Spoiler warning: I gave a warning of teeny spoilers last chapter, but this time there's quite a few big ones and they're right at the start. If you've read up to ch280ish, you'll be fine. Otherwise, beeewaaare!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never have, never will. It's the property of Masashi Kishimoto and it's best that way.

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Torn

Chapter 4

By Shanpuu

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"And why have you been crying, hmm?" Deidara asked, the grin of a madman pasted across his face.

As he approached her Sakura watched him cautiously. His blue eyes, outlined in black, were wide and piercing, and she really didn't appreciate being looked at like that.

"Not gonna tell me, hmm?" Deidara questioned the silent girl as he reached the bed and propped himself up on his elbows beside her. As he leant back his cloak fell open to reveal a lean, well-toned torso covered only by a loose fish-net vest and as Sakura desperately tried to keep her gaze at eye-level, she cursed whoever decided that maniacs should be so attractive.

It was obvious he was trying to make her uncomfortable and Sakura didn't want to give him the satisfaction. But as his weight on the mattress tipped her slowly towards him, she instinctively scooted over a little and Deidara's grin only grew more delighted.

"Hmm, so it really is you…" He drawled in his smooth, silky voice as he looked up, keenly studying her features. "The little girl who bumped off Sasori-danna… Sakura, yeah?"

Sakura didn't utter a word; she was too busy wondering why this man was in her room, on her bed and what the hell he wanted from her.

Maybe… he's pissed off I killed his partner and wants revenge? She wondered. But after all this time? There was certainly no animosity in his eyes or voice, but with a man whose favourite pastime is to make stuff go 'boom', you can never really be certain.

"Kisame and Itachi really did get lucky then, yeah… with you being a team-mate of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, too." He pouted, an expression that looked alien on the face of a man adorned in the Akatsuki dress. "Hmph, those two are boring bastards though, yeah. Keeping a little kunoichi cooped up in here when they could be having fun with her…"

Fun with me? Sakura wondered, startled. Now that wouldn't worry her too much if he wasn't a bomb-happy maniac. His previous words entered her mind,

'Art is a bang!'

Yes, he'd said that right before blowing himself up (though she now realised it must've been a bunshin) and nearly taking the lives of her and her friends with him. Sakura suddenly felt that the bed, although king-sized, was far too small, and her eyes nervously flittered between the man and the door, calculating the risks of making a break for it.

"But hmm," he looked up thoughtfully, "Itachi was assigned to watch over you… I guess he found it easier this way than having you wander around his house."

"This is Itachi's house?" Escape forgotten; Sakura asked suddenly, gasping.

"So you do talk, hmm?" Deidara remarked, his grin never faltering. "And it's his house, yeah."

"But aren't S-Rank criminals meant to hang out in underground caves… or something?"

A deep chuckle escaped Deidara's lips. "It say that in your little Bingo Book?"

"No-- I just assumed…"

"Well, even the cruellest of bastards needs his creature comforts, yeah," the blonde replied.

"I suppose…" But really, it was difficult to think of a man like Itachi acting, well… human. She had expected his home to be some dark, gothic tower that any self-respecting vampire would be proud of… Scratch that, she didn't even expect him to have a home, let alone a beautiful, peaceful house by the sea. The cold Uchiha really didn't make any sense.

"So. Why were you crying, hmm?"

Sakura met his eyes, frowned, then turned to stare unseeingly at her feet. "It's nothing…"

"You expect me to believe that, yeah?"

The pink haired girl gently shut her eyes. "Why would you care?"

"It's just that… your eyes are all red and puffy, and your skin looks all sticky and blotchy," Deidara explained, scrunching up his nose-- much to Sakura's irritation, "and it's not very attractive, not very nice to look at, yeah."

"You think I care what you think of me?" Sakura retorted, glaring at the ever-grinning blonde.

"Deidara-san!" Before Deidara could reply, a muffled voice called his name and heavy footsteps pitter-pattered towards the room.

Deidara furrowed his brow in irritation, his air of nonchalance shattered. "Fuck off Tobi!" He growled, irritably.

Tobi? Sakura wondered, Is that another Akatsuki member?

A swirly masked-face lined with messy black hair peeped around the door frame, and perked up when it spotted the blonde resting on the bed. "Deidara-san, I'm just letting you know your dinner is ready."

'Letting him know his dinner is ready'? Sakura quirked an eyebrow, strangely disturbed by the homeliness of it all.

Sighing, the blonde regretfully rose to his feet and strode towards the masked man, Sakura watching him carefully all the while. At the door, he turned back to her with a questioning look that she couldn't quite place.

"What are you doing, hmm?" He asked her, and at her confused silence, he added, "are you coming or not?"

Sakura gaped at him, "Coming? But Itachi said-"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Who gives a shit? Just come on."

She knew the blonde was crazy, but not to this extent of betraying the Uchiha's wishes. She stared at him, her jaw hanging low in shock. "B-But…"

A wicked gleam entered his beady blue eyes. "I'd shut that mouth before someone gets tempted to put something in it, yeah."

Her previous nervousness shattered and she glared at him with affronted fury. "What? How dare-"

"Better," he said, chuckling at her reaction. "Now come out before I change my mind and leave you locked in there with Tobi."

"What?" Tobi cried indignantly as Sakura bit her lip in indecision.

If she left, there was no doubt Itachi would be mighty pissed off that she'd done so without his permission… but to be away from these four suffocating, all-too familiar walls was a temptation she was finding hard to resist. Besides, she was still hungry; the meal Itachi had brought lay untouched on the bedside table and was no doubt getting all cold and soggy by now. It was probably a decision she'd live to regret but for a little taste of freedom and some appetising food, she'd risk the Uchiha's fury.

But as she approached Deidara, and he leered like at her a wolf who'd just found himself a sheep lost from the herd, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something that she was missing…

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This is weird. This is really weird. This is really freaky… Naruto won't believe me when I tell him about this… if I make it out alive, that is.

Who'd have guessed the Akatsuki sit down to eat dinner at a table like a family?

Sakura was still finding it hard to believe but there she sat, dining with three of the most dangerous criminals known to the world, eating a home-cooked meal that even her mother would be proud of. Well, trying to eat it anyway… as she poked nervously at a carrot on her plate, she couldn't keep her eyes from glancing between the three men. Itachi, ever silent and calm, sat at the head of the table, Kisame sat across from her eating something so slimy, so disgusting, she didn't even attempt to identify it, and Deidara sat on her right, his feet propped up on the table as he munched contentedly on a chicken leg.

And it didn't make it any more logical that she sat in Itachi's house, Itachi's dining room. Uchiha Itachi; the man who'd murdered his family and clan in cold blood, who was callous and evil, who had made her life a living hell, and had decided to paint his dining room a lovely shade of terracotta. The image of Itachi clutching a paint brush while clothed in paint-splattered dungarees made her want to rip her hair our in terror.

She had been tempted to turn back and head to her room when she spotted the Uchiha sitting at the table, but she needn't have worried… he hadn't so much as glanced at her the whole time and it seemed as though he'd forgotten the whole 'strangling' incident. But since her arrival, Itachi, Kisame and even the extroverted Deidara had not uttered a word and the hushed chorus of steel clashing with porcelain was really wrecking her nerves. She almost wished they'd make small talk…

'So, Kisame, how was your day? Cut anyone's legs off with Samehada?'

'Not today, but I did manage to decapitate a few dozen women and children, haha! Give anyone a mental breakdown with your Tsukuyomi, Itachi?'

On second thought, Akatsuki small talk would be way too creepy.

The only blessing in the whole situation was that as sure as she was that Itachi would rip her head off after realising she'd left her room without permission, the cold Uchiha hadn't spared her a single glance the whole time. But her reprieve didn't last very long.

"She was not to leave her room, Deidara." Itachi said suddenly, startling Sakura into nearly dropping her fork.

Deidara paused mid-chew, and contemplated a few moments before speaking. "She's doing no harm though, yeah?"

"It is unwise of you to disobey my rules having just returned from Earth country empty handed. You are treading dangerous ground Deidara," Itachi said coolly, his calm tone contradicting his heated words.

Maybe it was just instinct because the Uchiha was so damn hard to read, but something told her he really didn't like the mischievous blonde. But Itachi didn't strike her as the type to hesitate in killing someone that got on his nerves…

So maybe it was the case that he simply couldn't…

Deidara wouldn't have appeared so nonchalant if it was any other way. "But it doesn't matter now, does it? The kunoichi's taken the job," the blonde retorted, waving the chicken leg at Sakura. "Besides, we did capture a med-nin. But he… uh, didn't make it through the journey, hmm."

"Another? Perhaps you should take more care while we are in such a delicate situation."

"Not my fault he pissed Tobi off," Deidara huffed, frowning slightly. "Tobi seems like a stupid bastard, but you should see him when he gets angry… the idiot doesn't know his own strength, yeah."

A few minutes of silence ensued. Itachi merely stared at the blonde, and although he appeared calm and composed Sakura couldn't shake off the feeling that he was akin to a predator, lying in wait for the right moment to strike. Unconsciously, she fingered the still prominent nail marks on her neck where Itachi's cold fingers had been, and wondered if Deidara knew just how much danger he was in.

But if the blonde was intimidated, he didn't show it. Obliviously, he finished off the chicken leg and took a few long, audible swigs of sake.

Finally, Itachi pushed out his chair and stood from the table, and silently headed towards the door. At the threshold, he turned back to Sakura. "Sakura-san, you will return to your room promptly after you are finished. Understood?"

"Yes Itachi-san," she nodded meekly, and seemingly satisfied with her answer, he continued out the door.

"Fucking control freak," Deidara muttered when they could no longer hear his departing footsteps. "I shoulda shoved this chicken leg up his ass, yeah."

"Perhaps you should try it next time and see what happens," Kisame, who'd been silent up until now, said with a grin, a low chuckle escaping his pasty lips.

"Perhaps I will," Deidara mocked his amused tone. "Only… I'll send one of my clay birds up along with it, yeah."

Kisame shook his head, smiling slightly. He swallowed the last bite of his meal then stood from the table, but turned to address Sakura before he left. "Kunoichi, you should heed Itachi's parting words," he warned her, and he glimpsed at Deidara for the briefest of moments, before returning his attention to her. "I'm sure you already know it is unwise to anger him."

Involuntarily fingering her neck again, Sakura nodded. "…I know. I'm well aware of my responsibilities here, Kisame-san."

Nodding, the shark-like man left the room, leaving her alone with the impish blonde, whose sapphire eyes now stared at her intently.

"So… we're all alone now, hmm?" he said, one side of his lip quirking in a crooked smirk.

That smirk told her to put as much space between him and her as possible, and fast, so hastily she began to rise from her seat too, explaining, "I should go back n-"

Deidara's harsh tone halted her mid-stand. "Stay."

"But-"

"No buts. You can't leave yet, you haven't even touched your sake, kunoichi," He said, feigning offence as he pointed to the full glass that lay, almost forebodingly beside her plate.

Sakura met his eyes, then followed his finger to gaze at the sake. "I'm… not much of a drinker," she admitted, truthfully.

Deidara was not easily discouraged. "You're not allowed to leave the table until you've finished your sake, yeah. It's an Akatsuki rule. Plus," he added, raising a finger matter-of-factly, "as a guest it's rude not to drink it, yeah."

"Don't bullshit me." She was also not so easily discouraged. "And I'm hardly a guest, am I?"

"Still. We went to all the trouble of pouring it for you, the least you could do is drink even a little of it, yeah."

Yeah, it really takes a lot of effort to pour a little alcohol in a glass… Sakura thought sarcastically. Besides, I need to be up early to heal the leader again tomorrow… if I have even a hint of a hangover…

She didn't want to think what would happen then. She stood up fully. "No."

"Sit down and drink, Kunoichi, or I swear I'll fucking force it down your throat myself." His eyes were wide, dangerous as he said this and the playful, teasing glint had disappeared. .

"Fine, whatever." Slowly, she sat back down, lifting the glass to her lips and taking a small sip. "Happy now?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "More."

She took another sip and looked at the blonde expectantly.

He shook his head. "More!"

Irritated, Sakura held the glass to her lips and threw her head back, downing the alcohol in one go. A throbbing, burning sensation lined her mouth and throat, and she keeled over in a fit of coughs. "Th-That's disgusting!" she cried, when the burning had finally receded.

Deidara, who'd smiled delightedly the entire time, pulled his chair next to hers and lifted the sake bottle. "I'll pour you another glass, hmm?"

Sakura stared, with growing trepidation, as he eagerly filled her glass. What do I do…?

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Itachi awoke. He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd slept, but the sun had just set when he'd laid down his head, and now the moon was high; a glowing beacon in the inky night sky. It wasn't like him to fall asleep so easily, but his thoughts had been so turbulent since the morning that he supposed he'd needed it.

The girl had disturbed him greatly. Her whispered words had brought him a stark revelation; one that was so obvious and made so much sense he wondered angrily why he had not seen it before.

She was in love with his little brother.

She was no doubt his weakness. She was the reason that even after he'd taken everything from Sasuke and left him a start contrast of the oblivious, hopeless little boy he'd been, he was still too weak, he still lacked enough hatred and he would never reach the marker that Itachi had set for him. And because of that he yearned to kill her, had almost killed her. He glanced at his fingers as he remembered them clutched tightly around her neck, slowly draining her of life… he'd felt her fingernails desperately breaking his flesh, watched as her bright green eyes had grown dull, glazed over. And it had all felt so right.

But he had stopped himself, regained his control, because at the moment she was unfortunately necessary… but as soon as that changed, he would take great pleasure and satisfaction in ending her annoying little life. But as she was needed, he pushed himself up and left to check she had made it safely back to her room.

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It had been sort of like standing back and watching as a house burns to the ground, knowing you should do something to stop it, but doing nothing for the fear of getting burnt. Sakura knew Deidara was trying to get her drunk, though she didn't know why, but she also knew that those little black bands wrapped around her wrists placed her at his mercy.

And she'd already more than passed the point of no return, anyway. The room was spinning, her brain was slow and groggy, and nonsense spewed from her mouth freely, but she didn't seem to care. She knew she'd drunk far too much, but with Deidara sitting beside and eagerly coaxing her, there was not a damn thing she could do about it. She could only hope she'd have a such a bad hangover in the morning that she wouldn't feel too much pain when Itachi wrung her neck.

"You're… trying to get me drunk…"

"Correction-- I've got you drunk. But not drunk enough yet, yeah." Yet more sake was poured. "Here."

Sakura tried to focus on the glass in front of her, but it seemed to be sliding around the table on its own… so she thrust her hand out to grab it, but wasn't able to catch it until Deidara guided hers with his own.

"Waitaminute," she frowned, waving the glass at him accusingly. "You've hardly drunk any yourself!"

Smirking, he stole the glass from her fingers and emptied it in one mouthful. Afterwards, he swept his sleeve across his mouth in a large, exaggerated gesture and let out a loud sigh. "Unlike you I can hold my drink, yeah."

"Itsh the…firsht time I've been drunk…"

"Then you should make the best of it, hmm?"

"Nnng…" Sakura moaned, and her head fell forward to rest on the table, her cheek pressing against it making her lips stick out in a fish-like pout. She frowned, staring up at the blonde with glassy eyes. "I jusht noticed… your head… it looks like a pineapple." And she burst into a fit of laughter as if she'd just cracked the joke of the century.

Deidara's eyebrow twitched; he obviously didn't appreciate anyone insulting his hair, but he shrugged it off and fixed her with an amused smile. "So you're the giggling kind of drunk, yeah?"

Sakura was too busy giggling to reply.

"But really. How pathetic; a grown woman and you can't even hold your alcohol, yeah…"

The pink-haired girl's giggles finally ceased and, sitting up, she grabbed the sake bottle from the table and waved it wildly in his face. Deidara's eyes widened as the precious contents spilled everywhere. "I can hold it! See see?"

"Don't spill it!" Deidara warned, and placed his hand around hers to steady it. It was just a small, innocent touch, it should've been brushed off and forgotten about… but at that touch, the mood in the room shifted dramatically. Sakura stared at his hand in a stupor, willing it to leave hers, but being too drunk to do much about it.

His hand; the hand of an artist, was warm and smooth and only slightly larger than hers, and even in her drunken state, she couldn't help but feel they didn't belong on a mass murderer. Her cheeks suddenly felt very warm. Was she blushing? Or was that just the alcohol's affect on her? She couldn't tell.

Suddenly, she remembered that he had mouths on each of his palms and although she couldn't feel them, she frantically tried to pull her hand away. But he didn't let go. It felt like a few minutes had passed, but he still made no move to remove his hand. Instead, he began to caress her fingers with his, staring into her eyes intently, a gleam inside of them that even out of her current state, she'd be clueless to comprehend.

And then he was leaning towards her. And suddenly she realised with muted horror that he was going to kiss her.

Take the first kiss that for so long she'd saved for Sasuke. But her body felt weak, her limbs were heavy and she could barely keep her eyes open; she was powerless to stop him.

"Deidara." A deep voice froze the man in question barely an inch from stealing Sakura's lips, each syllable angrily emphasized; Itachi obviously did not approve of the scene before him. "That is enough."

Sakura turned to groggily regard the Uchiha. Standing at the threshold, he was bathed in shadows; his narrowed crimson eyes the only reason she could tell he was there. He entered slowly, clothed only in a rumpled vest and loose black pants, his hair slightly mussed. Sakura realised, in astonishment, that the Uchiha actually looked dishevelled.

"Is it?" The blonde asked as he leant away from Sakura, a brilliant grin stretching his lips. "I haven't quite… quenched my thirst yet, yeah."

"You heard me approaching," he said coolly and Sakura's sluggish mind tried to figure out the significance of that statement.

He was suddenly beside her, lifting her chin with cold fingers and she stared up at him with half-lidded eyes as he carefully studied her face. Then, he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly and turned to the blonde. "Do not forget what she is doing is as important to you as I, Deidara. How can she be expected to carry out her duties in the morning in such a state?"

"I'll be fine!" Sakura protested, hoping to diffuse the tense atmosphere as she struggled to her feet, but the room suddenly spun violently, and she lurched forward. Itachi caught her easily.

"Well… perhaps you should take more care in such a-- delicate situation, yeah," the beaming blonde chided, turning the Uchiha's earlier words back on him.

Vowing to himself to kill the blonde when the first opportunity appeared, he almost growled, "Get out of my sight."

"As you wish," Deidara said smugly as he left the room, leaving Itachi standing there, cradling the drunken girl. As he glanced down at her flushed face, he realised she'd passed out and moved swiftly to return her to her room.

Much as he had that morning, he placed her on the bed but as he slid his hands from under her, her slender arms entwined around his neck and pulled his head down gently towards hers. Startled, Itachi froze, his blood-red eyes now firmly fixed on her jugular.

"Sasuke-kun… don't leave me…" She whispered, her husky voice sounding so lonely, so vulnerable in the room's vast silence.

Itachi leant closer, his lips almost brushing her ear. Then, with a touch as tender as a lover's he brushed petal-pink hair away from her cheek and spoke; his words a cruel, rusty dagger aimed for her heart. "I don't want you Sakura…"

She frowned.

"I'd rather cut out my tongue with a blunt knife than ever be with you."

She struggled to move her face away from his fingers but he only held tighter, nails digging lightly into her soft cheeks. And he twisted the knife.

"So love me, yearn for me, but still-- I'll never be yours… and I'll never love you."

"Sasuke-kun… no…" Her arms fell limply from his neck to rest on the bed at her sides, her frown was deep and he was certain he could see shimmering tears forming under her thick lashes. Standing, he smiled and left.

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A/N: Phew, done and there's probably a lot of mistakes… -sigh-. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I don't have time to write responses at the moment, but I just hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Next one out soon! Ja!