Against All Odds

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.

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12: Unwelcome Thoughts

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"Why do you think the mountain collapsed?"

Sasori was frowning as he turned to face her from their sitting positions. Sakura was already looking at him, drink in hand. They had come to the small and homely village, and decided to rest the night. But before finding a hotel, Sakura had wanted to get some real food and drink, and Sasori had obliged. They had settled on a bar for no other reason other than that the stands were closed, and a table for two would have been awkward. Sakura wasn't even sure if she knew how to behave in a formal restaurant anymore. The bar they picked was smoky and a little smelly (and maybe a little shifty), but along with sake, they had ramen. Naruto would've been in heaven, and Sakura couldn't resist.

"I don't know," Sasori admitted slowly. "I hadn't really thought about that. I guess I was just so thrilled we had gotten out of there."

"Right before we found the secret," Sakura said darkly, and Sasori gave her a long look, a look she wasn't sure how to interpret.

"Mountains don't just collapse," Sasori said, changing the subject. "Something, or more likely someone, caused it to fall."

Sasori seemed utterly lost in thought as he turned away from her and onto the drinks behind the bar, as he seemingly pondered their escape. Sakura decided to let him think, and she in turn thought on what he had said. Someone… She wondered if anyone from Konoha had caused the mountain to fall – maybe, she realized quickly, to save her. Or maybe Sasori had connections, and they had come to save him.

Somehow this thought made her frown. Connections. That was right; Sasori didn't really have friends, did he?

"Hey, Sasori," she said.

He snapped out of whatever thoughts he had immediately.

"What is it?"

"Don't you want to go home?" she asked him. "You have friends and stuff in Sunagakure, right?"

His eyes rolled, and he said sharply, "No. I don't have friends." He paused for a second, and then gave her a slight, stiff nod. "Well, for the most part, anyway. It's the way of the Suna."

It was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh please," she said dryly, "Gaara-kun began changing that the second he became Kazekage. Besides, the Sand's definitely been lightening up and becoming a stronger nation because of it."

"Well, I'm a little old for the Suna to have that effect on me," he snapped. "I liked the past way of doing things. Few enemies, fewer friends. That way there was no confusion between the two."

Sakura cocked a confused eyebrow at his statement. How could someone confuse a friend with an enemy? Oh well. It wasn't going to happen with her. She had friends that would last forever. Like Naruto, like Ino, like Kakashi-sensei. Even Sasuke-kun – he may have left, but he'd lost his way. He was her companion, her partner, first – far before being a betrayer. Hell, he was the great love of her life!

"Well, that's just-"

But, she never got to finish her statement because someone inevitably cut off her view from her friend.

"Excuse me, miss," a surprisingly good-looking guy cut in, "can I get you a drink?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Well, she was at a bar… but it didn't really look like she was alone, did it?

"Anything you'd like," he continued, and Sakura put the pieces together. His breath smelled slightly of alcohol. She frowned. Well, Sasori and she had decided to eat pretty late, and they had decided to eat at, well, a bar, a place not full of the classiest company. She scanned the person before her. He was a genin, probably about her age, probably not at all a threat…

"No thanks," Sakura said, with a shrug. "I'm not really all that thirsty."

"And besides, she's with someone," Sasori snapped, thrusting the young ninja out of the way so Sakura could see him again.

The genin looked back and forth between Sakura, an amused grin forming slightly on her face as she faced her companion, and Sasori, an annoyed glare aimed straight at the intruder.

"Oh, sorry," the genin said. "I guess I was just completely blinded by the sight of such a beautiful lady."

Sakura giggled while Sasori's expression soured. Really, she should go to bars more often.

Sasori clearly wouldn't have agreed with that statement.

"Get lost," he told the genin flatly, but before the boy could turn to leave, Sakura grabbed his shoulder, spotting a golden opportunity.

"Hey," she said cheerfully, "you're from Konohagakure, right?"

The genin nodded.

"Yeah," he said sounding somewhat embarrassed. "Name's Akito. My team and I decided to rest the night. We're all guys, we're all just getting drunk, hitting on strangers, I guess. I did find the prettiest girl, though," he said with a quick nod to Sakura, "but I guess I've got a thing for girls with boyfriends."

"We're not-" Sasori interrupted, but cut himself off and just shook his head disgustedly, deciding not to argue.

"You've got good taste though," Sakura said with a smile. This wasn't a bad situation at all, she realized. She got complimented, Sasori squirmed, and there was potential for helpful information. Nice! "Do you know how far we are from Konohagakure?"

Akito nodded.

"Yes," he said, "we're like two days away. We're on the other side of the mountain range."

Oh, wow, Sakura thought, they had been blown to opposite end of the mountains… it was amazing. She shared a glance with Sasori who seemed to be thinking the same thing. He turned away from Sakura once more to face Akito.

"Hey, kid," he said rudely, and the kid flinched, but nodded politely at Sasori nonetheless. Sakura suppressed a laugh.

"Yes?"

"Did you hear about a mountain collapsing? Were you there?"

Sakura looked at the confusion on the boy's face, and she deflated slightly. No, he hadn't seen anything, and the chances of him having any more helpful information were practically nil. But –

"No," he said slowly, "but I do know that two jounin and a bunch of chuunin went there. Do you know Gai-san and Kakashi-san?"

Sakura nodded automatically. Sasori inclined his head slightly.

"Famous ninja," Sasori murmured dryly. "What are they doing out here in some mountain range? Surely, there can't be any important missions there."

"Well, Kakashi-san's team member got lost out there," Akito said. "It's not exactly a secret back in Konohagakure. The girl, I think it's a girl anyway, well, she hasn't been seen for a few weeks."

Suddenly, something appeared to hit the boy, despite being drunk.

"Hey…" he said slowly, "Are you the Konohagakure girl who-"

"That will be all," Sasori cut him off, pushing him away. The boy just looked at them both, a little disoriented and confused. Sasori pointed to the door.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again," Sasori said calmly. "Beat it, kid. She's out of your league, anyway."

"Bye, Akito-kun," Sakura said sweetly with a wave, as the young genin walked away. She grinned at her clearly aggravated companion.

"That wasn't so bad," she teased. "Now aren't you glad you're with a pretty girl? Otherwise, you'd be entirely lost."

"Without a pretty girl, I wouldn't be in this mess," Sasori snapped back, clearly annoyed at the entire scenario. He paused for a second before saying, "And who the hell said you're pretty, other than hotshot over there?"

For a second, Sakura wanted to bring up his whole "out of your league" thing that he had just said, but realized that he had probably only used it to insult Akito-kun. Instead, she just shook his head as he called for a drink – to look unsuspicious, she was sure, as he couldn't actually drink his beverage – and reclined back, thinking of what she had just learned.

Weeks… they had been away for weeks… And it was a big deal, even back in Konohagakure – so big a deal that even an insignificant genin knew about it. And-

Kakashi-sensei and friends had come for her. Briefly, she wondered if Naruto had been there. Her heart warmed at their gesture, and she felt proud of their success.

"Well at least we know how the mountain collapsed," Sakura said as Sasori took his drink from the bartender. "Looks like we can count on great ninja." Her eyebrows furrowed a minute later. "But it's weird that we've been gone for so long."

Sasori frowned as he drummed his fingers along the bar's edge.

"It's a little unsettling," he admitted. "We've been away from civilization for, well, not for a long time, but long enough."

"Yeah," Sakura said quietly. "But it feels even longer. I think that civilization's the wrong word."

She looked at him directly, her emerald eyes meeting his in perfect understanding, an understanding so perfect that neither had to say a thing. Yes, civilization was the wrong word. It had not been civilization that they had been away from; they had been in a different world altogether. She had been his protector; he had been her guide. It wasn't quite like that anymore, she realized. It hadn't dawned on her until that moment.

He didn't need her help, and she didn't need his. But…

He was still here. She was still here.

"This is so weird," she blurted out. He glanced at her curiously, and she blushed.

"I mean," she muttered, "I just feel weird being here with you. In the cave you know, we were sort of forced to become friends."

"We still are," Sasori muttered, and immediately, she felt herself lighten at those words. "It doesn't feel weird, really."

"It's weird," Sakura said, drawing together all her jumbled thoughts, "because it should feel weird, but it doesn't. It feels… right." She smiled at him, and he looked at her, the corner of his own lips tugging up. She almost laughed at her own conclusion.

"We have a friendship that transcends lifetimes."

Then suddenly, his slight grin was replaced with the most confused expression she ever could have pictured on his face. Just for a moment, he looked like a child – a lost and confused child with nowhere to go, with no home to return to. And oddly, he almost looked like a child caught in the act of doing something wrong and felt terribly guilty about it, almost as if they had never felt guilty before.

But Sakura blinked, and it was gone, replaced with the slight smirk she had come to know him for.

"Maybe we do," he agreed. "Let's try and keep it that way."

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Sakura smiled as she nestled her head into the pillow, relieved to smell so fresh and to feel so soft. The life of a ninja was supposed to be hard, but even the best, she knew, could appreciate a little break.

They only had enough money for one room; "a little awkward" as Sakura put it, but it didn't really matter as Sasori didn't sleep, and Sakura had been sleeping in front of him for the past few weeks anyway.

"Rest up," Sasori said calmly from his sitting position on the wooden floor. "You need it."

Sakura's smile widened slightly at his comment. He had come to treat her much more kindly than she imagined he was capable of. He did have a heart, didn't he? It was so funny that just a few weeks ago, she had thought he was no more than a monster.

A few weeks…

"We've been gone a long time, haven't we, Sasori?" she asked softly. "I wonder… if my friends have given up… I wonder if they think I'm dead…"

She could feel Sasori's frown and confusion, and when he spoke, he said exactly what Sakura knew he would.

"Does it matter?" he said blankly. "If they did, they'll probably be overjoyed to see you, at least if they're ninja like you are anyway. And if they didn't, it just goes to show that they're optimistic fools, and things will return to normal for you automatically." He snorted. "When you get home, your commander should have you going on missions in an hour."

"That's not usually how they do it in Konoha," Sakura argued. "They usually give us a little time to wait. We're a community. We're a family."

"That's silly," Sasori shot back immediately. "We're not like that in the Suna."

Sakura rolled over on her bed and saw him looking like right her. She shook her head at him.

"You're supposed to listen to your leader," she said, her voice flat. "I thought a great ninja like you would hear Gaara's words when he said that the Suna was to be more of a community from now on."

"Gaara's a child," Sasori said ruthlessly.

"No, he's a ninja!" Sakura shot back. "He never had a childhood – trust me, I know him! And I know that everyone's saying he'll be the best Kazekage Sunagakure ever had, ever, even better than the third."

Something odd raced across Sasori's features when she said that, but when he spoke, his words did not match his face.

"I'd hope so," he scoffed. "The third disappeared, never to return." But then, he smiled slightly, as if in reflection. "The rumors say he was killed by one of the most promising ninja of his time."

Sakura froze. Completely.

It was the first time, she realized, where she saw Sasori for something else, really saw him for something else because now, she thought she knew him only to realize she didn't. He was smiling as he told that anecdote, smiling as if it was something he had personally done himself. He made it sound as if he had.

Cold. Harsh. Inexplicably, inexplicably –

If she had known any better, she would have called him evil.

Sasori seemed to notice her silence, and any hint of his previous expression was wiped off his face.

"What is it, Sakura?" he asked, sighing slightly, and internally, Sakura shook her head. No, he wasn't evil. He looked out for her, asked her how she was. He cared about her, didn't he? He even offered to accompany her home…

No. That was wrong. At first, he didn't. She remembered that pain, the pain when he said he was going, distinctly. And then, she had said something, something that made him want to come.

She could not remember what it was that changed his mind. It had been a somewhat strange reason, but Sakura had dismissed it because for one, she was thrilled that Sasori would come with her, and for another, she knew Sasori was a strange man. But maybe, maybe it wasn't. Maybe, she had said something that Sasori saw as a good opportunity. Maybe, it had been something actually relevant.

She couldn't trust him. Things weren't as solid as the way they were before. Sasori was not supportive of the leader of Sunagakure; he had mentioned it at dinner before. He changed his mind on a whim, something a ninja of his stature was not supposed to do. And he was, as she had recognized long before but had practically forgotten, a strong and deadly presence. Not one that stuck with teenage girls when he didn't have to.

"Come on, Sakura," Sasori said, clearly annoyed by her silence. "Tell me what's bothering you. You can trust me."

"Can I?" Sakura snapped, and immediately, she regretted it. The honesty in her voice was so raw – she knew that he knew that she wasn't lying or joking around, and she saw that in the surprise evident on his face.

There was a silence in the small room, and Sakura began to fear Sasori, truly fear him, for the first time. He would kill her. That was it, she was suspicious, and he would kill her, bring her body back to Konohagakure and get whatever he needed to get from there.

Sasori stood up, while Sakura's mind braced. She had removed her weapons – against the ninja code, but they were heavy, she was tired, and Sasori had promised to defend her against any threats – and she could do nothing, she knew, not from her position, and not fast enough. He walked over to her bed, and Sakura found that she could not even move, not even as he reached for her… That was it…

But instead of immediately going for her spinal cord or her brain, Sasori instead reached for the blanket resting just slightly over her waist. Gently, he lifted the covers and guided them slowly over her torso, right beneath her neck. His hand brushed her exposed shoulder, and as the sheets floated over her, she relaxed.

"You're shivering," he said calmly, the smallest of a – was it sad? – smile etched lightly upon his face. Sakura had never seen him so soft and genuine. He wasn't acting, she knew, Sasori could never act like this (it was simply not his style) and no powerful ninja ever had a reason to. "If you can't even put yourself to bed, you truly are incompetent."

He returned to his spot on the floor, his back against the wall again.

"Maybe you can't trust me, maybe you can," he said curtly as he leaned back, all the softness in his voice completely gone. "But look, it's as you said earlier. I do care about you, Sakura." He looked at her. "I can't not care about you."

He sounded so blunt, that Sakura could almost believe him.

"You sure?" Sakura asked passively. She did not want to risk anything again by sounding accusing.

"Yeah," he said, and once again, she detected truth – truth like when he spoke about art – laced faintly in the back of his voice. "It's a weakness, but we've been through a little too much for me to lie about it. We're close. You've said it yourself."

Sakura nodded slowly at him.

"Maybe," she agreed.

"No, definitely." To her surprise, he let out a laugh – harsh, perhaps, but almost real – and shook his head. "Get to bed, Sakura. I swear you'll be alive and in one piece in the morning."

She wrinkled her nose before laughing herself. That was right – deadly ninja aside, she could laugh with Sasori and smile with him. And undoubtedly, he could do the same with her.

"That's disgusting!" she grinned at him. "Though I don't know – you'll never know if that Akito boy has his way."

A look of revulsion and something else that Sakura didn't recognize spread across his face. It was his turn to be disgusted.

"Just go to bed," he muttered, rolling his eyes. Sakura giggled slightly, let go of her paranoia if only for that moment, and allowed herself to drift to her dreams.

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AN: I'm weirdly happy with this chapter. I felt that this one went along better with the rest of the story than the last two. But then again, I felt this way about the last chapter, and now I can't stand it. They sort of go together; Sasori's acting shifty, and Sakura feels suspicious. BTW, I say that all bars should serve sake and ramen. I don't know Japanese bars, so at least I'll pretend Naruto bars do.

Thank you for all your reviews! I'm so touched, really, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!