"Let's see… rice? Check. Curry powder…? Check." Sakura placed the things she needed for the dinner on the counter of the Akatsuki base kitchen. "Now… Where's the rice cooker?" She searched the cabinets for the essential for steaming rice. When she did find it, though, it was in the top cabinet, and far out of her reach. "Damn…" she muttered, standing on her tip-toes and reaching for the rice cooker.
She froze, though, when someone's toned chest pressed against her back and reached over her head for the pot. The heat rushed to the medics face when she realized how warm this person's chest happened to be. "You need this, yeah?" The person backed away with the pot held over his head as to not hit the pink-haired girl. She turned around to see the blonde artist with a wide smile on his face.
"Uh..." Why was she blushing so damn much?! "Um…Yeah-- Yes. Thanks." She grabbed the rice cooker from him and took it to the sink to fill it up. He looked slightly confused, but ignored it and sat at the kitchen table. "Weren't you supposed to be retrieving some S-Rank criminals for dinner?"
He only chuckled and said, "They'll be down when they smell the food."
Sakura smiled, and continued making the meal in silence while the artist watched her every move. She tried to ignore him, but the blush on her face wouldn't go away. "So…" he started, jolting Sakura out of her thoughts. "Do you have a lot of experience in cooking?" She only chuckled at that, leaving the man confused once again.
"Sorta. Ever since my mom died, I've been cooking for myself."
"What about your dad? Doesn't he cook?"
Sakura slowly turned her head towards the man, giving him a small smile. "My dad disappeared a long time ago while on a mission."
"Oh…" Deidara scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I didn't know."
Sakura quickly waved her hands, as if to tell him to forget it. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Just because he disappeared doesn't mean he's dead, right?" She smiled and returned to her work, not wanting to hear Deidara's reply to that.
He didn't say anything, but only sat in silence and watched the medic cook their dinner.
Everyone had gathered in the rather large kitchen, and was taking a seat at the table. Some preferred to stand, though, like Itachi and Zetsu.
Sakura tried to retrieve some dinner plates in one of the lower cabinets, but Pein had insisted that he do it himself. She thanked him for that, and she went back to her preparations for the meal.
"Well," everyone got quiet as the medic spoke. "It's done. Grab a plate, get some curry, and pray that it's edible." Deidara, Kisame, and Hidan chuckled and were fighting to be first in line. Everyone else hesitantly got in line, not used to this routine. Sakura noticed that Zetsu hadn't moved from his spot.
"You don't like curry?" she asked him.
"Not particularly," he said. "I'm more of a steak person." He stated in a completely different voice. Sakura shivered at the way he said it, and he was staring at her like she was the dinner. She averted her gaze and looked back to the others. They had seated themselves around the table, and were beginning to eat.
"Oh my $#%ing Jashin." Hidan froze.
Sakura immediately got him a glass of water, apologizing over and over again. "Is it too hot? Too spicy? Too mild? I'm sorry; here's some water!"
"What are you babbling on about?" the Jashinist pushed the glass of water away. "This is hella' great! 'Been a long time since I've had real food around this dump."
Everyone else seemed to agree. Itachi ate in silence, and the medic could've sworn she saw a smile of approval on his face. Konan was eating happily, nodding vigorously in her direction. Hidan, Kisame, and Deidara were pigging out as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. Kakuzu ate quietly, but he ate all of it so he must've liked it. Pein was in mid-chew when he winked at her, causing her to blush.
"I'm glad you guys like it." She smiled sweetly at the group of ninja, which went unseen as everyone was focusing on their food.
Sakura could hardly believe that these were the same people that killed innocents, and attacked entire villages for no apparent reason. She could hardly believe that she enjoyed these people's company, and that it somewhat gave her peace.
"Tobi can't believe his friends!!!" The masked Akatsuki was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, sounding as if he was crying. "Tobi goes for a walk for one hour and his friends throw a party and don't invite Tobi!!!" Sakura chuckled, grabbed him a plate and curry, and handed it to him, which quieted his sobbing.
"Sakura is sorry for forgetting Tobi—er, I mean, I'm sorry for forgetting you." Tobi cheered happily, and ran out of the room with his food in hand. "Um… Where'd he go?"
"Probably to eat, yeah… He doesn't take off his mask for anyone." Deidara was leaning back in his seat, rubbing his bloated belly. "Ahh, that was nice. We really need to do this more often, yeah." There were nods from Hidan, Pein, Konan, and Kisame, but the others simply left the room.
"Damn, Sakura. I didn't know you were the domestic type." Kisame sent her a flirty smirk, which caused Pein and Deidara to tense up a bit. Sakura merely blushed, chuckled, and walked over to the kitchen entry.
"Wait--who's cleaning this up?" Hidan looked around the now messy kitchen.
"Why, isn't it obvious? You are, of course. The rule is that the cook doesn't have to clean. And we couldn't possibly leave this place looking like this, now could we?"
"I agree with Sakura whole-heartedly. You guys should definitely clean this up." The three guys gaped at the two ninja who were leaving them to clean.
"Leader-sama…! That's not fair!" groaned Kisame. "This sucks…"
"Well, life's a bitch and then you die." Pein smiled happily while he walked out of the kitchen. Sakura followed him, leaving the three men groaning about having to clean. "One of the many advantages to being the leader."
"I think you're just being lazy." giggled Sakura.
"I wouldn't consider it laziness." He smirked in her direction. "It's more of conserving energy for a time when I'd really need it. There are a lot of hunter-nin out there looking for me."
He doesn't seem like a wanted criminal when he talks like this… thought Sakura, smiling slightly.
"Well, I think I'm gonna take a nice, long, hot bath…" She stretched her arms above her head, yawning, "…and then I'm gonna hit the sack."
Pein only laughed at her sleepiness. "You go and do that. G'night, my little cherry blossom." She blushed at the nickname, but ignored it and walked towards the steps leading to the bedrooms. "Oh, and by the way, Sakura…" she turned to face the leader of Akatsuki, her eyelids drooping. "Come to my office tomorrow morning. I'd like to speak with you about your next assignment." She mentally groaned, and trudged up the steps.
Another mission already…? This is gonna suck… Sakura opened the door to her room and plopped down on her bed. If I take a bath now, I'll only fall asleep and drown… she yawned for emphasis.
She rolled onto her side, and her thoughts directed to what Pein had said. A mission… his office… Naruto…
She frowned at that thought. She missed her friend so much that it hurt. She missed his bright orange jumpsuit, his toothy grin, his bright blue eyes, his sincere voice that she loved to hear when she was upset, and even his perverted ways.
But what hurt even more was that the she was on friendly terms with his capturers. The people she had just served dinner to minutes before and enjoyed it had taken her best friend hostage and threatened her to join their evil organization.
She closed her eyes, promising to herself that she would get Naruto back.
Damn it, Sakura… What are you doing?
Well, there you have it. Chapter 9 of New Recruit. (And no, I don't really know how to make Curry Rice. I sorta stole that from Harvest Moon)
I am so very sorry that this is late :( I feel terrible for making you wait so long… I can't really say that I have an excuse (which I don't) seeing that I was on winter vacation and all... I'm sorry :( I hope this chapter makes up for it in some way!
Well—on happier terms :) I hope you liked this chapter! It's quite an interesting mental picture: the Akatsuki having a curry diner together XD
I swear this story has a plot! I'm getting to it- honest!
Lol don't forget to R&R! I love you guys! Bye~!