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THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED
stfuSPARKS
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or 'Oh It is Love' by Hellogoodbye :).
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XI.
Oh! It is Love
"We'll be holding hands once again,
All our broken plans I will mend,
I will hold you tight so you know,
It is love,
From the first time I pressed my hand to yours.
Thinking
"Oh, is it love?"
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"Please tell me Deidara, why do we have to go check up on Pinky just because you 'have a bad feeling'?" Kisame asked the blond dryly, as the car drove closer to the school buildings. "Since when are you psychic? Last time I checked, Sakura was the one who had the powers, not you."
Deidara rolled his eyes at his bigger friend. "I just have a bad feeling, okay? It's called having 'sharp instincts', something that is apparently too hard for your fish-sized brain to comprehend." He snapped, starting to sound irritated.
"Well it doesn't hurt to check. It's not like the three of us have anything else to do anyways." Sasori said with a sigh, as the car slowly came to a stop.
The three of them were about to get out when a couple of screaming students frantically ran out of the school gates. One of them quickly ran over to the parked car and pounded his fist onto the windows.
"You have to call the police!" He cried, looking desperate. "I didn't see what happened but there was a huge gunshot and apparently this girl is dying-"
That was enough information for them to get moving. The three of them swiftly exited the car and ran over to the grounds, looking around for the source of all the chaos. "Damnit." Deidara cursed under his breath. "Do you think it's Sakura-chan? I didn't think they would make a move so early on in the game"
"Just shut up and run." Kisame panted, as their pace quickened.
They could vaguely see a group of unmoving people standing a couple of meters away from them. Deidara felt his stomach drop as they got closer- the pink haired girl was laying down, unmoving- and was that blood staining the grass? "Oh god, Sakura-chan." He whispered in horror, as he skidded to a stop. The outline of a gun was clearly visible in Neji's hands- the blond's fury raged as he realized that this was probably her attacker.
She wasn't breathing, she wasn't moving- she was like a cold, dead body. But it was impossible- the Sakura he knew couldn't die.
He shakily reached a hand out towards her. "Sakura-chan." He weakly called out. Another hand reached out to stop him- he turned around to face Kisame, who was shaking his head at him.
"It's too late for Pinky." The blue skinned man quietly told him. "But you might want to stay back for now. It seems like things are out of our control."
Deidara turned back around to see what his words meant. Two boys were standing in front of Sakura's cold body-
But the sight was gruesome.
Was that- the younger Uchiha? Deidara's mind automatically recognized one of the two boys as Itachi's younger brother, but he was no longer the same boy he had met in the movie theater awhile back. His onyx black eyes were now a brilliant shade of angry red, as ugly black markings slowly spread across the entire right side of his body, almost like a disease.
He didn't recognize the blond standing by Sasuke's side, but this was no normal human being either. Naruto's canine teeth had grown into long fangs as he bared his teeth at the boy with the gun, and the whiskers that everyone had always assumed to be scars lengthened, leaving the impression of a rabid fox. His sky blue eyes had also morphed into a shade of ugly red.
Kiba took a courageous step towards them with a look of horror on his face. "Sasuke... Naruto... what happened to you?" He choked out, terrified at the sight of his two friends turning into something inhuman right before his eyes.
Shikamaru pulled him back, shaking his head. "I don't think they can hear you." He muttered under his breath. "Look at them. They're no longer the Sasuke and Naruto that we know."
They watched as Sasuke's face contorted in pain. His black markings started to shrink back, before spreading even more. The markings went back and forth, as if he was fighting something inside of himself.
The strange yellow aura surrounding Naruto grew brighter as the blond let an inhumane growl escape his lips. He leaned down into an aggressive stance, as if he was ready to pounce onto anyone at any second.
"Sasuke, get a hold of yourself!" Neji shouted, recovering from his initial shock.
Sasuke let out a howl of pain as his obvious struggle visibly increased.
"Is this what Sakura would want? Would she want you to lose control like this?" Neji shouted again. Sasuke's entire body immediately recoiled at hearing the pink haired girl's name. His eyes widened as the black markings quickly receded back. Shikamaru let out a quiet sigh of relief, hoping that half of their problems had been solved- for now.
He realized that he had hoped too soon.
"You finally show your true nature, little brother."
Itachi stepped into the scene, coldly observing the scene with similar red eyes.
And then, Sasuke lost it.
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When Sakura woke up again, she was no longer on the school grounds.
She looked around to see if she was anywhere familiar- but she couldn't recognize anything. She was in an endless white space- it was almost unsettling. The sky above her and the ground were both a shade of blinding white, making it impossible for her to distinguish where the sky met with the earth. There was no beginning nor end to this seemingly infinite place.
Oh right. I died.
Her shoulders slightly slumped. So did that mean that she was in heaven? She looked around herself, trying to make sense of the place. She didn't think it was heaven- heaven was usually described as a place full of happiness and joy. She didn't particularily feel giddy, but it couldn't be hell either. So maybe she was in purgatory?
She sat down with a sigh, wondering if this was what the afterlife in purgatory was like. Would she have to wander this endless place for the rest of eternity? It didn't sound too appealing, but she supposed it was better than suffering forever in hell.
A small smile graced her lips as she realized that it was finally over. Sasuke and Naruto would be safe. No one would ever be put in danger because of her again.
"Sakura-san, do you really think they're going to be at peace without you?"
Her head jerked upwards at the sound of someone interrupting her thoughts. She had looked over the entire place barely a minute ago, and she had not seen a single soul even remotely anywhere around. Where had he come from?
Her eyes widened at the teenage boy standing in front of her.
"Lee...?"
The eccentric boy with the strange haircut and thick eyebrows warmly smiled at her. "Sakura-san, it's not time for you to leave yet. Don't let my sacrifice go to waste." He gently told her, offering her a hand to help her up. She speechlessly accepted his outstretched hand and stood up. "You must return."
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, as her eyes started to burn. "You died because of me... I never should have gotten you involved."
"Please do not blame yourself." He told her, a bit sternly. "It was never your fault. It was my choice to sacrifice myself, and I do not regret it at all. I never have." His eyes softened. "But if you give up now, my death will have been in vain."
Sakura silently choked back her tears. "But still.."
"Lee's right, Sakura. You can't blame yourself."
She whirled around to face another new addition to the conversation.
"Idate-" She breathed, and had to stop talking to swallow the large lump in her throat. When she felt ready, she spoke again. "I'm so sorry- you had absolutely nothing to do with this. You shouldn't have talked to me that day in the hospital... if you never knew me, then you could've lived a happy life." she quietly sobbed, grabbing onto his arm.
"What on earth are you talking about Sakura?" Idate told her, looking a little be confused. "I had an amazing life. Sure it was short, but I was the happiest man alive with you by my side. I should be thanking you."
Sakura's entire mind was overwhelmed with guilt at his words. She wanted to be honest with him- but how would she tell him that she had never loved him in that way?
"It's alright." He murmured, gently stroking her hair. It was as if he had read her mind. "I always knew Sakura. But it's okay, because you still loved me. Even if it wasn't the same kind of love that I had for you, it was still love, and that was enough for me. I was happy, and I still am." His pulled away from her as his eyes hardened. "But you're still in time to save other people Sakura. You have to go back."
"I can't go back." She vehemently shook her head. "You've seen it- people only get hurt when they get involved with me. I'm better off dead."
"That's not true!" Lee interjected. "There are still people who need you right now. Naruto needs you. Sasuke needs you."
Her heart momentarily stopped when she heard his name.
"Sa...Sasuke?"
Idate nodded, holding her hand. "He's the one you really love, isn't it?" He quietly asked, his eyes softening as her entire body tensed. "I think I knew even before you did. But I think he'll do a good job at protecting you- I can relax now."
"Sakura-san, you need to return right now. You are still in time to save Sasuke before he does something that he will regret for the rest of his life. You are the only one who can save him from his pain." Lee told her. "It's now or never."
She cast a hesitant look back into Idate's clear blue eyes. He nodded encouragingly, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder as Lee did the same.
"Goodbye Sakura. Thank you for everything."
Her eyes started to water again as he smiled warmly at her.
"I love you, Sakura."
"The spirit of my youth will always be with you, Sakura-san!"
She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off once again.
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Sakura woke up again with a gasp, as searing hot pain ripped through her chest. She violently choked on her own blood as her body was racked with convulsions. Something warm was seeping through her school uniform with every shaky breath she tried to take.
But she was alive.
She silently counted in her head as she tried to calm down.
One, two, three, four, five, six...
The pain slowly faded away. She looked down at the fatal wound that had been inflicted in her chest, but there was nothing there except for flawless, unmarred skin colored in red. She lightly touched the pale skin that had previously been all mangled and torn in wonder. Did her powers as a Damned perhaps include healing powers as well?
She didn't have time to contemplate over her newfound observations as she noticed her two protectors getting ready to attack.
"Sasuke...?"
He slowly turned around to face her with a maniac grin spread on his face.
She almost screamed in horror.
He was no longer the Sasuke she knew. What were those horrible eyes? And what was wrong with his skin? She didn't have the time to wonder about the answers to her own questions as her eyes shifted over to the blond boy standing by his side.
Naruto turned around to growl out her, showing off his sinister looking fangs. His eyes were the same shade of Sasuke's.
"Who are you people?" She whispered.
Sasuke roared, the black markings taking over his entire body as he turned back to face his older brother. In the blink of an eye, the older Uchiha whipped out a gun and immediately took three shots at his own flesh and blood without even hesitating. However Sasuke was faster- he dodged all three bullets, moving faster than the naked eye could follow.
Itachi skillfully jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Sasuke's fist as it slammed into the spot where Itachi had been standing less than a second ago, breaking the ground underneath. Sasuke whirled around to face his brother once again.
"Itachi!" Sasuke roared, as his older brother coldly smirked in response.
"You're still weak, little brother."
"He's out of control!" Shikamaru shouted as Sasuke swerved forwards again, trying to land a killing blow onto Itachi. "Someone stop him!"
Kiba moved out of the way just in time to avoid Naruto's fangs. "They both have no idea of what they're doing!" The canine boy frantically called out, scrambling to his feet. "At this rate, they're going to kill everyone in sight!"
Sakura's eyes widened at his statement. She automatically jerked away as someone grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her to her feet.
"We have to leave right now." Sasori murmured into her ear, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. "These boys were on your side before, but right now they're on no one's side. Everyone is an enemy to them in this state- you might get killed as well if you stay here. We can't hope to save everyone but we should get you out as quickly as we can."
"Sasori, what the hell happened?" Sakura said in horror, looking at the scene unfold before her very eyes.
"They've turned into monsters." He answered her blankly.
She flinched as Naruto headed for Deidara next, apparently giving up on Kiba. Deidara barely evaded the fox's direct attack in time, as Naruto's fangs grazed his right arm. Bright red blood spurted from Deidara's fresh wound as he cursed, trying to find shelter behind a thick tree. At the same time, Sasuke charged towards his brother one more time, letting out a satisfied growl as his fist finally connected with Itachi's chest.
"Kisame!" Deidara roared out, calling out to his partner. "We can't stop them! We'll have to kill them at this rate!"
"No!" Sakura immediately screamed. They finally seemed to realize that she was still alive for the first time.
"Sakura-chan- how are you alive-" Deidara couldn't finish his sentence as Naruto charged towards him once more.
"Pinky, it's either they kill us or we kill them first!" Kisame growled, swinging his giant sword at Naruto in an attempt to distract him from Deidara. "We don't have any other choice!"
"No." Sakura whispered, shaking Sasori's grip off of her arm as she slowly staggered forwards. Sasuke and Naruto now stood back to back, both viciously regarding their enemies. Before anyone could stop her, she ran towards the two boys, grabbing their arms.
"They're my boys." She whispered, clutching them tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Leave them be."
Everyone watched in fascination as Naruto's fangs slowly shrunk back and Sasuke's markings retreated into a small seal at the back of his neck. Their eyes faded into their respective colors of cerulean and onyx as they gazed down at her in wonder. When they finally returned to normal, they both collapsed against her tiny frame. She hugged them tightly in return, exhaustedly falling onto her back with one boy in each arm.
She briefly closed her eyes, basking in the sound of their breathing at her side. When she opened her eyes, they were no longer green.
To everyone's surprise, they weren't the same shade of red that they were used to seeing in her eyes either. They were a much darker shade of red, decorated with gold flecks near the pupils. It was captivating yet eerie at the same time- they had never seen anything like it.
"If you ever try to touch them again-
I'll kill you."
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When Sasuke opened his eyes, he was met with a familiar room with beige walls and pretty pale pink curtains. He rolled around onto his side to see a pink haired girl seated on the floor at the edge of the bed, breathing deeply in her sleep. Her short pink locks were splayed on the covers as her head rested on the mattress, leaving Sasuke plently of room on the bed.
"Sakura." He breathed, unintentionally stirring her awake. A pair of beautiful green eyes blinked a couple of times, before they focused on his face. "You're alive." He whispered, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Sakura let out a hearty laugh. "Of course I'm awake." She teasingly murmured. "Did you really think that you would be able to get rid of me so easily?"
"I was starting to wonder where that fiesty side of you went." Sasuke muttered with a smirk on his face. "I'm glad to see it's still there."
A comfortable silent surrounded them as they both didn't speak for a few more seconds. "You and Naruto have both been asleep for an entire day." She said with a weary smile on her face. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake though. If it wasn't for Naruto's earthshaking snoring, I would've thought him to be dead." She paused, looking slightly hesitant for a moment. "Do you remember what happened?" She quietly asked him, as her smile slowly faded away.
His eyebrows knitted into a frown. "I..." He started to say, when he suddenly sat up straight, clutching his head in pain. Memories of the previous day immediately flooded into his head, as he saw brief flashes of red eyes and black markings. His onyx eyes snapped up to stare at her. She expectantly looked back at him, hoping that he would remember. She didn't know how she would explain everything if he didn't.
He suddenly got out of the bed, as the covers slid off of his pale body. "I need to take a walk." He muttered under his breath, pulling on a jacket.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, looking alarmed at his sudden change in mood. "You have to stay home and rest! You've been awake for barely more than five minutes!"
He winced, realizing that she was right; his whole body ached. However he didn't have the time to concentrate on his injuries. He couldn't face Sakura right now, not in his current state. "I'll be back within an hour." He murmured, rapidly exiting the bedroom. Sakura trailed after him, looking concerned.
"Sasuke, please don't go out. It's not safe for you right now." She pleaded him.
He opened the front door, sliding on his worn out sneakers. "I'll be back within the hour, I promise." He repeated, closing the door before she could answer him. He didn't dare look back as he ran down the stairs and into the cool, empty street. It was already nighttime- he couldn't be sure of what time it was, but he guessed that it was pretty late judging by how deserted the streets were.
He breathed deeply as his feet automatically started to lead him forwards. He couldn't believe what had happened barely a day ago- had that really been him? He still couldn't shake off the feeling of the immense amount of power surging through his veins. He had never felt so invincible before.
Sasuke reached the small abandoned park near Sakura's house and plopped himself onto an empty bench, staring at his own hands. His skin was completely clear now, devoid of any markings at all. The only evidence of the events of the previous day being true was the small seal at the back of his neck. His fingers slowly reached up to gingerly touch the mark, wondering if it was the source of all his power.
"Sasuke?"
The Uchiha cursed under his breath, wondering why he had to meet Shikamaru of all people at a time like this. He immediately turned away, pulling up the collar of his jacket to disguise the botton half of his face. "Er, no sorry." He deepened his voice, hoping Shikamaru wouldn't notice.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Shikamaru skeptically asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a seat next to him. "I'm actually quiet offended if you really thought you could fool me with that."
Sasuke stayed silent for a minute. "What happens to us now?" He warily asked, glancing at the lazy genius next to him. "Does this make us enemies?"
"That's a good question." Shikamaru said, closing his eyes as he leaned back onto the bench. "If you mean to ask us if we're still friends, then the answer is no, we are not enemies. I speak for Kiba, Neji and even Gaara as well when I say that we do not harbor any hard feelings for you." He paused. "But if you mean that in terms of this mission, they the answer is maybe. We have different goals that might clash with each other in the end."
"What a shame." Sasuke nonchalantly commented, looking up at the starless city sky.
Shikamaru lazily opened an eye to observe him. "But maybe not for long. I can't be sure right now, but I'm looking into something that might reverse our position on this mission." He slowly said. Sasuke looked back at him surprise. "Don't think that you're the only ones with a conscience." Shikamaru bemusedly added.
Sasuke shrugged. "I don't care if you switch sides or not." He lied, but the other boy's smirk told him that he knew better than to believe his blatant lies.
"I have to admit though, even I wasn't expecting you to fall in love with our target." Shikamaru slyly said, enjoying Sasuke's surprised look.
"I am not in love." Sasuke flatly denied. "You may be a genius when it comes to technical things Shikamaru, but I see that you're not so skilled when it comes to reading other people's emotions. Even Kiba's better at that than you."
"You're right." Shikamaru agreed, much to his surprise. "Which is why I didn't jump to any conclusions. Kiba was the one who told us that he could tell that you were in love with her."
Sasuke froze, unable to come up with an excuse for that. He hated having discussions with the lazy genius- he never felt like he could win against him. "Whatever." He childishly answered, averting his eyes away. "You can believe whatever you want to believe."
"Denial is not your best friend, Sasuke." Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "But I'm not going to be the one to try and convince you otherwise. It's too troublesome."
"So you're going to talk to me about love but you're not going to ask me about what happened yesterday?" Sasuke asked, looking slightly amused. "That's not like you, Shikamaru. Maybe you're losing your touch."
"I won't bother. Even if I asked, I don't think you'd have the answers." Shikamaru said with a shrug. The Uchiha realized that he was right.
"Who do you think does have the answers?" Sasuke curiously asked.
"I have a feeling that the answers will come to us even if we don't look for them." Shikamaru answered cryptically, before getting up on his feet. "Well Sasuke, I should head back to headquarters before they start freaking out about my absence. You should get back too. Knowing you, you probably rushed out of the house as soon as you woke up. Sakura's probably going to want to talk to you."
Sasuke didn't answer him. Sometimes he hated how Shikamaru could read him like an open book.
When the genius disappeared from sight, Sasuke got to his feet with a quiet sigh.
It was time to go back home.
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A few days later, Shikamaru called for a meeting in their headquarters.
"I don't see the point of trying to plan anything out. It's obvious that we're never going to finish this stupid mission." Kiba muttered in a disgruntled voice, sitting down on the couch. He warily looked across at their leader, who looked equally as tired as he was.
"I hate to say it, but Kiba's right." Neji agreed with a nod. "It seems to be that she has ultimate healing powers along with everything else. Trying to eliminate her at this point seems to be impossible, unless you have an ultimate plan." He continued, expectantly looking up at Shikamaru.
The genius shook his head. "I'm afraid we're going to have to discontinue this mission." He solemnly stated, earning a surprised look from the remaining members of their team. "I have discovered new information that unfortunately does not play out in our favor."
Gaara's eyes briefly flickered, but his mouth didn't open.
"Does this have to do with the fact that you've been locking yourself up in your room for nearly a week?" Kiba curiously asked, his eyebrows furrowing into a frown.
Shikamaru nodded in response. "I spent these past nights hacking into Sound Corporation's database. It seems to be that Orochimaru has personally issued orders to have us eliminated as well as soon as we finish this mission. It looks like it doesn't really matter if we are able to complete this mission or not- either way, we'll die."
Neji's eyes lightened up. "So we've been tricked all along. Orochimaru never planned to forgive us for leaving the mission three years ago."
"We can't know for sure. You might be right, or it might be that we know too much. Either way, our best chances of survival lie with joining up with Sakura. I think she has close allies that are already working against Orochimaru right now as we speak." Shikamaru explained.
"So we finally have an excuse to quit this mission for good." Kiba said, looking relieved. "But how did you know Shikamaru?"
"I had a hunch from the very beginning." Shikamaru answered him with a shrug. "I never bothered to really look into it, but when we found out that we were being watched by Sai, I began suspecting that there were more things about this mission that Orochimaru wasn't telling us. I guess I was right in the end."
Neji's eyes narrowed. "Then we will have to contact Sakura's allies right away."
"Can't we just walk away from it all?" Kiba spoke up, looking concerned. "I have a feeling that this is going to get ugly real soon. Do we really have to get involved? Can't we just pretend it never happened and leave them to fight it out?"
"If Sakura loses, we die." Neji simply answered him. "By joining her side, we are increasing the chances of our survival."
"Fair enough." Kiba grumbled under his breath.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
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"This is going to be epic." Naruto said with a mouthful of chips. "It's going to be a huge showdown, just like in the movies."
Sakura frowned in disapproval. "Swallow your food before you speak, Naruto." She scolded him, with a light smack to the head. "And this isn't a movie Naruto. The good guys don't always win in real life, which is why we have to plan this seriously."
The blond sheepishly grinned up at her, rubbing his head. "I know, I know! I was trying to lighten up the mood. Everyone's so serious here." He gestured towards the living room of the Akatsuki headquarters, which was more packed than usual. "Right Sasuke-teme?" He looked over towards his best friend for some support.
Sasuke did not hear him- he was too busy lost in his own thoughts. Why weren't his powers manifesting at his own will? How had he unleashed them on that fateful day? He had tried numerous times to activate his powers, carefully following Sakura's instructions, but nothing had happened. He was secretly pleased to see that Naruto hadn't succeeded either, but it all came down to the fact that they wouldn't be able to protect Sakura if they couldn't learn to exercise their powers soon.
Sakura took a seat next to him. "Are you still worried about that?" She quietly asked him, startling him out of his thoughts. "I told you that you don't have to worry."
His fists clenched. "I have to become stronger." He muttered, turning away from her. "You wouldn't understand."
She wanted to tell him that she did understand, but she had a feeling that he would not listen to her no matter what she said at that moment.
It didn't help much that Uchiha Itachi, who happened to be his older brother, was in the same room. Sakura had never thought of it- the only time she had heard Sasuke's last name had been on his first day at school when Neji had introduced them to the class. Back then, she hadn't bothered to pay attention to small details, especially last names. Her jaw had dropped open when Naruto had finally told her about his rocky relationship with his older brother.
"I'm the last living heir of my family." She remembered Sasuke saying once.
Apparently no one knew the details that surrounded the Uchiha mystery- neither sibling ever bothered to talk about it. All Naruto knew was that Sasuke's only goal in life was to kill older brother- something that chilled her bones. She could tell that he was making a huge effort to put his hatred aside for the sake of protecting her- at least for now. She just hoped that Itachi would do the same.
Although none of the members of the Akatsuki were exactly innocent, good-hearted people, Itachi had never struck her as someone capable of such dark acts. Killing and torturing strangers was one matter- killing off your entire family was on an entire different level. Itachi had always been polite and quiet, despite the dark aura that surrounded him. He had never resorted to violence unless it was necessary- unlike Hidan who enjoyed torturing people for the pure entertainment value of it all. Someone like Itachi would have to have a good reason for killing off all his flesh and blood- but she couldn't think of a good enough reason to ever massacre your entire family. Sakura had always harboured a bit of distaste towards her parents for having abandoned her, but even if she was to meet them again, she would never think to kill them. She suspected that there was an extremely dark secret that surrounded the Uchiha clan- one that the world wasn't ready to learn of yet.
"What are we waiting for?" Deidara loudly complained from the couch, flipping through random tv channels. "I thought you gathered us here for a reason." He added, glancing at the boy with the dark sunglasses.
"I did." Shino said in his deep voice, nodding at the blond. "However, we are still missing certain people."
Sakura glanced around at the room. All eight members of the Akatsuki were present. Naruto and Sasuke were there. Shino was there. Who else were they missing? Had Shino recruited more allies during these past days? But who in their right mind would become her ally at such a critical time?
"Don't even try to understand what's going through his head." Kisame grumbled under his breath. "He's been driving us crazy for these past few days. It's impossible to get anything out of him at all."
"Whose decision was it to make our headquarters a fucking ballroom?" Hidan crudely said, looking extremely irritated. Apparently being cramped on the couch in between Kakuzu and Zetsu was not his idea of fun.
"Well it's not like we can have meetings in public," Sakura shot back.
"Looks like someone's on their period." Hidan sneered at her. Sakura was about to get on her feet to punch Hidan through the wall into his own room, when the front door burst open, effectively stopping her.
"I hope we're not interrupting anything." Kiba's voice sheepishly floated into the room.
Naruto's head snapped upwards to stare at them.
"Chill out, we're not here to attack you." Shikamaru followed in after Kiba, setting his laptop case down on the floor.
"We're here to help." Neji added, closing the door behind him. "Due to certain circumstances, we've been forced to abandon our mission."
"Are we supposed to buy their bullshit?" Hidan asked in disbelief.
"I agree with Hidan." Kakuzu said with a nod, turning towards the new trio. "How can we be sure that they are not just pretending to do so in order to infiltrate us? I thought you were smarter than that, Aburame. I wouldn't be surprised if they joined our meetings and reported everything back to Orochimaru afterwards."
Naruto's face turned red in anger. "They wouldn't do that!" He shouted furiously. "I won't allow you talk about my friends in that manner." His eyes narrowed to glare at the dark-skinned man. Everyone turned towards Sakura, as if they were expecting her to give them an answer.
"They're okay to stay." She quietly answered. "I'll take full responsibility if this decision turns around to bite us in the ass."
"If she says she'll take the responsibility for it, we should just go along with it." Sasori said with a sigh. "Can we just get on with the meeting now that we're all here? We don't have much time to waste."
Shino nodded, looking solemn.
"We will attack first thing tomorrow morning."
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OMAKE
Side Story
Always
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2 YEARS AGO
"You guys are too bo-ring." Deidara whined in an irritated tone, making sure to prolong his last word in emphasis. He paced back and forth around the room in agitation. "How is it that we have absolutely nothing to do today?"
"Leader decided to let us rest for today." Sasori stoically answered, not bothering to look at his partner.
"He calls this rest?" Deidara cried, finally launching himself onto the couch in frustration. "How the hell is this rest? We're all clearly bored out of our minds." He added, gesturing around at the room. Kisame cracked an eye open to observe the flailing young man in front of him.
"I can help you rest if you want." The blue-skinned man growled threateningly, holding up his fist.
Deidara felt himself shrink.
"Screw this, I'm going for a walk, hn." He muttered, sliding his coat onto his slim figure. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he left the headquarters, muttering to himself about fish and dolls as he walked towards the bus stop. He would go downtown for awhile- maybe getting a couple of drinks would take his mind off of things.
The bus ride was going to be long- he inwardly groaned when it started to rain. Why couldn't it have rained before? At least he would have taken an umbrella with him. Now he was going to be stuck downtown without an umbrella in the pouring rain. His day was just getting better and better.
Deidara always detested rainy days. They brought back memories that he had desperately tried to forget- events that had brought him to where he was now, a member of the Akatsuki.
Who were they really? People pictured members of the feared organization to be merciless monsters, but in reality they were just lonely people who didn't have anything left to lose. No friends, no family and no place to call home.
They depended on each other.
People who were left with nothing in company of other people who didn't have anything either.
A perfect match.
He sighed- what a pathetic existance. He looked out the widow, observing normal people go on with their daily routines. He secretly envied them- he wondered what it felt like to have to worry about everyday things such as going to work on time, having to buy groceries, having occasional nights out with friends, and everything else.
The bus briefly came to a stop as the traffic light turned red. His eyes curiously came a across a lonely girl sitting at a bench- the rain was pouring down even harder than before, but she seemed to not notice as the raindrops pelted onto her body. He stared at her in wonder- her pale emerald eyes were captivating. There was something about that them that made her look so sad and lifeless as she leaned backwards, staring up into the sky. Her soaked pink hair clung to her face as she closed her eyes, relishing the rain.
Then she abruptly stood up and started to walk away, as the bus started to move again.
Deidara didn't know why he did it- but he jumped up to his feet and quickly ran towards the front of the bus.
"Hey, stop the bus!" He yelled, banging his fist against the door.
"I'm sorry sir, you're going to have to wait for the next stop if you want to get off." The bus driver said, giving him a startled look.
"Damnit." The blonde cursed under his breath. He looked out the window- he was getting farther and farther away from her. Without hesitating, he opened the window and jumped out of the moving bus, earning a couple of shrieks from the passengers inside. "Ow." He muttered as his shoulder slammed onto the cement ground. He rubbed his arm before groggily getting back up on his feet.
His whole body still ached from the impact, but he forced his legs to run as rapidly as he could as made his way back towards where he had seen the pink haired girl barely a minute ago. She was gone, but it wasn't too late to find her. He had seen her turn left, and the only thing that was to the left was the bridge that headed towards the east side of town.
He finally spotted her.
She was standing on the bridge- she looked even more mesmerizing up close. Her arms carelessly dangled over the edge as she dangerously leaned over the metal railings. She turned around to stare at him at the sound of his approaching footsteps. A broken smile graced her lips.
He thought it was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.
Everything that happened within the next minute all moved in slow motion in his eyes. His arm reached out to grab her, but it was far too late- she had already jumped.
His mind was completely hazy and he wasn't thinking properly. His brain screamed for him to stay still- who cared if she died? She had jumped because she wanted to die- who was he to stop her from achieving her goal? However, this was a rare instant in which his heart didn't want to listen to his brain. Without thinking, he dived in right after her, his stomach doing weird flips as he watched her frail figure crash into the depths of the river right before him.
His own body hit the icy cold water less than a second later. He strained to open his eyes, ignoring the way the water made them sting. He could faintly make out the color of her pink hair darkened by the murky water just a short distance from him. His body was raked by fear as he saw that she was unmoving; he wasn't sure if it ws because she had been knocked unconscious or she just didn't want to move- he didn't want to wait to find out either.
He forced his legs to swim towards to the girl. His muscles burned but he ignored the pain, reaching his hand out to grasp the pale arm floating right in front of him. His hand wrapped around her wrist, and he briefly noted that she was unhealthily thin.
He had no difficulties in supporting her weight as he swam upwards to bring them to the surface. Countless missions for the Akatsuki had shaped his body into what it was now- yet for the first time, instead of killing someone, he was saving a life.
He broke into a fit of coughs as soon as his head emerged, trying to gulp in as much air as he could. Being alive had never felt so good before; he had never been so grateful for air.
He quickly dragged her limp body to the surface, letting out a sigh relief when he saw her cough out the water from her lungs. She blinked a couple of times as she tried to make out her surroundings. Her eyes narrowed when she realized that she was still alive.
"What the hell are you doing?" She spat out, looking furious. It took a minute for him to realize that she was actually angry at him for saving her life.
"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Deidara snapped back, growing immediately irritated. "What the hell were you thinking, jumping off a bridge like that? Is that the way to thank someone who almost died saving you?"
"No one asked you to jump in after me!" She shouted, scrambling away from him. "Why didn't you just let me die?"
He threw his head back, letting out a sinister laugh. "I must look like an idiot right now." He said slowly. "It was wrong of me to dive in after you. I should have just let you die. It was none of my business, I'm sorry." He got up to his feet, straightening out his soaked clothes. "I'll be off then. Good luck with your next attempt, I hope you'll succeed this time." He turned his back towards her and started to walk away.
"D...don't..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it was hard to hear under the pouring rain- but he heard her loud and clear.
He whirled around to stare at her. Looking into her eyes, he realized that she was just like him. Like the others. She had nowhere to go and no one to go to.
A warm smile overcame his face, and he stretched his hand out towards her tiny frame.
"I'm Deidara."
He held her hand and never let it go.
Suddenly, it wasn't cold anymore.
.
.
"I thought you were going to take a walk, not going to a brothel." Sasori commented with a raised eyebrow when Deidara returned to the headquarters with a little pink haired girl in tow. "Aren't you a bit too young to be selling your body?" He added, taking in the girl's young appearance. The girl hid behind Deidara's much taller form, scowling at the red haired boy.
"She's not a prostitute!" Deidara spluttered, turning red.
"Ah, yes." Sasori agreed, nodding his head. "I forgot. You're probably not going to lose your virginity until you're forty."
Deidara's face turned even redder. "What do you know? I might not be a virgin at all." He snapped, turning his face away.
"I doubt it. You act like a typical virgin." Kisame said with a frown, observing the pink haired girl from the couch. "How old are you anyways, Pinky?"
The pink haired girl's eyes widened at his nickname for her. "I'm sixteen." She managed to answer, as Deidara patted her head. "My birthday was a few weeks ago."
"Well I hope you guys don't mind her because I'll be keeping her here." Deidara cautiously said, waiting for their reactions.
Kisame's jaws dropped open. "Are you kidding me? We're not some charity organization Blondie. As much as we'd love to, we don't take in little orphaned kids. We can only take people if they're worthy and strong enough to be part of our organization." He said sternly, looking at the younger girl. "And she definitely doesn't look like she can even be considered as a nominated member."
"I'm strong!" The pink haired girl loudly said with a pout.
"I'm sure you are." Deidara sadly said, patting her head.
"I can demonstrate for you, if you want." She hopefully said, looking up at him with her big apple green orbs. He didn't have the heart to say no- and he cast a warning glare towards both Kisame and Sasori, as if he dared them to say no.
"Fine." Sasori said with a sigh, setting his book down. "It's not like we have anything better to do anyways."
"I can't do it in here though." The little girl said thoughtfully. "We'll have to go outside."
Sasori raised an eyebrow but did not ask any more questions.
The group of three grown men followed her outside into a nearby alleyway. Thankfully, the rain had stopped awhile ago. Kisame sighed in frustration, crossing his arms. "This is great and everything, but what are you going to do Pinky? Kick the trashcan over or something?"
The little girl smirked at him. She retracted her fist- ("What the hell? You're going to break your hand if you punch the wall!") -and before any of the three could stop her, she slammed her tiny little fist onto the red bricks. The wall immediately crumbled within contact- not just a small hole- the entire thing crumbled down.
Kisame's jaw dropped open. Sasori simply looked impressed.
Deidara's eyes widened, before his face split into a beaming grin.
"Well I guess she's okay to join, right?"
.
.
Kisame was in quite the good mood today- he had an amazing nap and Sasori had even let him take over the tv for awhile. Deidara was in such a good mood about taking the pink haired girl in that he had agreed to make Kisame a sandwich- as much as the blond was an idiot, he was a pretty good cook.
He took a seat at the kitchen table, and took a bite into the sandwich waiting for him on a clean plate.
He froze.
"Deidara… did you put tuna in here?"
Everyone in the house knew not to put fish in Kisame's food.
Everyone.
The annoying pink haired girl (who had introduced herself as Haruno Sakura) poked her head into the kitchen, giving him a funny look.
"Are you feeling guilty because you're eating your own kin?"
"… I take what I said back. I'm not sure if I want you with us anymore Pinky- can we vote again?"
.
.
.
.
Oh, your heart may long for love that is more near,
So when I'm gone these words will be here.
To ease every fear,
And dry up every tear,
To make it very clear
I kiss you and I know
It is love
From the first time I press my lips against yours,
Thinking
"Oh, is it love?"
.
.
.