For three days he searched for her in every nook and cranny of Konoha, but she was no where to be seen. There wasn't even a trace of any Iwagakure shinobi around the village. Finally, around his fourth day of searching, he felt her chakra signature at her house. That was odd. It wasn't there before. But his relief soon turned into utter annoyance when he detected a chakra signature he had never felt before. In her house. He quickly made his way over, stepped to her porch, and rang the doorbell.
He definitely was not expecting a shirtless man to answer the door.
"Oh. Hey." Deidara greeted, "If you're looking for Sakura-chan, she's not available right now, un. She's really tired and sleeping up in her room, hm. I guess I tired her out more than I'd like."
Itachi's eye twitched as numerous inappropriate scenarios ran unwillingly through his head.
"What what, pray tell, where you two doing?" he questioned. He kept his voice calm and his face expressionless, but Deidara knew better. An absolutely predatory grin grew on his face as he leaned against the door frame.
"I'm not someone to tell things like that, you know. It came as a surprise to me, un. When she asked me to do it, I just couldn't refuse. She's already done so much for me, hm."
Itachi's sharingan started to spin dangerously.
"But whatever. I'm going to check to see if she's okay- did you know that she collapsed because she was absolutely exhausted, un?" he mentioned carelessly, waving his hand around like it was nothing, "Who would've known she would do something like that for me, though? Her skills have improved greatly over the ye-"
Itachi lunged.
~
Sakura pried her eyes open when she heard something break from downstairs. She groaned and pushed her covers off of her. How long had she been asleep? Two, three hours? Deidara probably moved her to her bed half an hour ago.
CRASH
She sighed and got out of bed. Dragging her feet over to the railing, she peered over groggily. Itachi. And Deidara. Fighting. In her house... Goddammit.
"Oi! Tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum! Stop messing up my house!" she shouted. Itachi halted his actions immediately and stood up from the floor. He acknowledged Sakura with a small nod.
"Good morning, Sakura-san. Did you sleep well?"
Deidara heaved himself up from his spot on the ground and rubbed his swollen cheek and bruised ribs.
"Asshole!" he hissed. "The hell did you attack me for, un?!"
Sakura walked down the stairs before another fight could erupt. To make sure they both listened to her, she whacked them both upside the head and took a seat on the couch. She directed Deidara to the basement where his shirt should be, and when he was gone for the meantime, she glared directly at Itachi.
"I didn't expect you to pick a fight with anyone, Itachi-san. What the hell was that about?"
He looked to the side.
"I--"
"Sakura-chan~! I'm taking my leave, un! I'll meet you tomorrow in front of the Hokage's office at nine am!" Deidara exclaimed. He waved at her enthusiastically before walking out the door. After giving him her customary smile, she looked back at Itachi. But he wasn't looking at her. He was glaring at the now closed door.
"Do you have something against Deidara, Itachi-san?" she questioned.
"Deidara..." he mused to himself, "What is he to you?"
"He's just a friend--"
"Why was he here for three days and what were you two doing?"
"What is this, an interrogation?" she pouted, "It's real simple, Itachi-san. He was missing an eye and an arm, so I healed him. The jutsu I used on him took three whole days to complete, and when I finished, I passed out from chakra exhaustion. My basement is still covered in the seals."
Itachi was silent. He blinked a few times as he processed every word that came out of her mouth. When he finally realized he had just been played by that Deidara, he growled. Sakura saw this and laughed heartily, punching Itachi playfully on the shoulder, catching him completely off guard.
"Deidara makes it his hobby to piss people off, so don't take it to heart." she grinned. Seeing her cheerful expression caused Itachi's own to soften and sigh. He took a step forward and bent down to touch noses with Sakura. She blinked and sat still, not knowing what to do.
"Let me make myself clear, Sakura." he said, his voice intimidating, "I intend to pursue you and I will not give you up to anyone else. Do you follow?"
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide. Itachi stood up and smirked.
"Good. Now that you understand my intentions, I shall take my leave. Go return to bed and get some rest. I will come back later to cook you dinner."
Itachi inclined his head and took his leave. Sakura stared at the door for a couple of seconds before her face exploded red.
~
Sakura was nestled comfortably in her bed. Her face was smooshed against her fluffy white pillow and her covers were kicked aside, exposing her legs to the slightly chilly air. The unoccupied side of her bed dipped as a sigh was heard.
"It must be pretty urgent for you to call me all the way from the bounty station near Ame." a deep voice commented. She didn't open her eyes as she shifted slightly.
"Yeah it was." she murmured groggily, "Make it quick, please. I dunno how much longer I can stay 'wake like this..."
"Alright. The information didn't come up in copious amounts, but it should suffice. The people who attacked you and your just a few days ago work for this head mastermind. No one knows his true identity, but he's ruthless, maniacal, and a bit of a sadist. He's originally from Konoha, had previously worked under Danzo Shimura, and has a spy in the village at this very second. I don't know the identity of the spy either." he explained, "And that's all I have gathered. Are you satisfied?"
"Mm. Thanks 'Kuzu-san. Help yourself to whatever ya' want downstairs. There's food, a spare room, so ya' know, knock yourself out..."
Sakura went back to sleep and Kakuzu let himself out of her room, making sure to close the door behind him. Normally, he'd ask for payment for such information, but he supposed that the food and the spare room was payment enough. He sighed again.
'I must be growing soft.'
YOU ARE READING
Darkest Before Dawn
FanfictionOrochimaru never became a missing-nin. The Fourth Hokage still stood tall. There was no Uchiha Massacre. The Akatsuki never existed. Madara never became a problem. What could go wrong in such a perfect world? Sakura Haruno had always been alone, and...