"Papa!" Kana and Haku shouted simultaneously. Sakura watched the heart warming scene as the kids were reunited with their parents. They were outside the Hokage's office on the ground floor when Kisame and Zabuza waltzed up to them, fully expecting their children to be safe and unscathed- which they were. Kisame tousled Sakura's hair.

   "We really can't thank you enough, pint-size. Honestly, what would we have done without you?" he grinned.

   "Thank you so much, Sakura." said Zabuza, "But the men that took them..."

   Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper written with neat, narrow handwriting. She handed it over to them.

   "This has the full description of the select group of people who kidnapped them. The ones who did it are already dead, but I'm sure that there are more of them. I've seen some of them in Kiri after an... unpleasant... experience, so you may have to look into that." she informed.

   The three of them talked for a few more minutes with Haku and Kana in their father's arms before Sakura walked them over to gates. They would have stayed the night, but they left short notice and rushed over to make sure their kids were alright.

   "Nee-san, nee-san, we'll send you lotsa letters when we get back!" Kana exclaimed as she hugged Sakura's leg. She smiled down at the girl.

   "I'll be sure to reply." 

   They waved to her and walked off. Sakura sighed in content before walking back into the village to find something to do. Not even five minutes into her calm silence, Naruto popped into her bubble with a wide, shimmering grin.

   "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Me, Kakashi-sensei, and teme were thinking of going to Ichiraku's for dinner and we want you to come along, dattebayo! Sai's also gonna be there and he's this really assholey kinda guy but I guess you two'll get along. So whattya say, Sakura-chan? You wanna come?"

   She couldn't find the heart to refuse him.

   "Fine, Naruto." she smiled, "Let's go?"

   He hooked his arm with hers and tugged her down the street.

   "Yup! Let's go!"

~

   An hours worth of talking later, just as the five left the restaurant, the unexpected showed up.

   "Sa-ku-ra-chan!!"

   An explosion of red nearly tackled Sakura to the ground. It was a stone shinobi, the rest of Team Seven discovered once the dust cleared. He wore the standard uniform: a shirt with one long sleeve and one not with a tan flak jacket. His shoulder length blonde hair was tied back in a short ponytail with a long slice of hair covering the left side of his face. Currently, he had Sakura trapped in a bone-crushing hug.

   "Wha-wha-wha?! Who the HELL are you?!" sputtered Naruto as he pointed at the stranger accusingly. Without letting go of his captive, the man grinned.

   "The name's Deidara, yeah."

   Naruto looked at Sakura and waved his hands at Deidara incredulously.

   "I met him a few years back and we've been friends since." she explained. She couldn't keep a smile off her face once he finally let go and slung an arm over her shoulders. "But I didn't know you were coming. What are you doing here?"

   "Isn't it obvious? I missed you, hm."

   "I saw you a few months ago!"

   "But still~"

   Team Seven could only watch with wide eyes. Deidara then proceeded to take Sakura down the street with Naruto yelling after them.

   "OI! SAKURA-CHAN! WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT YOUR CHOICE OF FRIENDS RIGHT. NOW. DA. TTE. BA.YO!"

   When they disappeared out of sight, Kakashi put a finger on his chin in thought.

   "Just a friend? The seem more like a couple to me." he thought aloud. Naruto certainly didn't like such a notion and protested loudly.

   "They seem very close." Sai mused. It only made Naruto whine louder, if that was even possible. Sasuke smirked from the sidelines.

   "Poor aniki. I wonder how upset he'll be."

~

   "You're home late, otouto." Itachi noted from his place at the dining table. A thick book was in his hands and thin framed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Sasuke shrugged and took a seat across from his older brother.

   "An Iwa-nin appeared after our team dinner at Ichiraku's."

   "Hostile?"

   "Friendly."

   Itachi looked back down to his book and flipped a page. A mischievous glint flashed in Sasuke's eyes.

   "But you know, aniki, he had some treaty business with the Hokage." he said nonchalantly, "But he seemed like he wasn't doing his job.

   "Oh?" Itachi remarked. He didn't look up from his book.

   "He seemed pretty clingy with Sakura. It almost seemed like they were a couple."

   Sasuke watched as Itachi slowly closed his book and set it on the coffee table in front of him. He then proceeded to take off his glasses and set them beside the book. His gaze was locked on his little brother as a chilling air filled the room.

   "Oh? How so?" Itachi inquired softly. 

   "They were close, pretty touchy-feely. He looked like he couldn't take his hands off her."

   After he blinked, his older was no longer in sight.

~

   Deidara and Sakura eventually ended up in the basement of Sakura's home. It was a wide space of layered, polished wood and was void of any dust or clutter. Off in the corner were buckets of black ink and a bundle of extremely large paint brushes. On the wall was a paper with a diagram drawn on it.

   "You're pretty artsy, aren't you, tinkerbell?"

   He shrugged.

   "Sure. Why, un? You need me to re-draw that symbol thingy?"

   "Kinda. I do need you to help me redraw that symbol, but I need the diagram to cover every inch of the floor and for it to reach about half-way up the wall. Could you help me?" she asked, gesturing to the room before them. Deidara rolled up his one sleeve and gave her two thumbs up.

   "No problemo, hm. I got you."

   Two hours later, the diagram was drawn and dried. The two were seated on the stairs, staring at their work as they sipped some lemonade.

   "Now I'm going to have you take off your shirt and be put in an induced coma for a few days with you in the center of that." she deadpanned. Deidara nearly spit out his drink.

   "W-WHAT?!"

   She turned to look him straight in the eye.

   "Do you trust me?" she questioned. After calming down a bit, he eventually sighed.

   "... Yeah, un. I'll do it."

   Deidara and Sakura weren't seen for three days.

   On the fourth day, Deidara pried open his eyes and kept his eyes glued to the ceiling. He remembered that he was in Sakura's house, but what--

Wait.

   He shot up in a sitting position and pulled aside his bangs.

   He could... see...

   Deidara then gripped his right arm and felt nothing but smooth skin. It was pale, but it was his nonetheless.

   Sakura healed him.

   He stood on wobbly legs and looked around to express his utmost gratitude to her, but found her slumped against the wall, sleeping peacefully. He smiled and lifted her into his arms and brought her out of the basement. It took him a while, but he finally found her room on the second floor. Tucking her in her bed, he made sure she was comfortable before preparing to take his leave.

   'Maybe she has a spare shirt lying around, un?'

   Deidara poked around her house for a few minutes before the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door and pulled it open.

   Blue clashed with sharingan red.

Picture: This is the diagram Deidara was placed in- the Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu or the Healing Resuscitation Regenaration Technique. This is what Sakura needed Deidara's hair for. I do not own this picture.

A/N: I have rewritten Eight Men and a Pink Haired Baby, if you didn't already know, and it is titled Haruno by Name, Hoshigaki by Blood and it is already out.