Summary: All Sakura Haruno has known is the strict lifestyle of a studious student. Deidara Iwa has only known to live by the blade and measures his life in days rather than years. When the two meet each other under circumstances alien to both, they discover they are as different as night and day. But with their crazy lives, love blossoms in the heat of it all.

Chapter 1

Sakura stood up and stretched her long lithe body after hours of studying AP Physics. She was exhausted, her eyes ached, and her fingers felt cramped. It was still summer and Sakura felt shut out when her parents told her she still had to study. Slowly Sakura made her way to the window and slid it open. This summer was cool with breezes drifting by occasionally preventing temperatures from reaching scorching levels. A puffy bumblebee with its body dusted in pollen floated by slowly with a low buzz. A bee huh. Free. Free to do whatever they want… all day in the glorious sun. I wish I could be like that.

Sakura's eyes glazed over as she started daydreaming about the many things she could be doing. Her friends, the Konoha 11, were surprisingly all staying in town for summer. I've got to take care of the flower shop. My dad will have my head if I don't stay and help. Sakura smiled. Ino never ceased to amuse her. The door to her room slowly cracked open as Sakura's mother stuck her head in.

"Honey, how's the science coming along?"

"Good mother. It's just getting a little tedious," answered Sakura with a touch of bitterness in her voice. Sakura's mother didn't miss it.

"I don't want any of that attitude Sakura, you know we want the best for you," Sakura's mother sternly replied.

"But mother-,"

"Not buts, I want you to keep working on physics, I know how hard you struggle in that class."

"I still graduated at the top of my class," mumbled Sakura under her breath. Sakura's mother's head snapped at her retort.

"Enough. Just go back to studying. Stop wasting your summer away. You only have one year of high school left and I don't want you gambling your future away because of this. Now get back to work."

Sakura's temper flared as she watched her mother stalk out of her room. Why can't they let loose a little? When are they going to realize that I need to have fun every now and then?

Sakura dampened the growing flame inside her heart and took a deep breath. I need to calm down. There's no use staying mad. She strode over to her desk and dropped heavily into her chair. Slamming open the physics textbook Sakura started reading the blurry lines discussing Newton's laws.

Deidara's breaths came out in quick bursts. He was exhausted yet exhilarated; he could still feel the adrenaline pumping furiously through his veins. There was nothing like a good run from the cops. He had cut it pretty close too. It was just a dare really. Siphon some fuel out of a couple of police cars and set off the alarms. Anything he got within the dare he got to keep. This was nothing… nothing compared to his initiation. That was history though, a story for later.

Kneeling, he picked up the small jugs of expensive gasoline. Highly flammable. Perfect for starting something huge. Like an explosion. Deidara grinned maniacally with a little more jump in his steps as the thought crossed his mind. He couldn't wait to blow something sky high. Deidara had been itching to blow something… anything up since last week after the cops walked in on him setting a fuse alight. Deidara didn't think twice before bailing.

The fuel sloshed around as he took shaky steps towards his hidden car. It was beat up and second hand, something he could easily afford and blended in with the crowd whenever he needed a quick getaway. Completely forgettable with its white paint job and dull leather gray seats. It worked beautifully and was all Deidara needed to get things done. Deidara gently popped open the trunk and gently set the red containers filled with gas in. He straightened his back and admired his handiwork.

"That should be about good, yeah," he whispered, "I can finally make some art. I've been going nuts watching Danna carve his puppets. That's not real art."

Slamming the trunk closed Deidara walked to the front, opened the door and sidled into the driver's seat. Leaning forward he pressed his forehead to the wheel and listened as his heart pumped wildly. Still the same yeah. That rush never goes away. After a couple minutes of waiting and feeling his heart rate return to normal, Deidara slid the key into the ignition and started the car. He eased it out of the cramped alley where he had stashed it earlier and started driving. Deidara turned onto the freeway and hit the accelerator as he entered the mad rush. The speedometer needle crept towards 50 then 60 and finally rested at 65. Rolling the window down Deidara slung his arm and let it dangle as the wind rushed by. Never gets old yeah. I wonder what it's like flying on one of my birds in this wind. Suddenly a horn blared and snapped him out of his reverie. He let out a string of curse words that would have made a sailor blush and swerved violently onto the exit.

"Fuck those truck drivers, yeah" mumbled Deidara. His temper cooled when he saw he had taken the right exit towards the Akatsuki hideout.

The Akatsuki was based in a dilapidated warehouse that had long been abandoned. It was on the seedy side of Konoha but no one bothered to tread near the warehouse. Anyone knew that messing with the Akatsuki meant you had a death wish. Everyone left them alone and if Akatsuki wanted something from anyone, they were as good as death. It was rumored they had accepted the most notorious criminals who had evaded the authorities and employed them to carry out dirty deeds. Others thought that the Akatsuki even staged breakouts at high security prisons to add more skills to their growing numbers. All in all, the rumors scared and kept people away which was what mattered. No one talked about them if they wanted to live.

Deidara pulled into a garage with the door half open and stepped out. He stretched and wiped his sweaty palms onto his ratty jeans as he strolled over to the trunk. He opened it and grabbed the containers. Deidara's lean muscles rippled in his fishnet shirt as he heaved them out. Hidan's going to be pissed that I actually had the balls to go through on the dare. It's going to cost him $125. Deidara smirked. Just in time too. I was itching to buy some fireworks. Those things are expensive as shit.

Slowly Deidara made his way to the heart of the warehouse. Even though it was left to rot, the Akatsuki had cleaned it up nice. It was spacious and had more than enough space to accommodate the quirky members. Pein, the leader had left the outside looking decrepit and furnished the inside richly meaning to deceive anyone who did have the guts to investigate.

Deidara opened the door leading straight to a large sitting room where most members gathered when they didn't have missions. It was quite homey for a gang hideout.

I can't wait to start making some explosives.