Hey guys. I'm super thankful for your reviews! Thank you so so much. They keep me going.

And I apologize. I am unable to do the mission part on time, other things were necessary first.

Your answers will come in due time, not to worry:D

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"Sakura-san. Wake up."

Oh shit.

Sakura shot up immediately from her sleeping position on the window on instinct, her jade eyes unfocused but riddled with alarm. Unfortunately, her senses still had not informed her of her body dangling precariously off the window ledge and she fell onto the ground in an undignified heap, and she gave a muffled curse in the process, blowing pink hair away from her face.

Her eyes immediately noticed the feet just inches from her nose, and her head shot up to notice the figure standing before her, his red eyes regarding her with a look of mild amusement.

Giving an exhausted groan, she propped her elbows on the ground and made a motion to stand, her muscles cramping painfully from her sleeping on the window. She stole a glance at the view outside the window and noticed the faint chirping noises signifying an early morning, and a slowly rising sun. Much to her consternation, she realised that she had actually slept overnight on the window.

Great. Just… great.

"Itachi-san," she tried to respond, but much to her horror, it ended up being a hoarse-sounding croak. She noticed the man giving her an undisguised smirk, and tried not to jump at his extremely close resemblance to her old teammate then. For all she knew, the annoying man was just trying to unsettle her.

The fact that she didn't know how she looked at that moment – for all she knew, her hair was probably all over the place, her clothes unkempt and her breath smelled. Clearing her throat self-consciously and raking a hand through her hair, she tried to speak again.

"Itachi-san, what are you doing here in my room? There's something called… privacy."

The man standing before her was decked in his usual black shinobi attire. His arms were, as usual, casually folded and his hair was tied in its usual ponytail as he regarded her with Sharingan eyes.

He gave her another infuriating smirk as he spoke. "I tried knocking, Sakura-san, but it appears you were in too much of a deep sleep."

Sakura scowled at his statement, which only seemed to fuel his amusement. "Well? Why are you here then?"

"We have a mission."

Sakura's heart almost stopped at his statement.

"What kind?" Her mask had slipped back in place, her tone showing only a slight interest in the mission as she spoke. However, inwardly she was in turmoil, her panic rising higher by the second. Had they found Naruto already? Had Pein ordered them to get him now?

Inwardly, Sakura steeled herself. Even if they did find Naruto, he would be fine. He wasn't a jinchuuriki any longer and they would have no reason to hurt him.

Her story, on the other hand, would result in an ending that was a polar opposite to Naruto's.

"A normal mission. We are short on funds."

Sakura relaxed, her shoulders sagging imperceptibly. "What's it about?" She prompted, raising a curious eyebrow.

"We haven't decided yet. It needs to be the one that can be done quickly, yet garner the most amount of money. All teams have been mobilized," he responded evenly, his eyes boring into hers.

"Teams…" Sakura's brow furrowed as she digested his words. "You mean, both Deidara and Tobi, and Hidan, need to gather funds too?"

The stoic man gave a stiff nod. Sakura thinned her lips into a grim line, mulling over the possibility of joining Deidara and Tobi's team instead. It was not that she couldn't get along with Kisame and Itachi, but it was more of her need to try to figure out Tobi's ulterior motives about her. Plus, she knew Deidara's and Tobi's fighting skills like the back of her hand.

As though the Uchiha could read her mind, he spoke, his voice taking an odd firm tone. "You will be joining my team Sakura-san. You are needed to heal my eyes, as we have spoken earlier."

"Okay," she muttered, running her hands through her hair as she shot him a look. He had sounded oddly possessive in his previous response.

"When are we heading out?" She asked, already making her way to her desk, packing her items neatly into her usual brown pack.

"As soon as Pein-sama gets back," he replied evenly.

"Oh. Get back from?"

"Visiting Konan's grave." Sakura's hands stilled in its movements, her body tense as she slowly turned to regard him with a sombre expression.

"Oh." It was all she could say, and silence reigned upon the two of them as she continued her packing, although at a much slower pace this time. Itachi watched her movements as he stood near her. Her eyes drifted to the ring lying innocently on the table, and she picked it up to bring it to scrutinize it at eye-level, watching its shimmery brilliance. She turned to Itachi, arching a curious eyebrow as she waved her hand holding the ring.

"Which finger do I wear it on? Can I just wear it on any finger?" She enquired, and noticed Itachi's body stiffen as he noticed the ring. Slowly, his eyes travelled back to her, and if she hadn't been watchful, she would not have noticed the mild expression of shock flitting across his face.

It took a few seconds for him to respond, his voice deceptively casual. "That ring is meant for your right middle finger."

Sakura wasn't fooled by his tone. "Who did this ring belong to previously, Itachi-san?" she demanded, frowning.

This time, however, he gave no hint of his previous surprise, as though his mask had already slipped back on. Instead, he gave her a smirk, as though he was enjoying her discomfort and unease. Sakura tapped her feet impatiently, waiting for his response as he suddenly developed a case of temporary deafness.

"Well? If you're not going to answer me, Itachi-san, I can bother someone else about it," she retorted.

"It belonged to Konan's," he supplied smoothly, and his eyes seemed to show his amusement as Sakura's mouth half-opened in shock.

It was just then that they heard angry noises coming from the corridor, and Kisame and Deidara barged in, their faces red as though they had been in a shouting match.

"Sakura-" "Pinky-" They shouted simultaneously, and stopped, glaring at each other. They didn't seem to notice Itachi in the room in their anger.

"-For the love of god! Doesn't anyone knock around here?" Sakura snapped, her tone exasperated.

The two seemed to ignore her statement, opting to speak. "Pinky, this little brat here thinks you should be working with him. Can you please tell him that you have to work with us to heal that Uchiha's eyes?" The blue man pointed at the stoic man in the room, his eyes ablaze with frustration.

"Who the fuck are you calling brat, yeah?" Deidara shot back, his expression furious. "And for your information, I have been working with her for two fucking years, so it's a damn good reason for her to be on my team!"

"I'd like to see you talk to Leader about it," Kisame sneered, and that was when Sakura had enough.

"Enough!" she barked, gesturing her hands wildly. "Your arguments are invalid unless you bring them up with Pein! Why did you come to me for?"

And, with her waving hands, everyone's eyes in the room came to settle on the object she was holding, their eyes growing wider by the second as the shouting pair was officially stunned into silence.

It was then that Hidan sauntered in, his scythe in his hand as per normal as he whistled a nondescript tune. "Bitch, you sure know how to start a ruckus," he said, grinning widely at her. Then he noticed the other members had fallen uncharacteristically quiet.

"What the fuck are you guys staring at?" He retorted, rolling his eyes until they landed on her hand.

Sakura was sweating buckets. She should have hidden the ring the second Deidara and Kisame entered the room. She was doomed.

"Holy shit! Is that Konan's ring?" Hidan yelled excitedly, walking to her as he snatched the ring out of her suddenly jelly-like hand, and proceeded to scrutinize it.

In the midst of everything, Itachi slinked out of the room like the slimeball he was, leading her to the inevitable torturous questions and deductions that would follow.

"It's… Konan's ring? You got her ring, yeah?" Deidara had snapped out of this stupor, looking at her rather worriedly. "Why did you get her ring? Weren't there others for you to pick?"

If Sakura was her usual observant self at that time, she would have noticed Deidara's slightly jealous tone. However, her mind was awashed with panic, her body standing deathly still. Her voice was suddenly mute as a mortified expression crossed her features.

"Oh no," Kisame flashed her a grin, baring his sharp teeth. "Leader gave this to her. Since when were we able to choose, eh brat?"

Hidan piped in excitedly. "Maybe Pein likes his girls with white nails," he laughed gleefully, and Sakura's faced turned red in an instant.

It was red with anger.

"EVERYONE OUT! NOW!" She roared and in her anger, she barely noticed her fists flashing an occasional green. The others, however, had noticed, and thankfully had a sense of self-preservation in them as they dashed out of the room and closed the door.

Somehow, the event had reminded her of her needing to inform Gaara of her whereabouts. Pein was momentarily gone, and she didn't need to worry about his sensor abilities.

With ninja-level speed, she whipped out an ordinary-looking empty scroll and an odd-looking pen Sai had given to her, scribbling a message.

Gaara, I'm with A. A suspects fox alive. I am fine. N is alive. Look for him.

With a set of handseals, the words jumbled together to form an ordinary, brown sparrow, and she opened her window, letting it fly out.

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Hey guys! Minor changes to the Akatsuki ring thingies. The owner of a specific ring colour will have nails of that colour and not the usual black or purple. I thought it'd make things more interesting..

And now she knows it is KONAN'S ring. HEHEHEHEHE.

New poll: Which moment in the anime is funniest for you? If there is a YouTube vid, write down the title of the video and hit the review button below!;)