Disclaimer: Kakashi is hot and full of flaming charisma so he is most likely invincible in my story. I think that's a pretty obvious clue there… I hope that answers your question Poppy!

Also, I have not decided on the Sakura pairing, sadly. So you must review to tell me who should be her soulmate! (gushes)

On a sidenote, any beta-editors?

3 months before capture

It was a quiet afternoon, except for the light chatter that was rumbling through the village. A man in a black cloak sat atop a tree not far from the village. Every few minutes or so, he would fidget as if waiting for someone. Half of his face was obscured from view by his blonde hair, but one could sense his impatience growing by the minute.

Finally, a man darted through the trees. "Finally," Deidara muttered, annoyed. "Did you get us a damn mission already, yeah?"

The visitor seemed to grin through his mask, his happy demeanour irritating the blonde nin further. "Tobi got us a mission! Tobi is good boy!"

His companion sighed audibly, not bothering to answer the self-praising remark. "What's the mission, Tobi? Pein wants those with 6-digit pay or more."

"Tobi knows! Tobi got us an awesome retrieval mission. And Deidara-sempai can blow things up after we leave!" the masked man chirped, hopping excitedly.

Deidara brightened considerably at the thought of explosions. "That's great news, yeah." He jumped off the tree, landing stealthily on the ground.

"Oh! Tobi forgot to say that we have a partner again! We are working with Saya-chan tomorrow! It will be a blast!" Tobi added hastily.

Deidara groaned, raking his fingers through his long fringe. "Not again," he muttered. The last time he worked with her, she refused to allow him to blow up anything. The girl was stubborn with a capital S, and he suspected, too soft to live as a nin. Nevertheless, their previous work demonstrated their capability to work together as a team – even on those times without Tobi to do missions, they were equally proficient together.

She had grown on him as well. The kunoichi was usually silent and reserved unless her temper was ignited. The first time her fist landed on his face, he was compelled to anger her again just to see her large-scale explosions of fiery temper. It was an art he could appreciate.

He'd never expect such a boring-looking brunette kunoichi to be so interesting.

He halted his line of thought, realising that Tobi was peering at him rather curiously and had been calling his name for quite a few moments. "Hm. Let's get some rest Tobi. We can talk about the mission later after I've got some shuteye, yeah." He cleared his throat, trying to dispel the awkwardness he felt about thinking too much about his female partner for the mission.

00000

The next day, the two Akatsuki trudged silently to the meeting point a little further from the village. Upon nearing the meeting point, they caught sight of the familiar kunoichi poised on a large rock. She was meditating. Without opening her eyes, she spoke. It was a reserved tone but promising much pain.

"You're late." Deidara and Tobi physically cringed at her words, knowing they had to abate her temper before it rose up to gigantic proportions.

"We had to get our weapons sharpened in the morning, yeah."

"…There is no weapons shop in this village or within a 50 mile radius of it."

Deidara waited in anticipation for her outburst but it didn't come. Instead, she merely opened her eyelids, revealing tired chocolate brown eyes. She jumped lightly off the rock, walking ahead of them. "Forget it. I'm tired. Let's just get this over with," she said flatly, her voice tinged with an unrecognizable emotion.

00000

They travelled in companionable silence with Tobi in the middle. Throughout the travel, not a single word was uttered by either of them. To Deidara, it seemed as though something must have occurred to her as she would usually still be discussing mission details and filling in on her plan to execute it. It was an unspoken rule that she planned the rough details of the mission. Previously, it had gone bad when Deidara and Tobi planned them.

"Saya, you do know we are Akatsuki right? It's for the best that we plan. We are the most feared organization, you know, hm?"

The girl appeared unfazed by his comment, not seeming to care that he was an Akatsuki member. "Fine, go ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Don't worry, Saya-chan! Tobi will come up with good plan!"

"…Okay."

At the end of the unsuccessful mission, they were promptly thrown out of the building by the missions manager without any pay.

"We can talk here. I'll fill you in on the plan." Deidara snapped out of his musings, glancing at his female partner for the mission.

She was in working mode right now. He could see it in the way her shoulders were tense with anticipation and the calculative look in her eyes.

"This will be a simple retrieval mission, so it will be the same as the previous time we did this. Deidara, you and Tobi distract the guards, while I run in and get our target Kazuma Takase. I run out, you take him and I'll deal with the guards. I'll meet you here and we can go. Remember to conserve enough chakra for travel. Deidara, you are free to use your explosives for distraction to conserve some chakra," she explained tersely. "Are we clear?"

It was getting increasingly obvious that she wasn't herself on that day. She had said the whole plan in the span of 1 minute when she was usually much more detailed than that. However, both Deidara and Tobi nodded in agreement and proceeded to near the destination.

Their destination was a prison facility.

00000

Sakura did not like working with the Akatsuki. No, she did not like it one bit. She bit her lip, glancing surreptitiously at the two now-familiar Akatsuki nins.

Today was not her day. She realised it was the anniversary of Danzou's takeover, and she couldn't help thinking of those who died because of the unnecessary bloodshed.

What was worse was the two Akatsuki with her right now, as if Kami was warning her of something bad about to happen. Although she had worked with them so far and gave away nothing, it felt as though something different was going to happen this time. Something really... unpleasant.

She did not like it.

With her emotions in turmoil, she might blow her cover. However, her henge was good enough to cover her real identity and her chakra control had never wavered since the event. She was safe in that aspect, she hoped.

Also, both Deidara and Tobi were not such bad missing nins once she worked with them. Sure, Deidara was a sucker for exploding things and blowing himself up, but he was a decent guy altogether.

She wasn't sure about Tobi though. That was the man she was more wary of. He was a man but he acted like a kid. It wasn't normal at all, though Deidara was used to it.

The first time she was told that her partners were Akatsuki members, she froze in contemplation. Did she want to work with them? She wanted to decline, but as she thought about it, there was only so much she could do to avoid them. They hogged many of the illegal missions, as though looking to top up their funds considerably. If she declined all missions with them, she'd have to decline almost all, because many illegal businessmen sought them out to personally do missions. Those businessmen did so simply because they were the best of the best and the most efficient in carrying out missions quickly.

She could avoid the Akatsuki like the plague, sitting on her butt almost half the time. However, her restlessness prevented her from doing so. There was the also fact that she couldn't avoid them forever. In addition, she had her henge and chakra control so she'd be fine interacting with them. No one would be the wiser. In fact, they'd probably notice her less once she interacted with them and became familiar with them.

And maybe, just maybe, they'd let slip some important matters that she could use to warn Suna. Before Konoha was overtaken, she'd grown to love Suna and its people, courtesy of Naruto. When Konoha was gone, she couldn't help but want to protect Suna from the same fate.

That was also the reason why she did not run to Suna. If Gaara found her, he'd whisk her away into hiding in a heartbeat. He, as well and Temari and Kankurou and other Sand nins, cared for Naruto's teammates as much as they cared for him. They'd protect her fiercely as they would do for a sibling.

She couldn't afford to put them in danger. She wouldn't. Danzou had spies everywhere. If she'd been in Suna, she would have been discovered eventually, and the two countries may erupt into a war. Innocent lives will be lost. Also, she will endure a larger risk of her secret being discovered if she was retrieved by Danzou and submit to interrogation.

No, she needed to keep travelling. She couldn't afford to stay in Suna with all the risk it brought.

Furthermore, she had grown to accept the longstanding fact that the people she grew close to will eventually go.

It seemed ironic how the significant ones went first, and the ones who'd never expected to last escaped death and end up alive and whole. She didn't want to bring Gaara and his siblings to the same fate. She couldn't afford to feel any more pain.

Right now, she was safe in her shell. She busied herself with missions, earning her a lot of income. She was the same workaholic as she had been in Konoha, albeit in a different way.

"We're here," Deidara whispered in her ear, interrupting her musings. Her eyes snapped to his azure ones beside her and she straightened her posture and gave him the signal. They split up, Tobi heading for the prison entrance directly, while Sakura headed from the right and Deidara from the left.

Time for action.

Sakura only had to wait with bated breath for two minutes. A loud string of explosions occurred simultaneously, rocking the ground violently. A siren rang as prison guards – likely jounin or higher level – dashed out to meet their visitor. A loud eerie cackle pierced through the air, sounding suspiciously like Deidara's.

They were very good at distraction, Sakura mused inwardly, as she scaled the dome-like building. Upon reaching the upper level, she deftly smashed a window with her fist. Upon darting in, she found two men cornering her in a large office.

"Why, if it isn't a little kunoichi," one of them sneered.

"Surrender and you will experience less pain," the other said simply.

Her eyes narrowed. She was irritated with the first shinobi, but she did not respond. She had to move quickly.

Running past the table and chairs – an unfortunate obstruction, but nothing she couldn't handle- she flipped onto a table, making seals at the same time. "Fuuton: Reppushou!" She whipped her hand forward and an extremely strong gust of wind rushed through the windows, knocking the arrogant shinobi against the wall unconscious, while the other had dodged out of harm's way.

Reaching for something in his pouch, the shinobi launched shuriken at her, which Sakura promptly dodged. To her shock, some started exploding in midair, leaving her unable to avoid some fragments that had lodged themselves in her arm. She cursed, knowing she was not attentive enough.

It really wasn't one of her best days. And she really did not feel like fighting on that day.

Knowing that she will berate herself later, Sakura ran through handseals, bit her thumb and pressed her palm on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" As though aware of the urgency, Maya appeared immediately by her side, proceeding to watch the shinobi.

"Go," the wildcat instructed without further explanation. Dodging through more shuriken, Sakura ran out of the room, not looking back. She knew Maya would be able to handle it, as he was slightly low level for a Jounin, which she was rather surprised at.

She had no time to ponder for that, for she was already unpicking the lock to a certain prisoner's room. Kazuma was grinning as she went to him. "Sorry about this," she said, glancing briefly at his features. He could have been considered good-looking at one point in his life, but that period was already over for him.

His smile faltered slightly. "Sorry about what?"

"This." Sakura immediately pressed a fingertip to his temple before the man could react, rendering him unconscious. It would be easier to carry him than lose him again while running. Using her chakra enhanced strength, she easily hoisted him over her shoulder and started running out through the upper level of the building. She easily ran downwards, not breaking her speed when she landed on the horizontal ground. Deidara was really having fun with his bombs, but it was time to go. She whistled, getting his and Tobi's attention. Nodding at her, they ran in her direction. At the same time, Deidara's bird landed gracefully beside her, waiting for them. She landed nimbly on the bird the same time Deidara and Tobi did, placing the man beside her. She barely got a grip on the bird before it took off at a fast speed, leaving the enemy nin behind. When they were high up in the air, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job Saya-chan!" Tobi remarked cheerfully.

Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes at his antics. Proceeding to remove the fragments on her arm, she quickly healed the cuts. She did not even wince as the deep fragments slowly slid out, leaving her arm well and whole. She had been through worse. Looking at the two of them, she decided to debrief.

"Both of you did a good job. I think we should head for the-"

It all happened in a quick flash. She was promptly grabbed by two strong arms encircling her, catching her off guard as the arms brought her rolling off the bird's back.

She had no time to resist as she struggled against the hold in mid-air as they fell, their speed growing frighteningly faster by the second. She could notice for a brief second of the bird swooping low to catch her.

But Deidara was too slow.

Frustrated, she elbowed her captor in the ribs, earning her a disgruntled oomph. He removed his grip just as they were about to land.

Sakura absorbed the landing with her legs, feeling the bones in her ankle crack slightly from the pressure. It was better that way than her whole body feeling the impact of the fall. She ignored the throbbing pain, knowing it was not the time to heal. Then she promptly focused on her surroundings.

A cold chill ran up her spine. There was a thick, dense fog surrounding the clearing.

She couldn't see anything.

"Don't panic. Don't panic," she chanted to herself as it was a mantra.

Her eyes darted from side to side, waiting for the man to make his move. Every one of her senses was on alert.

For a moment, the air seemed to still.

He was likely to make his move soon.

She was wondering if she should activate her kekkei genkai to see through the fog when she heard fast-paced footsteps from behind.

Whipping around, she turned to look at her captor and was surprised to see the same shinobi who fought her earlier, charging at her with kunai which she evaded swiftly.

She pulled out her own two kunai, meeting him almost hit for hit. Alarmingly, she noticed he was faster than she expected and her specialty wasn't speed. She dodged a kunai and rammed her feet into his right hip.

He smiled, and she froze in shock. He seemed to be made of stone. "You can't hit me now, princess," he drawled. "Didn't think you could get away so easily, did you?"

She chose not to respond. If she couldn't hit him, she could outsmart him. Her mind was whirring with thoughts progressing at a rapid pace, busy formulating a plan.

"I'm going to kill you and have a fun time killing those Akatsuki."

"If you wish," she said, shrugging. She knew it would make him furious. And it worked.

He snarled in anger. Calling the earth, a thick, long projectile shot up at her, which she dodged. A large number of similar projectiles shot up from the ground aiming for her. Quickly, she made handseals. The projectiles rammed through Sakura and she transformed into a log.

She hid in the bushes, waiting for his next move as he circled the clearing. He seemed to be looking for her.

"Looking for me, princess?" a voice whispered in her ear from behind as her eyes widened imperceptibly. Her instincts were screaming at her to run and she did.

The real nin unleashed a fireball which she deftly blew away with a Wind jutsu.

Then a barrage of shuriken came from behind at the same time.

She had totally forgotten his bunshin was still in the clearing. I am so stupid, she thought bitterly, as one shuriken lodged itself in her left shoulder as it exploded.

It was a mind-numbing pain, but it was to be expected, considering how much she had underestimated this shinobi earlier. Remembering Maya earlier, she suddenly froze. She really hoped Maya was okay.

She couldn't afford to hold back now. She was forced to use her techniques, and if Deidara and Tobi were nearby, she'd hope they wouldn't recognise it as techniques from the Godaime. Besides, the fog provided her with a cover.

Maybe they won't notice her handiwork so much. Crouching low on the ground, she channelled her chakra into her right hand and brought it down.

It was a massive crater and she noticed with satisfaction that the clone had disappeared, leaving only his real self staggering, his chakra levels wavering erratically.

She finally had him where she wanted.

As expected, his stone self wavered, flickering erratically and changing into his human form as he struggled to regain his balance. In a split second, she jumped at the opportunity and straddled him and gave him one hard chakra-infused punch, noting with satisfaction that it managed to knock him out.

Still breathing heavily from the aftermath, the rosette-haired kunoichi's mind was swirling with conflicting thoughts of the nin beneath her.

She couldn't leave him as he was, as he might have recognised her techniques. However, she couldn't kill him either.

Silence reigned over the clearing as she tried to think a way out of her dilemma. Her shoulder throbbed in warning and she faintly noticed that she had to decide quick before she passed out from blood loss.

Her fingers shook as she reached up to touch her closed eyes and opened them to reveal a shimmery yellow.

She had to be quick. Almost reluctantly, she pressed her trembling fingertips to the sides of his forehead, entering his memory to erase the fight. There was a slight jolt before the process started. Channeling chakra and manipulating brain waves were difficult. Any mistake would cause him to be insane or disabled, so she did it with caution, even with the wound she was bearing.

Then it was done. She sighed with relief, noting that her memory manipulation was successful. Upon removing her hands, she felt strangely dizzy. Her fingers felt numb as she realised that she was out of her own original chakra.

The last thing she remembered was her kekkei genkai deactivating on its own accord. Everything went black.

Then her henge promptly deactivated.

00000

Deidara was emitting a long stream of curses that would have made Tobi blush if he wasn't wearing his mask. "We have to get to her! Where the hell is she?"

"Deidara-sempai, Saya-chan can handle herself! Tobi knows you like her, so don't worry about her! Saya is strong!" Tobi replied, darting with him through the trees with the man hoisted on his shoulder.

"I don't like her yeah!"

It was frustrating for the both of them as the fog thickened in intensity. Deidara pulled back his fringe, activating his scope. He looked around anxiously and was relieved when he spotted two faint chakra signatures further ahead. "This way Tobi!" he said, running.

The two of them came to a stop outside the clearing, noticing the large crater. For a moment, they stared. "Shit. This guy is powerful. Saya!" he called, running to the bodies slumped on the ground.

Only that it wasn't Saya. Beside the shinobi, who appeared to be unconscious, was an equally unconscious girl with rosette hair fanning out from her face. Her eyes were closed. She appeared to look peaceful as though she was merely sleeping if not for the puddle of blood pooling around her shoulder.

"That's… Saya's chakra," Deidara noted grimly. "So, a henge really fooled us, yeah."

Tobi was uncharacteristically silent, not saying anything until a while later when Deidara proceeded to haul her over his shoulder. His voice had lost its uncharacteristic boyish edge.

"She looks… familiar."

0000000

When Sakura awoke, she was at the Healer's. Not recalling what happened, the Healer told her of two nins who brought her here in her state, and left her share of the pay on the table beside her bed. While she was explaining what happened, the Healer seemed to have an odd gleam in her eyes. She was curious about something, but she didn't ask.

Sakura decided that the less things people ask, the safer she was.

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your time, Healer-san," she said politely. The Healer nodded as she walked out of the room, intent on giving her privacy.

Feeling like her insides had been bludgeoned by a chainsaw, she hobbled over to the mirror. She sighed in relief as she saw a familiar brunette kunoichi with dark eyes, satisfied to see her henge still intact.

0000000

The reason for Sakura's henge dropping is simple in my story. She was chakra-less. However, when she woke up, instinct brought forth her henge again and she THOUGHT she didn't drop her henge. Of course the Healer noticed but didn't ask… Since it's common among missing nins to don a henge now and then. And you can already guess who told Pein that Sakura was in town…

Also, she activated her kekkei genkai at the last part to make it easier to probe the dude's mind. In case you're wondering.

Also, there was a comment saying about how so many people have died… well I can assure you that nothing is what it seems. ALSO, PLEASE REVIEW ABOUT WHO YOU THINK SHOULD BE PAIRED WITH SAKURA. I HAVE NOT CHOSEN YET.

Please please review! I'll give you Kakashi for free! Now that'll tempt you! :D

Hey I just met you, and this is crazy

But here's the review button, so review, maybe? (points downward):D