Huzzah! XD I have successfully completed the longest chapter I have written yet. Muahahaha! XD Please enjoy yeah!
When I publish.. things get screwed up a bit.. So I apologise for that. :D
Star Crossed
Chapter 6: The Potter and The Uchiha
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"She sleeps like a log," Deidara scoffed as he placed the kunoichi on the ground. They had been travelling for the past few hours and were getting closer to Takigakure's border. He would have thought the kunoichi would have woken up by now but she was still asleep. And he thought shinobi were supposed to be light sleepers.
"Her body seems to have shut down to recuperate," Itachi remarked as he sat down next to the girl. His staring was starting to irritate Deidara. Would the man just stop his staring! She was not some type of meat. Though it had been a long time since he has seen meat of her calibre. She had definitely grown up to become a fine specimen of meat. Every part of her was made to distract the opposite sex, from her full lips to her legs that go on for miles.
He mentally slapped himself. What the hell was he doing?
They had agreed to stop, as they were a safe distance from Konoha. Itachi and Tobi had volunteered to contact Leader while Kisame and him kept an eye on the kunoichi. As the other two start to meditate, he saw Sakura wake up.
"Oh. Thank god you're awake. Now I don't have to carry you all the way to the base," Deidara said mockingly as he looked at the kunoichi. She scowled and muttered curses under her breath something along the lines of, "I'm not that heavy."
"Where are we going anyway?" She asked as she got up.
"Northeast, yeah."
"Wonderful."
He watched as she neared a huge tree. But what he saw next was something he did not expect.
With a sharp swift blow, the petite kunoichi had knocked down a huge tree that had barely missed Kisame and him. Even though her hands were still bound she had managed to knock down the tree. Was that even possible?
"What the fuck are you doing?" Deidara shouted. The kunoichi looked confused before she replied.
"…Stress relief."
He could hear Kisame laugh from behind him, "Remind me not to get you pissed, pinky."
"Too late," She muttered under her breath as she looked at Kisame. Seems like her hair was a touchy subject.
"What do you guys want from me? I doubt I could be of use to your…cause," the kunoichi asked as she struggled with the clay bindings on her hands.
Deidara shrugged, "Leader just wants you alive, yeah."
She looked up from her bindings, "Leader?"
"Yeah. The guy that controls Akatsuki."
"Really? And you're bringing me right to him?" She seemed to be contemplating something before she spoke again.
"And Leader needs me alive, why?"
"Who knows? I proposed to bring you back in pieces, but he didn't seem thrilled with the idea, yeah."
"Of course. What would he do with my limbs?"
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"He's close! I can see traces of his chakra," Karin shouted as she leapt from branch to branch. He was close and soon he would be able to extract his revenge. He was going to kill his brother, or die trying.
Team Taka had been around the area when he saw a huge tree fall in the distance. He had suspected a battle was ensuing and he did not want to get caught in it. But Karin had confirmed that the chakra signatures were strong and had belonged to five people. She had also confirmed that one of them had belonged to his brother.
He was going to kill his brother no matter what. He increased his pace as he felt the adrenaline rush through his blood stream. He could clearly remember the last few words his brother had said after he had massacred his whole clan, to hunt him, to become strong and find him.
Sasuke had done everything possible to become strong even leaving his village and friends. He had learnt under Orochimaru and killed him when he had nothing left to offer. He regretted nothing. All he did was necessary, to make sure the Uchiha Clan would be reborn and the one who betrayed them all, killed.
His brother was going to die by his hand.
As he neared their location, he could sense five different chakra signatures. Some of them were familiar. But only one caught his attention.
"Itachi…" He said under his breath.
"Brother, this is not the time," Itachi said as he stood up. His blood boiled and he felt angry. Angry with his brother for killing his family, for wanting him to hunt him and for letting him live.
From his peripheral vision, he could see his team mates engage in battle. Karin was against a guy in a strange orange mask. Juugo was up against a blonde Akatsuki member while Suigetsu started to wield his large sword and attack his brother's partner. Usually Akatsuki worked in teams of two; it was strange that there were four of them in one place.
"Sasuke?"
The voice had sounded familiar. He averted his eyes from his brother. His eyes widened as he studied the source. Her pink hair was longer than he remembered. Her emerald orbs were wide as she stared at him. Her hands were bound. It had been ten years since he had last seen her. Ten years since he had heard her confession.
"You're really alive. Why didn't you return to Konoha after you killed Orochimaru?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Sakura. You were always a nuisance. The weak link in the Team. I don't need you getting in the way when I kill my brother," he voiced, his tone cold and emotionless.
He watched as her body started to tremble and shudder violently, her hands covering her face. He had hurt her, again. When he was about to look at his brother, he sensed another chakra presence. It was overwhelming. He noticed his brother had sensed it too. Before he could wield his sword, he felt something grasp his neck and push him. His back hit a tree hard; he could feel pain and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He looked up expecting to see Itachi but his vision was filled with pink.
He stared, speechless as Sakura held him by the throat.
"YOU! You're the cause of her pain and sorrow." Sakura spoke. Her voice was distorted and it clearly did not belong to her. What was going on? He activated his Sharingan.
"You dare use those cursed eyes on us?" She spoke again as she exerted more pressure on his throat.
Us?
"I could kill you and end this here and now, but Sakura would not want that."
He looked up. What he saw was not the childhood friend that had followed him around like a stalker, but a stranger. One of her eyes was emerald green while the other was grey and had a ripple like pattern.
"She had expressed her feelings for you and you leave her behind. She clearly still cares for you, but I won't hesitate to rip your heart out if you hurt her again." She said once again her voice threatening before letting go of his throat. She had managed to break her bounds. She took a couple of steps back before turning around.
He noticed that all four of the Akatsuki members were staring. He saw the bodies of his fallen comrades bathing in their blood.
"What do you want from us?" She spoke again this time eyeing the Akatsuki members. "Leave before I kill you all!"
"Sakura. We do not want to harm you," Itachi spoke, his voice surprisingly calm despite the situation.
Sakura glared at his brother before speaking again, "All of you are thousands of years too young to understand. But if I fight you now, Sakura might not survive. Her human body cannot withstand my power. I have come to care for her and would not do anything to harm her."
"Then, return Sakura to us," his brother said as he took a step forward towards the kunoichi. The possessed kunoichi turned around and fixed her mismatched gaze at Sasuke. A single tear fell from her emerald eye.
"She wants to know. Was leaving worth it?"
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Deidara was in shock. He had never felt so frightened before. Her chakra was overwhelming and threatening. But what shocked him the most were her eyes. One of them was clearly the Rinnegan. He had only known one person that possesses that bloodline limit. He had a feeling Leader had left out something important when he had assigned the four of them the task of bringing her to Ame alive.
He watched as Kisame picked the girl up in his arms. She had passed out. But the voice of what possessed her still rang in his head, etched in his memory.
"We have to leave," Deidara croaked. His throat was dry.
Tobi and Kisame started to leave.
"Brother, this is not the time," he heard the Uchiha repeat. He looked at the other Uchiha; he had spiky black hair that had a blue tint to it. The girl was right; he looked similar to Itachi yet so different. He watched as the black haired shinobi walked towards his brother.
"Bring me with you," the younger one said, his voice soft.
"Why?"
"I…I want to help her."
Deidara did not like the idea of him joining. There were more than enough people already. But the Uchiha did not stop his younger brother from following them. Looks like they had another mouth to feed.
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Deidara glared at Sasuke. He found another Uchiha's presence intimidating and maybe, annoying. He did not need another brooding Uchiha. One was more than enough. Sasuke must have noticed he was glaring as his onyx eyes met his. And so, their staring battle ensued.
"If I'm not interrupting something. We need to contact Leader. Deidara, you do it," Kisame said as he stood at the doorway. They had arrived at their base in Takigakure a few hours ago. Hesitantly, he tore his gaze from Sasuke.
"Why do I have to do it, yeah?" he asked. Kisame shrugged and walked away. Deidara scowled as he left the room. He was not planning on going on a vulnerable meditative state when there was an Uchiha in the room.
He found an empty room and sat down, cross-legged. He calmed his mind and did some seals using his hands. He felt his chakra slowly start to leak as he closed his eyes, finding himself in the lair standing on his usual position. His presence would have definitely alerted Leader; it was his jutsu.
Soon, Leader's form appeared next to him. His ringed gaze reminding him of Sakura's unexpected outburst.
"We've got her. But there's something wrong with her, yeah," Deidara remarked as he looked at Leader.
"What do you mean?"
"She seems to be possessed, or there's something else living in her. Though it seems like she doesn't know anything, yeah."
"I…expected this. But I heard it wouldn't come out without cause."
"Leader. You've gotta tell us what's wrong with her or we wouldn't know what to do when it appears again."
"…I'll contact you again. For now, wait at the Takigakure base."
"Fine." Deidara replied curtly as his projection started to fade.
There was definitely something Leader was not telling them. He stood up from his sitting position and walked to the living area. There, he found himself in a very awkward situation.
All of them were sitting down on the table, eating their dinner. Kisame was attacking his meal like the animal he was, ignoring the tension in the room. Tobi had finished with his meal-damn-and was staring at his empty carton. Itachi was picking at his vegetables as Sasuke was staring at his brother. Sakura's plate was still full and looked untouched.
"You know," Sakura said slowly, "I can't eat with my hands tied."
"I'll feed you, yeah," Deidara said a little too quickly. Sasuke had stopped his staring and was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
"Uh… Tempting offer. But you could just remove the bindings. I'm not going anywhere."
"Oh, right," Deidara replied, his face flushed. He walked over to the kunoichi and removed the bindings. As soon as the bindings were removed, she attacked her food stuffing large portions of it into her mouth. He could feel that his team mates had visibly relaxed. They had tensed when he was removing her bindings, expecting her to attack or an appearance from another Sakura.
When they had finished with their meals. Tobi and him started to clear the table and they were about to return to their sleeping quarters when the kunoichi spoke.
"Oh yeah. I forgot something." She turned around and walked towards Sasuke. Before he could even see the attack coming, her hand had connected with his face. He flew and his back hit the wall.
"You complete idiot! You left Naruto and me for power and now you're working with these idiots to bring me to their Leader! Oh, you have no idea how long I was waiting for this chance to redecorate your face. Ugh! I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart," her voice was shrill and she was about to land another punch to his face when Kisame stopped her and placed her over his shoulder.
"Put me down you damned fish! I'm not done yet! I'm going to make sure he regrets leaving the village. What kind of idiot would leave a defenceless girl on a bench? Put me down! I want to rip his insides out with my bare hands!"
Deidara watched in horror as Sakura struggled against Kisame's strong grasps. This was definitely the real Sakura. And she was even scarier than the other one.
"Calm down, pinky. I'll let you rip him apart tomorrow," Kisame answered calmly as he carried the raging kunoichi out of the room. He could still hear her screaming and cursing.
"Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. What have you gotten yourself into little brother?" Itachi said as he walked out of the room.
Sasuke removed himself from the wall and rubbed his face, which was starting to swell and turn purple. He walked in daze out of the room. Deidara chuckled; things were starting to get interesting.
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"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called as she pushed her way through the throng of people in the hallway. When she finally found her way to the Hokage's office, she pushed the doors wide open and went in.
"Tsunade-sama! We've found the document!" She walked in and placed the brown folder on the desk, surprising the buxom blonde. The Hokage nodded her thanks and started to flip through the brown folder. She watched expectantly as Tsunade started to skim through the kanji.
"Shizune! Find Hatake and bring him here!" The Hokage ordered, her voice filled with urgency. Shizune was caught off guard and was shocked at the sound of her urgent voice. She quickly ran out of the office in search of the Copy nin.
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Sasuke stood in front of the door, contemplating. Should he enter? Should he leave? Was she going to attack him again? He reached out and his hand grasped the doorknob firmly.
"The door is chakra sealed. No one can go in or out. Only the person that sealed that door can."
He lifted his head.
"Itachi.."
"She was one of the few people."
"What?"
"She resisted my Sharingan, even in it's Mangekyou form."
"That's impossible."
"The Mangekyou does not affect her. Though I suspect it's due to… the other Sakura."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know." Itachi looked at him one more time before walking to his quarters.
Sasuke was more confused than ever. Sakura had resisted the Sharingan? He had always remembered her as the weak pink-haired kunoichi. How strong had she gotten since he had last seen her? He had heard rumours of her, defeating an Akatsuki, saving one of the Kazekage's siblings and even her special healing abilities. It fascinated him that Sakura was stronger and he wanted to know just how strong she was.
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Sakura sat on he bed, her chin on her knees. She frowned. There were blanks in her memory and it frustrated her that she could not remember anything. She remembered looking into Itachi's eyes…then nothing. She woke up in the same damned cabin after that. She remembered Sasuke's hurtful words…then nothing. She woke up when they had arrived in the new base. It was strange that there would be blanks in her head. Did she pass out? She had spent the past few minutes prodding her body with her chakra but she did not detect anything foreign. It frustrated her that she could not do anything and when she was frustrated she needed to smash things.
The room she was in was small and dark. She got up from her sitting position and placed a hand on the doorknob, immediately she could sense another presence on the other side of the door. When she removed her hand, the presence disappeared. So, they were keeping watch on her. If she smashed the wall she would be able to escape, but she did not know where she was. She hoped that the giant tree was enough of a hint for somebody from her village to find her. She had specifically knocked down the tree in the northeast direction. She hoped someone would be able to get the hint and find her soon.
The sudden appearance of her former team mate had complicated things, or made things easier. She would be able to bring him back to Konoha.
Sakura sighed. What was she supposed to do while waiting for somebody to come get her? She flopped down onto the small bed. She felt bare without her weapons. And she was extremely bored. She got up from her position and stared out of the singular window in the room.
From her window she could see that they were no longer in Fire Country. She could faintly hear water, like a waterfall. She smiled. Now she knew exactly where they were. The waterfall was a dead give away. It was now or never. Even of she died trying, Akatsuki would never get to achieve whatever goals they needed without her.
She walked away from the window, removing her hitai-ate and tying it around her eyes. She did not want to repeat the same mistake and get caught in Itachi's or Sasuke's Sharingan. She remembered the training Tsunade had given her; to use her senses than her eyes when it came to dodging the enemies attacks. When Kisame was carrying her, she took the opportunity to memorize the hallway. She was not near the exit but she definitely knew how to get there. Sending her chakra to her fist, she destroyed the door. Wood flew everywhere. Almost immediately she felt arms restraining her. With a roar, she tossed the two that were grabbing her arms. Using her memory, she started to mentally count the steps to the exit as she ran.
She felt a presence in front of her.
"Where do you think you're going, yeah?"
Deidara.
She knew, his long-range attacks would not work in the small hallway. So, she just continued to run towards him, she faked her attack. She could sense that he had jumped over her, giving her the opportunity to continue running.
…Twenty. Twenty-one…
She turned to her left. She was getting closer to the exit. She stopped as she felt another block her way and another behind her. She was cornered. She hated being cornered. But she could recognize the chakra signature.
Sasuke...
Once again, a wave of emotions hit her like a tsunami. She charged towards the Uchiha. She could not see him, but she could sense him. She dodged his attack and tried to kick his abdomen. He used her missed attack to trip her with his feet. She landed with a thud onto the ground. She could sense the other Akatsuki members nearing. She sent chakra to both her hands and hit the ground, causing Sasuke to lose his balance. She quickly got up and kicked the Uchiha in the solar plexus. She heard him grunt in pain. But the Uchiha was faster; he had removed his sword from its sheath and sliced the headband causing it to fall to the ground with a soft thud.
Her eyes flew open and connected with his red eyes.
She forced herself to close her eyes but it was too late. Pain shot through her before the same person knocked her out twice.
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Deidara rubbed his sore hands. The kunoichi was strong. She had destroyed the door and came out with her hitae-ate tied around her eyes. It was certainly suicidal.
"She's more trouble than we thought, yeah," he said as he cleaned the dust from his cloak. He lifted his head from his dusting and found Sasuke carrying the kunoichi bridal style in his arms.
"Deidara-senpai, we can't put her in the same room with the door gone," Tobi said as he studied the remnants of the door.
"There's more rooms down the hallway. We'll put her in one of those rooms, yeah."
"That won't work. She might do the same thing again," Sasuke said.
"Then we'll have one of us take care of her. We'll take turns everyday until Leader contacts us again," Kisame replied easily, picking up Samehada.
"How do we decide whose turn it is?" Tobi asked as he started to study the unconscious kunoichi still in the Uchiha's arms.
"Deidara, Sasuke, Tobi, Itachi then me. You got it?" Kisame answered.
"Why do you decide everything, yeah?"
"We can argue about this but the girl could wake up any minute."
"Fine." He answered curtly, before leaving.
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Deidara walked into the kunoichi's room with breakfast in hand. He had a crick in his neck for sleeping on the floor throughout the night.
"You awake, yeah?" He asked as he saw the kunoichi sitting down, cross-legged on the bed. He placed the food tray on the bed next to the kunoichi and proceeded to sit on the floor, on the same spot he had slept.
"Thanks to you. All of us has to take turns on keeping an eye on you until Leader contacts us, yeah."
"I don't want to be in the same room as Sasuke. Or any of the Uchiha brothers actually."
"It's your fault for suddenly trying to escape. How could you fight with your eyes closed, yeah?"
"Training." She answered simply as looked at Deidara and smiled. He could feel heat rush to his cheeks. She was smiling even in this situation. He could remember the first time he had seen her warm smile. Nobody in Iwa had ever smiled at him before; his bloodline limit seemed to have scared most of them away. His art was more important.
In his daydreaming, he did not notice that she had walked closer and was sitting in front of him. She reached out and touched his cheek. Her thumb grazed his cheekbone.
"What are you doing, yeah?" He asked in a low voice.
"I'm checking on your jaw. I may be your prisoner but I'm a medic above all else," She replied as her hand started to glow a mint green. Her touch was warm and her chakra was calming. He leaned slightly into her touch closing his eyes. Her nimble hand started to travel from his cheek and her fingers traced his jaw line. Her hand travelled from his cheek to the back of his neck and he could feel her massaging the muscle knots that was constantly causing him pain. He placed his forehead on her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. She did not seem to mind and continued to massage the knots out of his neck.
"You know, I want to take a bath. I haven't bathed in three days," he heard her say as she removed her fingers from his neck. He reluctantly lifted his head and answered.
"I can tell, yeah"
He got up from his position and walked to the door. "Come on. Get your stuff, I'll show you to the bathroom." Sakura smiled and followed him to the bathroom.
"You've got ten minutes before I come in, yeah."
"Wouldn't you like that?" She said sarcastically as she entered the bathroom. As a matter of fact, yes, he would like that.
As he stood waiting outside, realization suddenly dawned on him; he dropped his guard around the kunoichi. She could have easily killed him on the spot! But she did not. He started to wonder why. Did she remember their first meeting? He could not help but feel a little hopeful.
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Sakura started to wash the grime and dirt that was stuck on her body. It felt good to finally get a bath. But she only had ten minutes and she planned to use it wisely, she was not about to let an Akatsuki member barge in and get a look at her goods.
Over the years, her choice of clothing had changed but the red colour still remained. She still wore her sleeveless red shirt but she wore many small arm-belts on her left arm to help her chakra flow and to cover her ANBU tattoo. But since, that was not necessary, she removed the arm-belts. She still wore her medic's skirt and shorts but one of her legs had similar bands like the one on her arm to also help with her chakra flow. She chose not to remove them, as they would help her when she needed to make a quick escape.
The members of the Akatsuki had planned to keep an eye on her each day by taking turns. How was she supposed to plan an escape if one of them kept an eye on her twenty-four seven? But part of her wanted to meet this 'Leader' so that she could find out what he wanted from her. He was going to be severely disappointed with her, as she was not planning on helping anybody that would jeopardize her friend's lives.
Speaking of helping, she remembered her former team mate. Why was he helping Akatsuki? What was he planning on gaining from this?
Since she was kidnapped and did not have any extra clothes with her, she had no choice but to clean her current clothes as best as she could before putting it on again. With one last check in the mirror, she exited the bathroom. Deidara was still waiting outside with his back resting against the wall. He had looked familiar like she had seen him before but she could not remember.
"About time, yeah," he muttered angrily under his breath as he removed himself from the wall and started to lead them back to the room. He took his usual spot on the floor and removed his Akatsuki cloak. He wore a sleeveless grey shirt that revealed his abdomen showing the mesh shirt underneath it. He had a very sinewy form. His muscles were well defined due to his training as a shinobi in Iwa. What caught her attention were the stitches on both his arms. She figured it was when one of the Akatsuki members, Kakuzu, had stitched his arms back. One part of his left arm was darker than his usual skin tone. It probably did not belong to him.
She looked away not wanting to get caught ogling her enemy.
"Hey. What problem do you have with Itachi's otouto, yeah?" He asked looking at her direction.
"Everything. I still want to rip him apart," she flopped down on the bed scowling.
"What did he do? He seemed to have really pissed you off for you to scream and lose your cool, yeah." Her scowl disappeared.
"He left the village for power. He didn't even think twice about it. He just packed his bag and left. I knew he was going to leave us soon, so I waited for him near the gates. Naruto and Kakashi both said that everything was going to be all right and that he wasn't stupid enough to leave the village. But he did. I tried to stop him, I begged him not to leave, promising that the times that we would spend together would always be happy. I even said I would leave the village with him, leave everything behind and leave with him. I conveyed my feelings to him. But he just knocked me out and left me on the cold bench. The last thing I heard from him was 'Thank you'."
"You wanted to leave with him? Did you really love him that much, yeah?"
She let out a small laugh. "I thought I was in love with him. But after both my team mates left, I was left alone. I had a lot of time to do some soul-searching. I learnt that I only wanted to fix him but I still care for him and I wouldn't hesitate to kill him if it means stopping him from destroying himself any further. Why am I telling you this, anyway?"
"I've been told I have a trustworthy face, yeah."
She laughed. "Maybe. Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why did you leave your village?"
"It stopped me from perfecting my art. Everyone seemed to always look down on me. I wanted to show them that my art was superior. I didn't want to live in Iwa anymore. They were holding me back. The people there found my bloodline limit intimidating. I was the only one left anyway, yeah."
"You were the only one? What happened to your clan?"
"They were all killed by the Third Tsuchikage after they tried to overthrow him. I happened to be the only surviving member left and the Third Tsuchikage was planning on using me as a weapon. When the opportunity came, I left, yeah."
"How did you survive being a missing-nin?"
"I was involved in terrorist bombings. I could easily use my bloodline limit without being judged and mastered my art, yeah. Why did you become a shinobi?"
"My family was against the idea at first. They wanted me to live a normal life, get married and have kids. When I was small I was saved by a shinobi, ever since then I aspired to be just like him, helping people in need. The next thing I knew I was training under Tsunade, making use of my healing abilities."
"That explains how you were able to recover from the poison, yeah."
She smiled and started to play with her pink locks. "I can control any part of the human body."
Deidara was about to speak again before the door opened and Tobi entered. "Deidara-senpai, Sakura-san, lunch is here!"
Sakura stood up and followed both Deidara and Tobi to the kitchen. All the Akatsuki members had removed their cloaks. Without them, they looked almost… normal.
Tobi still wore his orange mask.
It was strange that she was eating lunch with members of Akatsuki. She thought they would have been more cruel and unforgiving when in came to keeping her as a prisoner. She did not expect she would eat her meals with them. It felt weird.
When she entered the kitchen and took her seat on the table, she could feel Sasuke's gaze. Was he angry that she had punched him? Well, he had it coming.
"ANBU? You're in ANBU?"
Sakura turned her head to look at her former team mate. He still looked incredibly good-looking. His hair was longer and he allowed his bangs to grow over his forehead. His face was chiselled, his jaw line more defined. But, his eyes were still cold, void of emotion. She stared into those onyx eyes, trying to search for the childhood crush she once knew. Once again, she felt betrayed, hurt and lost. She was unsure how to feel. The bonds and ties had been severed years ago, but why was he here? She lifted her hand and placed it on his cheek. He tensed and continued to study her, his onyx eyes travelling over her face. Her hand started to glow a faint green as she started to heal the purple bruise on his cheek, the one she had caused the other day. When it was fully healed, she stroked his cheek with her thumb before removing her hand from his cheek.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," she whispered sadly before leaving the room.
She sat on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. The emotions she had locked away started to flow freely. She could feel tears start to form and her body start to tremble. Only sheer willpower stopped her breaking down. She had tried to lock away those emotions, the pain and the realization that she was alone. It took her years to finally move on and concentrate on her training. She remembered how lonely she felt when Sasuke had left and Naruto soon afterwards. She felt useless and weak. She remembered the nights she spent crying for both of her boys. The unanswered questions that always seemed to keep her awake every night. Were they alive? She would lie in her bed for days without food and water, until Ino would come and force her to eat. She could still remember the sad look on her friend's face, the encouraging words she would say to her. When Ino had cried in front of her one night, she realized that she was only causing others pain. She vowed that night that she would protect anyone from feeling the pain she felt.
But, when she saw Deidara enter the room with the same look of worry Ino had, she could no longer hold back the tears. He just had to look so much like her. She thought bitterly as she cried, her hands covering her face. She could feel strong arms engulf her. She cried harder as she grabbed onto Deidara's shirt, her tears soaking it a darker grey. The emotions and pain she had locked away had finally been released and she cried like she never cried before. She could feel Deidara stroke her hair comfortingly and hold her against him tighter as she continued to cry.
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Deidara had woken up earlier than the pink haired kunoichi, still in his arms. He did not want to wake her up just yet. He revelled in the way her small form fit snugly in his arms. He loved the feel and smell of her hair in his face. It did not matter to him that she was his enemy. What mattered to him was that moment. When the Uchiha had asked her a question he saw how her face reflected her emotions. Ranging from anger, pain, betrayal and confusion. It was like his art, always changing and never the same. Watching her cry had made his hart ache for some strange reason. He could not understand why. He could not explain the emotion he was feeling. It was different from the euphoria he felt whenever he blew something up. It was… nice.
He felt her long lashes travel lightly over his neck, alerting him that she was awake. He pulled away from her to try and get a good look at her face. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, but he knew the crying had somehow helped her. She looked up and smiled at him. The same warm smile before she spoke in a hushed tone.
"I'm sorry. My crying must have surprised you."
"Nah. It's okay. You feeling better, yeah?" He got up from his position and retied his ponytail that was in a mess. She looked surprised at the question. Probably wondering why a member of Akatsuki would actually care about her well-being. He was wondering about the same thing too. Why did he want to crawl back into bed and hold her again?
"Thank you. You're a good friend."
He tensed. Was that why? Was that why he felt so close to her? The reason why he had this incredible itch to destroy anyone who tried to lay a finger on her. Yes! Maybe this was why! Their age gap was not that large. It would not be surprising if they became friends. There was nothing wrong with that. Right? Then something hit him. She was not angry with him or tried to kill him whenever he was vulnerable. Had she forgotten that he was the one that had injured her six months ago? He swallowed. Ever since that accident, he could remember the sleepless nights. The nightmares he had, seeing her covered in blood because of him. He did not want that to happen again. He was going to make sure of it, even if she remembered and hated him for it.
"Uh… I hate to break this to you. But today is his turn to keep an eye on you, yeah."
She groaned and covered her head with the pillows.
"Maybe I could try and tell him I'd take his shift, yeah," he added helpfully. She lifted her head from the pillows and looked at him, her eyes hopeful.
"You would do that?" She hesitated briefly before adding, "Why?"
He shrugged. Oh, how he would love to answer her question. But sadly, he did not know the answer to it. He just wanted to spend more time with her. Strange.
He walked out the door, locking the door behind him, with his cloak in his hands. He needed to search for the Uchiha. He was walking to his room when, Sasuke appeared from his room.
"I'm taking your shift. You can continue to mope in your room, yeah," Deidara said as he looked at the Uchiha squarely in the eye. Sasuke's eye narrowed before he continued to walk past him, heading towards the kunoichi's room. Did he just diss him?
"Uchiha! I'm talking to you, yeah," He said through gritted teeth as he turned around to glare at him.
"Hn. It's my shift."
"She doesn't want to look at you, you cold bastard."
"I don't care."
"What is she to you?"
"…I don't know. But I'm not about to hand her over to you."
"And you're better than me? Leaving her behind was something good?"
"What would you know? You've never felt the need to protect someone at all costs."
He watched as Sasuke continued to walk towards the kunoichi's room. He was right, he never had the need to protect someone before. But, he did now.
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Kakashi read and re-read the document again and again. How was this possible? Why would the third Hokage hide this fact from him? Was this the reason why he was assigned to become the jounin in charge of Team 7? He realized now that he was given this task to protect the three most important people of Konoha. With all his former students missing, had he failed in his task? He figured it was because of the Kyubi sealed in Naruto and to keep an eye on the last Uchiha. Who knew the girl who was assigned to Team 7 also harboured a dark secret.
"Is this the reason why Akatsuki wants her so badly?" He questioned as he looked at the distressed Hokage through his visible eye.
She sighed, "Yes. I personally asked Shizune to find Sakura's past records. I never expected this."
"What do you suggest we do?"
"We wait for news from Neji's team. If I'm not wrong the captors are still on their way to their main base. We'll send another team to help retrieve her. Sakura cannot be taken to Akatsuki at all costs."
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Sasuke gripped the doorknob firmly and opened the door. She was lying on the bed, flat on her stomach flipping through what seems to be a sketchbook. She looked up and scowled in his direction.
"I suppose you rejected Deidara's offer," she said as she reverted her attention back to the sketchbook.
"Hn."
He walked to the end of the room and sat down, keeping an eye on her. He was still wary of her. Who knew when she was about to strike? She looked… different. She had filled out well. Very well. Her legs were long and toned, one of them was covered by bandages and bands. She still wore her red shirt only the collar was lower revealing her mesh undershirt. Her pink hair was longer, touching her collarbone and her green eyes were still mesmerizing. Her eyes were no longer mirroring her naïve attitude like it did ten years ago, she had matured somewhat and her eyes reflected how much pain she had endured over the past years. Where had the girl who let her emotions control her go? Had she really changed that much?
He knew that being in ANBU meant that one had to control their emotions and have excellent abilities in assassination and also stealth. Imagining her in an ANBU armour and mask was strange. He frowned when he realized he was still a Genin. But that did not matter; he was still stronger than her. He had defeated one of the legendary sannin without using his full power. He could easily defeat the pink haired kunoichi.
Thinking about the kunoichi reminded him of the loud blonde he was also teamed up with: Uzumaki Naruto. He could still remember the heated battle they had. He had not killed him then, on a whim. Was he stronger now? Had he been able to surpass him?
"What happened to Naruto?" He questioned as he looked up from the floor. His eye met her large emerald orbs.
"…I don't know. He left with Jiraiya after you left," She replied. She stopped flipping the pages of the sketchbook and started to stare blankly at the wall. Her expression was, for a split second, void of emotion. It was as if she had forcefully locked away whatever she was feeling, much like how he did in the past. He was about to say something when the door opened. He closed his mouth quickly and glared at the interrupter.
"Sakura-san! We are going to have a sparring session. Would you like to join us?" Tobi inquired, his head poking through the gap made by the door.
"You want me to join you? I might try and escape again."
"Itachi-san said that if you try and escape again Samehada will completely drain your chakra and you would be treated more harshly." She cringed.
Sparring? Sasuke smirked. Sparring was something he could do well.
"Come on," he said to the kunoichi as he left the room, not bothering to see if she was following.
The only thing on his mind was the opportunity to prove to his brother how strong he was.
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Sakura sat crossed legged as she watched Kisame and Tobi spar. They had agreed that to make sure she would not escape again, she would be bound… with Sasuke. Since chakra infused ropes was of no use, they had to use clay. Her left hand was now bound to Sasuke's right hand. If she were ten years younger, she would have been absolutely thrilled and would have welcomed the idea of being tied with her childhood crush. Now, she just found it annoying. She smirked. How ironic. She would have liked it better if she were bound to Deidara or even Tobi! But it was unfortunate that it was Sasuke's turn that day.
She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and continued to watch the two Akatsuki members spar. Tobi was incredibly fast and whatever that was thrown at him seemed to pass right through him! It was as if he was not there. Like an illusion. On her left, she could feel Sasuke becoming more fidgety and restless. She knew that Sasuke had only agreed to go out was because he had wanted to spar with the Akatsuki members or with his brother. But, he was tied to her. She did not know whether to be grateful or annoyed. With her being tied to him, she had delayed the inevitable battle between the Uchiha Brothers.
She did not know how long she sat there watching the Akatsuki spar. It was very enlightening. Kisame despite his large size was fast and relied heavily on Samehada to execute attacks that would render the enemy weak on contact. Tobi was very fast. Too fast for the naked eye to see. But, he seemed to like to evade the enemy's attacks more than actually attack. It droved his opponents crazy. Deidara had really good taijutsu skills. He preferred to use his explosions, but it might have caused huge ruckus. She never got to see Itachi or Sasuke spar.
When it started to grow dark she was escorted-dragged-back to her quarters. Sasuke was in a terrible mood. When he entered the room, he accidentally jerked his hand forward causing Sakura to trip. She frantically grabbed for something to stop her fall. She closed her eyes waiting for her face to hit the ground but instead her face hit something warm. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at the grey material of Sasuke's shirt. They were in a very uncomfortable position. She quickly lifted herself up using her left hand that was bound to Sasuke's right hand. His right arm was holding his upper body up. She was on all fours. Both her hands held her up as she tried to register what had happened. One of her legs was in between his thighs. Before she could even try getting up she heard the door click open. She turned her head and her eyes widened in horror.
Itachi was standing at the door. Itachi. Sasuke's brother.
She yelped as she hastily removed herself from Sasuke causing her to yank roughly at his arm. He grunted in pain. Itachi had raised his eyebrows in amusement. She could feel heat rush to her cheeks. She had just been caught in a very suggestive position with Uchiha Sasuke.
"Dinner is ready. But I shall inform the others to knock before they enter," Itachi said coolly as he left.
She followed Itachi out of the room dragging Sasuke behind her with brute force. Once she had found Deidara, she shoved their bound wrists in his face before she growled, "Off. Now."
Deidara was surprised but complied with her request. Soon, the bounds were removed and she stormed back to her quarters. She buried herself under the pillows and blankets and willed herself to fall asleep. She was so embarrassed. She was a shinobi for heaven's sake. She should have caught herself before falling on Sasuke. She groaned out loud.
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Sasuke strolled to the kunoichi's room. The incident had caught him off guard. He was so close to her and his mind refused to operate. He could remember how his heart had started to beat faster and how her face had turned an amusing red after Itachi had entered the room.
When he entered the room, she was fast asleep. As he walked towards his corner of the room, he accidentally stepped on something hard. He picked up the object. It was the sketchbook she was flipping through. She had not passed the first few pages. He flipped through the sketchbook. It was drawings of landscapes and some were pictures of random people and one was a drawing of Sasori without his Puppet Armour. He looked that young? He continued flipping until he reached the last few drawings. He stopped. His eyes widened as he studied the drawing. The long hair and the Konoha hitae-ate were drawn beautifully. But it was the warm smile that was a dead give-away. He could easily recognize who was drawn. It was a drawing of Sakura when she was younger, smiling. He knew that the sketchbook belonged to the explosives expert, but how could he have met Sakura when she was younger?
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Soooo…. How was it?
Review please and I shall give you a cookie. XD
I haven't started the next chapter and I my school term has started so I can't write so often. The next update would take longer. SORRY! –grovels and begs-