Complications

PerkyGirl23

Author's Note: hello there guys! So sorry for the late update.. been busy lately.. so, how was your Christmas? Hope you had a great year so far… anyway, here's my fourth chapter of Complications, and I do hope you'd like it. I also want to thank all those readers who reviewed my previous chapters, as well as putting me once again in their favourites and alerts list.. ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU MINNASAN! Well, here goes,… JA NE!

I don't own Naruto….

CHAPTER 4 - HOMECOMING

"I want to see Sakura-chan! Let me out of here!" Naruto exclaimed, wringing his arms free from the clasps on his bed. He was currently in the hospital, and apparently, he had learned of Sakura's departure because of him. The news spread like a wildfire in Konoha, and Tsunade cursed who the big mouth was, although she couldn't do anything now that it was already done.

" Be quiet, Naruto. You'll wake the other patients here, " Tsunade said.

" I want to save her from those bastards! Tsunade-baachan! "

Tsunade snapped at Naruto fiercely. " There is nothing you can do anymore, Naruto. If you go, then both of you and Sakura would be within the Akatsuki's clutches. Sakura's sacrifice would go to nothing. Is that what you want to happen? "

" But baa-chan… please.. " Naruto pleaded. " It's my fault in the first place why she had done it. I should be the one to save her. "

Tsunade shook her head. " Naruto, it was nobody's fault. She just did it for the best. "

Naruto bowed his head. Tears fell from his eyes. " I don't want to lose another friend. She's like a sister to me. I don't think I can take it anymore, "

Tsunade's glance softened. She hugged Naruto tenderly, like the she does when her younger brother was still alive. How Naruto reminded her of her younger brother, Tsunade thought as she stroke Naruto's spiky blonde hair gently.

" All you have to do is wait, Naruto. " Tsunade consoled.

Naruto broke free of Tsunade's hug. " But you can't expect me to sit around here doing nothing! "

" Naruto, " Tsunade said. " Sakura is also dear to me. I would not let anything happen to her, "

" But what will I do that can help her back? " Naruto asked in a small voice.

Tsunade smiled. " You just wait here and perform the missions I give you. Meanwhile, just leave to us the mission in getting Sakura back. "

Naruto sniffed. " You promise? "

" I promise. We would get Sakura from those fiends no matter what. "

oOo

Sakura and Konan sat on the long table in the dining room of Akatsuki's headquarters. They were having a meal together when the door opened. It revealed a feminine-looking blonde haired man and an orange masked man. They sat beside Sakura and began to eat. Deidara took the last muffin on the plate, as well as Tobi. Deidara glared at Tobi.

" Let go of that muffin, Tobi. I saw it first. "

" No! Tobi grabbed it first! Give it to Tobi, Deidara-sempai! Tobi is a good boy! "

Deidara stood from his chair and tugged the muffin with his both hands. Although Tobi seemed like child-like, still, he had a strong attribute. " No, you're not a good boy, Tobi! Let go, Tobi! There are other foods on the table! Just take those! " he growled.

Tobi stood and followed the suit. He tugged harder, away from Deidara. " No, Deidara-sempai! This is Tobi's favourite! "

Konan sighed, shaking her head fretfully. " Be used to it, Sakura. They are like that almost everyday. "

Sakura smiled. Watching those two quarrel like kids, despite they've killed several ninjas made her feel like she's in Konoha once again. They reminded her of Naruto. How she had missed him. She continued chewing on her food when the door opened once again. To Sakura's disgust, it was Kisame, and who else, Itachi. Kisame sat beside Konan and slouched on the chair, looking very tired. Itachi on the other hand, grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. He drank it with one gulp.

Konan stared at Itachi and sighed. " It was very inappropriate of you to do that, Itachi. I can understand what Sakura feels. " Konan said as she were slicing a piece of steak with her fork and knife.

Deidara, Tobi, and Kisame stared at them innocently. Obviously, they were not aware what they were talking about.

" Why, Itachi? What happened? " Kisame asked suspiciously.

" Yeah. Tell us, " Deidara urged.

" Tobi wants to know what happened. Tobi is a good boy! "

" Nah, shut up, Tobi, " Deidara said as he tried to shove Tobi out of sight, but all in vain, Tobi is persistent. They obviously had forgotten their fight about the muffin. Sakura then shot Itachi a dagger look. She could not forget that moment. She cursed him on her mind. Itachi, however, remained impassive. How Sakura hated that face.

Konan snapped at them. " No. This is not for you to know, you dunderheads, "

" That's unfair, " Kisame accused.

Konan shook her head. Then she looked at Itachi once again. " Care to explain, Itachi? "

" I am not aware of her bathing in my room, " Itachi replied, expressionless as ever.

Deidara and Kisame gaped in shock, as well as Tobi, although you can't tell it behind his mask, it shows his actions.

" You saw her taking a bath? You saw her naked? " Kisame intrigued, shock still visible in his shark features.

" Tobi thinks it's a bad idea, Itachi-sempai, tsk, tsk. Tobi is a good boy, "

Deidara piped in. " Well, what does it look like? "

They all stared at him, as if he were crazy. Sakura shot him a murderous look. " Can you repeat it again, Deidara? " she asked him sweetly, her voice like a poisoned honey.

" Uh, oh no, nothing. Forget it…"

Sakura sighed deeply, blushing in embarrassment. Itachi noticed this, and he smirked to himself. He was amused by the way she was embarrassed. Sakura noticed this amusement and cursed Itachi more. That Uchiha! The nerve of him! How dare he—he—he makes fun of her situation!

" I thought it was the room Konan told me about, okay? I thought my room was the last one on the right side of the hall. It was just a plain mistake, " Sakura said defensively, reddening more.

Kisame chuckled. " What a fine way of being acquainted, the two of you, "

Sakura snapped at Kisame angrily. " Shut up, Sharkface, "

Kisame grimaced. " You want me to shred your tongue off, Pinky? "

" May it be your room or not, you should have locked the bathroom, " Itachi stated.

" Yeah, use your common sense, yeah, " Deidara said, rubbing his chin absentmindedly.

" I didn't locked the bathroom because I didn't expect anyone barging in my room, okay? " Sakura replied heatedly.

" Tobi thinks peeking women in showers is a no-no. Tobi is a good boy. " Tobi piped in. Sakura smiled at him.

Konan nodded, finishing her meal. " I guess it was both of the parties' fault. Let's all be nice now, everybody, "

And one by one, they went out of the room, with Sakura dashing out as quickly as she could so that she could avoid the amusement on the stoic Uchiha's eyes.

oOo

" So, what about it Itachi? "

Itachi looked up Kisame. They were lying in their separate futons in their room. He certainly knew what Kisame was talking about. Apparently, Kisame's still going on about the 'peeking in shower' matter that was talked about a while ago. Seriously, he didn't want to talk about it anymore, although he was amused by the way the kunoichi blushed like a tomato in front of them. However, due to Kisame's intrigued face, he thinks it was the best to explain himself more that he didn't mean to see the kunoichi wearing nothing.

Still, he pretended to be 'innocent'. " I beg your pardon? " Itachi asked.

" Oh, don't play an innocent act, Itachi. You perfectly knew what I mean, " Kisame grinned slyly.

Sure, Itachi knew what Kisame means. But he was not sure if he wanted to divulge the details to Kisame. He remained silent.

" Oh, come on, Itachi. You don't need to hide it from me, "

Itachi sighed at Kisame's persistence. " What do you wish to know? "

Kisame grinned maliciously. " Isn't it obvious? "

Of course it's obvious. " What? "

" I'm surprised at you Itachi. You're too slow today, "

Itachi shrugged. " I don't know what you're talking about. "

Kisame sighed exasperatedly. " I want to know what Pinky looks like—you know, when bathing- "

Itachi stared at him. Kisame was still grinning. Itachi could not believe how improper Kisame was behaving. To him, that kind of matters does not trigger any interest in him. Not that he's gay, of course not. He was a hundred percent man. He just didn't think it was appropriate for an Uchiha like him to mull on things like that.

" Nothing, " Itachi replied frankly.

Kisame stared, his grin vanishing. He looked at Itachi as if he were joking, but no, Itachi never joked, let alone kid around. He was not Tobi nor Deidara who used to play pranks around.

" What do you mean, nothing? " Kisame asked incredulously.

" I told you, Kisame. I saw nothing. There was nothing. It was nothing. " Itachi replied firmly.

Kisame nodded, finally understanding that the conversation must be wrapped up. He cleared his throat jerkily. " Oh, I see. Good night, Itachi, "

" Aa, "

The next morning, Sakura woke up with a start. She had had that nightmare once again. Shaking her head, she stood up from her bed and started to get dressed. Today was her first ever meeting as an Akatsuki. Sakura shrugged. This was just like a typical morning in Konoha in which she usually does. It was a complete opposite on what she had thought. She thought that living as an Akatsuki would be totally frightening.

As she went out of her room and closed the door, she heard the same sound of closing a door behind her. To her disgust ( and embarrassment ), it was Itachi. She began to walk away to avoid the awkward situation when the cold, drawling voice of Uchiha Itachi suddenly spoke.

" I didn't see anything because of the steam, don't worry, " he said as he walked away from her down the stairs, leaving Sakura open-mouthed.

After a couple of minutes, Sakura regained her posture. She sighed in relief. Maybe the stoic Uchiha didn't seem as bad as she thinks.

oOo

Tsunade wrapped her arms around her. She was currently in the balcony of her patient's hospital room, and it was a chilly morning that she regretted not having to bring a jacket to wrap herself up to ease the cold breeze surrounding her. Christmas season was approaching, and that must be the reason on the cold climate she's experiencing right now. She felt depressed all of the sudden, because she was not sure if she could retrieve Sakura from the Akatsuki before the Christmas season because of the hectic schedule piling up her, as well as that retrieving her needs a lot of planning and cooperation from the other ninjas. She can't risk her apprentice's life.

There was a sudden knock on the door that interrupted her senses. " Who is it? " she called from the balcony.

A familiar voice called out. " It was I, Lady Tsunade, "

" Come in, Shizune."

Shizune came in the room. She closed the door carefully and slowly, almost afraid to wake the patient up. She had a large green coat on her hands. " Here is your coat, Lady Tsunade, "

Tsunade flashed Shizune a wide, relieved smile. " Thank you, Shizune. How do you know I need this? "

Shizune smiled back. " when I went out of our house this morning, I felt very cold. I was afraid you forget to bring your own coat, and so I was right when I went to your house. You forgot it. "

" You knew me too well, Shizune, "

" Of course, Lady Tsunade. I knew it from the start because you seem busy lately, "

Tsunade smiled sadly. She went out of the balcony and sat on the chair beside her patient's bed. He checked his ECG Machine. It was stable.

" Lady Tsunade? If I may ask something? " Shizune asked.

" What is it? "

" Isn't this the same man who was Sakura's last patient? I think he was, because I noticed that his face was covered with the same bandages. "

" Yeah, he is, "

Shizune scratched her head. " So why is it that you're the one taking care of him? Being the Hokage, why shouldn't you just assign any other medics to keep an eye on him? " she queried, puzzled.

" You'll be able to know soon, Shizune, " Tsunade smiled, meaningfully.

Shizune stared at Tsunade. She didn't exactly knew what she was talking about. Recently, Tsunade seemed to be keeping a lot from her. Well, it doesn't matter, she was going to find it out anyway. Tsunade can't stand not telling her anything. Aside from Sakura, she was the one who keeps the Godaime's secrets as well.

It was then when she noticed the patient's hand move. She blinked her eye to see if she was wrong. But she's right. The patient finally woke up.

" Lady Tsunade! The patient! He finally awoke! "

Tsunade looked at her patient with alert. " Quick, Shizune! Help me with him! "

Together, they helped the patient sit up. When the patient was finally at ease, sitting comfortably, Tsunade began to take off the patient's bandages on his face.

" I wonder, Lady Tsunade, what happened to his face? Why is it bandaged heavily? "

" It was due to explosion. Luckily, his eyes weren't heavily damaged. And I was able to heal his face back to its original state, " Tsunade replied.

They continued to take off the bandages one by one, and when it was already taken off truly, Shizune gaped in immense shock. She pointed at the man sitting up on the bed. " Y-You!"

" Hey, " the man said to Tsunade.

Tsunade smiled. " Welcome back, Sasuke, "

Author's Note: hey guys! So how was it? I know, it was shocking….hooray! sasuke-kun's back! So he was the patient all along, and Sakura didn't had the slightest idea on it.. But stay tuned for the next chapter… and please continue to put in reviews, so that I'll update sooner.. hehehe.. JA NE!