Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of his friends.
A/N: Sorry for the brevity, but the purpose of this chapter is to inform you that I am very much alive, though updates will be fewer and farther between, and that Sakura leaving has won over Deidara staying. Thank you all who have reviewed and thank you for reading this story.
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The next day found Sakura standing in front of Tsunade.
"Sakura," Tsunade sighed, looking slightly mournful.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura was worried. One did not get called into the Hokage's office over trivial matters. Unless of course you were Naruto, but he used to sneak in. Remembering Naruto caused her to wonder if her teammates would ever return, but the sound of a thump jolted her back into the present.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Tsunade was visibly bristling. Of all the stupid things her apprentice could do, to have that level of trust in an s-class criminal. For all they knew, everything Deidara said could be a lie.
Sakura winced. "If Deidara wanted to just blow everything up, he would have done so by now. Besides, he told me that he wasn't going to. I have been given no reason to doubt what he says as the information has been given rather reluctantly. If he was lying, he would have done so from the start."
"Have you forgotten? You yourself messed with his chakra system. The only reason why he hasn't blown anything up is because he can't, not because of any promises that you might have made. And anyways, good liars know not just what to say, but how and when to say it. He may have just been waiting for the moment when you would be most likely to believe him."
"If you can't trust him, can you at least trust me with him?" Sakura pleaded.
"No." Tsunade's answer seemed final. "You will still accompany him, but someone else will interrogate him. The anbu will still be watching both of you."
Nothing Sakura could say would change her sensei's mind, and she said the only thing she could. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
As Sakura walked out of the Hokage's office and down through the tower, she could feel her loyalties being torn.