Universe: Alternate

Pairing: Non-specific Sakura x Akatsuki

Warning: None

Reliance was trust

But for people like them,

Trust did not exist, except…

((xoxo))

"Sasori-nii! Deidara-nii!" A cheerful young voice called across the courtyard of the Akatsuki compound, making the duo currently walking away pause in their steps to turn around.

Light green eyes looked at them through an open window, her short pink locks moving as her lips widened into a bright smile.

"Hurry back, ne?" Her small hands cupped around her mouth as she yelled across the distance, the smile never leaving her lips.

Sharing a look between them, Sasori turned around and continued on the path as his partner yelled back in reply. The small lift on the corner of his mouth went unnoticed by his exuberant partner.

"Hai! Sakura-chan" Deidara called back, "Don't forget me while I'm gone!" He pretended to wipe away a tear before turning to catch up to his partner, the grin never leaving his face for the days to come.

((xoxo))

The feeling of being adored and needed,

It was something no human could live without.

They thought themselves inhuman,

…Until she came along

((xoxo))

"Ugh!" A grunt of exhaustion followed by the sound of Kisame dropping to the ground on the tatami floor resounded in the small room. Pushing his thick cloak open while taking off the soaked straw hat, the shark man started to complain to no one in particular. Beside him, the tall lanky figure of one Uchiha Itachi lowered himself to the floor gracefully as the black cloak swished about him.

"That was no fun at all," he groaned, "those bastards were too weak to even-"

The sound of the shoji door sliding interrupted them, before a small pink head popped in through the opening. As soon as those green orbs landed on them, the wooden door was quickly pushed to the side as the small body launched itself at them.

"Itachi-nii, Kisami-nii!" She yelled as her head buried into the wet cloak at the Uchiha's waist.

"Welcome back! I've missed you!"

The two partners shared a look before turning their attention back to the young girl. Reaching out a hand to ruffle the soft strands of pink hair on her head, Kisame chuckled deeply while Itachi watched with softened eyes.

"We're back, squirt."

((xoxo))

It did not matter if the whole world feared them,

After all,

No matter how much blood had drenched their hands,

She would still be there for them

((xoxo))

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" The sudden question made the girl jump in surprise from her crouched position behind the bush.

Timidly, the girl lifter her head and smiled impishly before lifting a finger to her lips.

"Shhh, Zetsu-nii," She pleaded as her eyes searched the premise for the sign of others. Satisfied that her position had yet to be discovered, she smiled once again as she looked up.

"Nya, don't tell Kisame-nii, but I'm hiding all the bottles of sake he stashed in his room."

Zetsu looked down to the bottles of high quality sake was that currently being buried into a hole in the ground, and up again to see the grin on the small girl's face. Bending down to the girl's level, the Akatsuki member motioned for the shovel in her hand with a grim look on his face.

"This will not do, Sakura," he said as he pulled out the bottles out one by one, a serious look on his face. Thinking that the older man disapproved of her actions, Sakura's eyes dulled with guilt but brightened immediately when the Akatsuki continued. "It must be deeper so that Kisame would not get to them."

And together, the two worked under the bright sun, stopping only when a loud roar came from the section of the compound that contained the shark man's room.

"WHO TOOK MY SAKE!?"

((xoxo))

Perhaps becoming close to someone was a weakness,

But when it came in the form of pink hair and large green eyes…

Then it was a weakness they would gladly cherish.

((xoxo))

Two pair of chopsticks met in mid air as they clashed above the last piece of fried tofu. Glaring heatedly at the holders of the offending chopsticks against his own, Deidara struggled to push the offending pair of wooden sticks away from the plate.

"Hands off, Hidan! I saw that first!" Deidara threatened with another menacing glare. Unfortunately, the religious blonde refused to back down, instead narrowing his eyes on his opponent.

"You back off you muddy artist, the Jashin kami would never forgive me if I do not finish everything off!"

Pushing against each other's chopsticks, the two member of the Akatsuki held onto their glaring contest as their clashed chopsticks moved about on top of the plate.

But just as Deidara was able to push Hidan's chopsticks away and go for the last morsel of food, the piece of tofu was quickly snatched away from right under his nose. Tracing the path of the chopsticks that stole his victory prize, his eyes landed on the nonchalant form of the cold Uchiha. Before he could open his mouth to yell at the cold prick, Itachi had already deposited the stolen tofu into the bowl of small girl sitting beside him.

Watching as the girl's eyes brighten as she thanked the Uchiha for the food, Deidara suddenly felt the urge to stab his chopsticks into the other man's mouth just to stop the mocking smirk on Itachi's lips from widening. Gripping his chopsticks harder, Deidara failed to notice the cracking sound in his grasp before it was too late. Unable to bear the angry strain, the fragile wooden sticks snapped under the force.

The sound interrupted the meal as silence bloomed inside the small dining room while a single piece of flint flickered off and landed in the miso soup bowl of the Akatsuki leader. Still in a daze, Deidara could only stare helplessly at the broken bits of wood in his palm while trying his hardest not to meet the killing glare of the leader.

It wasn't his fault that Itachi stole his tofu and he snapped his chopsticks, making the broken piece land in his boss' soup bowl. The silence was broken when Kakuzu started muttering to himself from the far end of the table before clearing his throat and addressing Deidara.

"The chopsticks will need to be replaced; your payment for the next mission will have a deficit of 1200 yen for now." With that said, the man returned to his meal as with all the other members, except for their leader who has still glaring daggers at the unfortunate blonde. Before he could burst into tears from all the unfortunate things happening to him all at once, a pair of pink short chopsticks was pushed in front of him.

"Here, Deidara-nii can have Sakura's chopsticks." The pink haired child smiled as her hand held out the plastic sticks, her arms barely long enough to reach across the table. Without warning, Deidara had already reached across the table to snatch Sakura's small form into his arms.

"SAKURA-CHAN'S THE BEST!" He cried as he hugged the young girl tighter, feeling better as her small hand petted him on his cheek. It was a good thing that his vision was clouded by the gathered moisture in his eyes as well as Sakura's pink hair, for it saved him from seeing the look on the others' faces.

It would have told him that the next few days for him would be hell.

((xoxo))

And finally, they would find peace.

Even if the world around them is a mess of slaughter,

And they can't help but become part of it,

There will always be a shining light…

With pink hair and green eyes.

Note:

(1) -nii big brother, brotherly figure

(2) Hidan that super religious guy in Naruto, you know? One of the newest introduced Akatsuki

(3) Kakuzu that money obsessive Akatsuki, partnered with Hidan

NA: Alright, I finally managed to spew something out after such a long time of not doing anything... I've always wanted to do a story of just clips of events, and what better to do them than for Sakura and the Akatsuki? I tried to include most of the known Akatsuki members, though I have to say that Hidan and Kakuzu seem OOC since I haven't been following the manga too closely. Anyways, I really want to keep adding to this...thing... but I really lost my Naruto muse... anyways, hope this isn't too odd for your tastes... but Sakura-chan is just too cute for one guy to have her all to himself...