Hi! XDD umm... I know I say this alot, but yeah XDD not sure why I uploaded this. So... DeiOC-ISH thing XDD I think it;d be too early to actually call it DeiOC at all XDD This takes place in between chapters 3 and 4 of "Introduction" this other thing I wrote... So, unless you've read that, I'm afraid it probably won't make sense.

Like I said, I didn't mean to make this like...DeiOC ish, really XD She fonds him intriguing, that's all XDD Sorry if it doesn;t seem that way. Oh! And I also apologize in advance for any like... OCC ness, or mary sueishness in this crap-tastic piece of writing.

Aw man XDD Do I ever hate picking titles for things XDD I'm sorry this one's so lousy.

And now, of course... Disclamer time! XD

Naruto: Masashi kishimoto

If someone had told me a week ago that I'd soon be fixing the arm of an S-ranked criminal I met at a restaurant an hour and a half earlier, I'd have called them crazy. But here I am.

I rechecked the joints, bending them to check for an unusual resistance that could indicate a problem, felt the alignment of the bones, checked the circulation one more time... Everything seemed to be in order. I even poked at the mouth in the palm of his previously lifeless hand, jumping back slightly when it gently began to nibble at my finger, completely of it's own accord.

I couldn't help but be suspicious of Deidara. He did indeed appear to be asleep, his eyes flickered and moved beneath his eyelids, and his breathing was deep, and steady. But part of me wondered why. To leave yourself vulnerable, in front of someone you just met... Especially when you know they're probably insane... It didn't make sense. I looked down at the weapon I still had attached to my belt, then back at the sleeping iwa nin. He was out like a light. I could just leave... Or even kill him if I wanted to. It'd be all too easy.

When I look back on everything, my own sensei never let me out of his sight for a moment. Daisuke and Kichiro, my teammates, would go together if splitting up was necessary, and kept me with himself. He was afraid I'd hurt them, I suppose. Kichiro eventually stopped trusting me as well. So the concept of a stranger falling asleep, leaving himself helpless, knowing what I'm capable of... was unimaginable. Insane.

So, it had occurred to me that he was faking, somehow. Perhaps to get the better of me, for reasons I hadn't considered,once I let my guard down. It was impossible to tell if his mechanical eye was closed.

Or, maybe he really was sleeping. Perhaps time as an S ranked ninja simple makes one incredibly arrogant... Maybe he just trusted me. Part of me desperately wanted it to be the latter. But that was wishful thinking. No shinobi truly trusts. It's not in our nature.

Something I had learned too late.

My doubts began to set in, and I looked back up at him quickly, half expecting to see him staring at me, maliciously. But he wasn't. What I saw made me pause for a moment, before moving the slightest bit closer.

He let out a happy little sigh, that was closer to a chuckle, rolling over sleepily. There was this tiny, childlike, impish smile forming across his face. He actually looked sort of... sweet.

When I had sat down in the restaurant, I had done all I could to avoid eye contact, though, as I had been sitting on his left side, I had hardly needed to. I'd also kept my gaze away from his face while examining his arm initially, looking only at whatever I was inspecting. I'm not sure why, but something about meeting his eye sent a chill down my spine.

It didn't make me feel scared, or nervous... Just Uneasy. Like he was looking at me just a bit too closely. As a result, I'd never really gotten a good look at him, just quick glances, here and there.

I took a moment to roll up his right sleeve just a bit further. Sure enough, around his shoulder, were little white marks, that could only be left by stitches received a while back.

"Yeah... Kakuzu- this other guy in the organization-stitched it back on, un. Of course, he couldn't actually fix it, like, the broken bones and stuff... So it's not much good."

At the time, I hadn't really believed him. To my knowledge, it's impossible to stitch an arm back on. But apparently, that isn't the case. There was something rather depressing about his empty, left sleeve, which was rolled up and pinned to his shirt. I could see the faint outlines of old scars, along his arm, that most likely continued to his chest. Not cuts, burns. It seems Deidara had a accident a few years ago. Blown himself up, undoubtedly. I realised that my finger had began to trace the pale lines mechanically, and to my relief, I saw him stir, but not wake. At some point, I'd moved quite a bit closer to him, without really meaning to, and, now more confident that he was indeed asleep, examined my 'partner' more closely.

My eyes travelled upwards, to his face. He looked young, about my age, perhaps a bit older. Eighteen, nineteen... Somewhere around there. The long, dark eyelashes of his closed eye looked almost feminine- but he was definitely male. His jaw was a bit to wide, his voice a bit to deep, his shoulders a little to broad...

It occurred to me that I should feel nervous, or at least awkward, about spending so much of my time around a man. But it was nothing unusual, for me. My teammate, Daisuke kun had been my best friend, and we had spent the majority of our free time together without incident. I simply enjoyed his company.

I looked back at Deidara for a long moment, studying his long, shiny, straw coloured hair. That ponytail of his... He probably didn't usually sleep with it in. It would be uncomfortable. I reached over, and undid the hair-tie that kept it in place.

I just studied him for a moment longer. Somehow, he looked less intimidating this way. Probably because he looked about three inches shorter without his ponytail. Actually, he was probably only an inch or so taller than myself, though I've always been on the tall side, for a girl.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I brushed his bangs away from his face, inspecting the device attached where he left eye should have been. I didn't know if it came off, and worried that if he slept with it on, it may become damaged, or even damage his eye, itself. After a while, I reassured myself that it did NOT come off, and was intended to be left as it was. It appeared to actually be in his eye socket. I also removed his hitai-ate, something I was sure he probably didn't sleep in.

I had done what I could for the arm, but Deidara's body would have to do the last finishing touches itself. He needed rest. I slipped my arm over his shoulder, and tried to drag him over to the bed as carefully as I could. He had volunteered to sleep on the couch tonight, but the bed was closer, and there was only so far I could tow him without him waking. I was strong enough to carry his weight of course, but trying to move a person is awkward. Besides, he had already thrown a pillow on to the couch, that I could just as easily use. It definitely beat sleeping outside.

I watched as he sleepily made himself comfortable under the sheets, that same, grin on his face. More than anything, he somehow looked pleased with himself.

I then found my thoughts returning to why I was here in the first place. I still couldn't figure out what had possessed me to follow him out of that restaurant in the first place. Or why I had decided to help him. I found Deidara intriguing, yes, but that alone would hardly explain anything.

Perhaps... I just needed to be wanted, right now. To be trusted... We're taught young that missing nin are scum. Cowards, who abandon their homes for their own wicked purposes. But when Deidara had explained their organization to me, it really hadn't sounded much different than what a village does. All Shinobi kill. If I understood correctly, the target assigned to the place I've been asked to fill doesn't even have a human host... If anything, I'd be doing more killing at home, or wandering around on my own.

I removed my belt, and the weapon attached to it, and set it down in the far corner of the room, deciding that I was much too tired to be thinking. I sighed, and fell onto the couch, deciding to wait, and see what the morning brought.

I was asleep before I hit the pillow.

crappy, I know nn;; Sorry anyways, thank you very much for reading it!