EDIT: As of 9 May 2014, all song lyrics have been removed for this re-posting in adherence with FFN's Terms of Service.

TK: Wow! I really didn't expect such a positive response to this story! The premise is just so out there and silly to me that I thought it would kind of be brushed aside. Still, thank you everyone for your kind comments. I appreciate each and every one of them and enjoyed responding to them all. Seriously, I got like, twice the amount of reviews I expected. So to show you all my gratitude, I rushed to get this done as fast as I could! Your reviews are the best, purest inspiration, and I am happy to deliver to you Part 2! Only one part left!

To NamelesslyNamed: Kisame is in this chapter just for you :)

Feel free to send any other requests in your reviews.

There is also a subtle Dragon Age reference in section VIII and a Scott Pilgrim reference in section IX. Oh, and a Yu Yu Hakusho reference in section VII.

Music: Same note as Part 1. Part 2 is split into 5 'song-chapters' with music that goes along with the story. Listen along while you read if you wish. You might find some music you haven't heard that you like! Or some that you have heard a thousand times. Either way, enjoy.

Soundtrack for Part 2

"Feel It" Jakalope
"Girl All the Bad Guys Want" Bowling for Soup
"Rock of Ages" Def Leppard
"Don't Stop Me Now" Queen
"Closer" Nine Inch Nails

The cover image belongs to shion1994 on DeviantART and is titled "sakura rock".

[Summary: When Akatsuki, a famous rock band, loses its keyboardist and backup vocals, bass guitarist Itachi Uchiha has the perfect idea for a replacement. Renowned artist and band manager Akasuna no Sasori can't help but agree.]

Rock Star Rising

TK Grimm

Part 2: The Affair

"We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first – rock and roll or Christianity."

—John Lennon of The Beatles

VII: "Feel It" Jakalope

Sakura was both thrilled and terrified that she'd been accepted into Akatsuki. For starters, they were one of the world's most popular rock bands. Everyone had heard of them. She worried that she wouldn't be able to fill Konan's shoes. She was the only woman in the band, and she had a pretty massive fan following. Would the fans accept Sakura as the new keyboardist and backup vocalist?

She supposed it could be worse. She was grateful that Pein was the lead singer and front man, so most of the attention would be on him. It was still intimidating, though.

The worst thing was that Sakura couldn't tell either of her best friends. Naruto was mostly trustworthy, but he was also very simple-minded. It would be easy for him to accidentally let the news of Sakura's new "job" slip. And Ino, her best female friend, was a notorious gossip and wouldn't be able to keep a secret this heavy if her life depended on it. In fact, it was such a big secret that Ino would probably die happy just for the chance to gossip about it.

It was with great reluctance that Sakura quit her part time job at the costume store. She had always considered herself a responsible person, and quitting a job to join a band just felt… odd. She didn't even have time to put in a two-week notice, not really. She sort of just called and said, "Hey, um, I'm really sorry to spring this on you guys, but I got another job, so I won't be able to work for you anymore."

A pretty big part of her was very happy that she wouldn't have to work retail ever again. That was hell. Even at a costume store, it was still hell.

Sakura continued her studies at University of Konoha and remained diligent in her pursuit of the medical field. What lacked, however, was her social life. After classes and on weekends, she spent most of her time with Akatsuki trying to learn the band's songs. She had to take Konan's place, after all, and there was a lot of material to go over in time for the new tour.

From then on, her life was school, band, and sleep. There just wasn't time for anything else.

Especially Sasuke. He stubbornly refused to call, and honestly, Sakura was too busy to even notice most of the time. And she was completely okay with that. Moving on was a lot easier than she ever thought it would be. Perhaps she'd been moving on this whole time, even while she was with him, and Sakura just never really noticed.

Sakura was early to band practice tonight. She walked over to Konan's keyboard and plugged it in. Once she was seated in front of it, she began fishing through her iPod for an Akatsuki song. She found one she wanted and put one of her earbuds in. She kept the other out so she could listen to herself play along.

This particular song had been giving her a hard time with the keyboard parts. Konan had a specific tone set for this song where each register was a different sound, from a choir singing to guitar strings to piano keys to something akin to industrial dubstep. Konan had, of course, tried to help Sakura through it, but it was completely different to anything Sakura had played before, so she was having trouble.

Showing up early to practice meant that Sakura could have some time alone to try to figure it out. She played that part of the song on her iPod and attempted to play along. She even got out a pencil to mark the keys where the 'instrument' or sound changed.

She ran through it four times before pressing pause on her iPod and letting out a frustrated sigh.

"You're trying too hard."

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Sasori's voice. She turned her head and saw him standing nearby. He was leaning on his side, propped against a stack of crates with his arms crossed over his chest. His amber eyes were regarding her with something akin to curiosity.

"What's wrong with trying hard?" Sakura asked, watching him as he watched her.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Sasori replied.

He walked over to her with pristine grace, as if every move he made was as precise and calculated as a victory in chess. When he reached her, he looked down at the sheet music on the keyboard and the various notes scribbled across the white paper in Sakura and Konan's handwriting.

Sasori continued, "What I meant was that you're trying too hard to sound exactly like Konan does when she plays this song. You should go with what feels right. Work on making it your own."

Sakura's eyebrows rose in surprise. That was pretty sound advice from the band manager of all things. She briefly wondered whether or not Sasori was musically inclined. She opened her mouth to speak, but Sasori made an impatient sound in the back of his throat and gestured for her to get on with it by waving his hand.

Sakura restarted the song on her iPod. She listened to the first minute of the song, and when she tried to play, she subconsciously leaned toward Konan's method.

When Sasori saw this, he snatched the sheet music from the keyboard stand and actually crumpled it up. He threw it aside and said, "Don't keep me waiting, Sakura."

She swallowed hard in her throat and restarted the song once more. This time, she had no reference to go off of. The song played for a few seconds, and she ran her fingers over the keys. When she heard the cue from Hidan's drum set in the song, she began to play.

Sasori had a good point, Sakura decided. She wasn't Konan—she was Sakura. As much as she liked Konan, she and Sakura had completely different styles. This time, when she played, it flowed. She ignored the industrial sounds and focused on the heavy drum line to keep the beats. She even found a couple of opportunities to throw in a few notes from an electronic violin setting on the keyboard, and it sounded amazing.

Sakura set down her iPod while it continued to play. She beamed happily at Sasori. To her delight, he looked very impressed by her musical progress.

"That felt so much more natural!" Sakura said. "I really like it! Do you think the band will be okay with the changes?"

"They likely expect you to make it your own," Sasori told her.

"How do you know that?"

"I've been around a lot of musicians," he replied. His pale brown eyes drifted down to the keyboard in an almost wistful gaze. "And music itself is a type of art."

Sakura's curiosity rose. "You're an artist?" She realized that she didn't really know much about Sasori, despite having had more contact with him than the other band members.

The wistful expression on his face faded a little. "I was once." He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in a stressed gesture. "That was a long time ago."

He sounded like someone who had once been very passionate about art but had somehow lost all of that. Sakura wondered what that was. What was it that could take away something so pure from a strong person like Sasori?

"What kind of art did you do?"

"Everything." Sasori lowered his hand, and his eyes drifted back to Sakura's face. "Tell me," he said, his voice thoughtful. "What do you think art is?"

Sakura furrowed her brow in confusion. It was a strange question, random, and one she'd never been asked before. She shrugged and tried, "An expression of something creative, I guess. Literature, music, sculptures…"

She wasn't sure what she saw on Sasori's face then, but if she had to guess, she would hazard to call it… disappointment. "How very… analytical of you." He gave a humorless smile and said, "I would expect nothing less from someone studying to be a doctor."

Frustration bubbled in the pit of Sakura's stomach. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is if it limits you to seeing the world as black and white—equations, theories, facts. None of that is art. None of that truly matters."

Sasori turned away from her, and she thought he was going to walk away. She quickly leapt up from the chair and reached out for him. Her fingers wrapped around his arm, and he stopped. He glanced back at her, looking annoyed. He didn't like to be touched, apparently.

"Then what does matter?" Sakura asked.

She was genuinely curious. She'd never met anyone like Sasori before, and getting inside his head was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. No one had ever tried to have such a serious conversation with Sakura before. Even in university, she was the smartest in her class but underestimated and considered an idiot because of how she looked.

I'm not just a pretty face.

Sasori was the first who took her seriously and gave her a chance to impress him with her words. She hadn't succeeded, but that didn't matter. He acknowledged her.

"How do you look at the world?" Sakura asked him. "What is art?"

Sasori stared at her for a long time. Finally, he turned and stepped toward her. Sakura's hand slipped from his arm, but she didn't back up. With a single step, he was barely an inch apart from her, looking down at her with an intensity she had never seen in any other man.

"Art is something that lasts forever," Sasori murmured. He raised his hand to her chin and lightly took hold while he spoke. "Something frozen in perfect immortality, withstanding the wear and tear of time and the world around it. It is eternal beauty in this world and the next and every life beyond."

That passion was back, the fire in his eyes that came from talking about something he truly loved. If art did this to Sasori, then Sakura couldn't imagine why he would ever give it up. The way he described it was poetic, beautiful, and full of longing.

He is beautiful.

Sakura felt her knees grow weak under Sasori's intense gaze. His index finger went from her chin up to her lips and ran lightly over them. The song on her iPod continued to play. Sasori seemed to be gravitating toward her, and Sakura felt the same magnetic pull. She leaned into him, her head tilting up to his.

"Oi, Sasori, I was—holy shit!"

Sasori and Sakura pulled back from each other as if they'd been burned. Sasori had a scowl on his face that showed his annoyance. Sakura, on the other hand, was bright red with embarrassment. She sat back down at the keyboard and buried her face in sheet music.

The intruder was Hidan, of course. It was difficult to decide who was Akatsuki's most obnoxious member, because Hidan and Deidara were both pretty high on the tally. With this encounter, though, Hidan scored the first place marker.

A malicious grin slowly spread over Hidan's face like the Grinch who stole Christmas. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Sakura said at the same time that Sasori snapped, "Yes."

Hidan chuckled darkly at their misfortune. "Hey, sorry, man, I didn't mean to fuckin' cockblock you. I wouldn't mind grabbing a piece of that ass, myself."

"It wasn't like that!" Sakura shrieked. She was thoroughly mortified that Hidan of all people had to walk in on her and Sasori while they were in a compromising position. She didn't even know why they were in that position to begin with. One minute they were talking about art, and the next they were—they were—

"We were discussing art," Sasori said. "Could you endeavor not to be an imbecile for once, Hidan?"

The large door to the warehouse slid up, and Pein held it open so Deidara and Itachi could duck underneath and enter. Deidara was twirling a guitar pick between his fingers and chatting amiably with Pein while Itachi quietly followed.

"Discussing art, huh?" Hidan drawled. "I'm not fucking stupid, no matter what Kakuzu says." At Sasori's dark look, Hidan held up his hands in mock surrender. "If that's the bullshit way you wanna tell it, fine."

"You were discussing art?" Deidara asked. His conversation with Pein was forgotten as he trotted over to Sakura with a gleeful expression. "I love art, yeah! I try to make each concert as artistic as I can."

Sakura's embarrassment was momentarily forgotten. She looked at Deidara with curiosity and asked, "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," Deidara told her. "Art is a bang!"

A crumpled piece of paper flew from nowhere and hit Deidara in the face. It took Sakura a moment to recognize it as the sheet of music that Sasori had tossed aside earlier. She looked at him right as he said, "No, it isn't."

"But it is, Danna!" Deidara whined. "Art can be many things! But the true, best form is an explosion. It's that fleeting moment of pure perfection that just, ah, gets me every time… yeah."

Sasori was looking at Deidara as if he couldn't believe he was cursed with being acquaintances with such a man. "Tell me, what is it like living in the constant haze of stupidity?"

Sakura covered her mouth to hide her soft snort of laughter. She got the distinct impression that Deidara and Sasori bickered about art frequently, especially since no one else in the band seemed to be even remotely affected by it.

Hidan's voice broke her reverie. "So we having band practice or what, Pinky?"

"Yes," Sakura said, a little too quickly. "I mean—I'm ready. Let's do this!"

VIII: "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" Bowling for Soup

That Saturday, as Sakura didn't have class, she was able to meet the rest of the band at Warehouse No. 9 around eleven in the morning. Deidara and Hidan arrived bleary-eyed and half-asleep, but Itachi and Pein were lively and ready to go.

They barely made it through one of the songs before the door to the warehouse slid open and Konan walked in. She was wearing a pair of jeans with several fashionable rips and tears. Her shirt was black and off-shoulder with the word Godsmack in front of a tribal red-orange sun.

Pein grinned at her. "Well if it isn't my lovely wife here to listen to me sing." He spread his arms out wide, but Konan walked right past him and headed for Sakura.

"Hey!" she greeted. "You can't practice today. I need to borrow you."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"What about me?" Pein asked with a frown.

"Hush," Konan said to him. "I don't come back just to visit you."

"Well that comes as a shock," he drawled.

Konan switched her amber-colored eyes back to Sakura. "Kakuzu has your contract ready for you to sign. And I thought that would be a good opportunity to get some money from him to go shopping with you today. What do you think?"

Hidan, who was sitting at his drum set looking bored, suddenly snorted in disbelief. "As if Kakuzu would ever part with a fucking penny."

"He will if he knows what's good for him," Konan said. "We have got to get Sakura some new clothes."

Sakura self-consciously looked down at the pink summer dress she was wearing. Her eyes drifted over to Deidara. He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a Jimmy Hendrix hoodie. Pein had on some tight-fitting faded gray jeans with a black Nirvana t-shirt. Itachi was wearing all black and decorated with more buckles and metal spikes than seemed necessary. Hidan was shirtless again with another pair of black leather pants and some spiky boots.

Okay, so they were a bit more grudge (and in some cases, metal) than she was.

"Will it take longer than an hour, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Deidara," said Konan. "When a woman goes shopping, it is an all-day ordeal." She switched her gaze back to Sakura and asked, "Shall we?"

暁 Rock Star Rising 暁

"Have a seat and we'll discuss your contract."

The man's name was Kakuzu, and despite looking like he was one of Rob Zombie's movie characters, he was apparently Akatsuki's financial manager. He had long brown hair and eerie green eyes that frankly gave Sakura the creeps. There were many scars on him and a few stitches, like on his wrists and mouth (and probably other places), but she didn't dare mention them in case it was a sensitive subject.

"Don't let his grumpy attitude fool you," said Konan. "Kakuzu's a good guy."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. He certainly didn't look like a good guy, but Sakura decided not to comment. Instead, she obediently sat down in the chair across from Kakuzu's desk. Konan stood behind her. In the short time she'd been with the band, Sakura already really liked Konan. She seemed to have no ill will toward Sakura for replacing her in Akatsuki and was actually very helpful and supportive.

"I'll need you to sign here," said Kakuzu. He slid a white packet of stapled papers across the desk toward Sakura. There was a black mug with a red cloud nearby that was filled with various pens.

Sakura took a pen and looked at the front page of the contract. The spot where she was to sign was marked by an X. "I'm not signing away my life or anything, am I?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Kakuzu told her. He had a deep, gravelly voice, but he sounded more patient than Sakura had expected. "You're allowed out at any time after the album and subsequent tour is completed. You must meet all tour dates unless serious illness or family emergency occurs. Your contract becomes void if these are not met." Kakuzu rambled off a few quick legalities before finishing with, "Nothing life binding."

"Sounds simple enough," Sakura said slowly. "But if one of you asks me to drink the punch at the backstage party, I'm drawing the line." She lowered her pen to the paper and wrote her signature, pleased when she heard both Kakuzu and Konan chuckle at her joke.

Konan stepped forward and pressed her hands to the desk, leaning toward Kakuzu with a mischievous look on her face. "Are you done now? Can we have our shopping money?"

Kakuzu glanced at the signature on the contract before shooting Konan a decidedly sour look. "Fine." He reached into the top drawer of his desk and took out a black checkbook. With fine penmanship, Kakuzu wrote a number on the line as well as his illegible signature.

When he showed the check to Konan, she stood up straight and folded her arms over her chest. "I can't even buy her new panties for that much. Stop being such a miser, Kakuzu."

Kakuzu grumbled something unintelligible and added two zeroes at the end of the number. "Better?"

"Much," Konan replied, snatching the check before Kakuzu could change his mind. She turned to Sakura and grinned at her. "Shall we?"

Apparently, if Sakura was to be a full-fledged member of Akatsuki, she needed a new wardrobe. As the only other girl involved with the band, Konan was more than happy to take her shopping—on Akatsuki's spending money, of course. They went straight for a massive shopping mall in the middle of downtown. Konan took Sakura to a variety of stores, and they bought at least one thing at each place.

"So what do you think so far?" Konan asked her. The two of them were in side-by-side dressing rooms trying on skimpy black dresses. Konan knew she wouldn't be able to dress like this for long, considering she would be showing signs of pregnancy in a month or so, but she wanted to enjoy it while she still could.

Sakura turned and examined herself in the dressing room mirror. "Eh, well, I don't usually wear black, but I suppose it looks okay."

She heard Konan laugh in the room next to hers. "Not the dress. I meant being in a rock band. You've had a couple practice sessions with them now. How do you like it?"

"Oh, um, it's fun," Sakura replied honestly. "Deidara and Itachi are really helpful, and Pein is funny. Hidan's kind of an ass though. Don't tell him I said that."

"I won't," Konan said, sounding amused. "He is an ass, but he grows on you. In his own… weird way."

"Like Kakuzu?"

"Yep. The two of them go way back."

They stepped out of the dressing room and modeled the dresses for each other. Sakura did a couple of spins on Konan's request, which earned her a few appreciative whistles from other shoppers. Konan responded by pretending to walk down an imaginary catwalk, which earned more whistles and a few chuckles and applause.

Konan had that way about her, Sakura noticed. It didn't matter where they went, but people just seemed to gravitate to her. She somehow managed to pull off refined elegance paired with heavy metal badass, and Sakura had no idea how she did it. When Konan walked, people took notice. When she spoke, they listened.

"Okay, seriously, how do you do that?" Sakura asked in exasperation.

"Do what?" Konan asked as the two of them kept walking.

"That!" Sakura said. "You just—that thing with your hips—you like, swagger when you walk. Seriously, you take two freaking steps and everyone turns to watch."

"Oh, you don't really think about it," Konan replied with ease. "You just sort of… strut."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "Like a rooster?"

"It's all part of the show, Sakura," Konan told her. She waved her hand once in an elegant hand gesture as she spoke, "It's stage presence. You'll get the hang of it."

They went through another store, and Sakura ended up buying several varieties of makeup that she never thought she'd ever use, even when Konan told her, completely seriously, that they would need them all.

As they were leaving, Konan started another subject of conversation. "I heard Hidan walked in on you and Sasori the other day."

Sakura choked on her own spit. She coughed a couple times and sputtered indignantly. "No! I mean, we were just talking!"

The smirk on Konan's face spoke volumes more than she did. "Is that all? That's a shame. I've always thought Sasori was very attractive. Don't you?"

"You're married!" Sakura said, horrified.

"And in love, and all that, of course," Konan affirmed. "Doesn't mean I can't appreciate an attractive man when I see one. You think Pein doesn't check out other woman? There's nothing wrong with looking, Sakura."

Sakura supposed that Konan and Pein had a level of trust between them that she and Sasuke would probably never have. They were comfortable and fit perfectly, and Sakura was admittedly awed by it.

"So do you?" Konan asked.

"Do I what?"

"Find Sasori attractive."

"Well, uh—I mean—I'm not saying he isn't, I guess he certainly is, but I would never, I mean, I wouldn't presume to—he's our manager."

Konan's smirk was back in place. "That basically boils down to yes." The smirk faded for a moment. "Hey, did you really break up with Itachi's brother?"

Ah… there was that again. People had been calling and texting her asking that same question for a whole week since the party. Most of them cheered her on, calling Sasuke every name in the book. He'd made quite a few enemies when he turned into a jackass after ditching their Konoha friends for some crowd from Oto—wherever the fuck that was.

"Yeah, it's over," Sakura said. She wasn't sure how permanently over it was. Part of her, deep down, hoped that someday, things would go back to normal and it would be her, Naruto, and Sasuke just like when they were kids. The other part, her more rational side, told her to stop day dreaming about the past and move on with her life.

She supposed that without Akatsuki to distract her, she'd be trapped in emotional stasis and indecision over her love life. Perhaps it was a good thing Sasori came back to her that day in the store to ask her to join again. It made her life go in a positive direction that didn't involve Sasuke.

Konan picked up on Sakura's silence. "It sounds like you're trying pretty hard to move on. You know, I think that's good for you."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Sakura agreed. She meant it, too. Moving on was probably the best thing she could do.

"You could always just sleep with Sasori."

Sakura tripped. "What! No, I can't! I can't—I wouldn't—you just don't do that, Konan!"

"Why not?" Konan asked. "I'm sure he'd be up for it."

Sakura stared at the older woman. "Wow, you just… you just completely missed my point. Just, sailed right over your head. Probably because it's in the gutter. Didn't have to sail very high."

Konan snorted with amusement. "Relax! It was just a suggestion. Might help you move on, is all."

"Just… no."

"Okay, okay," Konan said to placate her. There was a brief pause before she grinned at Sakura, "But you do find him attractive."

"Konan!"

He was wearing a black blazer left open over a white undershirt. He didn't look up as they approached and instead continued texting on his phone with his right hand while his left tapped impatiently on the table.

IX: "Rock of Ages" Def Leppard

Ino's shriek was deafening, even over a cell phone.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?"

Sakura held the phone away from her ear so the blonde's shrill cry wouldn't cause any permanent damage.

"You joined a BAND?"

Sakura carefully returned her cell phone back to her ear. She fiddled with the hem of her lacy black skirt (this new wardrobe thing was taking her a while to get used to). "Yeah. But Sasuke's brother is in it. You know, Itachi? So it's not like, a group of strange men I've never met."

Except that it really pretty much was.

"Oh my god. Oh my GAWD, Forehead!"

Sakura grimaced. She knew Ino would have a reaction like this. "Yeah. So, listen, uh, we're kind of doing a secret gig in Konoha in a week to introduce me. It's word of mouth only because they're kind of a big deal."

"No shit?" Ino said. "They're fucking Akatsuki. Who hasn't heard of them?"

"Yeah…"

"Well where are my tickets?" Ino suddenly demanded. "I'm bringing Sai and Naruto and like, everyone."

Sakura leaned her chair backward so she was balanced on the back two legs. She was sitting in her room in front of her vanity table debating over eye shadow choices. "I'll e-mail them to you. Hang on, I've got a text."

She lowered her phone from her ear and looked at the message she'd just received from Naruto.

YOU JOINED A BAND AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!

"What the—" Sakura broke off. She listened to Ino ramble about how sexy the band members were while she typed a quick response to Naruto.

Who told you?!

"Seriously," Ino was saying, "You are going to have access to SO MANY FINE PIECES OF ASS in that band, I can't even put a label on how jealous I am."

Sakura talked to Ino with her phone on speaker-mode while she applied a black eyeliner in the way Konan had taught her during their girl's-day-out a while back. "I guess they're pretty good-looking," she agreed. "I just… I don't know. I'm more shocked that I'm actually in the band. It hasn't really sunken in yet."

"Yeah, I mean, I knew the music thing was a hobby for you," Ino agreed, "but I never thought you'd actually do anything with it. You've always been so serious about wanting to be a doctor like Granny Tsunade. Don't tell her I called her that, Forehead!"

Sakura was about to reply, but her phone buzzed with a response from Naruto. She opened it and read it quickly.

Ino, duh

"Ino!" Sakura scolded. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

And that was how Sakura went from being a boring med school student to suddenly being the most gossiped about person in all of Konoha. Word spread about her involvement like wildfire, and by the end of the week, Akatsuki's secret gig and its mystery location was the talk of the big city.

暁 Rock Star Rising 暁

"Nervous?" Konan asked, looking at Sakura with an amused smile. There were precious few minutes left before they were to go on stage for their secret show. Konan helped Sakura get ready, and now she was pacing back and forth in Pein's dressing room while he got ready and Konan watched.

"Yeah," Sakura admitted.

Pein's reply to that was simple. "The fans have to get used to there being a new keyboardist. There's going to be a few loyal Konan fans who will be pissed off, but they'll either accept you or hate the band forever." He concluded this with a shrug of his shoulders, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"Isn't that risky for the band?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Pein slipped one of his black snakebite piercings through his lower lip. "I suppose." He slipped the other one through and fastened the back. After a few experimental moves of his lips, he gave a satisfied nod and returned his silvery eyes to Sakura. "A lineup change can break a band easily. Look at Judas Priest. When Rob Halford left the band and was replaced with Butch Owens, the majority of the fans were pissed off and quit listening to the band. Of course, they got Rob back after that."

Konan gave Pein a very brief glare as if to say, 'You're not helping.' Then, she smiled at Sakura and said, "Or, you could look at all of the wonderful bands who got a replacement member and rock. Like AC/DC for example. Brian Johnson actually made the band more popular than it was with Bon Scott."

The blue haired woman's words actually did find some comfort for Sakura, and she gave her friend a relieved, grateful smile, which was returned with a quick wink. Konan was starting to show signs of a small baby bump, and the pregnant glow seemed to suit her.

Konan patted Sakura's shoulder encouragingly. "Sasori wouldn't have signed you on if he didn't have faith in you. He has high expectations, and you obviously met them."

"She's right," Pein said. "I may be the front man, but Sasori is the manager. He has to have the final word, and he approved you before any of us did."

"I just don't want to ruin it for everyone," Sakura said softly. The revelation of Sasori's faith in her was startling… and at the same time, it was also enthralling. He definitely didn't seem like a man who was easily impressed, and yet, when he looked at her… he saw something worthwhile.

She desperately wanted to prove him right.

"You won't," Pein told her, breaking Sakura from her train of thought. "We've all heard you play and sing. You belong with us." He fastened the last of his many earrings in and closed the lid on the jewelry box with a satisfied click.

And that was that.

The front man was dressed and ready to go, so the band gathered together just backstage. Sakura could hear a raving crowd, but she didn't dare peek. She'd seen the magazine headline just days before, the one that read:

AKATSUKI GETS NEW MEMBER
World-Famous Rock Band Recruits Mystery Girl

It was full of all sorts of scandalous theories, but none of them were even remotely true. Despite the location of the secret gig being revealed the day before, the venue was full of eager fans waiting to catch a glimpse of the new band member.

Sakura tried not to think about it. She failed. The full weight of what she'd done sank in when she'd read that article. She realized then that, as a member of Akatsuki, her life was no longer her own. The gig tonight was her introduction, and she would be forever kissing her anonymity goodbye. Now, there would be magazines, newspapers, journalists, paparazzi—the works.

And it was only the beginning.

Sasori had to deal with most of the press issues concerning the secret show. Whenever a band did a secret show, it created all sorts of paperwork headaches for the higher ups. Regardless, it was a necessary evil, because Sakura needed a debut before their actual tour began. It had been a full month since she joined, and she'd made amazing progress, but this was an important step that couldn't be skipped.

Naturally, Kakuzu had been less than thrilled to hear that the profits from the secret show were going to some bullshit charity and not his endless pockets, but that was usually the deal with secret gigs. Sasori dealt with Kakuzu's foul mood, and both of them grudgingly agreed to the terms.

Sasori's honey-brown eyes drifted over to Sakura. She stood apart from the rest of the band. Her fingers were squeezing the fabric of her plaid red skirt in a nervous gesture. Konan had the idea to dress Sakura up as a naughty school girl with heavy metal accents, and it reminded Sasori of the day he'd recruited her for the band. Sakura had a lot of heavy eyeliner and eye shadow on, and her lips were covered with glistening pink gloss. Her pink hair was pulled into two short pig tails. She was wearing knee-high socks and some glossy black shoes.

She looked like false innocence—a tantalizing treat like ice cream on a stick just waiting to be licked off.

But she was also wrinkling her expensive skirt.

Sasori walked over to her and lightly took her wrists and pulled them up from her skirt. "Calm down," he told her, his voice surprisingly gentle. Sakura stared at him through startled, pale green eyes, and Sasori returned her gaze. "You'll be fine. You know the set list by heart."

Sakura gave him a feeble nod. Sasori hadn't let go of her wrists, so her fingers snared around the fabric of his black blazer. She was shaking.

"I don't think I can do this, Sasori…"

"Yes, you can," he told her. "Stop trying to make me regret my decision to hire you. You're stronger than this."

Well, he wasn't getting anywhere with that approach, so Sasori decided to try another. He wasn't a patient man by any means, but he knew that was what Sakura needed at that moment. He looked down at their hands and slowly sighed. Sasori lowered his hands from Sakura's wrists to her hands, lightly holding them within his own. He raised her right hand up to his lips, his eyes gazing into Sakura's, and he lightly kissed the back of her hand.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. A pink blush dusted her cheeks that complimented her hair. "Sasori?"

"Stop doubting yourself," he told her. His intense gaze was overpowering. He hadn't lowered her hand yet. "You are magnificent."

Her lips parted in shock, and her blush intensified. She took a breath to speak, but she was cut off by Hidan's voice.

"Come on, bitches!" the silver-haired man called. "Let's get this fucking show on the road!"

X: "Don't Stop Me Now" Queen

The secret gig had been a huge success. In spite of her initial nervousness, Sakura commanded her section of the stage with the confidence that Sasori brought out of her. She played her parts on the keyboard with various sounds for each of the songs, and she sang alongside Pein whenever there was a side role that called for her female voice.

The crowd went wild.

And after, Kakuzu got them a limousine ride to the hottest after party in the city. It was held at Elixur, a rock-themed night club in the heart of Konoha. The line to get inside stretched halfway around the block, but when the limousine pulled up, the bouncers cleared a path for everyone in Akatsuki (plus Ino and Naruto, Sakura's guests), to walk through.

It was just outside the front door that Sakura caught sight of a familiar face.

Of all the people in the world to run into right after Sakura's first gig, it was Sasuke fucking Uchiha. He was standing near the front of the queue to get in to the club, and he looked pissed off. Sakura recognized the girl hanging on Sasuke's arm as Karin. She was wearing a purple mini dress with her long red hair falling down her back and over her shoulders. Her equally red eyes were half-concealed behind a pair of round glasses.

"What do you mean 'it's full'? I'm a fucking Uchiha."

The bouncer folded his arms over his ginormous chest. He was a huge, well-muscled man with electric blue hair and yellow contact lenses. Three gill-shaped tattoos were under each eye. There was a nametag with Kisame written on it in sloppy handwriting.

"So what, you think that makes you entitled or something?" Kisame said, sounding unimpressed. "Fuck off, kid."

Pein stepped around Sakura and greeted Kisame like an old friend. "Kisame! I wondered why you weren't at the gig."

"Had to work," Kisame said with a toothy grin.

He and Pein reached for each other to clasp hands as if they'd been bros since the dawn of time. They even came in for that half-assed hug and slap on the back that men do when they're particularly close.

"This the new girl?" Kisame asked. He was looking at Sakura.

Pein pushed Sakura forward as if she were an offering. "Yep. This is our little Sakura."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "Little?"

Kisame laughed boisterously. "She's cute, yeah, but she's got no ass. A man needs some cushion."

Sasuke looked absolutely murderous. "Sakura?"

Oh—Sakura had forgotten about him. She supposed it was a bit ironic that all of her friends except Sasuke apparently knew about her involvement with Akatsuki. She plastered a look of cool indifference on her face and said, "Oh, hi Sasuke."

"What are you doing with them?"

Itachi came up behind her and put both his hands on Sakura's shoulders. He was tall enough that he could look over her head with ease. "Didn't you hear, Sasuke? Sakura's our newest member. We just had a gig in The Arena an hour ago."

The look on Sasuke's face was every bit as priceless as Sakura imagined it would be.

"Absolutely not," said Sasuke. "I forbid it."

Sakura was livid. "Excuse me? Where do you get off telling me what to do? We are over, Sasuke! And I see you wasted no time in replacing me like you did Naruto!"

Naruto and Ino had pushed through the others by this point and stood on either side of Sakura with dark looks on their faces.

"Leave the idiot out of this," Sasuke said. "This is about you and me."

"There is no 'you and me'," Sakura snapped.

"I'm not going to sit back and let you ruin your life by throwing in with these ingrates!"

"Hey, who the fuck is this kid?" Hidan demanded, having never actually seen Sasuke in person before. "I'm gonna bash his fucking face in."

Sakura sighed. Her involvement with the band was out in the open now, so the last thing she wanted was to cause a scene at the band's first after party. She reached over and lightly put her hand on Hidan's arm to calm him down. "It's okay, Hidan. He's just trying to make us mad. Don't let what he says get to you."

"And you," Sasuke went on, glaring at his brother. "That disgusting filth you call music—"

Sakura cut him off right away, her face incredulous. "You rude-ass cockatoo-sucking son of a bitch."

Sakura stomped over to Sasuke with her fist raised. Sasuke immediately brought his arms up to block, but that left his waist right open, so Sakura grabbed his shoulders and brought her knee right up into his groin. Sasuke let out a strangled gasp and fell to his knees in wordless agony.

"Gh…!"

Sakura stepped back and fluffed the collar of her black trench coat. The red cloud print on the back was Akatsuki's trademark. They all had one. She glanced over her shoulder at the unmasked glee on her fellow bandmates' faces and said, "Well? Are we going in or not?"

Hidan's eyebrows had almost vanished into his hairline. "Kakuzu," he said, leaning toward the band's financial manager. "I think I'm in love."

Kakuzu made a derisive snort. "Be careful, or you will die."

"Tch!"

As the rest of the band began filing into the club, Ino approached Sasuke. She put her hands on her hips and bent down at the waist to give him a playful grin. "Hey, Sasuke. Want some Midol?" She laughed at her own joke and said, "Haha, get it? 'Cause you're a girl now. C'mon, Naruto; let's go party."

The inside of the club was full of heavy bass and blaring music. There were flashing strobe lights and fog machines, and every inch of the dance floor was covered with bodies going with the beat or moshing to their own madness. Elixur was an enormous club. There was a bar on the left and right walls that was fully stocked with every kind of alcohol under the sun. A huge stage was toward the back where some bands played live, but tonight was a DJ who alternated between heavy metal and occasional rock-dubstep hybrids.

They even played a couple of Akatsuki's hits, like Will of Fire and Black Kunai. Sakura danced and drank with her friends in a tipsy haze.

"Bottomless margarita night," Ino said as she slung an arm around her best friend's shoulders. "Fucking every night should be bottomless margarita night!"

Sakura couldn't help but agree.

"Pinky!" Hidan yelled. Of course, you had to yell to be heard over the music, but Hidan was just that loud normally. "Get your boney ass over here! You too, Blondie!"

Sakura and Ino scrambled over to where Hidan was standing. He was at one of the bars with the rest of Akatsuki. Some were sitting on barstools while the others were standing clustered near Hidan. The bartender was a woman with dirty blonde hair pulled into four pigtails on the back of her head. She had beautiful teal eyes and wore a revealing purple dress with a nametag that read Temari in feminine writing.

"Get over here, princess," Pein said, gesturing Sakura toward him. In between Pein and Hidan were a line of shot glasses that the bartender, Temari, was in the process of filling with various types of whiskey.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked. She wished Konan could have come with them to the after party, but as she was pregnant, the blue haired woman couldn't drink alcohol. Still, at least Ino was there.

Deidara stepped between Sakura and Ino and put his arms around their shoulders. "Well, ladies, we like to do a good ol' Three Wisemen shot after each show. It's a tradition… yeah."

"Three Wisemen?" Sakura asked.

Pein reached for two shot glasses and handed one to Sakura and the other to Ino. "Jim, Jack, and Johnnie."

"Holy fuck," Ino said unceremoniously. She knew what that meant. Jim Bean bourbon whiskey, Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey, and Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey.

"What is it?" Sakura asked. Ino ignored her.

Once everyone had a shot glass, even the managers Kakuzu and Sasori, Pein held up his and said, "To another tour and our newest addition, Sakura!"

Everyone raised their glasses and downed their shots.

Sakura's throat burned. She coughed and wheezed and drank the rest of her margarita to ease the sting of the whiskey. Hidan laughed and patted her on the back. When Sakura set down her glass, Temari began mixing her another one right away.

"Whoa," Sakura said. Her head was swimming. Definitely no more dancing.

Deidara wiped his mouth and slammed his shot glass on the bar. "Welcome aboard, Cherry Chick."

Another margarita later, and Sakura and Ino found themselves sitting at the bar together with giddy smiles on their faces.

"I've got to hand it to you, Forehead," said Ino. She wasn't slurring much, so she was the perfect amount of drunk and slowed down her intake to keep it that way. "This is pretty awesome."

When Sakura didn't reply right away, Ino followed her friend's gaze over to Sasori. He was sitting at the bar with a glass of something gold-colored on the rocks held up to his forehead. The condensation on the glass said he'd had it for quite a while. He didn't notice Sakura's stare and instead was talking to the bartender about something, but neither Ino nor Sakura could hear what.

Ino gave a low chuckle. "Crushing on your band manager, huh?"

Sakura jumped, startled. She whipped her head around to stare at Ino. The fast motion brought up a wave of dizziness, and she groaned and brought her hand to her head. "Whoa…" Once it passed, she switched her green eyes back to Ino and said, "I'm not crushing on anyone! It's just, Sasori's been a really big help since I joined the band. That's all."

"Yeah?" Ino asked. "Like how?"

"He helped me with the songs that I was having trouble with," Sakura told her. "And before the show tonight, I was super nervous. Seriously, Ino-pig, I thought I was going to faint or throw up or something. And Sasori just…," she trailed off when she remembered exactly what Sasori had done.

Ino's grin widened. "Sasori just what?"

Sakura quickly took another drink of her strawberry margarita to buy herself more time. "Uh, well, he sorta talked to me, calmed me down, and um, maybe he kissed my hand, but it was actually really sweet—"

Ino squealed loudly and somehow managed to spill some of her margarita on her legs. She'd had enough alcohol that she didn't even notice the cold drink. "He's totally into you! You should go talk to him!"

Sakura gaped at her. "What? No!"

"Oh my god," Ino said exasperatedly. "Sakura, you march your skinny ass over there and tell him you think he's cute or I will tell him for you!"

The horrified look on Sakura's face was rather fantastic, but Ino didn't have a camera. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would," Ino warned her. "I'll make us all twelve years old again if I have to. Now you better hurry, because that blonde bartender over there had been coming on to him harder than a horny otaku."

True to Ino's metaphor, Temari actually was hitting on Sasori. "Come on," she cooed. "You look so unhappy, Sasori. Why don't you let loose and live a little?"

"Some of us have day jobs," Sasori replied blandly. He lowered his glass from his forehead to the table. "But I know how to let loose when the situation calls for it."

A slight smirk twisted the corner of Temari's lips upward. "Tonight?"

"Perhaps." He downed his drink and slid her the empty glass.

Temari poured him another. As she handed it back to him, she leaned forward toward the bar, her low-cut shirt giving a fantastic view of her breasts. She smiled at him coyly as Sasori accepted the drink. "Come on, Sasori. You and the guys are in here all the time when you're not touring the world. Would it kill you to respond to one of my advances for once? Rejection really hurts a girl's confidence after a while!"

Sasori made an amused noise in the back of his throat as he sipped his drink. He set it down on the bar and looked at Temari wordlessly. She was pretty, yes, and most certainly charming. But truthfully, she just wasn't interesting or talented. There was nothing artistic about her.

Temari was also smart, though; he had to give her credit for that. She knew her persistence never got anywhere with him, and more often than not, she turned it into a joke. "I will pay you to pretend you're having a good time with me."

"Pay me with another of these," he said, gesturing to his glass.

Temari was only too eager to comply.

Sakura wasn't sure why she did it, but she got up from her bar stool and made her way over to Sasori. Maybe it was because she believed Ino's threat about talking to Sasori for her (because Ino would definitely have done it), or maybe it was the alcohol giving her liquid courage, she didn't know. Then again, maybe it was from watching Temari flirt so blatantly with Sasori that finally made Sakura get up. Whatever it was, she walked toward him and nearly made it before she lost her footing and drunkenly tripped right in front of him.

And Sasori caught her.

They both stared at each other with mirrored expressions of shock. Both of Sasori's hands were on Sakura's back, holding her up so she wouldn't hit the floor, and Sakura's hands had instinctively landed on his chest.

Her face burned with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry…" she said. "I don't know what got into me."

The shock seemed to wear off, and if anything, Sasori looked amused. "I'd say bottomless margaritas were probably a start. Here," he said as he helped her get back to her feet.

He took his place back at the bar and sat down, but he remained facing her, watching her as she debated whether or not to sit next to him. In the end, Sakura plopped down on the barstool next to his and asked for another margarita. To Sakura's relief, Temari left them alone for a few minutes to make it.

"So does that sort of thing happen to you often?" Sakura asked.

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Clumsy little girls falling at my feet?"

"No," Sakura said. She made a vague gesture toward Temari. "I mean, like, random women throwing themselves at you like that." When he didn't say anything, she attempted to clarify. "She obviously wanted you."

Sasori heard the obvious frustration in her tone, and he couldn't stop the grin that spread over his lips. "Are you jealous?"

Sakura glowered at him. "I'm not jealous. I'm just saying… she was coming on a little strong, y'know? Like, rabid raccoon meets car salesman."

"Indeed," Sasori said, mostly humoring her.

He couldn't really figure out what it was about Sakura that fascinated him so. She was this quirky little puzzle that he acquired pieces to every so often. It certainly was forming into a work of art, and he was eager to acquire all the pieces to see the finished product, but he almost felt as if that would end their little game all too soon. Sakura was a curious sort of treat that he actually wanted to take his time on. Given how impatient he usually was, this certainly spoke volumes for Sakura's more interesting qualities.

Sakura caught his stare and looked at him curiously. She had a light blush as she asked, "What is it, Sasori?"

"You don't give the impression of being anything other than an ordinary girl, but you are certainly something exceptional," he said.

She shot him a deadpan stare. "You have a truly spectacular ability to make a compliment sound more like an insult."

Sakura averted her gaze away from Sasori and over to Temari, who was back with Sakura's fifth (or sixth?) margarita. It was probably the negative effects of the alcohol, but Sakura couldn't keep the sour look off her face as Temari passed her the drink.

When Temari left them in favor of another customer, Sakura heard Sasori chuckle beside her. She turned to him, and caught him watching her with obvious amusement. Sasori raised his glass to his lips and took a drink before setting it back down.

"I'm not interested in her, by the way," he said.

Sakura very drunkenly tried to say 'That's nice to know' and 'Why would you tell me?' at the same time, so what ended up coming out of her mouth was, "That's nice to tell me."

Sasori pressed his free hand to his forehead, fingers locked between crimson hair, and his shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Oh, Sakura," he said, lowering his hand so his brown eyes could catch hers. "I'd tell you not to be jealous, but it's rather flattering, actually, and feels quite nice, so carry on."

"I'm not jealous, you conceited—mmph!"

His kiss was searing fire. He tasted like overpriced whiskey and unabashed arrogance, and even though it caught Sakura completely by surprise, she leaned into his touch and responded with an eagerness she hadn't felt since she was a teenager. By the end of it, if someone had asked her, 'What about Sasuke?' her response would have been, 'Sasuke who?'

It was liberating, like kissing freedom and rebellion. Sasori brought out a primal urge in Sakura that had her fingers clawing into the fabric of his black blazer. Alcohol or not, she knew full well where this encounter was going, but given everything that had happened to her recently, Sakura just didn't care.

In fact, she welcomed it.

XI: "Closer" Nine Inch Nails

"Are you sure this is wise?" Sasori asked, his fingers trailing light lines down Sakura's shoulders. They'd left the club, hailed a taxi, and made it to Sasori's skyline penthouse in all of fifteen minutes.

"I'm honestly not sure of anything right now," she told him. "Except that I want you."

Sasori reached toward her and gripped her chin between his index finger and thumb. "Perfect." He leaned toward her and kissed her, hard and bruising, as he pushed her backward into the closed bedroom door. His tongue slid over her teeth and tangled with hers, and Sakura arched her back when his fingers traveled up her spine. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him to her. Sasori hooked his teeth into her bottom lip, and Sakura moaned in blissful contentment.

Sasori growled—animalistic and impatient—and he lifted Sakura up and pressed her into the hard door against his stomach while his hands gripped her thighs. She locked her legs around him for support and wound her fingers into his tousled red hair. The ache between her legs had started almost unnoticeable, but it was quickly becoming the most unbearable thing she'd ever felt.

When he broke the kiss, Sakura gasped for breath. Sasori held her up once more and carried her over to his bed, depositing her on soft black sheets. She ensnared the collar of his shirt between the fingers of her right hand and pulled him down on top of her to lock him in another kiss. The blazing passion she felt for him made her alive with desire and boldness that she usually buried under modesty and self-doubt.

Because Sasori saw through it. Even from the start, he'd seen her value when most never bothered to even look for it.

Her brow furrowed with the intensity of their kiss. Their hands traveled over each other, discarding clothing and touching whatever expanses of skin they came across. Sakura felt the muscles in his arms and back flex as she trailed light lines over them with the tips of her fingers. She relished the way he ran his own hands over her body like a professional molding a masterpiece.

Sasori lowered his lips to Sakura's neck, and she gasped.

"You will be my greatest work of art," he murmured against her skin. He made a trail of sensual kisses along her collarbone. "Perfection immortalized in eternal beauty for all the world to see."

Gods, if she could bottle the way his words made her feel…

"Sasori…"

His fingers dug into the skin of her hips, and he bit down on her neck. The sharp cry that came from Sakura's lips was pure ecstasy. Whether or not the alcohol had faded from her system, there was nothing impairing her judgment. This was divine.

Sakura's gentle caresses were light and feathery against Sasori's skin, and they tested his already meager amount of patience. Each of her tiny moans and whimpers from her moist, bitten lips threatened his control and pushed him to his limits. The dim light of the lamp shone across her porcelain skin like shimmering gold. It lit up her hair like a blazing fire—a sunset that danced with color.

He slowly ran his left hand down her breasts and over her stomach as her back arched into him for more contact. When his hand reached her leg, he raised it up and slid off the first of her knee-high socks. While Sasori held her ankle up by his neck, he looked down at Sakura with wanting eyes. Her hair was splayed out behind her in short waves of gentle pink. Her sea foam green eyes were glazed over with her own desire, and she stared at him as if he were the only thing in her entire world.

"Beautiful," she said. She sounded breathless, and her chest moved up and down with each heavy breath she took. She spoke like someone admiring a priceless piece of art.

Sakura raised a shaking hand toward him, and Sasori took it. He released her leg and locked his fingers with Sakura's. When he leaned into her, she kissed him eagerly. One hand wound around his back and the other released his hand and threaded into his hair, both pulling him as close as he could possibly go. Sasori reached down with his right hand and pulled Sakura's other leg up. She bent with a nimble flexibility that allowed him to pull the other sock from her leg with ease.

She brought her hands to the front of his shirt and undid each of the buttons without breaking their heated kiss. When it was open, Sakura pressed her hands to his chest and slid them up and around his shoulders. Sasori let her slowly drag the shirt down his arms. He tossed it to the floor beside the bed.

Lowering himself back to Sakura, Sasori held her neck with one hand to deepen their kiss while his free hand traveled downwards along her body. When Sakura felt his long fingers caress her sex, her eyes shot open as a wanton cry burst from her lips. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Another gasp of pleasure came forth when he slipped one finger inside of her. Her nails dug into his skin, and her back arched against him.

Sasori lowered Sakura back to the bed. He removed his finger from within her and brought it up to his lips. In a tantalizingly slow motion, he slipped the digit into his mouth and sucked on the juices, all the while keeping his lust-filled amber gaze fastened to Sakura's. He raised an eyebrow, watching her with a keen curiosity as she panted below him. When Sasori lowered his body toward hers, his head barely an inch from hers, Sakura felt his hardness slowly grind against her sex once, and it made her writhe in his grasp.

The corner of his lips twisted up in a smirk, and Sasori brought his lips to Sakura's ear. "And they call me impatient," he coyly murmured before taking the end of Sakura's ear between his teeth.

Sakura held the side of Sasori's face in her hand and brought him back to her lips for another kiss. She ran her tongue lightly along his lower lip and whispered, "I want you."

She felt his fingers inside her again, two this time, and she gave a blissful cry of pleasure. Sasori pressed his nose into Sakura's chin and neck, nuzzling her in a playful way while his thumb stroked up and down teasingly. "Perhaps if you beg."

Smug bastard. Damn his arrogance—his dominant nature. If she were in her right mind, she would slap him across his face. But at the moment, he would probably enjoy it. That, and Sakura could hardly string two words together, much less a coherent thought. Not with the madness he was driving into her.

When she felt the third finger, she cried out his name. "Sasori!"

His ministrations ceased, and Sakura felt the fingers of his free hand, the one rested on her waist, twitch with anticipation. So even Sasori was not immune to this.

With newfound determination, Sakura knew exactly how to get what she wanted. She put her left hand to Sasori's shoulder and brought her other in a closed fist by her forehead. Her breath came out in slow pants and she called his name again, low and full of desire.

"Sasori…"

The way she said his name completely eradicated what little patience he had left. They kissed frantically as Sakura removed his belt and Sasori undid the buttons at his waist. Sakura gave a near soundless gasp when he moved forward, his full length entering her without warning. She was wet enough to allow him in all the way, and the resulting wave of pleasure had Sakura seeing stars.

His hands grasped at her hips, digging in to her soft flesh with a biting sting as he fought to keep his control under the tightness of her walls. The feel of being inside her as she squeezed herself around him, holding him in their joint moment of physical connection, was more euphoric than he'd felt in years. He stretched her, pressing as far as their bodies would allow and engulfing them both in passionate fire.

When he withdrew slightly, she whined and pressed her nose to the side of his face in pleading. He pushed forward again, pressing Sakura into the bed. Her lips parted with an elated, "Ah!" She arched into him, rocking with him steadily and throwing back her head to cry out loudly.

The amount of effort it took to keep their pace slow was colossal, and it threatened to drive the both of them to madness. Every stroke, every touch was blinding with ecstasy and sent white hot bursts of pleasure through their skin. Sakura whimpered in promiscuous glee and spoke his name again through a breathy groan. "Sasori."

A sudden orgasm hit Sakura in a constricting rush. Her toes curled, and she howled like a banshee. Her fingers reached behind her head and ensnared the fabric of the sheets while she twisted and curved beneath him. But it wasn't over yet.

Sasori brought his right hand around the crook of Sakura's neck. He lowered his left to her rear and pulled Sakura up from the bed so she was sitting on his lap. Her legs were spread over his, her body pressed completely against him. She looked down into his eyes, and they met each other in an intense gaze that spoke of their desires for each other in communication beyond words.

Sakura pushed her hips forward and back as brown met green in an earthly stare of arousal and want. She slid against his length, relishing the feel of each and every motion between them. Sasori kept one hand at the small of her back while the other rose up to her neck. He dragged his index finger up her throat to her chin, beckoning her toward him. He kissed her fiercely, relishing the feeling of being inside her and grinding against her.

The heat between them was stifling, and their motions bordered on erratic. The exertion made tiny beads of sweat glide down their bodies in glistening droplets. Sakura dragged her fingernails up Sasori's back while he ensnared his fist within locks of her pretty pink hair. Each movement brought them closer to release. Sakura cried out Sasori's name as another orgasm rippled through her flesh from her sex and up her spine in delightful tingling sensations that spread like a spider's web. She shut her eyes tight in pleasure, shaking her head and pushing him inside of her as far as possible.

She heard his broken gasp before she felt his teeth sink into the skin between her shoulder and neck. She wound her fingers through his hair and held onto him for dear life as the deep strokes between them peaked before engulfing them both in white heat. The choked sound from his throat paired with Sakura's glorious scream while their climax seeped between their legs.

Sasori released Sakura's flesh from his teeth and raised his head. Sakura lowered her gaze, and she touched her forehead to his while they both tried to regain their senses. Their shaky breaths mingled as they watched each other in the aftermath of sex.

The weakness in Sakura's arms and legs made her feel as if she were boneless, but Sasori's grip on her body remained firm and steadying. The seconds passed with their quiet gazes and tired breaths. Their chests heaved together, skin to skin slick with sweat.

He took her again later in the night, after they both played teasing games with their tongues and fingers. Sakura reveled in his doting attention and Sasori bathed in her emanating light. She remained with him for the rest of the night, and all thoughts about alcohol, Sasuke, and university were happily erased from Sakura's mind.

There was only Sasori.

There was always only Sasori.