The night was a dark and cold one, the wind seeming to whisk away any last shred of warmth the air might produce. Even the numerous trees, with their enormous size, were unable to fully dispel the chill of the night, causing the man standing in front of the temple to pull his cloak closer around him, scowling at the temperature and wishing his new-found 'business partner' would just hurry up and arrive. A few moments later, however, and he did so, quickly making his way up the steps to the temple.
"Where have you been, Riko?"
"Sorry, Sodan. It was tricky to get a hold of—but I did it."
Riko reached into his pockets and revealed a medallion, glinting with an eerie light regardless of the darkness that surrounded them. Smirking in glee at this gift, Sodan reached forward to take it, only for Riko to snatch it back before his hands could touch, pointing out he had been promised money in return for his deeds. Sodan's smirk soon changed into a sneer; hating the fact he had had to get his help for this, but dismissed it for the moment as he explained carefully,
"You'll get it, Riko, trust me. The power isn't the only thing hiding away in the temple, you know. I don't want any of it—it's yours. Just make sure you bring it back. It's said to be a necklace. Now go, already!"
Raising an eyebrow at what might lay inside the temple, Riko turned and headed towards the doors, holding the medallion up as he reached them, taking a step back with nerves as a shimmer of light rose up the door, before a thundering boom rang out as the doors slowly swung open. Glancing over at Sodan, who merely gestured for him to continue, Riko swallowed down his anxiety and continued on to the threshold of the temple. Attempting to search through the darkness and seeing nothing, he shook off his hesitation and strode inside. Sodan wasn't sure if he had been expecting it or not as Riko suddenly screamed, power circling round his body until he dissipated into nothing, the doors of the temple slamming shut behind him. Sodan could only glare at the doors in front of him, not sure where to go from here. He needed that power—it was crucial to his plan. If he was going to get rid of the feudal lord and take over the land, he would need that power. But after what he'd just seen, it was clear that not just anyone could take it. Just before Sodan turned and left for the palace once again, however, he glanced up to see an inscription still glowing on the door, even after all other light had faded. He hadn't seen it before, and as such narrowed his eyes as he read it softly to himself,
"Colour in every shade and light shines in every way."
He had no idea what it meant, but considering the situation it had to be a clue as to who would be able to go inside and collect the power for him. True, Sodan didn't know who that might be, but he had some hint as to how to figure it out—though it was vague. As Sodan turned from the temple and headed down the steps and back towards the palace, he hardened his heart. It didn't matter what he had to do—he would find that person. He would get the power, no matter what.
Deidara and Sasori were after the power too, having been given the mission by Pein, and were making their way slowly through the land. They'd taken off their cloaks—and Sasori had gotten out of Hiruko—in order to keep a low profile, knowing if they kept their cloaks on it would only attract attention, and that was the last thing they wanted if they were going after this power. It would take time, after all, and it would be better if they just blended into the background for now. As they'd been walking through the land towards the palace, they'd just been asking questions here and there, trying to collect information as they went. They knew it was somewhere close to the palace, but it would be better if they had some information before they got there. Deidara wasn't enjoying quite as much as he'd thought, however. He hadn't exactly expected it to be a thrill ride to begin with, but at least it would be a way to relax, in a way, and the power sounded interesting anyway. But from the moment they'd crossed the border and taken off their cloaks, Sasori had been nagging at him non-stop. There was always something with wrong with Deidara—the way his abilities worked, just the general way he was with his personality and actions, telling him he couldn't do this and he couldn't do that. That Deidara had to act differently because he stood out, and apparently, according to Sasori, not in a good way. Of course, that had only served to piss Deidara off—he wasn't about to change who he was, much less for Sasori, even if Deidara did respect him. It hadn't particularly helped when they began to walk through villages and Deidara immediately noticed people glaring at him, looking him over and whispering to their friends like he was weird or something. Seeing all that, however, and Deidara had to restrain himself from yelling at both Sasori and the villagers around him. What the hell did they know? They all thought he was some stupid kid; that he didn't count for anything in the world. But Deidara knew better. He was more powerful than any of these idiot villagers, and his art was way better than Sasori's. He was better, whether in who he was or what he could do, and he sure as hell would prove it.
The feudal lord stormed down the corridor after hearing the news, frowning at the space in front of him as numerous thoughts rushed through his mind. He should have planned better, he knew that now, but he'd never thought you'd actually kill one of them! Sure, your reaction hadn't exactly been good to any of them, but he had never expected things to escalate this far? He had explained it enough times to you, surely you understood by now that as the feudal lord's daughter, it was expected for you to get married. But naturally he wanted a well-chosen and well-bred choice, and so had invited over numerous 'suitors' for you to meet. After four other meetings that had only ended in humiliation or violence on their part, this was how things had ended up, and he wasn't happy, to say the least. Finally reaching your room, the feudal lord flung open the door and stormed in, seeing you lying on your bed casually reading a book—only annoying him further as he barked,
"Niji! What are you doing? You can't keep doing this—and I said not to use your abilities!"
Niji wasn't your real name, but people had been calling you that for as long as you could remember—at least in the palace, anyway. You weren't really allowed out of the palace, a rule you constantly fought against, which ultimately meant the only people who called you that were in the palace, and now even your father did, though it had been mostly because it was automatic when everyone else was calling you it. Staying in the palace 24/7 was bad enough, but since your eighteenth birthday your father had been inviting men to the palace in order to 'woo' you, though they weren't exactly having any luck. It might have helped a little if you didn't have ninja abilities, but you weren't about to give them up for anything, proven as you snapped back,
"Well, you've kept me locked up all my life and said I should be protected—you let me train because of it, and because it kept me busy. But I love it—I love to fight! Not to mention that guy was an idiot. There's no way I'd marry a guy like him. Then again, I don't want to get married full stop! You know I don't want to!"
"You're the princess," your father sighed in return, knowing where this conversation was going but also knowing he had to get it into your head as he breathed in frustration,
"It's your duty."
You didn't reply to that, however, knowing he wasn't about to listen to anything you had to say. It made you angry every time you got onto this subject, and you had to stay silent now before you fully lost your temper and did something that would make things worse. But you couldn't help it—he didn't give a shit about anything you might want. You'd sacrificed some things in order to go along with 'your duty', but did you get anything in return? No. It meant that your father didn't bother trying any further, gathering you weren't in the mood for talking, and shaking his head, he turned and left the room once more, knowing you hadn't learnt a thing from this incident and that you would be more than prepared to do the same again if it occurred once more. You stayed in your room, lying against the pillows on your bed and glaring up at the ceiling as you thought everything over, and came to the conclusion that you needed to get out. Not just a walk around the garden to get some air, but to truly get out of the grounds and into the village to help forget about everything that was going on. Of course, you would have to be careful about it, not wanting your father to catch you with this after today, and so as you climbed off your bed and stealthily made your way down the corridors, you went looking for your father first, in order to know where he was to avoid him.
Luck was on your side, however, as when you found him in his room, he was in mid-conversation with his advisor, Sodan. You didn't bother to stop and listen in, not interested in politics, though if you had you might have realised Sodan was manipulating his way into getting information on the temple, still set on getting the power inside. But you had more important things to concentrate on, sneaking outside the palace and then the gardens themselves. You were wearing casual clothes anyway, so you wouldn't have to disguise your appearance—especially not when none of the villagers knew what you looked like anyway. Instead you focused on what was around you, breathing in the night air and the sense of freedom that surrounded you, smirking in glee and continuing on down the street into the heart of the village. You couldn't really concentrate on any one thing, too taken in by everything going on around you—the shops, the people, the lights…you'd been outside the palace before, but not like this. The idea you could walk around doing what you wanted with all these new people was very liberating, and you didn't notice the two guys coming up to you at first. It was only as you turned round and saw them smiling at you, a weird glint in their eyes, that you hesitated in your enthusiasm. Somehow you got the feeling this wasn't good—something that was proven as they started hitting on you, causing your smile to instantly transform into a scowl. You'd already spent the day having an asshole coming onto you, and you weren't in the mood for the same thing to happen again after finally getting a sense of freedom. At the same time, however, you couldn't just kill them like you had done with that other guy—word travels fast, and your father would hear about it in no time, and you'd never have a chance to get outside again. So all you could do for the moment was try and ignore them, wandering on and hoping you'd be able to shake them off somewhere. That became a little harder as they refused to let you do so, pulling you round to look at them, and as you forcefully pulled your arm out of his grip you only ended up landing on the floor, glaring up at the both of them and wondering what to do now.
Deidara had heard the noise, but had mostly ignored it considering his mood wasn't the best. But as he went on and saw you fall to the ground as you tried to get away from them, and his anger automatically acted up. He wasn't allowed to do anything here, not even be himself, and he was more than willing to take out that frustration on somebody else, causing him to stride up to the guys and push them away from you, growling a warning to back the hell off. Though at first they didn't look as if they were going to comply with it, considering Deidara's height and stature, but seeing the look in his eyes and spotting the mouths on his palms, they thought otherwise, glaring at him but disappearing off down the street. With that taken care of, Deidara turned back to you, and for a moment you merely stayed where you were, looking each other over. You hadn't expected anyone to help you out, but you had to admit, he was cute. He had a young looking face, and such bright blue eyes that revealed something that drew you in, and you couldn't help but smirk at his appearance. Seeing you smile, however, and a smirk of his own appeared on Deidara's face. He hadn't seen you around the village before, and he got the feeling he would have remembered you. You had long blonde hair with bangs, but they, along with the ends of your hair, were both red and blue. Your eyes were a deep violet, with something showing through that he thought he recognized, and you had very young, feminine features. It was what caused Deidara to finally step forward and reach out a hand to help you up, only hesitating as you shied away a little, unsure of what he was doing. But smiling wider this time, he greeted casually,
"I'm not gonna hurt you, you know, un."
Rolling your eyes at the slight teasing tone to that, you clasped his hand and let you pull him up, blinking in surprise as he let go, having felt something against your palm but unable to see what. But brushing it off for now, you focused back in on him as he questioned nonchalantly with an audacious smirk,
"So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"
Raising an eyebrow at the question, but unable not to return his smirk, you shrugged as you struggled to find an excuse for what you were doing, eventually settling on telling (mostly) the truth as you responded dismissively,
"Oh, just looking around, you know? I've never been here before."
He seemed to accept that, however, as he introduced himself a moment later, and you returned the favour, not needing to worry about your name giving you away as you always used your nickname. You weren't sure what to do from there, only to find out Deidara had a much better idea, as he questioned bluntly,
"Well, seeing as neither of us have anything to do, you wanna get something to eat, un?"
Though you paused at the question, the more you analysed him and the more you were able to come a conclusion. There was something about him that you were interested in—something that you connected with. You couldn't help but get the feeling you had things in common, and he was so unlike anyone you were used to. Your father, the guy you'd killed today…he was more like you. Not to mention he had helped you, when he could have just walked on by, and as such you nodded, voicing your agreement out loud, causing Deidara to lead you off into the village in order to find a place to eat. It didn't take long; allowing Deidara to choose considering you had no clue where to go, and sat down to have your meal, talking in the meantime. It was evident from the beginning that you were similar, taking the same sort of outlook on life, and it was easy to talk to him—easy to forget about everything in the palace and what might happen in the future. As such, even after you'd eaten you followed on after him as he took you to the roof of the inn he was staying at, a little more on the outskirts of the village, high enough on a hill that it had a great view of the village and the palace and its gardens, all bathed in moonlight at this point. It allowed you a quieter place to continue talking and get to know each other, laughing and generally having a good time. This atmosphere—this situation in general—only meant that as your gaze passed over the palace the next time, your smile slipped off, a blank expression taking over as you thought over everything that had happened tonight. Though it hadn't been long being out here—spending time with Deidara—it had made you see how much better life was outside of the palace and how hard it would be to leave it all behind.
"You wanna live there, un?" Deidara abruptly spoke up, jolting you out of your stupor, but glancing from Deidara to the palace, you replied firmly,
"No—they just lock you in, treat you like nothing. Suppress who you are." Suddenly it occurred to you that your words sounded like a first hand account of things, and as such you quickly added on afterwards,
"You can tell from the people that come out."
"Yeah. There's no way I'd let myself end up there, un. I need freedom; inspiration, ways to express my art."
"What?" you blurted, only just realizing what he'd said until afterwards, having been nodding only to everything else. The idea of freedom, inspiration…it was just the art part that caught you off guard.
"My art," Deidara swiftly responded, already seeing a glimmer of enthusiasm and pride in his eyes as he fully turned to you and held out his hands, making you widen your eyes in surprise as you now saw the mouths on his palms. Now realizing that that was what you had felt when he had helped you up, you wondered how you hadn't noticed until now, but merely smirked and gently traced the outline of one of the mouths, Deidara watching with a smile on his face as you did so. With that, Deidara reached into his pocket and pulled out a sculpture, handing it to you to look over, only feeling prouder as you took that gently and analysed it with a look of almost awe on your face, whispering compliments simultaneously. He wanted to blow it up, and cursed the fact he was staying in low profile, knowing he couldn't, but still explained they were explosives and how his abilities worked. But then you asked something that caught him off guard:
"So why do you make them? Yeah, it's part of your abilities, but why these shapes? What do they mean to you that makes you shape them like this?"
To begin with, Deidara didn't know what to say to that. He'd told people about his art before, but he had had to be the one to explain his views—that it wasn't just about creating a sculpture. But you knew what it was about. You understood it was his beliefs and values that inspired him to make his sculptures like this, and not noticing the smile that manifested on his face as you spoke, he began to explain his views on art—on life. Once again you surprised him, however, as you nodded along with every word he said, finishing his sentences and never looking away from him; agreeing completely with it all. But it was true—everything Deidara said you agreed with. All this time and you hadn't known how to put it into words, but he was able to describe exactly how you viewed the world, and it merely strengthened the idea that you wanted to spend more time with Deidara. It was why it hit you hard as a little while later he said softly,
"I guess I won't see you again—as you're just passing through, un."
Staring across at the palace, a frown appeared on your face as memories of being locked up in there ran through your mind in quick succession, and the idea that you would return there and never see Deidara again was not one you wanted to accept. But as the thought materialized in your mind, you clenched your fists, determined to rebel. There was no way you could back to how things had been before, not after tonight. You'd do whatever you had to, but this wouldn't be the end of it, prompting you to respond determinedly, with a smirk of triumph on your face,
"No…I might stay a few days. See what missions I can get."
Whatever the look in your eyes was, Deidara couldn't tell, but he liked it, creating a soft smile across his face as he replied sweetly,
"Maybe I'll catch up with you soon, then, un."
By the time you returned to the palace, you'd agreed to meet up again tomorrow, and continued to do so for the next few days, reveling in the time you spent outside of the palace and enjoying your freedom more and more. Each time you met up you got to know each other more, getting closer to one another and knowing your feelings were growing every time. In the meantime Deidara and Sasori's mission continued, persisting in looking for information about the power, and although their knowledge wasn't near satisfactory, the fact they were looking seemed to be good enough, as they were confronted a day or two later in the forest as they searched for the temple. Deidara and Sasori had no idea who they were fighting, and vice versa, but Sodan couldn't help but be curious upon seeing Deidara's abilities. Was it something like that that could open the temple? There was no harm in trying—it would only be an inconvenience for him otherwise. As such, he retreated from the battle, Deidara and Sasori knowing they were on the right tracks—but that there was someone else after the power too. However, Sodan wasn't about to hold back, and therefore the next night, as you had left the palace and gone to visit Deidara, palace guards showed up without warning and grabbed him. As he struggled to get away from them, you didn't hesitate to fight them yourself, though tried to avoid notice as much as possible, covering yourself up as you fought them. It was only as you heard them say that justice needed to be served out that you gave in, not wanting Deidara to get hurt, and stepped forward to face all of them as you pulled away anything covering your face, asserting simply,
"Let him go. I am princess Jiyu—you take orders from me. So let go of him already!"
Everyone froze at this new information, including Deidara, having never suspected that was who you might be, but concentrated back on his own situation as the guards paused, but didn't let go of Deidara, merely replying apologetically,
"Ojo-sama…we're sorry, but Sodan gave us orders to take him," before they dragged him away, leaving you standing there glaring at their backs.
You didn't know what angered you most; the fact that Sodan had ordered for Deidara to be captured and taken to the palace for no reason, or that the guards would take his word over yours. They were both facts that made you want to leave even more so—but you knew you didn't have time to think about it now. You had never liked Sodan, and it was only increased now, but you weren't going to let him get away with this. He'd always thought he had more authority than he did, and you sure as hell wouldn't let him do this, meaning you immediately headed back towards the palace, ready to confront him right away. What you didn't know was that Deidara hadn't been taken back to the palace. Sodan had instead given orders for him to be taken to the temple, and tying him up, they'd left him alone with Sodan. Deidara might have instantly fought back, breaking free of the rope and killing him, if it wasn't for the fact that he'd been taken to the very place he and Sasori had been looking for all this time, and the fact that he recognized the guy from the fight the night before. Obviously this was all connected to the power they were after, and as such Deidara kept quiet, glaring at Sodan from where he stood. He said or did nothing as Sodan spoke up a moment later, explaining the situation with the temple and the things he'd done so far—and that he wanted him to take the power from the temple.
Deidara might have considered that a bonus, being invited to go and get the power when he was after it in the first place, but he was very wary of the situation. Sodan had told him that he wasn't the first to try—that the other guy had died, and he wasn't about to trust his words. Still, he had to try, and as Sodan used the medallion to open the doors once again, Deidara stepped forward and over the threshold. He didn't move any further, however, as he sensed the power crackling all around him and immediately jumped backwards, seeing it flare into life within the temple. If he'd have waited a second more it would have ripped him apart, and as such turned to Sodan, knowing what was coming next. Deidara didn't have to hold back this time, however, instantly breaking free and fighting Sodan, taking the chance to get away when it appeared. He would have killed him, but seeing as he had just told him everything he needed to know about the temple, there was no telling if he would come in handy in the future, so he merely kept on going, only pausing when guards turned up a few minutes later, easily taking them down, before he continued on to meet up with Sasori.
You had stormed through the palace, looking everywhere and questioning every servant you could to find as to where Sodan was, but hadn't come up with any answers. No one knew where he was, and wherever you checked he wasn't there. You were beginning to get more and more angry, not about to let him do anything but not being able to stop him if he wasn't around—until a little while later and you saw him walking down the corridor, a look of thoughtful frustration on his face. You didn't hesitate to think about what he might be frustrated about, simply stomping up to him and ranting about everything he'd done. At first Sodan was taken back at your yelling, having not known you knew Deidara or had been there at the time the guards had taken Deidara away. But he soon shook it off, gritting his teeth in irritation. This were becoming difficult enough as it was, and he didn't want you getting in the way, prompting him to cut in as you paused in your rant,
"I'm sorry, Ojo-sama, but there had been rumours of what he'd done—who he was. He's been killed."
At first you brushed it aside, not about to believe he'd kill him, but seeing the expression on his face—remembering just what Sodan was like—and the colour drained from your face, the knowledge Deidara was dead hitting you hard. All you could do was stare at the floor, torn between anger and despair, and as Sodan tried to apologise for the situation, you ignored it all, simply turning and heading for your room, trying desperately not to cry. For so long after being locked up in the palace, you'd had a chance to get out and have some freedom. You'd never expected to meet Deidara, but even though you hadn't known him long, all those years of isolation dissipated into nothing. For once in your life you had felt like someone understood you. He had been the first person you really cared about…and now he was gone.
But Deidara had met up and spoken with Sasori, and knowing someone else was after the power—and not only that, but from what Sasori said, that he was the feudal lord's advisor—they had decided it would be better to get closer to the feudal lord. That way they could keep an eye on Sodan, and if he found out anything, then so would they. They could know his source of information, and it would be a way of reminding him that they were after it too. With that in mind, they got their cloaks out again, and approached the palace, telling them (mostly) the truth—that they were in a group of ninjas who did mercenary work for cheap prices, but were a lot more skilled than the usual mercenaries they would come across, and were willing to offer their services. They wouldn't mention they were rogue ninjas to be safe, but in lands like this, people didn't generally care if they got the job done. It was why they were allowed to stay after the feudal lord had been told, being led through the palace and talking casually with the feudal lord as they did so. They didn't show any signs as they met Sodan, though they could see he wasn't happy at their appearance. He could see Deidara and Sasori were more powerful than he had thought, and if he was going to get the power and deal with them simultaneously, it was clear he was going to have to do a little research on them as well. That didn't really matter to Deidara, however, as it was a mission, like many others, and he'd deal with it.
It was meeting with you that made the biggest impact. He hadn't had much time to just sit and think since he'd been dragged away from you that night, but he still hadn't quite gotten over the bombshell that you were the princess, but at the same time he wasn't angry. Considering the things you had said and how you acted, it was obvious you felt trapped here—he could understand your motives for hiding everything. But you weren't sure what to think as you saw him again. The first thing that ran through your mind was happiness—even after being taken away and what Sodan had said, Deidara was alive. A huge sense of relief flooded over you as you saw him, but as much as a part of you wanted to sprint over and hug him, the cloak he was wearing halted you slightly. The way he was acting; talking to your father, and you couldn't help but wonder if he was the man you'd thought he was. He'd lied to you, and after everything that happened you weren't sure what to think about it. As such, though you never took your gaze off of him as you were introduced to the both of them, you quickly left and headed back to your room.
Deidara had seen the look on your face, however, and he knew what was bothering you, so when they all went to their rooms for the night, he snuck out of his and made his way to yours. Gently slipping inside, he looked round to find you standing on the balcony, leaning against the edge and staring out across the gardens, but didn't hesitate to go over to you and greet you softly. You'd sensed Deidara come in from the start, but you weren't sure whether to turn around and face him or not. When he spoke up, however, you knew you'd have to respond, prompting you to say, almost in a whisper,
"You lied to me."
"No, Niji! I am a ninja on a mission here, un. Yeah, there are some differences in who I work for and how I act, but I had to keep low profile before, un. Surely you understand—you're the princess. You want to get away; you want your freedom. Let me show you, un," he responded almost pleadingly, and hearing his last statement you turned around in confusion, curious as to what he was talking about. Seeing him pull a sculpture out of his pocket, this time in the shape of a bird, you paused as you waited to see what would happen next, only to widen your eyes in surprise as it grew to more than twice its size, and flapped its wings, too. Unable to stop a smirk flickering onto your face, amazed at this knowledge, you watched as Deidara walked over to it and jumped on top, turning to face you to ask teasingly,
"You wanna go for a ride, un?"
But with that one question and you knew he was the same person he had been before, prompting you to smirk in return and join him, laughing breathlessly as it took off and headed out across the gardens. You didn't know why, but knowing the truth, and being with Deidara now, you couldn't help but feel the emotions that had been rising inside of you all this time stirring more than they had before. You tried to shake it off for now, however, concentrating on the present as Deidara pointed out he'd use some of his sculptures if he could, but he didn't want to draw any attention. You smirked at his comment, admitting it would probably be kind of noticeable, but added that your abilities, though not necessarily as loud, were quite eye-catching, proving it as you raised your hands and began to use your chakra. Deidara could only watch in awe as your chakra was visible, not needing to use handsigns with it as you could control the chakra itself to cause the effect you wanted. Not only that, but as you used the different chakra natures, your chakra changed colour to match each one, even allowing you to shape the colours into images themselves. You couldn't help but feel a bit of an ego boost as you watched Deidara grinning in amazement at this new piece of knowledge, and added simply as you calmed your chakra once more,
"It's why they call me Niji (it means rainbow)."
Nodding at that, having noticed you used a different name with the guards than what he had been calling you; Deidara now understood the difference—only for something to occur to him as he took all the information in. He'd been dragged to the temple to talk with Sodan, and while being there, with the doors opening and closing once again when he wasn't chosen to be allowed inside, he had noticed the writing on them. Colour of every shade and light…could that be talking about your abilities? If there was ever a set of abilities that dealt with colour, yours was definitely it. But what would happen if you did? There was no telling if it would work, and he didn't want to risk your life if you weren't allowed to enter, so for the moment at least, he ignored his suspicions.
You would have continued on your flight from there, if it wasn't for the sudden barrage of kunai that seemingly came out of nowhere, and looking round to find the source, you spotted a few ninja heading your way. Instantly Deidara reacted, moving out of the way of any danger, but gritted his teeth at the idea he couldn't fight quite the way he wanted without drawing too much attention, and the same only went for you, knowing your father wouldn't be too happy about the whole situation. As such, it meant you could only dodge for the most part, moving around to try and get into a better position and use kunai or a jutsu to take them down—though it wasn't proving easy. So when senbon needles abruptly appeared out of nowhere, one of the ninja hit straight in the chest, Deidara couldn't help but smile, glad Sasori had stepped in for once. Once all the ninja were dead, Deidara landed and you both got off to face Sasori, and although he paused for a moment at seeing you, he soon shook it off to state darkly,
"This has gone on too long. Sodan won't stop coming after us until we confront him and take him out, and I don't like to wait."
Deidara nodded along with this idea, and though they both turned to look at you and what you might think, you shook your head, not caring what they would do to Sodan, explaining you had never liked or trusted him to begin with. You just remained firm in the idea that you were coming with them, and after a moment's protestation from Sasori, he soon gave in and you all set off, with Deidara explaining their mission in the meantime. You had heard of the power, having heard that it had always been connected with your family, but hadn't known whether it was true or not. It didn't exactly matter whether you had it or not—you just wanted to help Deidara, and the idea of actually doing a mission was pretty exciting as well. So you all headed out of the palace grounds and into the forest, knowing Sodan would want to be at the temple to keep Sasori and Deidara away. However, he hadn't gotten too far as a few minutes later you bumped into him and some guards he had with him. Glaring at him, you let Deidara and Sasori step forward first, seeing as it was their mission, but as Sodan began talking, trying to manipulate them into giving up, you didn't bother to hold back after all he'd done, awakening your own abilities to attack him instead.
Immediately Sodan dodged, having not known you were there, but at the same time he widened his eyes in shock at what you had done. He had known you had abilities, but never that this was what they could do. But he had no idea why he hadn't considered the possibility. The temple had always been connected to the feudal lord's family, and with a nickname like Niji…knowing you were a ninja…he had been a fool not to consider it. Now, however, was a different matter, causing him to call out,
"What are you doing here, Niji? Working with the likes of them? They're rogue ninja—criminals! They work for a group called the Akatsuki, and they're not small time thieves. Whatever they're doing, it's big!"
Both Deidara and Sasori instantly paused at his words. Deidara had told you he worked in a group, and though he hadn't said he was a rogue ninja he had suspected you might have figured it out anyway. But what you might think at him working in such a powerful, criminal group…he was unsure. And now that he'd reacted like he had, it was obvious it was true. You wanted to respond to it, to tell Deidara what you thought, but Sodan had seen the opportunity and was willing to take it, lunging forward to grab you and disappearing a second later with a couple of guards. Cursing under his breath, both Deidara and Sasori began fighting the rest of the guards before they headed off after you, gathering Sodan was having the same train of thought he had had before, and hoping it wouldn't come to anything.
It hadn't taken long for Sodan to drag you to the temple, though you struggled all the way, and as he took you up the steps, he barked in irritation,
"Go inside the temple—get me that power."
"Like hell I will!" you snarled back, glaring fiercely at him and determined not to help him in any way. Sodan might not have known how to force you then, but he knew what was coming next, something that was proven as Deidara and Sasori turned up—only to be cornered by a trap that activated as they reached the steps of the temple. Sodan repeated his order once more, and torn as to what to do, you eventually stepped forward and used the medallion to open the temple doors. Hearing Deidara calling out to you to be careful, as the temple chose who was allowed in, and if you weren't worthy it would kill you, you nodded and continued forward slowly, keeping an eye out for anything that might be in there. But there was nothing apart from a large room ahead of you; no noises, people, nothing. So glancing back at Deidara, not about to let him get hurt, you strode forwards into the temple, and found nothing happened as you did so. As such you walked on into the room, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, and saw a podium ahead of you. But rather than a bracelet or necklace that was described in the stories, a ball of energy floated on top, and narrowing your eyes as you contemplated what to do, you attempted to take it in order to give it to Sodan—though clearly that wasn't an option.
Immediately you felt the energy enter your body, absorbing into your chakra network and making you feel stronger and at 100%. There was still the matter of Sodan waiting outside wanting to take the power for himself, and thinking it over, you knew there was only one thing you could do, storming straight back to the entrance and using your new power to kill Sodan before he could respond only with the remaining guards, getting rid of the trap that was holding Deidara and Sasori back. Coming over to you with a smirk, pointing out he was once again impressed but asking if you were okay, you had to explain the situation as Sasori joined you both a moment later. But hearing what had happened, Sasori stated simply,
"Then you'll be coming with us. Our mission was to get the power, and seeing as you have it, that's the only way it will work."
Neither you nor Deidara were about to complain at that, and so you followed on behind them as they set off, not bothering to say goodbye to your father, knowing there was nothing you could say that would explain everything that had happened. It was better if you just disappeared, meaning you left the village and stopped off at an inn in the next village over, needing to get out of there before any noticed. But Deidara couldn't forget what Sodan had said when you'd all first found him. He'd told you they were in the Akatsuki—the truth. You hadn't had the chance to respond, but he couldn't help but be a little worried about it, prompting him to visit you in your room. Knowing something was wrong from the look on his face, you faced him and waited for him to speak, smirking in relief that it wasn't anything serious as he declared bluntly,
"Look, Niji. I'm sorry—I know I never said anything even after we talked about not lying…"
"It's ok, Dei—I knew. I knew from your cloaks," you responded simply, causing him to blink in surprise and blurt,
"What, un?"
"Yeah. I'd heard of the Akatsuki before, but it didn't bother me. I'm not loyal to any villages—I just want to be free."
But hearing that, and Deidara merely smirked, glad of your answer, prompting him to walk over to you and cup your cheek gently, whispering on your lips,
"You always will be with me,"
Before fully leaning in and pressing his lips to yours. Instantly accepting it, you wrapped your arms around his neck and buried one hand in his hair. Deidara moved his hands to your waist, slowly rubbing circles on your hips and making you shiver in pleasure as you felt the tongues on his palms rub against your skin. He ran his tongue across your bottom lip, and though you nibbled on his in return, you allowed him in, moaning as his tongue intertwined with yours, hearing him do the same as you returned the favour, exploring round his mouth. One of your hands slowly lowered from his neck to pull apart his cloak, tracing patterns across his chest and making him shiver, as he moved from your lips to your neck, licking round until you tensed and gasped at the feeling, causing him to lick, suck and bite at the spot, knowing it would be visible but needing to make sure the Akatsuki knew the situation when you met them. But you didn't care, simply fully pulling his cloak off and letting it drop to the floor.
You had the freedom to make your own choices now.