Young Blood

By: Smash41KMF

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, I do however, own this story and the OC characters that are in it

Summary: Sakura and Sasori are sent on a recruiting mission. Nothing special right? That's what they thought, at least until the organization's best candidate takes a rather obsessive interest in Sakura. Will Sasori step in and set the rookie straight, or will he sit back and watch as this new member preys on his innocent cherry blossom?

Chapter One : The Great Escape

Sakura yawned, closing her eyes and leaning to her left until her cheek met with the soft material of the black cloak, adorn with the Akatsuki signature of red clouds, which covered her red-headed and recently made flesh-and-blood partner's shoulder. Normally, she avoided getting too close to the puppeteer, because, despite his attempts at reassurance, she wasn't convinced that he wasn't going to try and kill her the moment such an opportunity came about.

"What would be the point of me killing you, Sakura-san?" he had asked her, when she told him of her paranoia. She had accidentally run into him, and immediately scrambled to put a good distance between them, in fears of being decapitated.

She had told him that it'd be revenge for killing him and for destroying everything he had worked for to become a puppet of his own when she revived him into human form. To her surprise, and irritation, the man had simply laughed at her before answering with a smug grin, "Killing you would only result in the loss of a much-appreciated medic for the organization, a tolerable partner for me, and a kunoichi who still has many years ahead of her to live for."

To be honest, she hadn't expected him to say that, so the natural reaction was for her jaw to drop open slightly. He had simply smirked in response, but it lacked his normal taunts, making it seem a tad more genuine. However, while she should have been overjoyed by the knowledge that she no longer topped her partner's 'To-Kill' list, Sakura had instead reacted in disbelief; a reaction that consisted of calling the red-head a 'Kami-sama forsaken liar' and storming off after telling him to go back to his room and play with his 'collection of rotten dolls'.

In response to this, rather than walk away like usual, the ex-sand-ninja caught her by the wrist as she passed and with a swift tug, had her flat on her back in front of him. The move had caught her off-guard, and the impact with the wooden floorboards sucked the air from her lungs, rendering her useless. Her partner knelt down and looked down at her again with that infamous smirk.

"See," He had whispered, his mouth beside her ear as his disheveled red-hair blocked part of her vision. However, the taunting tone of his voice was the least of her problems as she swallowed audibly in an attempt to get the air back into her lungs and slow down her racing heart. To be brutally honest, Sakura was confused; both by the measure of his forwardness, and by her body's reaction. Unfortunately, Sasori had seemed to sense the pinkette's unease and chuckled softly, causing Sakura to fight the urge to blush, especially when his tone dropped seductively. Sakura felt herself losing control of her body as pink crept onto her cheeks as he growled against her ear, his voice a deep, vibrating rumble.

"If I really wanted you dead…" he had hissed, his voice sending a series involuntary shivers down her back, but before she could respond, he pulled back. Sakura blinked, and bit back a gasp when she recognized the position they were in. First she was embarrassed, then surprised by his boldness, and finally angry that she hadn't notice when he had moved from his position behind her head to straddle her sides. Sasori had simply smirked, amusement flashing in his eyes as he watched a string of emotions wash over the young kunoichi's face: embarrassment, surprise, and finally…. anger. Then, before she could catch his brief moment of unease at her mood swing, Sasori looked away and focused his lazy gaze on the pink strands of hair that brushed his hand. He above her, his knees on either side of her stomach, one hand pressed into the wooden floor beside her head, his fingers barely brushing the loose, silky locks of pink hair that fell from her ponytail and splayed across the floor around her head.

"You would be dead…" It was only then that Sakura had noticed the trio of thin senbon needles pressed gently into the side of her neck: one where the bottom of her ear met her jawbone, the second pressed under her jaw where her pulse beat rapidly against her will, and the last prodding the tender skin where her throat met her collarbone. Sakura fought the urge to swallow, trying to avoid being pricked by the more-than-likely poisoned needles while also refusing to allow him the satisfaction of seeing her obvious discomfort.

Sakura nearly sighed at the memory; it was the first time he showed anything other than distaste or pure boredom towards her, but her thoughts were soon interrupted by the rough sound of his own, groggy mumbling.

"Are you really that tired, or do you just like using me as a pillow?" Sakura scowled, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, before scooting closer to the puppeteer and hugging him around the waist with a playful purr – just to spite him. Despite recently acquiring a human body after twenty long years inside 'an eternal work of art', Sasori didn't encourage physical contact. If anything, the thirty-six-year-old puppet master avoided it at all costs. So, for the sake of her own amusement and to simply irritate him, Sakura would try to hug the man as often as she could, despite his threats to turn her into a human puppet.

"A little bit of both, but it helps that you're warm now." She replied lightly, feeling him growl slightly at her persistence and refusal to release him, even as he attempted to pry her off.

"So, if I were still an eternal masterpiece… this wouldn't be happening?" he asked stiffly, glaring down at the girl, before sighing in defeat. He knew his attempts were useless when physically, she was stronger than him, so in the decision to save his strength in case he needed it later, he let one arm drop to his side. Then, having no desire to touch the twenty-year-old medic, he uncharacteristically scratched the back of his head with the other hand.

"Sasori, you were a puppet-" Sakura replied flatly, amused by his childish determination to not touch her. She knew he was aware of her motives, that she was only trying to help him, but after nearly two decades inside an unweathering, unfeeling body of wood and metal, two years of living in a human body did not erase his distaste for physical contact. So knowing this, she almost smiled when he gave up and begrudgedly let his right arm rest around the small of her back, only to hiss in surprise when she felt a sharp flick to her forehead. She lifted her head from his shoulder and glared, only to be met with a briefly, victorious smirk.

"-Art. Sakura. I was art-" he hissed, flickering her again, hoping it'd make her let go, but instead, she pressed the side of her head into his chest, just under his chin and hugged him tighter, almost painfully so.

"Until I killed you." She replied smartly, closing her eyes and silently marveling at how solid he really was beneath that large cloak. However, that thought only paled in comparison to the satisfaction she felt when she noticed how tense he was, despite his calm tone and steady heartbeat.

"-until you killed me… and brought me back to life two years later." He replied with a smirk, which earned a playful, chakra-enhanced poke in his side. He flinched, an eye twitching briefly before he lifted his head towards the ceiling of their train cabin and taking a deep breath, fighting the strong urge to retaliate at her childish attacks on his mid-section.

It had been about two years since he had been reborn in a human body that was only about a year older than his young partner, and he was still trying to adapt to the way the body reacted. Whether it was through the sense of touch or taste, he was still learning and surprisingly enough, Sakura had decided to try and help him make-up for all the years he lost to being an ageless puppet. She'd take him shopping to help his discomfort with large crowds of people, had him try all kinds of foods to figure out what tastes he liked or disliked, she even took him back to her home village to celebrate the marriage of two of her close friends; a Hyguua ANBU and a weapons specialist if he remembered correctly. It had been the first time he ever felt uncomfortable asking a question, because oddly enough, he just wasn't able to comprehend the emotions and mannerisms of the two lovers. He couldn't understand the gentle, yet so confident and strong expressions that coated the couple's persons, nor was he able to find the meaning behind each discreet touch, or lingering gaze they shared throughout the night of festivities. Amidst his confusion and much to his own irritation, he was forced to question Sakura whom, he assumed was too surprised to respond appropriately, started to laugh at his befuddlement. He had glared at her in response, and it was then that she had seemed to realize that he wasn't kidding, and for some unknown reason, he saw her cheeks grow a faint shade of pink.

Her initial react had only confused him more, but before he could question her any further on it, an alerting clinging of metal on a thin glass of wine sounded through the air, and the father of the bride rose to his feet to give his speech before the happy couple's first dance. The chance then presented itself later in the night, during dinner to be exact. At first, Sakura hesitated, before turning her head towards the lovely couple as a wistful smile graced her delicate lips. Then, she turned back to look at him, and he felt his lungs contract, while his heart was all but crashing through his ribcage; it was a sensation he had never felt before, but it engulfed his entire body, spreading like wildfire and filling him with a uplifting sensation as something in his stomach fluttered.

"Love." Is what she had told him, using such a simple word to identify the obviously complex behavior. Despite himself, Sasori had given her a truly curious look, still unable to grasp the concept of the affection, and in response, she replied with a small laugh, lifting a hand to hide the tiny grin that claimed her slightly glistening, pale pink lips.

Sasori refrained from shuddering at the memory, unwilling to disturb the girl's slumber, as the unfamiliar and almost giddy feeling took to his stomach once again. It was another thing he had yet to find control over, the way his body reacted against his will to certain things like the heat and the cold, but most specifically, pink-haired his partner.

Taking his chances, while also struggling to tame the gradual increase of his heartbeat, Sasori spared the young kunoichi a small glance, and felt a small, gentle smile tug at the firm line of his mouth. She was asleep, her head tucked almost perfectly under his chin, her toes barely hanging over the edge of the bench while her left knee was resting gently on the outside of his thigh. However, the only force preventing the girl from laying her head in his lap was the loose circle of her arms around his waist, one hand dropping to rest lightly on his leg.

'She looks peaceful.' He noted silently, 'More than I've ever seen her, at least.'

Without thinking, Sasori felt his right hand remove itself from its place on the small of her back and before he could stop himself, he felt her soft-as-silk pink locks slip through his fingers effortlessly. Then, in response, Sakura snuggled closer, drawing her knees in closer as she let out a soft hum. Sasori froze, his eyes growing as he paused in his ministrations, prepared to pull his hand away, when Sakura shifted, moving a little closer and clasping her hands together and letting them lay loosely against his hip.

To say that Akasuna no Sasori was simply bothered by the close proximity between them would be a blaringly obvious understatement. In fact, he was extremely uncomfortable to have this woman, who was more than capable of crushing every bone in his body with her bare hands, snuggling against him as if he was a child's teddy-bear. However, at the same time, he felt an unexplainable heat burn into his cheeks as a tingling and feather-light sensation spread throughout his body and his stomach began to flutter uncontrollably.

Sasori was not oblivious; he knew that, if it were any other woman (although he would never allow anyone of the opposite sex, save for Sakura and perhaps Konan, touch him) he would have felt nothing. It was this logic, which had come to be questioned and consulted numerous times, that had pointed to this being a reaction that only the presence of his pink-haired partner could conjure. However, no matter how many times he tried to explain the feeling to himself, tried to break it down and understand it, the explanation for this enlightening sensation continued to elude him.

This was another case where, despite his distaste for asking for help, he would have asked Sakura what she was doing to him. Was it genjutsu? Was she simply practicing it on him? What was it meant to do, what were these effects supposed to achieve? These, along with several, equally aggravating questions danced restlessly about in his mind, and it was disrupting his concentration. He wanted to know the meaning of these odd tremors of inexplicable emotions, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to ask Sakura. He did not know what they meant and he was not willing to face the brunt of the kunoichi's fury in the case that he said something wrong in the process, especially considering that it involved her directly. However, he'd be damned if he tried to ask any of the other members, Konan aside, because he knew that, one way or another, whether they knew the answer or not, he'd be ridiculed for be unaware or for seeking help. Oh no, none of them were going to help, and he didn't want to test Sakura's temper any time soon.

Sasori sighed, feeling only slight aggravation in the realization that he was on his own this time around, when he felt Sakura move again. He looked down slightly and found a pair of sleepy green eyes watching him curiously.

"What's wrong, Sasori?" she asked, suppressing the urge to yawn as she met her partner's uneasy brown eyes.

Sasori blinked, looking at the girl for a few seconds, before shaking his head and glancing out the window, "Nothing, go back to sleep."

Sakura glared at him, opening her most to protest, when the soft sounds of approaching footfalls made both shinobi freeze. Sasori was the first to take action, slipping his hand into Sakura's hip pouch, earning a hard glare in the process, and extracting two paper bombs, holding them out to Sakura and raising an eyebrow. It didn't take long for Sakura to catch on and she grinned before snatching the tags and putting them under a hinge to make them look like train tickets, while he removed his cloak.

"Deidara would be so proud of you." She said, grinning at the scowl she received for the comment while she watched Sasori fold his cloak and set it in his lap, before looking at her and frowning slightly when his gaze caught the gleam of her headband. "What?"

"You're going to have to take that off." He said, gesturing to her headband. He knew she hated taking it off, it represented her loyalty to her village, both as a ninja and a medic, but he also knew that they couldn't be discovered or else their mission would be a waste, even if it was just a recruiting job.

He watched her hesitate, before slowly raising her hand to the knotted cloth sitting against the back of her neck. Untying the material, Sakura held the only thing that signified her existence as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village delicately in her hands. Although she was often times reluctant, Sasori knew that he never had to worry, because despite her attachment to the headband, he knew the young kunoichi understood the importance of maintaining their cover while carrying out undercover missions. So, with predicted hesitance, Sakura held the headband out to the former Suna ninja.

With another small sigh, Sakura placed a hinge over herself, and then one over her partner as he carefully put her headband in one of their backpacks, before turning back to face her. They looked at each other, examining each other's civilian hinge, before glancing back at the door to the cabin as the sound of footsteps grew louder, stopping periodically at the doors of each of the cabins to check the passengers of the train for tickets.

Sakura sat back against the cabin bench and closed her eyes patiently while Sasori remained silent, waiting for the conductors to come and check their 'tickets'. However, a small light went on in Sasori's mind and he glanced over at his partner, an idea that would hopefully sell their innocent appearance as a young couple just a little bit better, while also catching the kunoichi off-guard, a hobbie that always had amusing turn-outs.

Sasori smirked, before reaching an arm around Sakura's waist and pulling her down so her head fell onto the folded cloak in his lap. She let out a small gasp, before looking up and glaring at her partner as the footsteps stopped at the cabin beside them.

"I told you to go back to sleep, remember?" he said with a victorious smirk, especially when her attempt to protest was cut off by the sounds of footsteps stopping outside their cabin. She glared at him, reaching up and dropping their 'tickets' into the breast pocket of his button-up shirt, before turning away and closing her eyes, feigning sleep as the cabin door slid open.

Sasori glanced up, his gray eyes settling quietly on the two men standing in the doorway, both wearing uniforms that signified their positions on the train, as well as the company's emblem. However, as any ninja would know, while these people looked like innocent conductors checking for tickets, they were also Jounin-level shinobi of the land the train was headed for. Sasori watched both men, he could tell that they were suspicious of the pair, considering that it would have been pointless to try and mask their chakra signatures entirely, so they had opted for only partially hiding their tracks. This meant that about a quarter of Sasori's reserves were leaked, while Sakura's was left alone, because it would have been impossible to disguise her as anyone other than the Fifth Hokage's former apprentice.

So, as if on cue, both men glanced at Sakura, their chakra flaring in warning, before one of them turned back to look at Sasori, holding out his hand. Initially, Sasori simply blinked, before feigning realization and nodding. One hand still entangled in her silky pink locks, Sasori reaching into his shirt pocket and withdrew the hinged tickets, hoping Sakura's genjutsu was strong enough to fool the two so that they wouldn't have to resort to setting off the bombs. While the Akatsuki was known for being ruthless and violent S-ranked missing-ninja, they tried to avoid situations that could possibly endanger any nearby civilians. So, as Sasori leaned forward slightly, trying to be care as to not awaken the supposedly sleeping medic, he watched the second man step reach back, undoubtedly into a conceal hip pouch, while the other examined the 'tickets', his brow furrowed slightly.

Sasori's stomach churned slightly when he heard the soft sound of a knife being drawn, but he let his gaze fall on the first man as he stepped inside the cabin, while his partner stood by the doorway, holding a ticket in one hand and a knife in the other.

"State your business." The first said firmly, and Sasori glared at him, putting a finger to his lips, before leaning to the side slightly, careful not disturb Sakura as he quietly reached into his bag. The second man flinched, raising his knife slightly, but Sasori shot him a stern look, lifting his other hand from his partner's soft hair to hold up a hand to the ninja at the doorway.

Slowly, Sasori lifted his hand from his bag, a scroll signed by the Fifth Hokage that stated Sakura's vacation leave for one week with him there to insure that she actually took it. After the war, the Akatsuki made a deal with the Hidden Villages, Konoha, being the most favored party of them all, had been the most cooperative in the deal. While the members of the Akatsuki refused to be tied to any village, or controlled by any, Konoha had asked for them to cease hunting the host of the Nine-tailed fox. Eventually, a truce between the two had been issued, and was accepted from both sides, with a few conditions. Conditions that were tied to the pink-haired medic faking sleep in his lap.

The deal was that Sakura was to be available to the Akatsuki as medic, which they were in dire need of, and would be allowed to carry out missions that would not compromise her as a medic or as a ninja loyal to the Hidden Leaf. In return, the Akatsuki were required to provide assistance to each of the hidden villages if reasonable, and were forced end their pursuit of the jinchuuriki hosts. And in the case of war, the Akatsuki were in no way eligible to participate unless they had ties to whichever lands were warring, and even then it was voluntary.

It had been four years since that agreement, and to say the least, it had been a benefit to everyone, including Sakura, who had known grown out of simply being a teammate of both Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, no longer was known only for being the former student of both the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade and Konoha's infamous Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, she had even grew beyond being the one to save Kankuro, the Fourth Kazekage's brother, and beyond assisting Granny Chiyo in killing him the first time around. Now, she was not only respected as one of the greatest medics to have ever lived, but also as a very powerful kunoichi in her own way.

Silently, Sasori handed the scroll to the first of the two men, before speaking in a soft tone, still pretending Sakura was asleep. "This should explain everything."

He watched as the first man shoved one of the 'tickets' into his pocket and opened the scroll, his eyes scanning across the scroll's writing, before letting out a grunt and thrusting it towards his partner, who tucked away the other 'ticket' and followed suit. Sasori resisted the urge to smirk, when he felt Sakura shift, she peacefully expression faltering as she mumbled under her breath. Feigning annoyance, Sasori shot the man in front of him a sharp glare.

"I don't think I need to warn you that she doesn't like being woken up." He said flatly, his gaze shifting between the two men, whose chakra flared, before glancing down at Sakura, who turned over to face him, one hand jabbing him in the stomach. Sasori winced visibly, glaring down at her as she returned to her previous position.

"Stop making so much noise, Tomaru." She grumbled, her knees curling up closer, innocently, while Sasori took a deep breath, glaring at the two other men in the cabin, silently telling them to leave. However, the opposite happened, and in the blink of an eye, Sasori felt something tear into the top of his right shoulder, and Sakura sprung from his lap, driving a knee into the groin of the first man as he held the sword that cut into Sasori's arm.

With a growl, Sasori leaned forward, dodging the kunai hurled at him by the second man and grabbing both of their bags, before kicking the window out while Sakura caught the man in the doorway in the jaw with a hard right-hook. She turned back to face him, grabbing the scroll issued by the Fifth Hokage, before joining him at the window.

"Are you good to go?" he asked, his left hand gripping the edge of the window from the outside as he squatted in frame, his other arm hanging by his side as the wound to his shoulder continued to bleed, catching Sakura's gaze almost immediately. "We'll worry about it later, but right now we need to go."

Sakura nodded, watching him haul himself onto the roof of the train with one arm, the soft 'tup's of his sandals on the metal top assuring her of his safe landing. Taking a deep breath, Sakura stepped up onto the ledge, gloved hands gripping the top of the frame as she mimicked his moves. However, she was just about in the clear, when something latched onto her ankle, and she looked down to see the first ninja, the one she'd kneed in the groin, holding onto her foot and slowly pulling her back inside.

"Sasori!" she shouted, her grip on the window frame beginning to slip as more of her body re-entered the cabin. Sakura looked up, hoping she'd see the red-head, when she felt something around her waist while a warm breath murmured against her ear.

"Hold on tight!" he ordered, and as soon as she had her arms draped around the back of his neck, Sakura felt his grip tighten around her and she was slowly pulled up. She heard a curse sound from inside the cabin, and she growled when she felt something cut into her Achilles' heel, before lashing out, kicking at the man and smirking at the resounding crack of her foot making contact with his nose, before Sasori successfully pulled her on top of the train.

Normally, Sakura would have thought nothing of their position, but there was something about the feeling of his one hand pressed into the small of her back while she was lying on top of him that made her heart beat too fast. However, that thought soon crumbled when a groan of pain came from the man, and she quickly scrambled to her knees, her hands already glowing green as he struggled to sit up.

"Idiot, just hold still." She hissed, pushing back the fabric of his black T-shirt and netting top in order to correctly heal the wound.

"We don't have time, brat!" he snapped, trying to pull away, but Sakura glared, using his own movements to push him down and pin him to the train's rooftop, long enough to stop the bleeding. Sasori glared her, pushing her off and standing up as soon as she was done. Still annoyed, Sakura followed his lead, holding his harsh gaze, until the sounds of angry shouts fill the air above the train. She looked to Sasori who, still glaring at her, tossed her her bag and turned away, crouching by the the opposite side of the train and searching the surrounding for some sort of safe landing. "We need to get off this thing and cover our tracks as soon as possible." He said firmly, looking over his shoulder at Sakura, who was glancing over the other side as well.

They were on their way to Iwa for a simple recruiting mission and afterwards, she had been planning on enjoying her enforced vacation, but suddenly Sakura was getting the feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as she had hoped. Sakura sighed, hanging her head in brief defeat.

"So much for my vacation…" she sighed, before pointing out a passing lake, the safest target for them to aim for while jumping from the train, it would also eliminate their scents for any trackers.

"Oh, I don't believe that I'm that bad, besides, technically, you haven't started your vacation, remember?" Sasori replied as he came to stand beside her as they heard the ninja break through the window on the opposite side of the train.

"No, you're just horrible company." She replied with a smirk. Sasori snorted in response.

"So you say." He muttered, ignoring the sounds of sandals stumbling on metal behind them as he gathered chakra into the soles of his feet and crouched, bracing himself for the take-off. "Now, let's go." And with that, Sasori shot forward, flipping a few times before diving into the lake.

"Hey, be careful! I only sealed it enough to stop the bleeding!" Sakura shouted after him, before imitating her partner and launching herself more gracefully off the train. "You idiot, why are men always so reckless…"

Sighing, Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes upon impact with the water, before plunging into the cold depths. 'This is going to be an interesting vacation…'

Alrighty then! I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of Young Blood. I honestly can't think of a better title, but I really wanted to post this story. But anyways, a big thank you to my lovely friend xxPowerOfYouthxx, who has been my little drawing board of imagination, she's helped me sort out parts of this chapter, so THANK YOU!

To everyone else, review and enjoy!

~Smash41KMF