61. An Unusual Alliance

Whoot whoot!

Anodda chapter mah frens..

I'm such a RETARD. As soon as I published the previous chapter, I began writing this one and now I have to restrain myself from posting! Talk about ANNOYING!

(hence the early update - couldn't stop myself)

At this point, everything is flowing out completely.

Writer's block, who?

I love this one so so much tbh coz this is so different from the other books I've read and sksksk- you'll see! I have been planning this moment from the start of Shippudden.

Its gonna be good! Well.. I liked it. Dunno about you guys. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lets go!

Whenever Deidara spitefully says Uchiha, I just remember Harry saying 'Malfoy' and I lose my shit.

Okay, on with the story.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After Akina left the room and went inside hers, chaos ensued. Questions were asked left and right but no one could answer them. 

"This is getting ridiculous! Aren't we all leaving this place? So why are we arguing?" Asuma sighed.

"Well unlike you, Akina is my friend. Did you see how she looked, Asuma? She was on the verge of fainting over! If she doesn't get help from anyone, she will break down." Sakura scoffed.

"You're going to be a traitor to Konoha, Sakura. That's  your home, not this. Come with me. You'll get to see Kakashi, Naruto and even Sasuke on a daily basis." 

She looked down. 

"I'm staying here." Kisame sat down, nursing his broken hand.

"Me as well, un. Akina's a good friend of mine and while she's strong and is kinda insane, she did say she kinda saved my ass. So, I'll choose to believe her."

"What if she's lying?" Asuma countered him.

"Nothing good can come out of her lying to us now." Deidara's voice had taken a serious turn.

"She knows Yamanaka skills. I don't know about you, but I steer clear of rogues who have powers to change memories of their own mind. What if she's manipulating us?"

"You could say the same about Ino that way!" Sakura growled, leaping to Akina's defense.

"I know Ino. She's my student and she'd never do that."

"Asuma, right?" Kisame cut through the voice of others. "You have a grudge against her. You weren't like this before when I first met you."

"When its time to choose between Konoha, my family and the world.. I'd choose my family in a heartbeat. I'm not like my father." Asuma spat out the last word with venom and everyone realized the issue. He couldn't believe that his father didn't stop Danzo. Its because of their decision that the Uchiha clan perished.

He was in denial and blaming it on Akina. He chose the village's safety and decided to let a politician end an entire clan.

He was disgusted.

"Oh, is Asuma having daddy problems?" Deidara wiggled his eyebrows, snickering slightly.

"Don't fucking start with me tranny."

Deidara yawned. "You need to work on your insults."

"Why should I use insults when I can beat your ass in the training field out there?"

"Enough." Sasuke spoke quietly, however his voice silenced them all. Truth be told, half of them forgot he was even there.

"This just confirmed everything I suspected. Akina is on a mission from Hiruzen, just like Itachi." 

"What.. do you mean? She said she was doing it out of necessity right? That the world was gonna die if she didn't step in." Sakura questioned him.

He sighed. "While that may be true.. I know she's on a mission. She and Hiruzen were quite close in our genin days. The fact that she can see the future.. he would've definitely wanted to use her for his advantage. Akina mentioned that saving Itachi was her number one priority for a long time, right? That means she had been planning to save a few of us from the start. Hiruzen only egged her on. When it was getting too much for her to handle, she realized she couldn't back out because it was too late. She had to continue."

"Such a big mission would be an S rank." Deidara spoke thoughtfully, as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "She had to keep quiet about it. But the fact that she told us means she failed that mission."

"Wait, seriously?" Kisame furrowed his eyes.

The blonde nodded. "Such big missions are meant to keep a secret from everyone. If Akina has a file regarding this mission, the moment she told us the truth means that the document would've been labelled as fail and that she's definitely a traitor to Konoha now."

"But she didn't tell us its a mission! Sasuke figured it out on his own." Sakura replied.

He shrugged. "Then I don't know shit."

"Listen up, Konoha brats."

Asuma and Sakura looked towards Kisame who spoke. Sasuke kept his head lowered down.

"I know for a darn fact that you all will be returning to Konoha with your memories erased. But once you do, don't fucking dare and try to bring Akina back there." He spoke loudly, anger evident in his voice.

"For the most peaceful village out there, you all are fucking shitty as hell. Giving a thirteen year old Itachi and a thirteen year old Akina to become double agents?! Grown men would've given up by now. You're Hokages are fucking douches and so are you. As soon as you step out of this door, don't expect Deidara and I to go easy on you. Even after this whole shitfest is over, she's staying with us. I don't trust you guys.. and I never will. Hell, Kirigakure would be better than Konoha."

Deidara nodded, his eyes a clear blue. "What he said. She's a part of the Akatsuki now and that's where she truly belongs. We genuinely care for our members even though we don't show it outright. So once you leave, tell the nine-tails kid to leave her alone too. We don't need a stubborn brat on our tail. She belongs with us, people who care for her. Her true family."

Sakura wiped her tears silently, sniffing as she did so. Getting up, she walked away without a word. What they said was true. But.. after finding and catching up to Akina after such a while, how could she let go?

Akina comforted her when her parents died.

She asked Naruto and her to move in her house. 

Even after knowing she had a crush on Sasuke when she was younger, Akina never treated her any different. She still smiled at her, hung out with her and encouraged her in everything she did.

She told her to ask Tsunade for apprenticeship which was one of the best decision she took in her life.

But Naruto, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke...

It was tearing her apart, to choose between her family. She could only imagine the pain the other female was going through. She had ten hours to make a decision and not regret it.

As Sakura and Asuma left, Sasuke opened his eyes and muttered under his breath. "Fucking finally, they're gone."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Uchiha?"

"Do you really think, that I'm going back to that fucking village? After all the crap they did to Itachi and Akina? If anything, I want to burn the place down."

"If you want to burn it down, wouldn't you be better off in the Akatsuki? Because this ain't it for sure."

Sasuke scoffed. "No. While my goal is now, revenge oriented, I'll wait for the right moment to strike. I'm done acting rashly, and I.. want Itachi back."

".. so you're staying?" Deidara blinked. Kisame grinned.

"Welcome aboard to this dysfunctional family. Once you get in, you can't get out."

"Hn."

"SPEAK THE DAMN WORDS UCHIHA!"

Kisame gave an amused glance at the duo. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

"Sleep."

"Seems legit."

"Hn."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Akina woke up in the morning to blood leaking out of her mouth and severe coughs, followed by short breaths. 

That's definitely not the top 10 ways to wake up.

Her lung was getting worse and she needed medical health asap. She needed Sakura's help to stabilize it before she left.

It was 8:00 am. Only an hour was left.

Combing her disheveled hair, she removed her kunoichi outfit which she fell asleep in and wore a purple robe on top, fasting the belt properly. Sakura would need to examine her chest for this, and while Akina wasn't fond of going nude, she kinda had to.

Stepping out of the room, she headed towards Sakura's room, opening the door. "Sakura?"

"Akina? I thought we have another hour left!" Her pink hair was frenzied and she looked as if she spent the whole night awake. A pencil was stuck in her hair and her emerald eyes were frantic and unfocused.

"I'm still making the list of pros and cons a-and I have to draw a line chart which has to be color coded! I NEED TO DO SO MUCH TO DECIDE!"

"Y-you do have an hour left to leave. Listen Sakura, my lungs are punctured from my match with Kisame, two days ago. I desperately need medical attention." Akina brushed her weirdness aside.

She nodded, her eyes serious. "I'm on it. Come with me."

Grabbing her hand, she ran towards the medical room and Akina cursed, walking fast instead. 

"You aren't supposed to make a patient run! I can't run you idiot!" She hissed under her breath and Sakura frowned. Reaching down, she hooked her arm under her knees and lifted her up with ease. Akina yelped, holding on to her for her life, her face a flaming red.

"Put me down!"

"No, its fine, I'll carry you."

"My robe is coming apa-"

"What is this? Some sort of a lesbian fest?" Kisame snorted, a purple blush on his face. Deidara entered the room with a newspaper in his hand, slowly blinking at the scene in front of him.

"So that's why I'm not your type!"

"ITS NOTHING LIKE THAT!" Akina yelled at him.

"Your blush seems to say otherwise. And what's with that position?! What else can I interpret?" Deidara defended himself.

Akina had her arms thrown around Sakura's neck as a blush dusted their pale features. Her robe was falling apart, showing her right shoulder and a certain amount of cleavage. The robe was riding up from the bottom, showing her thighs and all in all, it looked like a scene from hentai. Sakura's hair was a mess and her lips were slightly swollen from her biting it throughout the night due to nervousness.

"While I do like to appreciate the female body sometimes, I don't feel that way for Sakura! Now, on with my operation!" 

Sakura nodded and shooting the boys a frosty glare, she led her away towards the medical room.

Deidara sighed, shaking his head. "Kisame, please wipe your nose. Its just pitiful when you act that way."

"I ship those both so much more than her and Itachi, holy fuck!"

Sasuke entered the room with a cup of coffee. "So what did I miss?" 

"Akina's probably bi, un."

"Be as that may, she definitely likes boys more."

Kisame frowned. "How would you know?"

Sasuke smirked to himself, taking a sip of his coffee. "Trust me.. I just know. While we were young, we did do some experimenting. I probably know her the best here that way."

"EXPERIMENTING?! YOU GUYS WERE 13!" Deidara screeched.

Sasuke waved him away. "Not that kind."

"WHAT OTHER KIND IS THERE?! IF YOU TOUCH A HAIR ON HER BODY, UCHIHA, I WILL FUCKING TAPE YOUR DICK TO YOUR NOSE AND BLOW YOU UP!" 

"Then its too late." Sasuke smirked again as Deidara yelped, Kisame holding him back.

"LET ME AT HIM KISAME! I NEED TO END THE UCHIHA CLAN RIGHT HERE AND NOW! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TOUCH HER!"

The said Uchiha enjoyed his coffee, smirking the entire time.

It was soon 10 am and there was no sign of the girls. The four men were training outside in the already destroyed field, waiting for them.

"Why can't you just leave, un?" 

Asuma sighed. "She placed a seal on us. Its invisible and without her permission, we can't leave. We can only get out to train and visit the shops for supplies. If the seal detects us sending letters to Konoha or doing anything to try and escape, it electrocutes us and transports us back to the house."

"Oh, that's pretty smart."

Soon enough, two figures walked out of the wooden house. Akina was smiling slightly, carrying a paintbrush and a bottle of ink. Her chest was bandaged and she was wearing a pair of shorts underneath it. Her auburn hair was tied up in a bun. 

Sasuke recognized that outfit (minus the bandages). It was her 'thinking of a plan' face. She's already thinking ahead. 

Akina lied to him. He knew that very well. Was he angry at her? Probably.

He was confused. He had no idea where he and Akina stood right now but one thing's for sure. The heart wants what it wants. But his mind told him to look away, and he did.

"Okay guys, now first one up, remove your shirt. I need to remove the seal."  

Asuma did as told and Akina placed her hand on his chest, closing her eyes in concentration. Black ink spread out throughout his chest and focusing the chakra on her five fingers, she placed it on the circles and twisted it. The seal disappeared into thin air. She opened her eyes and nodded.

He sighed. "Just.. don't erase anything too important."

Akina tilted her head to the side. "It'll be like we never met. You were locked underground somewhere for two whole months with no idea who held you captive. Your captors gave you food and water daily, letting you use the bathroom. You never got hurt. One day, you saw the door open and escaped. You fainted right over there-" Akina pointed towards a hill and continued speaking "- then you got up and proceeded to run towards Konoha."

"Ah, okay then." Asuma nodded.

The memories of him staying locked up in a basement rushed into his mind as the times spent with Sakura and Akina disappeared. With a chop to the neck, Akina knocked him out. Creating a bunshin, she ordered her to go and lay him somewhere far away.

"Right.. who's next?" 

No one moved and Akina smiled slightly. "Guys, it doesn't hurt at all. I have different stories prepa-"

"I'm not leaving." Sakura's voice interrupted her. 

"Wait.. what?" Akina mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I said, I'm not leaving." Emerald eyes clashed with black eyes and Akina blinked incredulously.

"You have to go back! Sasuke, you too! Team 7-"

"-is dead." Sasuke finished her sentence.

"Wait Sasuke, you aren't going back?" Sakura turned to face her old teammate.

"After the shit Konoha has out me through what the fuck do you expect? For me to waltz in there and let them control me like they controlled my brother and Akina? Fuck no. I'll be making my own decisions and the best way to do that is to stay here."

"Yeah well, you guys can't survive without a medic. Akina needs me and so do you all even though you won't admit it. My loyalty lies with Akina alone." Her green eyes seemed to smile at her female teammate.

Akina's eyes were wide open and she spluttered. "B-but.. I.. Naruto... what the fuck?"

"We ain't going anywhere either, short stuff." Kisame placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly and Deidara nodded.

"It would've been better if pinky left but unfortunately we can't get all things in life."

"Y-you guys really don't want to go?" The Senju's eyes were still wide as the paintbrush fell on the ground.

"Hn. No, we decided yeste-" Sasuke was cut off as Akina hugged him tightly, her eyes welling up with hot tears.

"Thank you.. so much for not leaving me. I'm not strong enough to be alone yet." 

"Hey, we're here for you. We can help you share your burden. Don't cry." He murmured softly into her ears before resting his chin on her head, his arms wrapped around the smaller, trembling figure. She was getting his shirt wet but did he care? No. The warmth was comforting.  

"Okay but I was expecting a hug! Why'd you have to hug him! Hug me, not him!" Sakura scowled but joined in on it anyways, hugging Akina. Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Fucking hell this is making me emotional. I'm joining in too." Kisame placed his handkerchief back inside and joined in on it, sniffling as he did so.

"I'm left alone, un. I don't like physical contact but whatever." With a hidden smile, he joined the group as they comforted the now bawling Senju.

You guys couldn't leave me alone with her, could you?

From the corner of his eye, Deidara glared at Sasuke and mouthed words. 

'I'm watching you, Uchiha.'

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. 

.-.-.-.-.-.

Akina's eyes were bright. Anyone could see that from a distance. She was radiating confidence. With their help, she had greater chances of fooling Pain.

Bringing an empty piece of paper out, she began to sketch her idea.

"You see this? Its the Amegakure front gate. Now if I'm right.. Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin will creep into Konoha and spy on Pain. It would've been successful except the rain over there can detect foreign chakra. He got caught pretty quick. He battles Pain, figures out the secret however, he dies due to injuries and drowning. My original plan was to save him. But now, since Itachi's body is in Amegakure, my focus shifted to him instead."

"How can his rain detect chakra?"

"The rain is infused with his chakra." 

Her eyes were lighting up as she spoke clearly. "I'll need your help but if you want to back o-"

"No one's backing out. Continue." Kisame interjected her.

"Ah, okay um, in my visions, all six paths of Pain attack Jiraiya towards the end of the match before heading towards Konoha. That's when we need to act. We need to steal Itachi back before Kabuto gets his hands on him. Well, someone needs to search for Itachi while I will most probably handle Pain alone." 

"Kabuto? You mean Orochimaru's bitch? How's he in all of this, un?"

"Akina, he's mine." Sakura spoke quietly, her eyes filled with killing intent.

Akina blinked at her for a few seconds. "Last time you got killed and Sai got knocked out. I'll send Sasuke with you when the time comes. However, he is vital for the future. Him and Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru is dead. Naruto and I killed him and after that, Itachi killed the part inside me." He made a face in disgust.

She let out an amused smile. "That's what you think."

"Wait what, he's alive?!" Kisame choked on his drink. She continued to smile as everyone exchanged glances.

"Now, that's for another time. Listen to me carefully. One step goes wrong and we'll end up deader than dead. Like seriously, if I die.. you guys aren'y coming back anytime soon....."

As Akina made her plan, everyone put their own inputs, making it a 80% probability for success. 

"One thing in general, Akina." Deidara spoke up.

"Hm? What is it?" She took a sip of her sake as they all relaxed in the kitchen after discussing plans.

"I feel as if Sasuke should go back to Konoha.. as a double agent."

Kisame blinked. "Are you seriously considering doing that? We literally talked about it yesterday!"

"Its okay. Deidara and I have already discussed it and I agreed with his plan." Sasuke replied from the kitchen.

"Wait, why?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.

"We need an insider to see what's happening in Konoha. Akina is our insider in the Akatsuki and I'll be the insider in Konoha. I'll set up whatever's necessary."

Deidara nodded. "It makes perfect sense, hm."

Kisame scratched his head. "I'm not so sure about this. Akina and Itachi both suffered badly. I don't want Itachi's younger brother suffering too."

"I agree with Kisame. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Sasuke. This business takes a lot out of you." Akina spoke, a worried glance etched on her face. The grip around the cup tightened considerably.

"Well its my wish and I'm doing it." He glared at everyone, daring them to go against it. Kisame sighed, shaking his head like a disappointed father.

Sasuke and Deidara exchanged secret glances.

"When we get Itachi back, you're answerable. Not us."

"I actually can't believe I'm even considering bringing him back. I hate him so fucking much. If you'd have said that I'd be helping Itachi Uchiha and deflecting the Akatsuki, I'd laugh in your face but here I fucking am. Akina, you owe me for this shit, un."

She giggled. "Sure Dei, just let me know what I have to do."

He smirked, his blue eyes lighting up and glinting with mischief. "I'll get back to you on that, hm."

"I'm getting pretty mixed reviews of Itachi. As a person, how is he really? Can one of you give an unbiased opinion?" Sakura asked.

"You'll see for yourself, how much of a dick he is."

"He's awesome, handsome and smart."

"He's powerful."

All eyes turned to Akina and she blinked. "I have nothing to say. Don't look at me."

"Well, you kinda knew him the best as a person. You know, like what his interests are and what he does in his free time, talking about random shit. Kisame knew him more as a colleague of sorts." Deidara shrugged, placing the limelight on her again.

"He's right about that."

"He is.." Akina trailed off as everyone waited for her next words. Kisame leaned forward, his 'shipping' senses tingling in excitement. 

Perfect..

Selfless..

Handsome..

Kind..

A bit of a tease, really but most of all, he's human. He isn't artificial.

He cares.

I need him by my side. 

I can't stop thinking about him and its driving me insane.

"A selfish, egotistical jerk who cares about no one other than himself. I'd advise you to stay away from him, kick him in the balls if you get the chance." She finally said the words and Kisame anime fell.

Deidara laughed. "Wow, I was not expecting that." 

Sasuke blinked. "Really? Is ani- Itachi really like that? I doubt it."

Sakura giggled. "Everyone has a biased opinion. Like blondie said, I'll just have to figure it out for myself."

Akina turned away as the rest continued their conversations.

We've spent three days wasting our time.

We have four days left.

I'm coming for you.. Itachi.

"Hey, what should we call ourselves?" Sakura grinned, changing the topic. "I mean, look at us! Two Konoha members and two Akatsuki members teaming up because of one girl. We should have a bad ass name."

Akina flushed. "We don't really need a name."

"Fine, if you won't do it, I will. As the leader of this group, I say that our first mission is giving ourselves a cool name." Deidara chuckled.

"You're definitely not the leader. If anyone, it should be Akina since she saved our asses." Sasuke drawled out, pinning her with his gaze. The cup almost fell from her grip.

Dammit Sasuke, don't stare at me like that.

"I'm not good with leadership you know. I don't remember how it feels like to be in a team."

"Well its four against one. Majority wins." Kisame smirked and she sighed.

"Well then, its your death."

"Jokes on you, you'll revive us anyways." 

She giggled at that. "How about Squad A-H?"

"What? That doesn't sound bad ass at all! We need something cool like.. the Akatsuki or something. It sounded so cool whenever we'd say, 'we're from the Akatsuki and you're gonna die'."

"How about something other than death? We're from Squad A-H and we're here to save you." Sakura suggested.

"Too boring pinky. We need something catchy! What does A-H stand for anyways?"

"Anti-heroes. We aren't moral heroes, and we aren't bad ass villains. Our methods are surely questionable, but all we want in the end is for a place to fit in without being judged. We're the grey living in a world of black and white, the space between the moon and the sun and right now, the very line of good and bad is blurred with our existence. We make our own rules and that, is what we are."

It was pure silence for a while as everyone's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Did you just make that up on the spot or were you like practicing it because holy shit that was deep." Kisame asked with his mouth hanging open.

Akina smirked. "I made it up on spot, really. Also, that's what she said."

She high fived Kisame's outstretched palm as the other three groaned at their antics. "Great, now we have two versions of Akina." Sakura spoke dryly. 

"I don't fucking believe you about that quote."

"Hey, I'm serious Deidara!"

Sakura smiled. "That gives us all the more reason to make you the leader. I'm pretty sure no one can say that on spot."

"So, Squad A-H it is hm?" Kisame raised his beer. 

"I still find it lame." Deidara grumbled, nevertheless holding up his beer as well.

"I don't really care about the name, but the philosophy behind it is good." Sasuke raised his glass.

Sakura shrugged. "If we find something cooler, we'll replace it with everyone's permission. But for now.." She raised her glass and turned to Akina.

"Want to do the leaders, taichou?" She winked at Akina, shooting her a teasing smile.

Akina raised her bottle of sake. "To Squad A-H and saving Itachi!"

Loud choruses of agreements rang out and laughter continued. Akina smiled brightly, glancing at the scene in front of her.

They're my family.

Sasuke met her eyes from across the room. He was leaning against the wall, holding the clear glass and moving it back n forth, the liquid sloshing against the walls of the container. He smirked slightly and raised the glass, mouthing a few words to her before gulping it down and licking his lips.

'To you, Akina.'

She found her face burning, her eyes caught up in his sharp jawline and the way his Adam's Apple moved as he gulped his drink down. They held each others gazes for a while before he placed the glass down and headed towards her, his lips quirking up at one side. That smirk was deadly for her, and he knew it. 

Akina almost dropped her cup again as her emotions acted up and she turned red as her grandmother's hair. Her heart was beating way too loudly for her comfort as she backed up against the kitchen counter.

He stopped in front of her and she looked up to meet his red, swirling eyes. She held her breath in.

Oh dear Gods.. this is bad, really bad. 

Really really, really really bad.

The familiar feeling crept up inside her.

Such a wholesome chapter and I LOVE IT.

I STAN THIS GROUP SO MUCH ITS UNBELIEVABLE.

*shrieks in fangirl*

I just desperately need to make fanart on this like.. I just need to sneak out my phone, edit a few photos and make Squad A-H because honestly, they're fucking #SquadGoals I shit you not.

I love this so much!

Pretty hyped up about this as you can see.

So out of all the fanfictions you've read, have you seen anything like this? This right here baby, is all MY idea. 

My baby girl is making her own path, her own group and skskjahsjos IM SO PROUD IM LIKE A PROUD MOMMA BEAR.

Honestly, this is a dream team I never knew I needed until now. (YooTip's words, not mine).

Fun Fact: Sakura was originally going to leave, but seeing Akina ask her personally for help when she's half dead made her reconsider her entire decision and so she chose to stay in the middle of the operation. She knows Team 7 is brash asf and Akina gets hurt the most, right after Naruto. Without her help, she'd probably be dead. 

And Sakura's right about that.

As much as I wanted to keep Asuma, that wouldn't be fair to Kurenai and Mirai (his unborn child) so I let him go. But.. another member may be coming in soon.

Let's just see how it all works out.

Also, I saw this and proceeded to yeet myself off Earth. Because omg Sasori is so precious in this like.. SOMEONE GET HIM A PROTECTION SQUAD

Omg Sasori and Sasuke are so freaking pissed its HILARIOUS. Also, is Deidara wearing Akatsuki patterned underwear?? Lol

Do I ship them? No, not really but their fan edits are like seriously cute! Almost made me wanna make them get together but I already have plans for the both of them so..

~Blue