Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or the show which is named after him, nor do I own any of the characters which appear in the aforementioned show yadda yadda yadda.

Pairing: Hidan X Sakura

Type: One-Shot

Warnings: Will probably have OOC (Out of Character)-ness. I apologize if there is OOCness in the story, I will do my best to...do my best? May have swearing in it.

Set: This story is set in the high school realm.

Word Count: 6,779

Reshaped and edited by myself.

Ringing

+*+ A HidaXSaku One-Shot +*+

Now, Sakura Haruno was usually a nice and patient girl who made sure to lock up all her true, violent, feelings in a tight box, in the farthest corner of her mind, labelled "Inner Sakura." Unfortunately, one day, when the emotion she was trying to lock away was much more violent than usual, it became too much for the box and it escaped, managing to manifest itself as a darker version of Sakura. Thankfully, she could usually get it under control eventually.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

One such example of this was when Sasuke broke her heart by cheating on her with her best friend, at the time, Ino. She had tried to lock up her rage, but it would not be quelled, broke free of the box and it took over Sakura. Ino and Sasuke were hospitalised and Tsunade, Sakura's adopted mother, had to bail her out of jail. They both made a full recovery. Unfortunately Sakura's reputation was forever tarnished and everyone was afraid of her and her 'super human' strength. Naruto was her only friend after that. Tsunade and Naruto fully supported her and said Sasuke and Ino deserved what they had got...no one else saw it that way. It was lucky for Sakura that Tsunade was also the principle of the school or else she probably would have been expelled.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

The next time it happened, Ino and her posse had ganged up on her with full intent to maim. They only got in about 10 minutes before Inner Sakura took over again they were all beaten into the ground. Sakura quickly sprinted away so she didn't get in trouble again. Though they did make the first move, the first strike, and they had used weapons, so technically it was self defense.

Ino and her posse never went near her again, out of school anyway. They were all big and tough at school, despite Tsunade being the principle. There were certain...teachers who had voted for Sakura to be expelled. Those teachers supported Ino and her group, and often turned a blind eye when they verbally assaulted Sakura at school.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Now a flood gate had been opened and the box that she had kept locked tight all these years since the accident had opened itself and was flooding her. And now the suppressed emotions were always in her mind, they weren't taking her over, per say, but they were always there and they had an opinion on everything...the opinions were usually the complete opposite of the naive and innocent girl's usual personality and they were slowly warping her.

This was grade eight. She was now in grade 11.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Well the feelings and emotions had manifested themselves into a single being. It was called Inner Sakura, and like the many emotions before it, it had an opinion on everything.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sakura walked along the halls to her homeroom, the bell was just about to go so the halls were extremely crowded. And it didn't help to have an 'Inner' distracting her all the time with nothing of consequence.

'Hey, isn't that boy cute' Inner Sakura squealed from inside her mind. If Sakura concentrated she could see the thing, who looked exactly like she did...besides the complete black that made up her being. The outline of the body was the same and white lines outlined everything else. The only other difference was that Inner Sakura had Inner stamped on her forehead in white lettering. She was currently lounging on a plain she had created within her Outer's mind. It had rolling green hills and clear blue skies, and the sun was at such an angle that it was not too hot and not too cold. Too bad it was all imaginary.

Sakura finally got to the homeroom door just as the bell rang and went inside. Surprisingly, Kakashi, her homeroom teacher, was there early for once. Usually he came in just as the bell for next class went. She took a seat, unfortunately all the window seats were taken and she was forced to take a seat over the other side of the room.

'I heard that! I am not some imaginary being. I am the manifest-' She was cut off by Sakura inwardly huffing.

'You are the manifestations of the emotions I had locked up within a small box for so many years. I know.' She thought, 'And I s'pose that boy was pretty cute.' She added as an after thought.

Inner Sakura grinned in delight, it wasn't often that the Outer humoured the Inner.

'What was his name? Hita or something?'

'By the look of that cloak he wore, he's apart of the Akatsuki. There is only one silver haired Akatsuki member and his name is Hidan. He's the foul mouthed one that annoys me every time he sees me - remember?'

Inner Sakura grinned slyly, 'Ah, yes, I remember now. If I recall correctly he has the most adorable violet eyes.'

'Yeah, they're adorable alright...until he starts swearing at you and praising that damned Ja-something god directly in your ear at the top of his voice.'

'Well if you weren't such a know-it-all, maybe you wouldn't be targeted as much.'

'You know, as well as I, that that's just who I am. I won't change who I am for anyone.'

It was Inner Sakura's turn to sigh, 'I know, I wouldn't change you either. After all, if you were like me I would be like you.' Inner Sakura shuddered and Sakura scowled. Unfortunately the scowl wasn't inward this time and a red-headed male looked at her puzzled.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sasori looked at the pinkette perplexed, he had never done anything to her. So why was she scowling at him?

Before he could even think of going over there and asking the only girl in the whole school who wasn't in a fan-club why she was scowling at him the homeroom door banged open the strange girl's best friend arrived.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sakura was just about to mentally scream, Inner was being stupid again, when the homeroom door banged open and her best friend barged in. He grinned stupidly at Sakura, who jumped to her feet to welcome the blonde, spiky-haired fox. Sakura just opened her mouth when...

"Sakura, sit down. Naruto, go sit in your seat. I have to take attendance." Sakura dropped in her seat and Naruto hurried around the desks to sit next to Sakura, he already had two detentions this week and he didn't need another one.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sasori narrowed his eyes at the pinkette, who had turned her attention away from him and looked at her friend. But before he could contemplate the strange female any longer, his best friend, Deidara, whacked him over the back of the head.

"Pay attention, we can't afford to be late to the meeting this time, un." Deidara said, looking at Sasori with a serious look in his grey-blue eye.

"Like you should talk," Sasori hissed, "you're the one always making us late!"

"Guilty as charged, danna, un." Deidara grinned, the serious aura gone.

Suddenly Kakashi was on them.

"Sasori, I called your name five times. Stay after class." Sasori glared at the still-grinning blonde. It was like some kind of game to Deidara, the blonde just loved making him late all the time. He hated being late.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

In one class over, Hidan leaned back on his chair.

"It's so damn boring." He whined to his partner, Kakuzu.

"Why would I care?" Kakuzu asked, bored himself.

"I don't fucking know." Hidan said, sighing.

"Hidan, Kakuzu. It's not very youthful to talk when the teacher is talking. Stay behind after class." Guy struck a good guy pose and smiled, blinding everyone in the classroom.

"Ah, my fucking eyes!" Hidan cried out in pain, covering his sensitive eyes and trying to shield them from the brightness that was Guy's Teeth Sparkles.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Back in Kakashi's homeroom class Naruto was just as bored as Hidan. And he was annoying the heck out of Sakura. First, Naruto had started doodling on his book, after that lost it's value, he started doodling on the desk, when Sakura threatened to castrate him, he started doodling on Sakura's book. Sakura just let him have the stupid book, she had a tonne of other one's just like it at her house anyway. And when that had become boring Naruto leaned back in his chair. He leaned so far back that the chair was almost tipping over.

Sakura growled lowly and pulled Naruto's chair so that the legs would all be touching the ground again. Instead of it happening smoothly like she had planned, Sakura's 'super human' strength got in the way and Naruto's chair slammed forward with so much force that Naruto was pulled out of his chair from the momentum. He went flying into the blackboard.

The whole class broke out in giggles and Sakura blushed a deep red, she was always doing things like this by accident.

She looked down at the chair legs. They had left small dents in the floor. The blush deepened and she pretended not to notice the damage to school property.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Kakashi sighed. Sakura was his best student in Art class, and he also knew that Sakura was doing extremely well in all her other classes as well.

However, she could never seem to control her strength.

"Sakura, I would like to see you after class as well." He told her with a deep regret that he didn't understand.

Sakura sighed and lowered her head in shame, she would have to make it up to Naruto later. Maybe shout him one night to a noodle shop, the one he loved so much...and invite Hinata as well. Sakura could tell they both secretly liked each other, even though Naruto often over exaggerated liking Sakura. She could tell the blonde liked the young heiress. And she certainly didn't make it a secret. In fact Naruto was the only one who hadn't noticed it yet.

'You never know though, he's a strange one.' Inner said, serious-looking for the first time ever. Sakura almost stopped breathing in her surprise. After a hitch she was breathing normally again. Mustn't allow the others to know she was a lot less normal than everything thought. It would hurt her, physically and emotionally.

'Tsunade and Jiraiya would probably disown me if they ever found out.' She thought, gloomily.

'Pssh, no they wouldn't. They would just send you to a nice mental hospital, where they would most likely jab you with needles and lock you in a small white room until you actually went crazy.'

Sakura scowled again, 'not helping Inner.'

'Wasn't meant to Outer.'

Unfortunately, she was scowling at the russet headed Akatsuki member she, herself, didn't realise it, too caught up in the mental conversations with her annoying Inner to notice. She didn't even know she was scowling.

Of course, to be fair, she thought she was just staring broodily out the window...which Sasori was in front of.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sasori furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Perhaps he would have to meet this 'Sakura.' He really was quite curious as to why she was scowling at him, thought he had a feeling she didn't even realise it. Now that he had a good look at her he could tell her pastel green eyes were glazed, as if thinking about something deeply. In fact, they almost looked...black.

It was not a happy thought or memory by the looks of it.

Deidara leaned in close to his best friend and followed his gaze.

"She is pretty cute I guess, but Hidan says she's a total know-it-all, un. Why is she scowling at you, un?"

"I will have to ask her." Sasori said, ignoring the first part of what Deidara said. He wasn't interested in her that way and he doubted he'd ever find her attractive. It wasn't that she wasn't, in her own way she was, she just wasn't his type.

Deidara sighed, "it's too bad Hidan already called dibs on her un."

Sasori was puzzled, "But didn't you just say Hidan thought she was a total know-it-all?"

Deidara sighed again, "Yeah, I know right, but just after insulting her he says that she's his and that if any one else tried to make a move on her, he'd run them through with his scythe, un. He then swore he would on his strange amulet, un."

Sasori's eyebrows rose, "he's serious then?"

"It would seem so, un." Deidara nodded, almost solemnly, "though I doubt he'd have any luck with her at all, he has no common sense concerning how to treat women, un."

Sasori scoffed, "He doesn't have any common sense at all."

Deidara looked thoughtful before nodding once.

Suddenly two book hurtled towards them, one hit Deidara in the head, knocking him backwards. Sasori barely dodged his book by ducking at the last second.

Sasori looked at an annoyed-looking Kakashi.

"If you two don't start listening then I'll make you stay behind to dust the dusters for a whole month. I don't care how rich Pein's parents are."

"Yes sir." Sasori said, obedient as ever. He tossed a glare at Deidara and then looked around to make sure no one had seen such a disgraceful fall, noticing in the process that everyone was already gone and only Sakura was left.

He noticed the pink haired teen was standing in front of the desk and facing the black board. He followed her gaze, much like Deidara did, and found her to be staring at a blank blackboard.

'How peculiar, she seems to always be so deep in thought... I wonder what's on her mind...'

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sakura had been having a conversation with her Inner, in fact her Inner had just finished telling her she's been scowling at Sasori for a whole 15 minutes. Sasori of the Akatsuki.

'No way.' Sakura tried denying, her face paling.

'Oh, yes.'

'Fuck! Ino and her group I can handle...but the Akatsuki are on a whole different level.'

'Don't worry, I'm sure that, if you explain-'

'Explain what? That I have a split personality?'

'I am not a split personality! CHA! And they're behind you by the way.'

Sakura whirled around and timidly smiled. She didn't want to get on their bad side, especially after scowling at Sasori... Scratch that, she didn't want to make it worse.

She was not usually one for rumours but...she heard that they, as in the Akatsuki, all have special...abilities.

Sasori of the Akatsuki: Puppeteer. Said to be able to control a puppet so efficiently that you wouldn't even know it was a puppet. Also said to be an expert when it comes to poisons.

Deidara of the Akatsuki: Bomber. A genius when it comes to chemicals, it was said he could mix them together to create any kind of bomb. He's also great at sculpting and prefers his bombs to be works of art made from clay.

Truly terrifying.

She steeled herself and pasted on a smile. She hadn't done anything wrong. Nothing purposely at least.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sasori saw part of her face pale, he was standing, just so, that he could only see part of her face, even though she was facing away from them all. When she whirled around he could tell she was terrified. And then she steeled herself and she looked like her normal self again.

He would have been impressed if he had been anyone else.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Kakashi clicked his fingers and all three teens looked at him. It was kind of creepy, in his opinion, because they had all looked at him at the same times...and for a split second he had seen Sakura wearing the Akatsuki cloak; a long black cloak adorned with red clouds outlined in white. He blinked and she was wearing her normal clothes again.

He sighed, he didn't even know why the gang known as Akatsuki were allowed to wear cloaks, it should be against the rules.

"You three are given a warning. I know that talking when the teacher is talking and throwing someone into a blackboard by accident may not seem all that harmless now, but believe me, it will be easier to learn that it is harmful now, instead of later."

Sakura blushed in embarrassment when he mentioned 'the blackboard incident.'

They all nodded; Deidara and Sasori looking quite bored, and Sakura looking shameful.

"Okay, you may leave."

With that, all three teens left. Deidara and Sasori were in the lead and got out the door first, side by side. Sakura trailed after them, as they were going in the same direction. She was once again, in thought.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sasori looked behind him briefly and noticed Sakura lagging behind.

'Even though, I s'pose we weren't going anywhere together anyway.'

He stopped Deidara by grabbing him lightly on the shoulder. The blonde looked at him, perplexed, but stopped all the same.

"I'm going to ask her now." Was all he said before going after the pink haired teen, who hadn't stopped or even slowed down.

'Perhaps she didn't even notice us stop? How strange.'

He quickly caught up to her, she really wasn't walking all that fast, and grabbed her shoulder. Her reaction would stay with him and Deidara forever(the latter passing it around the Akatsuki a few days later), for Sasori is hardly ever surprised or caught off guard.

With inhuman strength, she grabbed onto the hand he had placed on her shoulder and pulled. It was like she was lifting a feather - well that's what it felt like to Sasori - and she pulled him over her shoulder and slammed him onto the ground in front of her. He landed on the hard floor on his back and lay there, winded.

Sakura walked on, and Deidara stood back - in awe - before quickly coming to Sasori's aid. Before Deidara arrived and as she passed him, Sasori noticed that her eyes...looked as if they were tinted black. But she walked as if in a daze and he decided never to approach her again when she was in a state such as that - and he would warn his fellow Akatsuki members of the danger he had just faced as well. Especially Hidan, but the idiot never listened anyway.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

It was true. Sakura hadn't even realised that Sasori had come any where near her after she left the classroom. She hadn't even realised she'd passed them. She was on auto pilot, and that auto pilot had managed to defeat anyone who came near her without fail. It was the result of years and years of having to watch her back in case Ino's cronies jumped her.

Even Inner hadn't realised that Sasori had come any where near her, they were that deep in conversation about how her and Hidan would never happen. He was mean and a jerk and even though, she did admit he was hot he wasn't her type. Inner countered asking 'Well then, what is your type?'

Sakura didn't have an answer for that question, because the only person she'd ever dated was Sasuke, and she knew she'd never go back to that.

"Bastard." She hissed, remembering.

She walked faster in her fury, and came out of her trancelike state just a little too late.

She crashed into quite a solid figure with a thud.

She fell to the floor, landing on her rear, and looked up - still in a slight daze. Her ears rang from the impact.

It was Hidan.

The silver-haired, purple-eyed, pale, Akatsuki member looked down at the pink-haired, green-eyed, equally as pale, know-it-all.

He grinned.

"Well, hello there, bitch." He greeted cheerfully, not moving to help the girl, who was still sitting on her rear. Behind him, Kakuzu sighed, pushed him lightly out of the way and continued on down the corridor, muttering something about money.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

In the background; Deidara had rushed over to his fallen friend and helped him to stand, as Sasori was still winded and something like a winding doesn't disappear in seconds. Sasori accepted Deidara's help and got to his feet. He brought his red-brown gaze over to the girl who'd hefted him over her shoulder like he weighed nothing. Before slamming him into the ground in front of her and walking away. And her eyes...they had appeared tinted black.

'Well they aren't now, or Hidan would have said something.' He thought, absentmindedly.

His first step was hard but he refused Deidara's help now, and he walked towards the fallen girl with the full intention of helping her up.

As he approached Hidan looked up from her and glared.

"Well that's no way to treat a young lady." Sasori sneered. Sakura's head turned to Sasori and Hidan glared harder. He looked absolutely furious, Sasori noted, with an inward smirk.

Sasori offered his hand to Sakura, now that her focus was on him, and, after looking at it for a few seconds, she gratefully accepted the hand being offered.

He helped her to her feet and they walked away without a backwards glance. Sakura honestly couldn't be bothered dealing with Hidan's attitude right now and Sasori just wanted to piss Hidan off. Sasori was also going to be nice and let Sakura know Hidan's little secret. He might even tell Sakura to give him a chance.

Sakura looked back once when they were about to turn a corner and gave a half-wave, before looking forward again as she followed Sasori. Finally they were out of the school.

"Thanks for helping me up by the way, but...where are we going?" Sakura asked.

Sasori half-smirked, "we're going to a nearby Cafe' to discuss something."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"Discuss what?" She asked.

Sasori fully smirked, "that, my dear, you will find out when we get there."

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Deidara sighed and walked up to Hidan, feeling kind of sorry for the silver-haired prick.

Deidara patted (pet?) the violent man on the back, attempting to comfort him, and knowing he sucked at it.

"Maybe if you stopped calling her a bitch she would warm up to you a little, un."

Hidan turned his angry, violet eyes on Deidara and he (Deidara) backed up a bit. Hidan visibly deflated and sighed.

"Yeah, maybe I should try fucking harder." Hidan admitted.

Deidara's visible blue eye widened, Hidan sounded...defeated. And that scared the crap out of Deidara. Hidan had never sounded defeated in the whole time that Deidara had known him. This was like the apocalypse. Deidara knew that he would have to help the, obviously, lovesick silvette (my word for person with silver hair).

"Look man, I'm sure that if you stop calling her a bitch and be a little nicer, she will warm up to you in no time, un." Deidara said, adding more cheer. A depressed Hidan was a creepy Hidan.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

"Wait, so you're telling me he's like that to everyone?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow. Though she had seen him in some of her classes, she hadn't really paid all that much attention to him when he wasn't harassing her.

Sasori opened his mouth to reply but then a waiter approached their table. He had large grey eyes and short black hair.

"Hello, my name is Yukino and I'll be you're waiter for today." His smile was warm and it brightened Sakura's heart.

"You're so cute!" Sakura cried out seconds later. Unable to contain her feelings she leapt out of her seat and hugged the cute boy.

Yukino took it in stride and hugged her back, his smile growing wider.

"Thankyou miss, you're quite cute yourself."

Then, Sakura realised what she was doing and blushed bright red, "I'm sorry," she stammered, retracting herself and sitting back in her seat. Her head was lowered in shame and embarrassment.

Yukino laughed, "It's okay miss, you're not the only one to do that."

Sakura raised her head slightly, hope in her eyes, "Really?" she questioned, voice small.

And at Yukino's nod, Sakura brightened again.

"Oh. In that case, may I please have a hot chocolate," Sakura asked politely, a faint blush still on her cheeks.

Yukino nodded and wrote it down on his special waiter's notepad.

Sasori, who had been watching the proceedings quietly, was shaken out of his light daze by an, "And you sir, what would you like?"

"I'll have a black coffee (?), extra sugar."

Yukino nodded again, and wrote down Sasori's order as well. He smiled cheerfully and walked off towards the kitchen.

"He was such a cute boy~" Sakura squeed quietly.

"To continue our earlier conversation 'And to get off of that topic' Hidan does act like that to everyone. How could you not notice."

"Well, I only really pay attention to him when he's harassing me. Any other time I'm either trying to concentrate in class, getting annoyed by Naruto, eating lunch, hanging out with Naruto or going home." Sakura shrugged and Sasori's eye twitched. He was in disbelief.

'No wonder the idiot makes fun of her, it's the only way to get her to notice him.'

Then he remembered her in the halls, just before she'd ran into Hidan (quite literally) and just after she'd flipped him over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground.

'Her eyes...they were tinted black,' he looked at her closely now. 'Now her eyes are pastel green...maybe she possessed?'

"But why must he torment me!" Sakura whined, bringing Sasori, once again, from his thoughts.

"Because he likes you and tormenting you is the only way to get you to pay attention to him." Sasori told her bluntly.

Sakura blushed again as he considered his words, and then she started laughing.

"Hidan. Like me? Ha!"

"It's true. He even told us, the Akatsuki, that if any one of us made a move on you, he'd run us through with his scythe."

Sakura paled, "he's awfully violent."

Sasori scoffed, "that true but he's not strong enough to take all of us down. I s'pose it's the thought that counts. The almost immortal bastard."

"Almost immortal?"

"As you, and everyone else, knows, the Akatsuki all have special 'gifts'. I, myself, am an expert when it comes to poisons and I can control a puppet so efficiently no one could tell the difference between the puppet and it's victim. Deidara is an expert when it comes to chemicals and sculpting and he can mix any kind of chemicals together to create any kind of bomb. Hidan's gift, on the other hand, is more...special. His wounds heal extra fast, and if he tastes another's blood, any wound he inflicts on himself appears on the other person."

"But..how?"

"He says it's his god, Jashin's, doing. I say he's just a demon in human disguise."

Sakura's mouth fell open and Sasori's face broke out into a uncharacteristic grin.

"But seriously, give the poor guy a chance. He's probably burning with jealously right now. Either that or he's just plain depressed. And I wouldn't worry about him being violent towards you, because he may be a naturally violent person but I've known him since we were kids and he'd never hit a girl. Especially one he has a crush on. And I have a feeling you'd be able to take and give back anything he could dish out anyway." He said, feeling the ache of the bruises she'd unknowingly inflicted on him when she slammed him into the floor.

Sakura nodded slowly, eyes downcast. Sasori almost fell out of his seat when he noticed they were tinted black again. He inched further backwards into his seat, because although they were opposite each other with a table in-between them, he wasn't taking any chances.

Yukino took this chance to make his second appearance, a waiter's tray in his hands and the two drinks on top of it. He smiled and set the mugs down, catching a glimpse of Sakura and her tinted black eyes in the process.

"Oh, I see." Yukino said, "I wondered why she didn't greet me. She's having a conversation with her Inner."

Sasori looked at Yukino with interest.

"An Inner?"

"Yes, an Inner. It's the result of someone suppressing their emotions at a young age when that person is a naturally bubbly person or is meant to be a bubbly person. Eventually the strain becomes too much to handle and the box that the person was storing their emotions in, breaks open. Eventually the mass of spilled emotions forms into a human form, an exact replica of the person, and an Inner is born."

"How do you know all this?" Sasori asked curiously.

"My father had an Inner, he was always arguing with himself, with his Inner, and when this happened his eyes tinted black. Just like her."

"What happened to him, you're talking about him in past tense?"

"He died just last year," Yukino said, a look of sadness now in his eyes, "he couldn't come to terms with his emotions, always blaming his Inner for everything, and he eventually drowned."

"Drowned? Within his own mind?"

"Yes, the doctors say he's in a coma, but I know he'll never awaken. But it looks like your friend is going to be fine." Yukino closed his eyes for a second and then reopened them, "in fact they're not arguing now at all." He said with a small grin before taking off for the kitchens again, empty tray in hand.

Sasori wanted to ask more questions but Yukino was gone before he could. He looked at Sakura and she shook her head lightly before raising her gaze again.

"Sorry? What were you saying?"

'She mustn't have been aware of Yukino and I's conversation'.

Sasori smiled disarmingly, "Nothing, Yukino just brought over our drinks."

Sakura went starry eyed, "that boy is soooo cute~"

Sasori sighed and started sipping his coffee. He wouldn't share what he knew with anyone for now. After all, that boy said Sakura wasn't arguing with her...Inner...so she wasn't in any danger. And who knows what she might do to him if he told her he knows...And then there was the possibility that boy was lying, after all, such a calm face when talking about such a sad and morbid subject seemed slightly off.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Hidan looked down at the sheet of paper he held in his hands with unease.

"Ummm - " he started to protest but was cut off.

"Hello Hidan (un)." Deidara said robotically, reading off a similar sheet he also held in his hands.

"Hello," Hidan visibly struggled, "Sakura." His eye twitched furiously.

Deidara cheered.

"Again, un!"

"Hello Hidan (un)."

Twitch, twitch, "hello...Sakura."

"I think you're improving, un." Deidara said cheerfully with a large grin, "but that's all we'll have to work on, un. After you've got your name calling issues under control, ask her out, un. There's no point having a fake relationship, if she can't handle the real you - minus the name calling - then there's no point to the relationship, un." Deidara said sagely, nodding lightly.

"Then why can't I call her bitch like I always have?"

"A women can only take so much before she dropkicks you." Deidara said sagely again.

Hidan looked enlightened, more or less. Or that could have just been severe boredom.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

Sakura and Sasori walked out of the Cafe after finishing their beverages. They'd found they'd had a lot more in common than they'd first thought. What with Sakura being almost as brilliant at mixing and detecting poisons as Sasori was.

They'd quizzed each other thoroughly on the subject, eventually with Sasori in the lead, but just.

"If poisons were my only benefit to the Akatsuki I'd feel pretty threatened by you right now." Sasori admitted, only half-joking.

Sakura laughed.

"I have no interest, as of yet, in joining the Akatsuki." Sakura said back, "I have too many things to worry about right now, without that added burden."

Sasori shrugged and they walked into the park, which was just across the road from the Cafe.

"Hey look!" Sakura pointed, "It's Deidara and Hidan."

Sasori grinned, loving a plan coming together, and walked over to them, forcing Sakura to follow behind.

"Hey Deidara, Hidan." Sasori greeted cooly, before grabbing onto Deidara's elbow and dragging him away.

Sakura watched them go like they were insane - Sasori was forcibly dragging the struggling blonde along - before turning her attention back to Hidan after the pair were out of sight.

Hidan's eye twitched.

"Hello...Sakura." Twitch, twitch.

Sakura beamed with happiness, the brightness blinding him almost as severely as Guy's Teeth Sparkles, but he couldn't bring himself to cover his eyes or throw something at Sakura to make her stop. He took it like a man.

"You said my name," she said happily.

"...Sakura...-insert twitch- will you go out with me." Not swearing in a sentence was killing him, eating him up from the inside, but Deidara said for him to succeed, he had to make an effort.

Sakura looked at him for a second, and Hidan feared, for the first time in his life, of rejection.

But then the look passed and Sakura was beaming again.

"Sure, I'll give us a chance! But I do have some conditions."

Hidan looked hesitant, but nodded.

She glared and he recoiled, "don't call me a bitch! Even if I'm acting like one." She demanded shrilly.

He nodded frantically.

She smiled again, "okay then, I'm willing to let us try." And with that she closed the gap between them and planted a kiss on the shocked Hidan.

*_+_* Page Break *_+_*

In the distance Sasori sighed.

Deidara looked over at him, "what, un? Did you suddenly realise how great she is and wish she was kissing you right now instead of Hidan, un?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow at Deidara, "have you been watching Soapies lately by any chance?"

Deidara quickly looked away, avoiding Sasori's eyes, "...maaaaaybe...un."

"Anyway, I just realised, we'd spent all that time together and I never got around to asking her why she was scowling at me." He sounded slightly miffed now.

Deidara lightly patted him on the back, "there's always next time danna, un." Deidara comforted.

+_+ Finished +_+

Constructive criticism and anonymous reviewers (meaning you don't have to log in to review) are welcome. If you see any mistakes please tell me. Thankyou to all my reviewers, you are all loved.