.--.
“You’re an idiot,” Kisame said.
Itachi raised a slow brow at him. They hadn’t spoken for nearly a week and Itachi had thought every day that Kisame glowered at him would be the day he snapped. But Kisame had left him to his anger for a week. And Itachi had been angry for a bit, but it had mostly faded away to mild ire. He rubbed at his unaching chest.
“You think Sakura wouldn’t notice? She would never be apprenticed to the Godaime if she missed an illness so obvious it made you spit up blood.”
Itachi winced. It had been a gamble to try and hide such obvious illness from a medic. It was a gamble he’d been willing to make based on the thought that even if she noticed she would at least confront him openly. He hadn’t counted on Kisame and her double teaming him.
“So you healed me while I was asleep?” he raised a brow at Kisame in challenge.
“You wouldn’t have let us if you were awake,” Kisame accused.
To be honest he wasn’t very happy about that. Waking up able to breathe had been nice, but then realizing that while he had been asleep they had taken advantage of it was…disconcerting. Not that he didn’t trust both of them it just…well it meddled with a few of his plans.
On the other hand Itachi knew that Sakura would never have let it go once she learned. She was a healer through and through and the fact she cared for him would only have drove her further; hence why they had waited for him to drift off without asking for permission. Itachi really couldn’t say they were wrong to do so considering eh never would have said yes to the healing. He also knew that had their roles been revered, Itachi would have held Kisame down for Sakura to heal if he had needed too.
It was…it was a bit gratifying to realize they liked him enough to try and help him, even against his own wishes.
“You’re an idiot,” Kisame repeated, but this time it was soft and angry, a little sad too.
Itachi looked up at his partner and saw the way this weighed heavily on him. Kisame felt guilty for the deceit, but also showed his blatant worry. Itachi reached out and poked him gently in the forehead.
“Good thing you are around then,” Itachi smiled.
Kisame blinked at him wide-eyed, startled out of his sad anger. Itachi smiled as he turned away. He truly was lucky Kisame was here. He was glad that even up the end, Kisame would be at his side. It was nice to know someone still worried about him.
.--.
.--.
.--.
Sakura had apologized for the healing she had done without consent but Itachi had merely blinked at her, revealing none of his feelings on the matter. Sakura knew he must have been mad (she would have been), but she had also avoided him for a few weeks to let that anger settle. She had hoped Kisame would explain it away, would make him understand their worry.
And as Itachi smiled at her, she realized Kisame had indeed drained him of any anger he might have held at them. Instead he kissed her, soft and tender and pulled her down to his futon.
Sakura knew the moment that Itachi saw her red-eyed crow tattoo because he stopped. She looked down at him, admiring his long lush hair and how he looked kneeling between her legs. He had finally fully unzipped her top and revealed the hint of hipbone above her shorts and thus found her new tattoo. The crow was nestled near her hip on her side, it’s wings stretching out across her stomach mid flight.
It was a masterpiece of a tattoo, made of swirling ink feathers that hid the seals, and looked quite nice on her sun-kissed skin. Sai had done it beautifully and Sakura had loved it instantly even though she had never once considered and tattoo before this.
Itachi stared at it, face smooth of expression.
“My teammate did it,” Sakura spoke up, fingers still carding through Itachi impossibly silky hair.
Seriously. His hair seemed impossible. It was just so beautiful and soft and shiny. She had dreamed of having such hair all her life. At least she had been lucky enough to get a man with such hair. She’d seen some pretty terrible long hair on other men. They seemed to think that only women looked after their hair or something.
“Sakura,” Itachi breathed.
Itachi had shown no possessive qualities like Kisame who liked to mark her skin. But everybody liked to see their devotion returned and her tattoo did that nicely.
She had never thought she’d get someone’s name tattooed on her like she had seen other people do. It had struck her as stupid and ridiculous, but was a crow any better when it practically screamed who it was for? Oh well. She loved it and so did Itachi apparently.
Itachi kissed the crow gently and gripped her hips a tad tighter as if trying to resist from pulling her even closer. Red eyes flickered up to her and Sakura realized Itachi had activated his sharing an again. Dang that man for being so impossibly romantic.
“It’s a seal,” Sakura released a shaky breath at that look, “it holds my axe.”
“The one Kisame gave you.”
“Yeah.”
His eyes became deeper somehow and despite how calm he looked there was something heated in his gaze. Sakura trembled. She pulled him up into a desperate kiss, biting her way into his mouth like she was more wont to do with Kisame.
“You’re beautiful,” she told him, only because she couldn’t call him tragic or loyal.
Sakura’s throat hurt from all the words she wanted to say to Itachi. She wanted to reassure him that he wasn’t going to die, that she was going to fix this, that she knew how loyal he was, that she knew how much he loved Konoha and Sasuke. Sakura was trembling with desire and passion and all the things she wanted to show him.
“You’re beautiful,” she repeated, kissing him desperately.
He smiled at her and Sakura was lost.
.--.
Sakura hummed as she did up her ninja sandals. Her room had been empty when she awoke but that was not entirely unusual. Itachi was a silent man and Sakura missed saying goodbye but she knew she would probably see him again soon. Right now she was feeling pepped up; she had been forgiven for knocking him out to heal him and had been sexed up.
Sakura was on top of the world.
Which is why the universe must have conspired to knock her down. Sakura stepped out of the inn and nearly stepped right into a tall man in a red and black cloak. Sakura’s first instinct was to smile, thinking it Itachi waiting at the door to see her off. And then she realized that the man in front of her was quite blonde.
She had only one instant to feel surprised, to blink at the man who blinked cornflower blue eyes right back at her. And then his brows drew in and recognition flashed across his face.
Sakura took off running as fast as he legs could carry her.
There was a shout and then Sakura dived, fleeing the expanding heat of an explosion. Sakura lunged for the trees thinking desperately of everything she knew about the Iwa Bomber Deidara. All she could think was explosions, manic, artists, and more importantly, Sasori’s old partner.
“Hey pinkie!” came a manic cackle, “What’s got you in such a rush, yeah?!”
“Fuck off,” Sakura yelped, dodging a projectile that nearly exploded in her face.
“Naw! I was sent to pass a message on to that stupid Uchiha, but Leader won’t mind if I take time to nab you instead, yeah.”
“Nab me!” Sakura yelped, “What could you want with little old me?!”
Sakura threw herself over a log and the heat of the next explosion seared her legs. She was desperately thinking of escape plans while trying to keep him talking to ping his location. Of all the Akatsuki to run into, Deidara was one of the worst for her; he was a long-range fighter and Sakura was close-range. She’d never get close enough to use her taijutsu on him with his rampant use of explosives. She also didn’t have the capacity to fling ninjutsu that could slow a S-class ninja down. And reports put him as very genjutsu resilient.
“Leader would like to meet the girl who killed Sasori, especially considering she’s good friends with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Revenge and Bait all in one pretty package yeah,” he laughed.
“Fuck you,” Sakura said in response, very aware she was in a bad spot.
She took one calming breath and then pulled her kunai free, tying explosive tags to them with practised ease. Time to fight fire with fire. With kunai in one hand Sakura spun and roundhouse kicked a whole tree at Deidara’s voice. He yelped and dropped and she had time to realize he was on a large clay bird just above the treeline, watching her from above. She launched the kunai explosives at him and ran like hell.
The sound was deafening but the cackle that came after made her wince.
“Ha! You call those explosions, yeah?! Let me show you real Art!” he laughed.
She risked a look back and her eyes widened as she saw the scattering of small clay birds he was sending raining down on her.
“Art’s a Bang, yeah!”
Sakura hit the ground with her fist, a wave of earth rising above her head in defence.
It wasn’t enough.
The explosion knocked her off the feet, burying her under her own earth defence, and searing her skin. Her eardrums just about burst with the roar of it, and Sakura realized she was screaming with it. It took her precious few seconds to even orientate herself under dirt and burns, gagging on earth and soot. She started to heals the burns almost instinctively, the ones one her face making her hiss.
And then a hand was grabbing her by the back of her shirt and heaving her back. She tried to fight it but her ears were still ringing badly enough to throw her off balance and the burns had hurt worse than she realized till she moved. She barely had the strength to scream.
“Good thing you survived that, yeah,” Deidara grinned down at her, looking slightly crazed, his voice muffled under the ringing.
“Fuck you,” Sakura repeated.
“You wish,” he laughed, flipping his hair.
He tossed her back onto a clay surface, and Sakura recognized the bird he had been riding, and then his fist met her head and Sakura was lost to the darkness.
.--.
Sakura stared, defiantly into the face of her killer, and when he was close enough, spit in it as well.
“You bitch!” Hidan of Hot Water growled, eyes flashing with murder.
Sakura aimed a well-placed kick that would have got him right in the crotch if he hadn’t dodged. The other Akatsuki watched calmly, if a tad amused. Sakura had not been happy to awake in a cave of some sort surrounded by red and black cloaked men (and woman). They had been discussing her capture and Sakura had went straight from dazed to pissed off. When Hidan had peered over at her, looking at her with something to close to a leer for her liking she had moved on to furious.
She only regretted spitting in his face as she watched him spin his scythe from his back. She tested the bonds around her arms but she could see the seals inked on them out of her corner of her eye. Even her strength without chakra only made them strain. Sakura wasn't useless without her chakra, but she was also bound, out-numbered, and out-gunned. The rest of Akatsuki was watching the show silently and Sakura broke out in a cold sweat at the realization that this might actually be how she died. She darted her eyes about but found no blue haired giant nor any scarlet eyed Uchiha.
Kisame and Itachi were absent and Sakura knew that holding any hope they would help was for naught if they weren't even present. Sakura steeled herself, breathed through her nose and let the fury drown out the fear. Sakura was not a wilting flower, she was not going to lay down and die.
Hidan raised his scythe in a death stroke and Sakura dug her heels intro the ground for as much leverage as she could, ready to throw herself backwards.
The glint of the scythe was dull in the torch lighting and Sakura grit her teeth, muscles tense and ready when a large sword collided with the scythe throwing it off course and sending Hidan stumbling back a step.
Sakura stared in astonishment at the back of Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, both of who stood over her protectively.
For a moment silence echoed about the room and Sakura nearly trembled with both relief and uncertainty.
“Are we really doing this?” Kisame asked idly, no real question in his voice, his back straight.
“Yes,” Itachi said instantly, no hesitation in his voice.
“Thank you Itachi, Kisame,” the orange haired man said, eyes narrowed at Hidan who was spitting curses, “We need her alive Hidan.”
“She’ll live if she’s missing a few limbs,” Hidan hissed.
“She’s a medic, she can heal herself,” Deidara piped in.
The leader hummed and looked at her as if considering it.
“True,” he declared, “Kisame, her left leg.”
But Kisame didn’t move.
“Fuck, we really are doing this,” Kisame sighed, swinging his blade out again.
“Was there any doubt?” Itachi asked, voice calm.
“I’m talking more about the timing than anything. This is about as dramatic as we can get,” Kisame laughed.
“Kisame. Itachi,” the leader said, tone low and dangerous.
“This is our resignation,” Kisame called up to the man, “We’ll just be leaving.”
“And taking Sakura with us,” Itachi added smoothly as he crouched and cut her bonds.
Sakura felt the rush of chakra in her veins and despite knowing she could fight without it, it was a huge help. She breathed a tad more calmly and tried to give Itachi a look that conveyed the depth of her gratitude. his eyes were on the Akatsuki though.
“I could kiss you both,” Sakura breathed aloud instead.
“Later,” Itachi smirked.
“Definitely taking you up on that,” Kisame agreed
“Oh God, she seduced them,” Deidara declared, sounding scandalized.
“Soundly,” Kisame agreed with a lecherous grin, “Man, you should see Kitten in bed. Fantastic.”
“Shut up,” Sakura hissed as she scrambled to her feet.
“When her tits bounce just so,” Kisame continued, making some gesture in front of his chest.
Sakura made a low dangerous hiss, nerves already shot and embarrassment making her testy as Kisame winked at her. She had looekd death in the face and suddenly now they were talking about how good at sex she was. What a world she lived in.
“You have to admit, he has a point,” Itachi said, deadpanned.
Sakura turned an incredulous gaze on him. Deidara was looking both bewildered and intrigued, giving the two men looks that said what the fuck, and giving Sakura a rather calculative look that said he wanted to ask question.
“To seduce the cold hearted Uchiha, must be something special, yeah.”
Sakura tried not to but could feel her skin flush right up to her ears. That did a great deal for a girl’s self-confidence it could be said. But also, was Kisame not worth a mention? She started to get indignant on his behalf.
“Think very carefully here,” the leader said, deadly, “Consider what you are doing.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Kisame shrugged, “I joined to find a purpose in life, to find if there was any meaning to this existence. I’ve been with you for over a decade and I have found no answers. Perhaps it is time to look elsewhere.”
“I have outgrown Akatsuki,” Itachi said simply, “It does not suit my purposes any longer.”
“And you both believe this girl will show you a different path?” the man asked, eyes narrowed.
“Perhaps or perhaps not,” Itachi shrugged smoothly.
“But it’ll sure be a prettier view,” Kisame leered.
“Oh god, just kill me now,” Sakura muttered.
“Gladly,” Hidan grinned, coming at them all with his retrieved scythe.
Deidara was coming at them from the right and Kakuzu from the left. The Leader was making hand signs and Sakura tensed, preparing for an epic battle. What happened instead was Kisame summoned a shit ton of water and filled it with shark summons while Itachi leapt into the air summoning a giant raven. Kisame joined them a moment later while everyone else was suddenly bogged down and they made a speedy getaway.
“I seriously could kiss you,” Sakura repeated, “I…you just betrayed a bunch of S-rank criminals for me.”
“We did,” Itachi agreed blandly.
“Meh. It was getting boring,” Kisame said, “Besides, you don’t deserve to die like that, like bait in a trap.”
“Oh, there are better ways to die?” she chuckled weakly, half rhetorical.
“You deserve to die with fire behind you and blood on the ground and your pretty little fists buried in a man’s chest,” Kisame said completely serious, “You’re a warrior and you deserve to die like one.”
Sakura stared at him.
“That’s…that’s actually one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me,” she whispered, “Thank you Kisame.”
She made sure her words were honest and heartfelt and tried to convey how much that comment did mean to her. She had wanted to be strong for so long and to hear an S-class shinobi of his calibre tell her she was indeed a warrior really touched something deep inside her. It told her he respected her beyond just the bed partner they had become. She had known he respected her skills, but it had been in a vague sort of ‘he wouldn’t be with anyone not strong’ way. This was actually saying it out loud. Those were words from one shinobi to another. She had
“Do not forget,” Itachi said solemnly, “You carry strength few men ever will.”
Sakura tried to blink away the tears.
“She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll punch you in the face,” Kisame sang, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
“I mean it though,” Sakura said, a startled chuckle emerging, “Thank you guys.”
“Meh, you can pay us back one day,” Kisame said easily.
Itachi nodded in agreement and didn’t see the way Kisame looked entirely serious despite his light tone. Sakura met his eyes and he tilted his head a miniscule amount in Itachi’s direction. Sakura realized suddenly, exactly what Kisame meant. She simply gave him a nod; saving Itachi had been the plan all along. Now it was just returning the favor.
.--.
“You’re late,” Tsunade greeted her with narrowed eyes.
Sakura merely walked to the seat across from her and dropped into it, a dazed look on her face.
“Sakura,” Tsunade said sharply when she got no response.
Tsunade had tried not to let it show, but ever since Sakura revealed who she was regularly fucking she’s been experience some stress. Okay a lot of stress. But that was her goddamn student out their getting involved with some of the most notorious nin of their century. And they were criminals to boot. Just because one was innocent and the other loyal to a degree didn’t mean jack shit. Sakura was still out there alone and vulnerable, for sex and schemes that could make or break her. Tsunade was proud she didn’t have a heart attack every time she really thought about it.
“I,” Sakura said dazed, “Late. Yes, sorry.”
“Why were you late,” Tsunade demanded, eyeing Sakura critically.
When Sakura still didn’t answer Tsunade was on her feet, hands glowing green. Sakura made some muttered protests but Tsunade pinned her down and did a full body scan.
“What the fuck,” Tsunade demanded, “I can sense the new skin you regrew and the head wound.”
She let out a low hiss, pinning Sakura with hard eyes.
“There were complications,” Sakura said.
“In a cake-walk courier mission?” Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
“No,” Sakura shook her head as if trying to get rid of the daze, “I met with Itachi afterwards and…”
And new skin would have to be regrown after burn wounds. The Uchiha were fire-masters.
“Did he touch you,” Tsunade said, voice full of steel and ice.
“Oh yeah,” Sakura leered.
Tsunade relaxed only a miniscule amount at the teasing in her voice. Sakura sat a bit straighter and the dazed look was fading as her apprentice found her bearings.
“After I left Itachi at an Inn I had the misfortune of running into the Bomber Deidara who was tracking him down with a message.”
Tsunade let out a hiss. After Sasori and the reveal of Naruto’s Jinchuriki status, Tsunade had filled in Sakura on the Akatsuki since she was most likely to run up against them being on Naruto’s team. After the Itachi and Kisame reveal Tsunade had drilled all the information they had into Sakura’s head. They’d analyzed plans on what to do if she ran into other Akatsuki when in the presence of the two or without them. And Deidara had been the worst pair-up for her apprentice if only because Sakura didn’t have the chakra for a ninjutsu battle and Deidara was a very long-range fighter.
“You escaped and made it home though,” Tsunade said, trying to calm herself.
Sakura stayed silent.
“I…I can trust Itachi and Kisame absolutely,” she declared, “With my life.”
Tsunade felt herself chill.
“You didn’t escape.”
“I didn’t,” Sakura agreed quietly, “…Akatsuki is scarier close up.”
Tsunade fell back into her seat.
“All of them?” she asked blankly.
“Most of them,” Sakura said.
Tsunade tried to picture her little student tied up and at the feet and mercy of Akatsuki. She covered her eyes with a hand.
“Itachi helped you?” she finally asked.
“Itachi and Kisame blatantly betrayed Akatsuki to help me,” Sakura corrected.
“What?” Tsunade asked, caught slightly off guard.
“Declared their intentions to abandon Akatsuki because our sex is too fantastic to let me die, right to all their faces,” Sakura said.
Tsunade’s mind sort of broke.
“What?" she asked, slightly dazed and incredulous.
“Yeah,” Sakura nodded, “And then Kisame pretty much declared his undying respect and love for me and my strength on the way back here.”
Tsunade stared at her. Then she stood up and hugged her hard enough Sakura squeaked. Only when her student hugged her back hard enough to make her ribs creak did Tsunade fully accept this was not a dream.
“I’m glad you made it home,” she told her student, “And congratulations on fully seducing 2 S-rank criminals.”
“Thanks, shishou,” Sakura mumbled into her shoulder.
There was a fine tremor in her student’s arms and Tsunade realized why she had been so dazed; she’d looked death square in the face and escape only to be told she was very well loved.
“I’m proud of you,” she told her.
Sakura’s hands fisted into the back of her vest.
“Thank you,” she repeated softly.
Tsunade hugged her for all she was worth so very glad she was okay.