Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

Chapter Three

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"The only thing you live to regret are the risks you didn't take."

Unknown

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"Come again soon, sir." The store clerk, who wore too much perfume for it to be healthy, gave Sakura a flirtatious wink. As she handed off the brown paper bag, Sakura stumbled out the door, almost spilling the contents of the bag all over the floor. That earned a small giggle from the cashier. Sakura simply gritted her teeth and trudged outside.

After recovering from her fever - many thanks to Neji and Naruto for playing nurse for her, even though she had to instruct them how to do the simplest of tasks - Sakura said her heartfelt goodbyes and left for a neighboring village, which was where she was at the moment to grab a few supplies before beginning her journey home. It was Neji who had suggested she continued being "Saburo." He had said something along the lines of, 'It's more dangerous to be a girl traveling alone.' Honestly, Sakura thought that if someone really wanted to do physical harm to her person, they would just do it and not put her gender into consideration.

If Sakura had had her way, Neji or Naruto would have traveled home with her.

Outside in the town, next to a small shop with cakes and many other pastries embellished with colorful icing and chocolates in its window, Sakura placed the brown paper bag onto the ground. She slid her change into her front pocket and began to put her supplies into the pack Neji gave her to use. Neither man was able to retrieve her things: her clothes, medical supplies, blankets. Thankfully, Naruto had clothes she could have, even though they were quite big, and she "borrowed" a few necessities from the inn.

Someone walking by bumped her shoulder, and the red apple Sakura was about to wrap up in a scarf flew out of her hand. It rolled down the road, kicking up dirt as it went, and stopped before a narrow alley between the bakery and another store. The man never looked back. His long, blonde hair brushed against his back as he walked, and both of his hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his coat. Sakura eyed him until he turned a corner out of her sight. She huffed irritably before bending down to retrieve her apple.

Before her fingers even grazed its surface, another hand shot out and snagged her snack. Sakura stared at the spot the apple had been just a moment ago, blinked a couple of times, and slowly turned her head towards the alley. The shadows made it hard to see, but she could make out the familiar shape of a man sitting on the ground up against the wall, and his loud munching made it apparent that he was eating – and very much so enjoying – her snack.

Stepping closer, Sakura called out to him. Whether or not he had actually heard her, or was just tuning her out, she had no clue. He made a loud slurping noise and broke off another large chunk of the fruit.

"Hey!" Sakura snapped. "That was my apple you're eating." The man paused, dropping the core, and shifted forward in his spot. Sakura saw him stiffen, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She took a step back.

"You're-"

The man jumped to his feet. Instead of leaping towards her like she had thought, he drew back, gripping his side and hissing in pain.

"You're that brat from earlier," he bit out. "The one from the woods. You kicked me in the fucking balls and then your god damned friends attacked me." His breathing quickened and he clutched his side even tighter.

When the man began to shuffle closer to Sakura, a loud explosion not far off made the two quickly forget their quarrel. Between the suddenness and the strength of the explosion, Sakura had almost been knocked off her feet. When she glanced back over at the man, she found him awkwardly against the wall on the ground. Another rupture of sound down the road went off, and smoke began to cloud the air. It was close enough that she could feel the Earth quake beneath her feet. Instinctively, Sakura rushed into the street, wanting to know what exactly was going on.

The crowd was rushing past her. All the towns people were in a frenzy, screaming and shoving to get away from the blasts. A few times she had almost been made off with, but it began to thin and she was able to get closer to the source. When the next explosion went off, chunks of nearby buildings crumbled off into the street, sometimes falling onto those who were unlucky enough to be in its path, and vendors' carts flew back as easily as if they were paper. A stray piece that fell off a building flew into Sakura, knocking her into a pile of debris. She felt something warm trail down her arm. After steadying herself, Sakura covered her mouth to prevent inhaling the smoke, as it was much thicker now, and looked down the road.

Though the smoke made her vision hazy, Sakura was able to make out the figure of the man who had shoved past her earlier. He produced an object from his pocket.

"Hmmm. Didn't think I'd see you here, Hidan."

What did he call me?

Noticing that he was not looking at her, but past her, Sakura carefully looked over her shoulder. The man from the alley, presumably Hidan, was standing not far behind. Now that the smoke was clearing and he was in the light, she could see the blood that stained the side of his shirt. Hidan had his hand pressed against his wound, and blood seeped through his stiff fingers. He was much paler than she could recall. When Sakura noticed the beads of sweat that rolled down his face and neck, it was then that she new his wound was infected. It was a surprise he could even manage to stand upright.

The man made a face before looking down at the object he held in his palm. "Well, you look like shit, yeah. Don't tell me it was those soldiers from Konoha who got you." He laughed, and Sakura could visibly see Hidan stiffen.

"You're not here on Pein's orders."

Slipping the object back into his pocket, the man shook his head. "Of course not. I'm here to just have a little fun, yeah. You especially should know how much he disapproves of our 'recreational games'." He raised he brows as he spoke.

Sakura felt her heart clench. A game? Killing innocent people is just a game to him?

Hidan took a breath before he asked, "Did you leave?"

"Yes, I left. I'm sure Pein is in a good mood after losing two members, yeah." The man closed the distance between him and Hidan, ignoring Sakura's presence. "I was originally sent to kill you, since Pein knew there was no way you'd come back..."

As they were talking, Sakura glanced at the ground and found a small post from a cart amongst the ruble. The man and Hidan seemed to not be paying her any attention. With her eyes locked on the man's back, Sakura carefully picked up the piece of wood. Rocks and shards of building materials were disturbed as she pulled her piece free, but neither of the men seemed to have noticed.

When the post was over her head, Hidan looked up briefly. Sakura's breath caught in her throat, but he made no motion to the other man. Hidan looked away and Sakura swung as hard as she could. When the post was about to make contact with the man's head, his hand quickly snatched the other end.

Sakura felt her heart start to race when she couldn't pull the post free from his grip.

"There's a reason why I was in the Akatsuki, yeah. Do not underestimate me." He yanked the chunk of wood from Sakura's grasp. She tried to dodge his blow, but he managed to hit her across the head, and Sakura found herself face first in the dirt.

Everything was spinning, and black dots passed in front of her eyes. Oh, kami, she thought. I think I'm going to pass out. She struggled to get on her hands and knees, but the man kicked her in the side, and Sakura was back on the ground, coughing and gasping. She waited for him to attack again, but he never did. Sakura cracked an eye open.

Hidan was gripping the man's shoulder. "I fucking need that kid, or I'm gonna die. He's a medic."

The man frowned and hummed to himself. He tossed the post aside and knelt next to Sakura.

"Alright, kid. I need to know – can I trust you?" Sakura just stared. "To pull off what I'm going to do, I need every able body I can get." The man rose to his feet and glanced down at Sakura, who couldn't see his face very clearly from the glare of the sun. "I know you were fighting with Konoha and that you hate the Akatsuki just as much as I do, yeah. I personally don't give a shit what happens to Konoha, or any other village for that matter, but I don't want the Akatsuki after my ass the rest of my life. I give you my word that I won't kill you if you help me take them out." The man turned to Hidan. "Same goes to you. I've never really liked you, but I figured you'd agree that they need to go before they cause us any real trouble, yeah."

Hidan scoffed. "Fine. But I swear to Jashin, Deidara, I'll kill you if I have to."

"Fair enough, yeah." Deidara tapped Sakura with his shoe. "And you? Hmmm?"

With her head finally starting to clear, Sakura was able to sit up. She turned to the man and said, "I don't want to be involved in this war any longer. I just want to go home."

This apparently wasn't the answer the man was looking for. "If you decide you don't want to join up with me, I'm going to have to kill you, yeah. I can't risk you reporting me and telling anyone what I have planned." He circled around her. "Then you'll never be able to return home."

Sakura looked down at the ground. She had to go back home, but how could she work alongside two killers? Her hands were tied it seemed.

"Fine. I'll do it." The man, Deidara, was right; there was a reason why he was in the Akatsuki, so it was best to just go along with what he says.

Deidara smirked. "Good, because it looks like reinforcements are on their way."

Hidan swore, and Sakura scrambled to her feet, glancing at Deidara for instructions. Soldiers were nearing from the treeline past the village, and it was already clear that her group was vastly outnumbered. Sakura felt her dagger at her side. She had forgotten the small camp not far into the woods. She had to pass through them before she could get to the town.

"Hidan is in no shape to fight, yeah. There's a stable nearby where we can get some horses." Hidan looked panicked at his words, and Sakura understood why.

"There's no way he'll be able to make it. I'll get the horses, and you stay here with him."

Deidara hesitated. "If you do not come back you'll regret it, yeah."

Sakura only nodded before dashing down the road for the stables. It was not far, and it appeared Deidara never bombed towards this area, but she suspected that. He planned this out perfectly so he would have a means of escape. There were about five horses in all, and a few were spooked from the explosions earlier. Sakura opened their stalls, making sure she was out of their way first, and watched as they galloped away from the town. She wanted to prevent anyone having a way to chase after them. All that she left were two much calmer mares. She chose the chestnut and held the reins of the bay mare as she rode back towards where she left Deidara and Hidan.

As she neared, she felt her heart stop when they were not in sight. After a quick sweep of the area, she found the two ducking behind the remains of a building. Deidara waved her over, and Sakura trotted to them. She handed Deidara the bay's reins. It took them both to get Hidan up on his horse, and it probably took longer than what was necessary since Deidara more than once almost pushed him over the horse completely. Seeing as Hidan could fall off, Sakura had to ride with him. She sat in the front of the saddle with Hidan close behind. She was too small to steer the horse if she were to sit behind him.

When the shouts of the soldiers became more audible, and the sound of the shoes as they pounded into the ground began to ring in their ears, they rode off. Deidara lead the way down the dirt path. He'd glance back every now and then, and when he noticed the soldiers were no longer in sight he smirked.

Deidara called back at Sakura, "I never got your name, yeah!"

"It's Saburo!" she shouted back. She couldn't hear him, but Deidara chuckled to himself.

A/N: I had always planned adding Deidara in, and I thought this was the perfect place to do so. Hope you all like these changes. And thank you for being so patient with me -3- I'll do my best from now on the update sooner.

I sat and stared at the publish button for like a half hour before I could actually press it... Ugh.

Total Words: 2250

MaXdana