yourself?"
"Naruto," Sakura turned to him, her eyes looking down sweetly. "I'm a missing nin. I stole the lives of a lot of people. I've done terrible things as well."
"Not like them!" Naruto pointed angrily, nearly throwing his hand in their direction. Sakura turned to him, her eyes for the first time since they'd gotten there angry.
"How is what I did any different from what they did? What Itachi did? His was at least a mission! I killed a few hundred people at the drop of a hat for selfish reasons!" Naruto backed up, realizing his mistake. "Sakura-chan, don't beat yourself up! You saved a life for each one you took away!"
"How many people could have died it Itachi hadn't taken out his family? Him and Sasuke were the only real victims." Naruto knew not to push about Itachi again.
"What about Diedera?" Diedera's face came out from behind the kitchen doorway, a frown. "Oi! That's not cool!"
"Diedera's Diedera. He's a lot like you. He's nice, sweet, kind and caring. He's done everything he could to keep me safe, he's helped me through so much. You guys would really get along if you weren't so stuck on the past." Naruto noticed as she spoke she softened up. He stood tall, wrapping his arms around her. "You really care about him, don't you?"
"I care about them both. You too, Naruto. And even though he's an ass, I still care about Sasuke. He probably had a heart attack around noon today, though." Sakura grinned, looking over at Diedera who grinned. "I still love that picture." He grinned and looked over at Naruto.
Naruto turned and looked around, the smirk on Itachi's face, the grin on Diedera's and the satisfied glare on Sakura's. "What did I miss..."
"I have a copy." Diedera grinned and Sakura looked over, confused. "You do?"
"I talked to the guy, he sold me a copy." He turned and went down the stairs, coming up a little later with a frame. "This is the best picture ever, don't harm it." He handed the photo over to Naruto.
"Ssss-Sakura!" Naruto blushed at the picture, his jaw dropped, looking up at the two men who were staring at him, both grinning. "They've seen you like this?!"
"Of course not." Diedera sighed, bemused. "She kept covered, even if it looks like that she has some self respect." Diedera's expression told Naruto he wasn't the happiest about this. Sakura turned to Naruto, her hands on her hips.
"I thought you knew me better than that." Naruto looked at her, eyebrows raised. "I thought I knew you well enough to know you wouldn't be hanging around with dead Akatsuki members."
Sakura turned to him, angered for a moment before sighing. "Fine, point made." Itachi frowned at the admission. "Naruto, This may be Sakura's house now, but I do live here. I will not allow you to badmouth her. Please watch your manners." Naruto stepped back, on the verge of cowering in fear.
"How did you end out living here?"
Itachi turned to him and frowned, sighing. "About a month ago we tried to get in here, thinking it had been abandoned since we'd been here last. Sakura attacked us, but on the second night we got in. We weren't aware of who was here or why. After a while it got comfortable, we all get along. Even with him." Itachi tilted his head to Diedera, who tossed a roll at his head. Itachi reached up and grabbed it before looking at it and shrugging. "I like these ones." Diedera rolled his eyes as Itachi ate the 'weapon'.
"Either way, we're happy here. We've started a life, things are great. Sakura takes care of us as much as we take care of her. We're all really lucky that things ended out like this." Diedera grinned.
"Except that first night. That hurt." Itachi looked over at Sakura, who grinned at him guiltily. "I've apologized for that so many times! Let it go already!" Sakura laughed as she tossed Itachi a small vial. "It's for your chest, since you won't let me kill your pain." Itachi nodded and downed the bottle.
Naruto looked over confused. "You're all so..."
Sakura looked around and smiled. "As Diedera said, we all need each other. We help each other out and take care of the problems we all face as a group. I'm closer now with them than I ever was with team 7, save you." Sakura smiled sadly as she looked at him. "Naruto, no matter what, no matter anything at all, you've been there for me. Thank you."
Diedera looked out and watched as Naruto just stared. "Sakura, you've changed."
"Is it that bad?" She asked as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a paper. "Well, no, but it's odd. I've never seen you stay calm like this. It's sad to know that I couldn't help you be like this." Naruto grasped his hands behind his back and held his head low. Itachi blinked once, but soon put his head down as well, lost in thought.
Diedera saw the looks on the others and smiled, pulling his head back into the kitchen. Sai looked around and stood, walking over and putting his hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, where should we put our bags?"
"Ah!" Sakura stood, walking down the hall. "Follow me." Naruto reached over and grabbed his bag, quickly following.
They reached the rooms and Sakura pointed. "Sai, Naruto, these rooms are yours to use as you need. With this I only really ask one thing." They looked over as Sakura smiled at Itachi and Diedera who were watching from the top of the stairs. "No falling asleep on the couch. I just got it back."
Dinner was done within the hour and Sakura ran in, having been out for a little collecting some of the herbs that she'd need for a potion she'd need tomorrow. "Diedera, it smells wonderful!" She cheered as she slid into the chair across from Itachi out of habit, Diedera on one side put the food down and sat, grabbing her chair and pulled her over to him, making more room for the other two chairs.
"Don't crowd, Sakura-chan." He smiled at her and she nodded as Diedera put her food down before her.
Naruto by this time was already sitting and staring. "Uh, what is it?" Sakura giggled, remembering saying something really similar when she was first served it. "I don't think it has a name, I think he made it himself." Sakura grinned over and Naruto leaned back as if it were about to explode. Seeing as Diedera was the cook, this thought was much more serious.
Sakura waited till every plate was down, each cup and picked up the chopsticks. "Itadekimasu!" She nearly giggled as she took the first bite.
"It's different. You added... something..."
"It's the spice that I got from Yuri the other day. She said it would add a little smoke flavor, and you know how much I love smoke." His face was bright, happy and Naruto just stared. It seemed so wrong. He looked over as Itachi took the first bite. "Not bad. Someday you'll make someone a very happy husband." Itachi grinned over as Diedera frowned, sticking out his tongue.
Sakura laughed with all of her being. Her eyes shone, her cheeks were pink, She was so happy here. Naruto sighed, shaking his head before he lowered his chopsticks. "Itadekimasu." He took the first bite and didn't move, chew, anything for a moment. He slowly bit into it and frowned, rolling the bit around on his tongue. "It's... not bad..." Sakura nodded.
"I was lucky. Both of them are magnificent cooks. I'm not so good at it." She smiled and Naruto sighed, shaking his head.
She was really, truly happy here without him.
Naruto ate quickly and stood, stretching. "I was in a bit of a rush to get here, so I'll go ahead and go to bed early. Sakura, you know where to come to find me, alright?" She turned to him and nodded, stepping forwards and slid her arms around his waist, catching him totally off guard. She laid her chin on his shoulder, leaning her head against his. "Good night, Naruto. Thanks for coming to visit. I'll see you in the morning." She stepped back and he looked at her, for the first time he could tell she was thrilled to have him there.
Sai watched as Naruto nodded with a sudden random smile and walked down the hall, disappearing down the walkway.
"You may have just killed him." Sai spoke softly, looking at the walkway with a dead look on his face. Sakura looked over, confusion evident across her features. "The look you just had on your face was interesting. I know his heart rate hit nearly one twenty when you hugged him." Sakura turned and smiled. "Sai, you know Naruto. He's like a brother, or my girl friend. I love him all to death, but it'll never be like that. I'm sure by now he knows that."
"Everything he thought he knew about you has changed in the last three hours." Sakura frowned, sitting down at her desk. He had a point. "I hadn't thought about that."