Smoke and Mirrors
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.
AN: Yay chapter five! It's finally done. I've been working on this chapter every single day this week, trying to make it perfect. I really like how it turned out, and I hope you guys like it too. I wanted to apologize for sounding like such a whining bitch in the previous AN. I hope you guys aren't mad about that. But thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited. The amount of response was just great, which is why I really wanted to make this a good chapter for everyone. It's a little bit shorter than the previous chapter but I didn't want it to drag on too long. I hope you guys all enjoy it, and I will try to get working on the next chapter asap. Love to you all! 3
*Update 2/1/11* Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I added a small paragraph to the part where Sakura is figuring out how to treat Pain, to give a little more insight into why she's doing it. I got an anonymous reviewer that was confused as to why Sakura was healing Pain, and I realized that I had worked the reasoning out in my head, but never wrote it down. So thanks so much for pointing it out! I wish you would have logged in so I could have responded to your review, but I appreciated you pointing out something that I missed. Cause sometimes I have things worked out in my head that to me seem obvious, and while I do the best I can to express what's going on, sometimes I do leave stuff out. So again, thank you for pointing that out, and please don't be afraid to point out something that doesn't make sense.
I know this is quite a long update but I just want to make sure everyone understands what I'm thinking. Basically, Sakura voluntarily joined them so they currently have no reason to distrust her. They didn't kidnap her, as if you recall in the last chapter she willingly sought out Deidara and Tobi. And the whole reason Pain wanted her in the first place was to treat him, so trusting her seems kind of obvious to me. Also, like I explained in the paragraph I added, taking out Pain doesn't necessarily mean she's taking out the whole organization. And one less member doesn't really help matters at all. Basically Sakura would kill Pain, lose her life, and then Konoha would have no information on the group or their purpose (and I wouldn't really have a story). So really, it would all have been for nothing. I hope this clears up any confusion! And to my anonymous reviewer: I wasn't even remotely offended so no worries =).
Chapter Five: The Beginning
The lightning flashed brightly, making its presence known behind the dark, foreboding clouds; lighting them up in brilliant patterns that zigzagged across the opaque sky. The thunder that followed gave warning that staying outside in the storm any longer would be pure suicide. Sakura winced as the rain that pelted her body felt more like rocks falling from the sky instead of the harmless drops of water they were meant to be. The oversized drop that just connected with her left shoulder hit her so hard that it was likely to leave a bruise. She shot a quick look over to Deidara, who seemed to be frantically looking for somewhere to shelter themselves as the storm passed over. The wind continued to roar past her, pushing with a force she was unaccustomed to, and making traveling at their current speed increasingly difficult. The thunder cracked again and this time its warning seemed to resonate more heavily with Deidara and he made a frenzied gesture at Sakura, motioning for her to follow him.
The rain poured down so heavily Sakura couldn't see five feet in front of her, and was able to follow Deidara based on chakra signal alone. Once she felt him stop his movements altogether she slowed her pace and moved the arm that was shielding her eyes. She saw Deidara and Tobi had run into a dense forest, which seemed to have enough cover so as to protect them from the onslaught. As soon as she was far enough in that the trees covered her from the thunderstorm, she collapsed onto the ground and gasped for the needed air to refill her empty lungs.
"Everyone okay?" she asked quickly, slowing down her breathing so as not to get lightheaded. Deidara and Tobi, who had collapsed about ten feet away from her, gave her a small signal that they had somehow survived the torrential downpour. "We're gonna have to stay here till the storm lets up. I don't want to risk getting completely fried from the lightening."
"That was quite insightful Sherlock, thanks for that riveting observation," Deidara quipped, rolling onto his back and putting his hands behind his head. "Might as get some rest since we're obviously not going anywhere anytime soon." The swiftness with which Deidara fell asleep made Sakura give a small smile—the first one she'd shown since she left home.
"Miss Sakura, Tobi is going to get some rest too since senpai and I have not slept in days. Please rest as well so we can continue to the hideout tomorrow," Tobi said, in a much more muted tone than she had previously heard him speak in. She assumed the lack of sleep was a large contributing factor in this newfound behavior—though she much preferred the upbeat Tobi, as this serious Tobi put her much more on edge. Within minutes both Deidara and Tobi were fast asleep, showing no sign that they would wake up anytime soon.
Sakura moved herself to lean against the nearest tree, losing herself in thought. She had only been gone a few days but already thoughts of her teammates, her friends . . . Itachi . . . had crossed her mind. She tried to convince herself that thinking of them would only bring pain, but she was finding it impossible to avoid. She knew she had to be strong to complete the mission, but who knew how long it was going to last. Months? Years? How long was she going to be stuck pretending with the Akatsuki. In hindsight, Sakura reasoned she probably should have considered all options before throwing herself headlong into something she didn't quite understand; but, if Naruto could always run blindly into situations and somehow have a positive outcome, so could she. The more she thought of her teammates and friends, the more she realized they were her strength, and somehow thinking of them would get her through this seemingly impossible mission.
The thoughts of her teammates were dangerous however, because they always led her right into thoughts of Itachi—and those thoughts needed to be avoided at all costs. 'Why . . .' she thought, 'why would he kiss me like that knowing I was leaving . . . he didn't even explain himself! I should have killed him for kissing me like that . . . he's meant to be my enemy, my rival . . . I just don't understand what he was thinking.' She finished her thought with a deep sigh, knowing there was never any comprehensible reasoning behind Itachi's actions—at least none that ever made sense to Sakura's, so called, rational mind. With Itachi being her last coherent thought, the sounds of the thunderstorm lulled her into the first deep sleep she'd had in weeks.
Sakura woke the next morning to a sharp, jabbing pain in her lower back. 'Well, I guess that's what I get for sleeping so awkwardly against a tree,' Sakura thought, raising her arms over her head and doing her best to stretch out her sore muscles. She threw a quick glance over to where Deidara and Tobi had passed out the night before, and was surprised to see that they were nowhere in sight. Sakura stood quickly and surveyed the surrounding area, looking for evidence of where they might have gone; however, before she could finish her appraisal she saw Deidara's obnoxious blonde hair sauntering back towards her. There was a gleam of laughter in Deidara's eyes when he noticed Sakura's frantic search.
"Ah Pinky, don't look so frightened we haven't abandoned you," Deidara laughed.
"I wasn't frightened asshole, I was just . . . concerned that you'd get your ass handed to you when your 'Leader' found out that you left me behind," Sakura barked, not at all pleased with the obnoxious tone he was taking.
"We had no intention of leaving you behind; we just ran the perimeter to make sure it was safe to continue on to the hideout. Can't be too careful you know."
"Yes Miss Sakura, senpai seems to like your presence too much to leave you behind," Tobi added, which was followed by a blushing Deidara hitting him over the head as hard as humanly possible.
"Shut up you idiot, yeah! Don't go talking about things you don't understand." Deidara quickly turned away so as to hide his face from further scrutiny. "Just hurry up, Konan is expecting us." No more was spoken as the three unlikely partners hurried their way to the hideout, Sakura's new home.
The rest of the trip seemed to pass by in a whirlwind of blurred images. They had been running for hours on end without rest, and Sakura was praying they would arrive soon. The moment she noticed Deidara and Tobi slow their movements she took in her surroundings, and was completely awed by what she saw. A towering waterfall crashed down into a large, but somehow quaint, crystal blue lake. The surrounding foliage in combination with the serene waterfall made Sakura feel like she was somehow on a picturesque deserted island, though she was quickly brought back to reality when Deidara motioned for her to continue onwards. She felt a roaring disappointment that this was not their final destination; however, she was renewed with hope when Deidara led them right behind the waterfall and finally stopped his movement.
"Alright Pinky, pay attention. To enter the hideout you must tap the rock in the following pattern, so don't forget it." Deidara ordered, and proceeded to show Sakura the combination of taps so she could be allowed entry. Sakura made sure to commit the pattern to memory, as she assumed forgetting it wasn't an option. When Deidara had finished the long combination, he took a step back and Sakura watched as the wall faded to nothing, opening up to a dark hallway that was lit by sporadic torches along the wall.
"That's impressive genjutsu," Sakura remarked, truly awed at the level of skill that illusion took to produce. Deidara only nodded in response, and led the way deeper into the dark cavern. It took Sakura a minute before her eyes were able to adjust to the sudden darkness. Though the sides of the dark hallway were lit by small torches, their flickering light was not enough for her to see clearly. The small heat that radiated from the fires filled Sakura with a sense of warmth and comfort; a feeling that shocked her slightly, considering her given situation should not elicit that kind of feeling. However, walking down the rocky hallway gave her a sense of security somehow, and she wasn't completely opposed to it. After minutes of walking they finally reached a split in the walkway, and it was at this moment that Deidara finally spoke to her.
"Alright, now pay attention so you don't get lost, yeah. The path to the far left leads to the bedrooms, the middle path leads to the bathrooms and the kitchen, and the right path leads to the main living area," Deidara spoke, motioning in turn to each of the designated pathways.
"Easy enough," remarked Sakura, quickly committing that to memory.
"Okay, follow me and I'll show you to your room," Deidara said, leading Sakura down the left hallway to her intended place of rest. Sakura slowly became used to the somber light that persisted through the passages, and was pleased that her vision was coming back. After another minute of walking they had finally reached the row of rooms, and Sakura promptly took a quick inventory, noting that there were only two rooms.
Sakura felt an unnerving sense of anxiety and asked, "Why are there only two rooms?" Her eyes shifted around the room in slight panic, hoping that she had somehow miscounted.
"Don't worry princess these are Kisame's and Tobi's rooms. Ours are around the corner, yeah," he remarked not missing the hint of panic that had showed in her eyes at the prospect of having to share her room.
"Don't . . . call me princess . . ." Sakura fumed, intent to kill suddenly covered her features.
"Ah struck a nerve there huh?" Deidara smirked, taking a step back and putting his hands up in defeat. "Alright killer, take a breath please . . . no need to inflict unnecessary harm."
"Then refrain from asshole comments and I won't have to destroy you," Sakura retorted, the need to inflict harm upon Deidara still a prominent thought in her head. Of all the things he had to call her, why would he choose that. Only one person called her that, not that she approved of it, but regardless only he was allowed to call her 'princess.'
"Please don't kill senpai Miss Sakura; I've become quite fond of him as my partner," Tobi said, speaking up for the first time, as he had just been observing the vicious confrontation between the two.
"Oh, well excuse me I didn't know you two were together like that," Sakura remarked, a gleam of laughter shone in her eyes at her own clever comment. Deidara's mouth fell agape, while Tobi just gave her a polite bow and entered his room. "Aren't you going to show me to my room already?" Deidara continued to gape at her, and his shameful attempt at defending himself only came out in embarrassed stutters. "Never mind I'll find it on my own," Sakura laughed, pleased that one small comment could make him fall apart so easily. Sakura turned around, albeit the wrong way, and walked straight into a solid mass.
Before she could look at what'd she run into Deidara shouted, "I'm not gay, yeah!" The mass that she had run into began to chuckle slightly, and she quickly backed off.
"Is that what you're trying to convince people now Deidara? I thought you were finally accepting your 'specialness,'" a deep voice spoke behind evident laughter. Sakura finally was able to take in the appearance of the so called "mass" and found that it was an impressively tall man, who somewhat resembled a fish.
"Who's the fish guy?" Sakura asked, looking over her shoulder expecting Deidara to answer her question.
"Hey now Shorty, you don't get to call me 'fish guy,' the name's Kisame," the fish man answered, before the bewildered Deidara was able to speak.
"Ah well, if you plan on calling me Shorty, I plan on calling you Fishy. So I suggest you just get used to it," Sakura spoke, realizing as she did so it was probably a bad idea to provoke someone who was so large. However, rationality seemed to take a back seat when she had to stand up for herself.
"Well, fair enough," Kisame chuckled. "That's quite a feisty one you picked up while you were out Deidara. What have I told you about picking up strays? Have you at least checked to make sure she doesn't have fleas?" The seriousness with which he made that statement had Sakura ready to launch herself at him and wage war, but luckily Deidara grabbed her just in time. "See now we even have to train her. Well, I hope you know this makes her your responsibility."
"Kisame . . . leader is the one who demanded that she be brought here, yeah. If I were you I wouldn't question it. And apologize to her before she bites your head off," Deidara spoke, struggling to hold onto Sakura all the while. Kisame laughed, and smiled at Sakura with his exceedingly pointed teeth.
"I guess if leader see's something in you I won't call you a pet anymore. Ciao Shorty!" Kisame walked into his room before Sakura had a chance to say anything. She realized that was probably as much of an apology as she was ever going to get from him, and decided to take what she could get.
"You know Deidara, I think I've found someone I hate more than you," Sakura said, pushing his arms off of her and walking—the correct way—to her room. Deidara made a move to follow her, but she turned around and quickly declined the unspoken offer. "No, I don't need help unpacking just leave me alone for awhile."
Sakura realized that sounded kind of harsh, considering it was pretty nice of him to stand up to Kisame for her like that—not that she needed the backup . . . she could have taken on that stupid fish if she had been given a chance. Sakura walked to the door on the right side of the hallway, assuming it was hers. She looked over her shoulder to see Deidara confirm, with a small nod of his head, that she had chosen correctly.
Sakura opened the door to her new room, and at least for the time being, to her new life. She took in her surroundings and noticed that the room was slightly nicer than she had expected. The room wasn't elaborately decorated; however, it had all of the essentials. The bed—queen sized if her estimate served her correctly—was pushed against the back wall, and covered in dark blue sheets. It was flanked on either side by small nightstands that held two identical lamps; though they were small, it was better than only seeing by firelight. A dresser was pressed up against the left side of the room, and Sakura chuckled to herself at that realization that it was even larger than her dresser at home. She hadn't expected her living conditions to be so . . . livable. Sakura walked over to her bed and laid down; though she had just woken a few hours before the need for rest hit her like a ton of bricks. She fell back onto a soft pillow, and the wave of exhaustion came on much too quickly for her to even maneuver herself beneath the sheets. Within minutes, Sakura had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The first thing that entered Sakura's sleep fogged mind when she woke was the incredible hunger that roared through her stomach. She looked at the small clock that sat on her nightstand and noticed that it was already past 6pm. She was shocked to find that she had slept half the day away. 'No wonder I'm so hungry . . . I can't seem to remember the last time I ate,' she thought, and was out of the door before her mind had even processed that she had moved. She easily found her way down to the kitchen, and rummaged through the refrigerator, hoping something edible would be there.
Sakura was in luck, as it seemed they kept their fridge well stocked. After a short appraisal of her options, her eyes fell onto a carton of eggs and her mind was made up. Sakura began searching through the cupboards for a pan, though her search was stopped short when she felt a horrible mass of chakra in the room.
"I believe this is what you're looking for dear," Kisame spoke, holding a fry pan in his right hand. Before she had even registered it he had not only been able to enter the room, but he had somehow grabbed a fry pan, all without her even knowing he had entered the room in the first place.
"So you enjoy creeping around and scaring the shit out of people huh?" Sakura retorted, reaching her hand out for the pan, which Kisame so kindly chucked at her face; luckily her quick reflexes were able to catch it before the impact occurred. "Thank you kindly, asshole." She wouldn't admit it, but his sudden appearance had her heart thumping in her chest. The fish man was intimidating enough without having to sneak around, but that ability made him all the more deadly, and Sakura definitely took note of that.
"You know, you might wanna be a little bit nicer to me if you're gonna be part of our team and all. We gotta work together Shorty!" Kisame's voice was dripping with sarcasm, a game which Sakura easily picked up on. She cracked the eggs into the fry pan and turned the heat to high, aiming to cook them as fast as humanly possible.
"Oh, I'm so sorry dearest I can't believe I was ever rude to you. You really do seem like such an upstanding young man, I'll make sure to change my attitude towards you in the future," Sakura spoke, giving him one of the fakest smiles she could muster, and went back to fixing her eggs. Kisame smiled wide, the gleam of humor shining in his eyes.
"You amuse me Shorty. Most other kunoichi would have been scared stiff just looking at me . . . But you're different somehow," Kisame spoke, giving her an appreciative smirk.
Sakura smiled to herself, glad that she had been able to hide her feelings of intimidation from him. The sooner she earned respect around here, the easier the mission was going to be. "Ah well, you aren't really that scary. You're really just a big teddy bear aren't you?" Sakura asked, patting him on the arm and taking a seat at the table to eat her eggs
Kisame chuckled and allowed the small action. He could have reprimanded her, but this game between them was going to be too fun and he didn't want to ruin it before it even got a chance to start. Kisame made himself some cereal and took a seat at the table across from Sakura.
"All you're going to eat is cereal?" Sakura questioned, thinking a large man like him needed to be consuming quite a bit more food than that.
"I don't know how to cook, so when Deidara isn't around cereal is the easiest thing to make," Kisame responded.
"So, it's just you, Tobi, and Deidara that live here? I figured your organization would be much larger."
"Yup, just us three . . . well and now you. But we have a few different hideouts located all over the world, but we keep to small groups so we don't all end up murdering one another. Wouldn't be a very good organization if we had no members yah know?"
"Yeah I could see how that would be bad for business," Sakura laughed. She continued to chat with Kisame until she yawned once more. "God I have no idea what's wrong with me . . . I slept half the day away and I'm still tired."
"I'm sure there are many things wrong with you Shorty, but I'll let that go since you made it too easy. But your life took an entirely different turn in the past few days, so it's not shocking that you would be exhausted like that," Kisame spoke, his voice taking a lighter tone.
"Wow Kisame, you really do have a heart!" Sakura laughed. Poking fun at Kisame was never going to get old. "Anyway, thanks for the company but I'm gonna head back to bed." Sakura exited the room before Kisame was able to offer up a creative retort.
As Sakura walked down the sporadically illuminated hallway she saw a dark figure up ahead. Presuming it was Deidara she said, "Nice to see you up and alive lazy bastard." However, as she neared the figure it was clear that it was not Deidara.
"I apologize Miss Sakura but I am not the 'lazy bastard,' as you so call him. My name is Konan, and I'm here to take you to meet Leader." Konan spoke in the most calming voice Sakura had ever heard, and couldn't help but be drawn to what she was saying. Sakura went to apologize for speaking so rudely to someone who seemed so gentle, but Konan raised a hand to silence her. "Please don't be bothered I understand the boys here can be a little . . . bothersome. But please follow me." Konan finished, leading Sakura towards the entrance of the hideout.
"Where exactly are we going?" Sakura questioned.
"I can't disclose that Sakura, but the trip should take about an hour," Konan responded, releasing the genjutsu that covered the entrance, and leading Sakura off to the north. Sakura attempted to memorize her surroundings, but Konan was moving very quickly and keeping up became her main concern. Sakura soon became lost in the thoughts of 'Leader,' and why on earth such a seemingly powerful man would need her—why he would go so far to recruit her. She assumed she would find out soon enough, as Konan began to slow her pace and took a careful inventory of their surroundings. Sakura noticed that they used the same genjutsu technique as a small patch of trees suddenly opened to a pathway.
Sakura followed Konan into the surprisingly well lit hallway; which, only after a minute of walking or so, led straight to a large room. The main thing that stood out in the room was the large bed in the center, with a very frail man lying on it. Konan walked up to the bed and knelt down, giving the man a loving kiss on the forehead before taking his hand in hers.
"Sakura please come over here," Konan spoke in a softer tone than she had used before. As Sakura slowly approached the bed she noticed that the sickly man looked worse the closer she got. He must have been a younger man, but he was skin and bones and covered in wrinkles. Sakura couldn't help but think what kind of horrible situation she had gotten herself into; she may be a great medic but she couldn't create miracles.
"Sakura this is Pain, our leader. I will do most of the talking, as he is much too weak to expend that much energy. The reason we brought you here was because we heard of your great skill as a medic-nin." Pain broke the string of conversation with a heavy cough that caused his entire body to tremor. Konan's grip on his hand tightened while she waited for the coughing spell to be over, and then she continued. "We don't expect you to cure him, as I believe he is beyond that point, but if you could do anything in your power to help him we would be eternally grateful." Konan finished her empowering speech with another loving look at Pain.
"Can you give me an idea of when these symptoms all started? Of what could have caused him to deteriorate like this?" Sakura asked, hoping to get at least a little background on the situation.
"Only in the recent year has he been so bad he couldn't leave his bed. I can't disclose much more than that to you, I apologize," Konan responded, lowering her head in a way that said 'I wish I could tell you everything.' Sakura sighed, having nothing to go on didn't help her diagnosis any, but she was going to have to make it work.
"Okay well take a step back please. I'm going to have to examine him," Sakura spoke, moving closer to the bed, and looking at the truly pained face of Pain. Sakura held her hands over his chest and closed her eyes to increase her level of concentration. Within moments her hands glowed green and the examination began.
What Sakura found in the first few seconds of her investigation was enough for her to pull back and gape in shock. Konan looked at her nervously, waiting for the bad news. "I . . . um . . . How is he alive right now?" Sakura asked, knowing she didn't have time to search for an easier way to word her thoughts. Konan gave her a confused and expectant look, waiting for an explanation. "His chakra levels, I mean . . . they're almost nonexistent. I've never seen this before. Most people when they run low on chakra are able to regenerate it after some rest, but with levels like his I'm truly surprised he's even alive right now."
"Is there anything you can do for him?" Konan asked.
"Give me a moment to think." Sakura's clever mind could only come up with two options—she either helped the leader of the organization she was trying to bring down; or, she exposed herself as a spy and traitor, and lost her life for it. Sakura could think of nothing worse than helping the enemy, but what choice did she have in the matter? Bringing down the leader didn't necessarily mean she would bring down the organization; certainly there would be someone else to act as leader, which meant she would be throwing her life away for nothing. She knew nothing of what they were trying to accomplish, so her death would be entirely useless to her village as they would be no closer to defeating the Akatsuki. As much as she hated the idea, she knew she had to consent to treating him—now she just had to determine the best way to fix him.
She truly had no idea that a situation like this was even possible. Chakra wasn't just a source of energy to be used for ninjutsu; it was also a person's life force, the connection of their physical and spiritual energy that created life. To have your chakra levels run so low . . . and be unable to replenish itself? It was completely perplexing. However, even if he had some sort of disease that prevented him from replenishing his own chakra, that didn't mean he couldn't hold onto it if it was given to him.
"Okay, I have an idea. I have no clue if it will work, but it's his only shot. It's obvious he has been repeatedly exhausting his chakra levels every day for years, because nothing less than chakra use like that would create a condition like this. Also, I believe he may have a disease that is preventing him from replenishing his own chakra. That being said, though he may not be able to replenish it himself, if he is given chakra he may be able to hold onto it."
"Can you give chakra to someone like that?" At Konan's question even Pain gave her a look of confusion.
"It's not as easy as that, but in effect I do believe I may be able to. It won't be simple, as the only way I can do it is to mold my chakra into his and force it to take his chakra's form. If I were to just force my own chakra in his body would reject it, and the outcome would not be favorable," Sakura finished, hoping the severity of his condition resonated with them both. "However, if my plan does work and his body takes to the chakra, I should be able to replenish his body to normal limits. This also takes into account that he uses none of it . . . and I do mean that he can never again use ninjutsu of any sort. If he were to try he would end up right back in this bed, in the same condition he's in now, and possibly worse. If you both understand the risk and the rules of this sort of procedure, I will do my best to make it work." Sakura finished her long explanation, and waited patiently for their decision. Konan squeezed his hand again, and turned her gaze back to Sakura.
"Pain wishes that you do everything in your power to cure him," Konan said, taking another step back to allow Sakura to once again move close to him.
"Okay, I will do my best. This will take some time, especially this first session. I have a lot of work cut out for me, and if this works it will have to be done in weekly sessions so that I'm able to completely replenish my chakra before trying again." Konan nodded in understanding and let Sakura get to work. The unnatural process of trying to force her chakra to become his was incredibly taxing on its own; adding in the fact that she had to almost completely deplete her own chakra reserves and give them to him made the situation all the worse. Sakura worked tirelessly for hours, knowing if she failed her life would be on the line. She didn't for a second forget that Pain and Konan had an entire organization of missing-nin at their disposal, so taking her out would only be too easy.
As it moved into the third hour of work, Sakura brushed the sweat from her brow and pulled back. "I believe I've managed to match his chakra, but there is nothing more I can do for now because I am almost completely drained." Sakura spoke, trying to stabilize herself so as not to fall over. "Come and get me again in a week and I will continue the treatment."
"Thank you Sakura," Konan spoke, and the weight of Konan's words showed heavily in her face. She had never seen a more grateful face in all of her years of healing people. Konan created a small paper bird in her hand, which flew over to Sakura and landed on her shoulder. "Follow it back to the hideout, since I assume you won't be able to find it on your own." Sakura realized she was meant to take her leave, and left as swiftly as possible. Sakura was grateful that the small paper bird kept a slow pace, because at her current level of chakra, she couldn't keep up a normal speed. Her chakra exhaustion caused the one hour trip to turn into a two hour trip, and by the time she had removed the genjutsu to gain entrance, she collapsed as soon as she took a step inside.
"Oh for god's sake, yeah." She heard a foggy voice speak. She attempted to lift her head to see who was talking to her, but the exhaustion prevailed and Sakura fell into blackness.
Sakura eyes slowly fluttered open and took a moment to fully focus. She moved her head slightly to the right and noticed that she was somehow lying in her bed back in her room. The second thing that registered in her sleep fogged mind was that Deidara was sitting next to her on the bed, his head lolled to one side and his eyes closed. Sakura tried to move her arm to punch him awake, but found that movement was impossible. She sighed, recalling that she had exhausted her chakra levels, and no amount of willpower would enable her to punch Deidara like she so wished.
"Deidara . . ." Sakura spoke softly, attempting to jar him from his nap. "Deidara, wake up . . ." she said, slightly louder this time. She sighed again when she realized none of her calmer attempts were working. "Deidara! Wake the fuck up!" she shouted, and laughed slightly as Deidara bolted up and looked around the room franticly before noticing that Sakura had woken.
"Man bitch, you didn't have to yell so loud, yeah," Deidara said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and glaring at her menacingly.
"You should be glad I can't move right now because punching you awake was my first thought."
"You truly are a loving person Sakura," Deidara quipped, lying back on one of Sakura's pillows. "You should be thankful that I even brought you back here. I could have left you to sleep on the floor in front of the entrance."
"Hey! I never said you could lie in my bed. Go to your own room," Sakura huffed, wishing at this moment she was able to punch him.
"But I'm tired and your bed is quite comfortable. I think I'll just stay here for now. Plus, you can't move . . . so what are you going to do about it?" Deidara spoke, using the cockiest tone of voice Sakura had ever heard, and shifting himself until he found a more comfortable position.
"I swear to god if you touch me you'll find your balls gone in the morning," Sakura warned, shutting her eyes to avoid having to see his face.
"Of course dearest . . . I wouldn't expect anything less from you." A few minutes of silence passed before Deidara spoke again. "So, what happened to make you like this? I mean . . . what did Leader want with you? I'm surprised you were even able to make it back here in the condition you're in," Deidara spoke, attempting to keep the concern out of his voice; however, Sakura caught it easily.
"I can't tell you Deidara, I'm sorry. I think Leader would have my head if I spoke of it. But don't worry I'll be fine."
"I wasn't worried, yeah. Don't be an idiot, I was just curious," Deidara said, turning to hide his face from view. Sakura imagined he was blushing, and giggled slightly.
"By the way Deidara . . . thanks for bringing me back here. You didn't have to do that," she spoke, hoping her gratefulness was expressed in her words.
"It was nothing, yeah, I just happened to be walking by when you came back. It's not like I was out looking for you or anything . . . you just got lucky." Sakura smiled. She knew she should have forced him to leave, but his presence somehow made her feel safe. As silly as it seemed, she felt like she could trust him . . . like he wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt her.
"Goodnight Deidara," Sakura spoke, finally allowing her eyes to fall shut. Deidara mumbled something that vaguely sounded like 'night' and with that, Sakura fell asleep for what seemed like the tenth time today.
Sasuke had searched all over town for that idiot brother of his. He had been sulking for the past few days, and it was up to Sasuke to fix the problem. No one else wanted to be charged with dealing with an emotional Uchiha, as the consequences were never favorable. Sasuke sighed envisioning how the conversation was going to go. Sasuke would attempt to talk sense into his brother, and Itachi would leave—refusing to listen. It was a family trait that Uchiha's didn't know how to take advice from anyone, so Sasuke felt he couldn't really blame Itachi.
As Sasuke was returning back to the Uchiha compound after an unsuccessful search for Itachi, he finally noticed him sitting on one of the tallest buildings in the compound. 'Of course he would be the last place I check,' Sasuke thought, annoyed with himself for not looking there first. He used his transport jutsu to appear next to Itachi, and then the fun began.
"Itachi, what are you doing all the way up here," Sasuke spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Nothing in particular little brother, I'm just thinking," Itachi replied. His cryptic response made Sasuke sigh in frustration.
"Itachi . . . you need to snap out of this, it's unsightly. No amount of sulking on a roof is going to bring her back. You have to accept that we all drove her to do this . . . just trust that she's going to be okay."
"You don't worry about her?" Itachi questioned.
"Of course I do you idiot . . . Sakura is family to me. But what Sakura needs is for her friends to support her, and be there for her when she returns. Excessive worrying on all of our parts is what made her leave in the first place, and I thought you of all people would understand that," Sasuke said poignantly. Itachi sighed and rested his head on his hands.
"I do understand that, but . . . Sasuke you don't understand . . ."
"Itachi for a genius you really are an idiot. Everyone knows that you love her; well, everyone expect for Sakura of course. She's always been a little dense in that department."
"Don't talk about something that you don't understand Sasuke. This is none of your business. Leave me alone," Itachi said, quickly transporting himself anywhere but here before Sasuke could utter anything more. Sasuke shook his head slightly. He should have known his brother would react that way—he never took kindly to people pointing out things about his personal life.
Itachi knew he had to snap out of it, but he was experiencing something he'd never felt before. He generally tried to avoid unnecessary emotions, but Sakura had taken that part of him and slowly ripped it to pieces. From the very first moment he met her she had somehow managed to make him feel these previously unknown emotions; and as the years went on those emotions only got stronger. And he had become—over their long years together—accustomed to the feelings that she elicited in him like no one else could. But this new feeling was one he had never experienced . . . helplessness. Itachi was strong, as strong as they come, and he had never been in a situation where he was completely helpless. He had always been there to save her if she needed it, or to watch over her for his own sanity. But now . . . now she was alone and there was nothing he could do about it. It angered him, frightened him, and there seemed to be no quick fix. He had to be patient, and all who knew Itachi knew that patience wasn't a quality that he possessed.
And to make matters worse he had gone so far as to kiss her before she left. He didn't know what prompted him to do that, it just happened. She was leaving and he had to do something, had to convince her somehow not to leave. He thought back to his conversation with Sasuke . . . 'love' he had said. Did Itachi love Sakura? Itachi sighed again and decided he needed to stop thinking about it. These thoughts were making him crazy, and as an ANBU operative for Konoha he always had to be on top of his game. He would let these thoughts go for now, and he would somehow trust that Sakura knew what she was doing . . . that she was going to be safe.
"Don't get yourself killed idiot," Itachi spoke to no one in particular, and made his way back home.
AN: And there you have it! I hope you guys loved it and please let me know what you thought! Till next time . . . Ja ne!