The Harvest
Chapter One:
Chakra Control
"Do you think she's dead, un?"
"I don't know. If she is, we'll be in trouble. The Leader specifically told us to capture her alive."
Her body was limp, dead weight compared to other people they had to carry. Deidara scratched his head, his hands protected from curious eyes by fingerless gloves, as he stood there, examining her for wounds or injuries. Her breathing was stable, and although a little shaky, her heartbeat was good. There was nothing wrong with her. So why was she so heavy?
"Hey, Sasori-sama, can people do that on purpose? You know, fake death, un?"
"What do you think? People do it all the time. We were trained to do that. But this... this is unusual. She's still breathing, and unless she knows how to stop her heart... She's fine. Quit complaining and carry her."
"Hai, Sasori-sama." He picked her up by the arm, dragging her over his shoulder, and slowly began walking. The Leader had told them not to use any of their jutsu or puppets, putting Deidara at a disadvantage. But for Sasori, a simple puppet disguise was all that was needed. He appeared as if he was a simple ninja from Iwagakure, making sure to keep Deidara and himself safe from prying eyes. Once they had found her, they noticed that she was crying, dirty, sitting alone against an old stone building. It was obvious that she was either homeless or a runaway. Rather than attract attention, they waited until she was asleep to pick up her body, but they had no idea a "sleeping" person could weigh so much. Only dead bodies produced dead weight. So just where was hers coming from?? They made their exit through the cliffs North of the village, where, to Deidara's relief, he was finally able to produce some of his stunning artwork to help with his load. A large bird which he created from a simply molded piece of clay landed nearby, and he hopped on, finally letting go of the body.
"Ahh, that's better, un."
"Deidara. Don't lose her. You go on ahead without me. I have some other business to take care of."
"Hai, see you when you get back, un!" He immediately took off, leaving Sasori behind, his image fading into a small speck beneath him.
There was nothing visible now but the cliffs, mountaintops, and trees. He breathed a sigh of relief, settling himself down as he looked behind him at the body. Her hair was dirty, obviously having not been washed in a while. It was a rather nice shade of brown, except it was matted up in places. She had most of it wrapped up in a bun at the base of her neck, the rest, falling in her face. He lifted her left arm out of curiosity, noting that she wasn't nearly as heavy as she was when he first picked her up in the small village. Something really must have gone wrong when they waited for her to fall asleep. He let it drop back down at her side, as he made a small frown, and turned back around, dropping his head in his hands. He wondered just what it was about this girl that the Leader would want her. She didn't appear as if she was much older than he was, but she definitely weighed more than Deidara did!
After a few hours, he arrived in a small clearing, the assigned place they were told to go to when the cave was off limits. There, he found Kisame and Itachi waiting for him, and Sasori, no longer in his other puppet body, staring blankly at him from the distance. Deidara knew he would have to carry the body again, and he grumbled, carefully dragging her from the bird, making a surprised 'umph', as he carried her in his arms. She did weigh a lot less now! Just what was going on?!
"Good work, Deidara-san."
"Ha, thanks, un! I just wished we didn't have to hide out here. This kid's too much trouble."
"That's exactly what I said when I met you."
"Hey, un!" He grumbled some more as the four of them took off, and he shifted her around once more, eventually carrying her on his back again.
"You know, Sasori-sama, when we found her, she weighed a ton! But now..."
"..."
"She weighs a lot less, un!"
"Perhaps it was some kind of jutsu. We may have been watched."
"We'll just have to take care of them then, won't we?" Kisame, laughed, shifting Samehada around on his back. The thought of butchering another victim excited him.
"That won't be necessary. I'm sure it was just weakness on Deidara-san's part." Itachi was quick to insult him, making Deidara lash out at him.
"How dare you, un! I'm just as quick as you, and just as powerful as you are! There's no way someone as inartistic as you could ever--"
"That's quite enough, Deidara." Sasori lifted an arm between them, breaking up the fight.
"Hai, Sasori-sama. It won't happen again." He sneered at Itachi as he passed, shifting the girl's body on his back. It was a long walk, and he didn't want to spend it with inartistic Uchiha Itachi.
It was bright. Too bright. There were in some places, blurs of green, and in others, blurs of brown. She couldn't tell where she was, except that it wasn't her village. Rather than the cold hard ground outside, or her old rickety bed, she felt soft warmth beneath her, like fabric, like clothes. She knew she must be being carried, and she lifted her head, to find a head of blonde hair in front of her. She blinked a few times, just to make sure she was seeing things right. She was being carried! By a guy! He had his hair in a ponytail on the top of his head, and he was humming a nice tune as he carried her along. Every now and again, he would pull her up, and she blushed, gripping tight to his shoulders. Only then did he notice she had woken up. He looked over his shoulder at her shocked expression and smiled.
"You're awake, un! That's good. You can walk, and carry yourself for once, un."
He stopped abruptly letting her down onto the ground. He turned to face her, a sly smile on his face. He crossed his arms as he stepped back from her, getting a better look at the girl who was once nothing more than a sleeping body. She held her hands together, her face flushed red. She was shaking, too stunned to run away. Either way, Deidara had a trick up his sleeve in case she did decide to gather up the nerve.
She couldn't help but stare at the guy in front of her. He was smiling at her as though he expected her to do something, what that was she had no idea. She kept staring into his one visible eye. It was a beautiful shade of sapphire blue, although the other one was disguised by a long lock of his hair. What was really eating at her was just why a guy would kidnap her of all people. Guys never held any interest in her before, and she was, by all standards, considered plain. Plain and fat. Guys didn't like fat girls. She dropped her head to stare at the ground, ashamed of her appearance, afraid to say anything to him.
"So, are you going to come or what?"
"H-Huh? Y-You're talking to me??"
"Hai, who else would I be talking to? You're the only one here besides myself, un!"
"I-I-I just want to know... why'd you take me?? I mean, I'm not that smart. I can't help or--"
"Don't worry about that, un! It wasn't my idea. Just come on! Or unless you want to run away, that's always an option," he pondered, placing his arm in the palm of his other hand, and resting his head in his upturned hand, looking at the sky. If he blew her up for trying to escape, the Leader would have his head. There were other ways of dealing with runaway hostages, but he didn't want to resort to Kisame's way of problem solving. Too gruesome. Not very artistic. She stepped forward a little, bringing him out of his state of thought.
"I-I'll come. Don't worry." She stepped up next to him, and he cheerfully hooked his arm around hers, leading her along as he continued his quick march to their new hideout. She didn't know what to think about his friendly behavior towards her. She thought that kidnappers were supposed to be mean towards their victims, but he was the complete opposite of a kidnapper or criminal! He was being awfully friendly and kind towards her, even offering to let her run away if she wanted to. (She knew better than that, though!) She couldn't help but look up at him every now and again. He had a bright smile on his face, obviously quite pleased with himself for some reason or another. Itachi hadn't gotten to him as much as he thought he would. She noticed from watching him that his hair wasn't in his face for no reason at all, but to cover up a complex piece of machinery over his left eye. She glanced over at him from then on, keeping her head facing forward, to keep him from getting suspicious, but he had been watching her himself, peeking at her every now and again, whenever she looked away. He took the time to get to know his new hostage a little better.
"So, why were you crying this morning, huh, un?"
"I-I-I didn't know you..."
"Oh, sorry, un! I shouldn't have said anything! How stupid of me! It was probably female troubles, yeah?" He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, and she blushed, looking down at her feet as they continued walking. She had no idea just how to act around guys. They rarely talked to her, but she rarely talked to anyone for that matter. Just how she was to act around other girls was as big a mystery to her as how to act around guys! Everything she thought of saying to him made her blush more because it all sounded stupid in her head, so she decided to simply tell him just what made her cry before.
"Um... I-I was.."
"Hmm?"
"I-I was crying because I was mad... and sad. T-That's all."
"Oh, okay! I get mad, too, sometimes. Like back there! That Uchiha! I don't know what we have him for anyways, un!" She looked behind her to see three small specks in the distance. Whoever he was traveling with had been left far behind a long time ago. Who knows how long they had been walking.
"I never told you my name."
"It's fine, un. I never told you mine either!" He laughed, pulling her along as he sped up. She noticed that his nails were carefully painted black, all of them perfectly manicured. She felt safer with him at her side considering she had no idea where she was. She decided to continue the conversation to keep her mind straight.
"I was mad... at my mom and dad. So I left home. They do that to me a lot, so I finally got sick of it and left! Pretty stupid of me, huh?"
"No, I wouldn't say stupid, I did that too, but look at me now! I look like I'm doing pretty good now, huh, un?" She giggled as he presented himself in a very comical way to her, and she stifled back a laugh, before they continued along.
"Why do we keep going so fast? Soon enough, we're going to start running!"
"Sorry, but I was trying to keep away from that, un!" He pointed casually behind him at the three figures fast approaching. They were no longer mere specks, but three other people dressed in the same black cloaks with red clouds. The tallest one caught her eye first. He appeared to be some sort of walking shark! She bugged her eyes, blinking them repeatedly to see if she wasn't seeing things, but each time, the same sight met her eyes. Just beneath his eyes, a set of gills stood out on his pale blue skin, which she could only guess were scales. He was swinging a great sword in his arms, laughing about some unknown conversation he was having with his partner.
This one appeared to her as the quiet type. If looks could kill, his were definitely deadly. His expression was hollow behind his collar, his eyes burning into the landscape ahead of him. His ebony hair swished in the wind, making him lift a steady hand to wipe it out of his eyes. Nothing seemed to startle this guy, not even an explosion could distract him.
The one in the front however confused her. He looked to be no older than ten, and although he appeared young, he seemed to hold a certain amount of seniority over the other two. His neatly combed red hair blew every which way as the wind picked up. She decided that she would rather stick with the blonde one instead of risking it with the other three. She turned around, staring ahead of her. He wasn't the only guy! The thought just hit her. Why would a bunch of men want a boring girl like her? She could only guess the horrible things they might do to her, and she shivered, making Deidara look her way.
"Hey, you cold, un?"
"N-No, I just... are you guys... going to rape me??"
"Rape you?! Ha, no way! We have different plans! You're going to be staying with us for a while. You'll see soon enough, un!" The answer didn't make her feel any safer, and she gulped hard, thinking that they might kill her as soon as they arrived at their destination. This gave her the jump she needed to make her escape. She deftly slid her arm out of Deidara's and ran, readying herself to push between the other three. She made it past Sasori without any trouble, but as she approached Kisame and Itachi, she pushed Kisame aside, only to get jerked backwards by an unseen hand, flinging her into Itachi's chest. She looked up in horror at his eyes, which were once onyx black, but now an evil shade of red.
"Don't. Try. That. Again."
"O-O-Okay."
"Nice catch, Itachi-san." Kisame praised him, pulling the girl up easily by her arm, and slung her over his shoulder. She screamed and pounded on his back, but it did no damage to him, and she eventually gave up, dangling there helplessly. She wondered just how he could have managed to catch her in time. Were his reflexes really that good? She had never even seen him move! The girl blushed, thinking just how close she had come to him. She dropped her head, letting it hang loosely, realizing that such thoughts were useless at the time. She was getting too easily distracted by these guys, and that made her worry. She had never been distracted by guys before, but she had never been so close to guys like this before either! She breathed in slowly, clearing her thoughts, and went over everything that had just happened to her.
The one she had bumped into was Itachi, the Uchiha. No wonder the blonde one hated him so. He was too stern for his own good. She could only guess what the other two's names were, but as she went over everything, she looked up to see herself pass by a frowning Deidara. His look wasn't one of disappointment, but one of worry. Was he really worried about her?? He simply stood there in their wake, still frowning at her. She closed her eyes, unable to take in the sight anymore, and dropped her head once more, letting Kisame carry her without any trouble.
