A/N: Hello all! This is my very first FanFiction to ever write. I've not written in years, never FanFiction, and I've been reading so much of it lately that I've been self-encouraged to give it a go! Without further ado, I present a very work-in-progress story of Deidara and Sakura. I'm doing my best to remain OC, but reviews of all kinds are welcome here! Thank you for your time!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto

Chapter 1: The Mission Failed

Deidara was cursing himself internally, walking tentatively along the tree line bordering the forest he had just so narrowly escaped.

'That damned Jinchuuriki...'

Naruto and his team had very nearly indeed destroyed him, and there was no help in the fact that Deidara himself had already been weakened prior to facing off the hyper active nin and his teammates. He had just finished his battle with Gaara not long before running into Team Seven after being defeated by Gaara.

His clay explosives surrounded by chakra infused sand detonated with minimal damage to the surrounding area of the Village Hidden in the Sand.

Gaara has sensed his chakra and flown out of his Hokage tower to meet Deidara, who was upon his clay eagle.

'We, the Akatsuki, are here to take you back to our base, and I expect a fine battle before I have to assume I wasted my time for nothing, yeah!'

Deidara has been bold and arrogant in his statement, assuring himself he did not need his man Sasori for assistance with this matter, and left him to wait for him to finish his battle.

Looking back on it, Deidara had been concerned he would piss off Sasori by spending too long in his battle, but the only thing that pissed Sasori off more than being kept waiting, was having to save an incompetent partner.

Deidara nearly blacked out after Gaara crushed his arm in his Sand Coffin jutsu, only after having set off enough explosions to disperse the sand from its hold on his arm, scarcely saving his limb.

The last thing Deidara remembered was Sasori standing over him, cursing his name and then roughly picking him up by the scruff and disappearing from the Sand with him-

A paper shuriken flew by Deidara's right ear. With a groan, he glanced back to see Konan glaring angrily at him, her normally apathetic amber eyes blazing.

"What was that excuse of a fight for?! You've not only lost us one jinchuuriki, but two." Her voice was raised but not quite a shout. Even angry, Konan never completely lost her cool demeanor.

"I almost died the first time, yeah! And it's not my fault that Sasori my man wanted to get himself blasted apart by those damn Leaf ninjas to try and get his own Jinchuuriki!"

Deidara had not been in the mood for this lecture. He winced upon drawing himself up to his height, his arm still having been untreated for the past five days.

With a sigh, Konan reached her pale hand out towards him, irritation evident in her face. "Pein will not be pleased to hear of this, but even more so if you come back this injured and unable to take further missions. Come here."

Begrudgingly, Deidara stepped towards Konan who rested her hand on his arm, which had multiple fractures and breaks along the length from his upper arm down, as well as covered in bruises. He knew she was only barely versed in medical ninjustsu, so he was leery of the green chakra pulsing out of her palm now.

Wincing in pain, Deidara let out a short grunt when Konan's chakra was unsteadily pulsing into his arm. It felt better by a margin, and he soon regained feeling in his muscles and his fingers, but it was excruciating due to Konan not having the entire process perfected quite yet.

"It won't hold for long, and you'll be limited on jutsu in the time being, but you won't lose the arm." Konan turned away without another glance and before she leapt in the trees above, nodded to the direction of the left, towards where Team Seven had followed Deidara. "Take care of the mess they left behind before you come home. We don't need there to be witnesses of our organization if they survived the Nine Tales."

Deidara's blue eyes narrowed but before he could open his mouth to object, Konan had crafted her paper wings and took flight into the trees.

What the hell was it my responsibility for to clean up their mess!

Now beyond irritated, Deidara darted up to a tree branch and began his trip back to the scene. Back to where Naruto lost control and attacked everyone.

He could smell the blood bath start as he took flight on yet another clay eagle. Deidara had been trying to lure out the Nine Tales as Sasori was unsuccessful in his attempt, so far as to even get himself entirely obliterated in the process.

Glancing back, Deidara saw transparent red chakra shape around the blonde haired ninja, forming into the shape of three tails.

'What is that?'

Without warning, Naruto suddenly dropped to the forest floor, writhing in pain.

Kakashi had stopped in his chase of Deidara when he looked back and saw Naruto covered in now deep red chakra, upon also sprouting a fourth tail.

Deidara slowed his flight midair and circled above, waiting to see what would unfold now. Through his camera lensed eye, he could spy Kakashi cautiously walking towards Naruto, a paper in hand.

Before Kakashi could reach Naruto, a small figure burst from the trees above and landed down a few meters aways. The newcomer, a pink haired kunoichi, had tears in her eyes still after witnessing the old hag, Chiyo die at the hands of Sasori.

Deidara had scoffed at the time, watching the pink haired nin dart towards Naruto, her hand outstretched as if to help him.

'Sakura, no!' Kakashi's warning was too late, as one of Naruto's long tails swept towards the girl and flung her through the trees, not glancing back as she snapped three trunks before slamming into the ground.

'Ouch...' Deidara thought with a smirk. 'Impressive Jinchuuriki this one is, yeah.'

Kakashi, then distracted by Sakura's attack, missed the warning sign of Naruto now advancing upon him, and he had also been flung to the side like a rag doll, being impaled upon one of Sakura's snapped tree branches, directly through a vital spot in his lower abdomen.

With difficulty, Kakashi managed to sit up far enough that he was almost upright. From Deidara's view, he could see the struggle as the copy-nin was forcing himself to form a seal, using the blood from his abdomen to summon Ninja Dogs.

Deidara could not hear what was said to the dogs, but they all took sight of Naruto and nimbly bounded away, in the direction of the Leaf village.

As Deidara watched, he saw the Nine Tales take notice of him blantantly flying in the sky above.

Shit...

Naruto's mouth opened inhumanly wide, and little bubbles of blue and red chakra started to gather at the entrance of his mouth as he gaped up at Deidara.

Without warning, a flash of hot chakra lasered upwards and narrowly missed Deidara by mere feet, only saved by leaning back on his eagle and allowing its head to be severed.

Jumping down into the trees below, Deidara had taken flight from the Nine Tales before it noticed only the eagle falling to the earth. By the time Naruto had seen it was only the eagle laying lifeless on the ground, Deidara had been long gone...

"Deidara-sempai, this one is still struggling!"

Deidara loathed to hear that voice as he descended into the scene of broken trees and churned up earth. Upon touching down on the earth, he could see Tobi leaning down and holding up Kakashi's head by a finger placed in the center of his forehead.

"Look, his limbs are still trying to move and he's so- AGH!!"

Tobi jumped back and hid behind Deidara who had been walking towards him upon seeing Kakashi's eyes open and blearily look around at his surroundings.

Deidara halted a few feet away cautiously, uncertain if Kakashi's chakra was as drained as it appeared. His Sharingan glowed bright but unfocused, not able to stay steady on the two men it was staring at.

"Finish him off Tobi, yeah." Deidara said without hesitation.

"Tobi is a good boy and will listen to Deidara-sempai, yes!"

Leaving Tobi to figure out where exactly to stab Kakashi with his kunai, Deidara followed the trail of churned up earth. He knew the pink haired one was around here somewhere...

A cry emanated from his right side, which also happened to be the side he just had recently healed by Konan.

"What the-"

Sakura burst from the trees, her fist raised, and connected with Deidara's shoulder, right above where the damage had just previously been healed.

Flashes of white light blinked across Deidara's vision as he almost blacked out from the pain. His shoulder promptly was popped out of socket and clicked back into place after he moved to the side.

Blinded by rage and anger, Deidara's left hand slammed down in between the kunoichi's shoulder blades in the center of her back, and he crushed her down to the earth, her head slammed directly in its temple on the rock he targeted.

Almost delusional with the white hot anger in his veins, Deidara looked down at the now unconscious Leaf ninja, and placed his left arm around her throat and started applying forceful pressure, effectively cutting off her wind pipe.

He felt no resistance as he started to raise his left hand to the side of her head, and had begun to twist her head sharply when he was tackled to the ground.

"Goddammit, Tobi! What the hell is this?!" Deidara exclaimed, looking up and seeing the orange masked man hovering above him. "I swear I'll kill you!"

Tobi immediately got off of Deidara, his hands shaking in the air to signal surrender.

"No, Deidara-sempai, listen!"

"You've got about three seconds before I take your head off, Tobi!"

"She's a medical ninja, Deidara-sempai!!"

Deidara, whose hand had been raised a moment before to beat down Tobi, froze.

"Tobi only happened to see your arm get injured, Tobi wanted to be a good boy and convince you to let this one live so she could heal you!"

Deidara narrowed his eyes upon looking down at the girl, her pink hair splayed across her pale face, her supplies from her various packs now scattered around her. Kunai, shiruken, scrolls, a poisoned knife stayed sheathed at her lower back. But on closer inspection, Deidara noticed syringes, vials filled with dark purple liquid, patches and various other medical supplies.

"Tobi thought that maybe we could take her prisoner and-"

"Shut the hell up Tobi." Deidara's voice was tired as he sank back to the ground, finally catching a moment of a break.

Tobi obliged, sitting down cross legged by Sakura's feet, watching a group of disturbed butterflies fleeing the destroyed section of forest they were now occupying.

He's got a point. Whatever kind of practice Konan is doing now just isn't cutting it for the organization. She could either torture this girl to training her, or we could just simply have a live in medic. There is possibility here...

Deidara glanced up at Tobi, who barely seemed to have a scratch on him, and then down at his own tattered and bloodied clothes.

"Pick her up. Make sure she's restrained. Let's get going then."

As they trekked back through the wreckage of the forest, into the untouched and clean part of the green scenery around them, Deidara could hear a faint roar in the distance.

Tobi was startled, and dropped the medical ninja as he cowered down to hide.

"Hey!"

Deidara protested sharply, and swung low to catch the medical ninja in his good arm.

"This was your plan to have her be our medic so if you're going to get spooked and keep dropping her along the way, you may as well kill her now, yeah!"

Tobi was still shivering on the ground.

"But Deidara-sempai, Tobi could hear the Nine Tales from here, it's scary!!"

"It came from at least five miles back the way we came from, and not anywhere near us, Baka!" Deidara's patience was waning with Tobi in tow with him. "Get back to base. Its only a days travel from our spot now for you, it'll take me longer, so you go on ahead, yeah."

Tobi hesitates, but as he saw the flash of irritation in Deidara's eyes again, he took off running in the direction of base, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Deidara was starting to feel his exhaustion hit right as the next clearing he crossed came into view. His shoulder upon which Sakura was slung across sagged in relief. He had had to carry her this entire way without being able to shift shoulders and it started to wear him down as he's had no rest and barely any treatment for injuries.

Glancing at the kunoichi, he decided to set her down roughly in the middle of the clearing. After checking the restraints on her wrists and feet were not coming loose, he infused them with chakra strings to ensure she was not going to break free on waking up.

Deidara began setting up camp, and had just finished starting a fire when the girl started to stir nearby. He could see her looking around in confusion, and let out a low grunt to alert her to her surroundings.

With a gasp, Sakura's head turned abruptly towards the sound and found the Akatsuki member looking away from her, but his body language made no indication his guard was down.

"Finally coming around, Pinkie?"

Sakura glared in his direction. She had always hated that name, even more so than if Ino-pig called her forehead.

"Why did you bring me here? Where is Kakashi-sensei and Naruto?" Her emerald green eyes started to focus and take in her surroundings, and she noted she was bound by her hands and feet.

"Dead as far as I'm concerned." Deidara said with an apathetic shrug.

Sakura froze, with tears in her eyes again, and promptly looked away. She could not let him see her cry. She couldn't. She couldn't... How could they be gone? No. They couldn't be dead.

Deidara glanced over with an exasperated sigh.

"For any consolation, your copy-nin sent off for help and we heard the Nine Tales a few hours ago doing Kami knows what in the woods further away. I have no clue if they're dead, yeah."

As he saw the medic nin's eyes widen suspiciously, possibly wondering if this was false hope, Deidara realized he had no idea why he was comforting her. With a frown, he thought about Sasori dying, and while he wasn't particularly fond of the Puppet Master, it was... irritating to lose someone he had grown used to, with whom he worked with in battle tactics and strategies. He chalked it up to rathering find out if Sasori was dead or alive versus being left to wonder.

"I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth while we're traveling, or I'll kill you on the spot. Your life was only spared by my idiot accomplice having a good idea for once, yeah." Deidara said gruffly, emphasizing his lack of care for her life. "You're going to be useful to the Akatsuki, regardless of if you like it or not."

Sakura opened her mouth to object, but was promptly silenced by an icy blue gazed that pierced into her emerald eyes. With a shiver, she realized he wasn't kidding.

"Now, I'm willing to bet you're hungry and exhausted. I'm also willing to help you out and be a little kind, but don't take advantage of this, yeah?" Deidara was assured with a nod and a mumble of confirmation that she would, indeed, not pose him an issue.

He roughly got to his feet, wincing slightly at the pain in his right arm, and walked towards the girl. She flinched back as he placed his hands around her shoulders. Sakura expected to be thrown into a half comfortable position, but was slightly alarmed at the softness with which Deidara sat her up into a sitting position.

"Better?"

She nodded slightly, still wary of the male in front of her, unsure of his intentions.

"I'll be going out to catch some fish, don't even bother trying to raise a commotion, we're in the middle of nowhere and I've already checked for chakra signals." Deidara said, almost tiredly.

With a strong, determined gait, Deidara strode away from her towards the sound of running water, all the while not caring for the shivering girl left behind.

A/N: Whew! That was a lot for me to do in one sitting! I feel like such a noob, it doesn't look like it was that much but it feels like it. T_T

Please leave me reviews! I promise I'll be building more on this, and I would love to have opinions so I can edit and improve this chapter as well as write more efficiently as I go on! :)