"Sakura-chan, watch out!" Naruto cried just as a swarm of tiny clay birds flew towards her. She barely had time to fling herself away as they exploded behind her. She looked up and gave a look of sheer hatred to their attacker- Deidara.
It had been over five years since their last encounter, when she had seen him blow himself up to try to kill Sasuke. She honestly had no idea how he had survived (maybe it had been a clone again), but that didn't matter. The point was that he had survived, and he should be dead. She truly wanted to kill him after remembering how he had lounged on Gaara's lifeless body so many years ago, but it was hard to do so when he was floating over fifty feet in the air on his clay bird, even though he was outnumbered four to one.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried. Even though Kakashi was no longer his teacher, Naruto still called him that, even though Kakashi tried to coax him out of the habit. "This would be a good time to start using your Mangekyou Sharingan!"
"Not yet, Naruto. The fight's barely begun. If it gets to that point I'll be glad to rip his arms off again," Kakashi responded. It was true. They hadn't been fighting long, and it seemed like Deidara was still warming up. Actually, it seemed like he was barely trying to fight them.
"I think this is a good time to introduce you to someone, yeah," Deidara called just as a man wearing an Akatsuki cloak and orange mask appeared among the trees.
"I'm Tobi!" the man called out in a ridiculous voice. "Which one should I go after, senpai?"
"The one in the middle. Kakashi, isn't it? The Copy Nin. Fancy seeing you hear, yeah," he sneered. Tobi crouched on the tree branch and sprang forward towards Kakashi. Kakashi barely had time to lift his hitai-ate and open his Sharingan eye. Sakura knew she could stand and watch, which would be pretty stupid, or she could turn and fight Deidara. With Kakashi fighting Tobi and having Sai as his backup, it was up to Sakura and Naruto to take down Deidara.
Naruto leapt to Sakura's side in a flash. "How are we supposed to take him down when he's so high up?" Sakura said.
"I don't know. I'm thinking of something," Naruto said.
"Well how did you beat him the last time?"
"That was different. We had Kakashi's Mangekyou Sharingan the last time, and we don't have that advantage right now. We obviously can't come to him, so he has to come to us.
"So we have to lure him in," Sakura confirmed.
"Exactly."
"Naruto, I think I have a plan. You use your Rasengan and I throw you up there so you can reach! We need a distraction, though…" Saukra said. Just then, a small clay bird appeared at their feet. It took them a moment to register what it was, but the second they realized it was one of Deidara's attacks, they retreated as the explosion took place. "You're a fast one, aren't you, jinchuuriki?" Deidara called after the impact had taken its toll. "Come out come out wherever you are, jinchuuriki. I don't have all day yeah," he cooed.
"That's why I'm putting an end to this right now!" Deidara turned to see Naruto flying towards him at full speed with Rasengan in one hand. The second it made contact with him, he melted into clay, and Naruto began to freefall. He grabbed a tree branch before he hit the ground and began to mutter to himself. "Fucking clone. Why can't we ever get the real one?" He then realized something was very wrong. Sakura wasn't anywhere in sight and her chakra was barely noticeable.
"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out. No answer. "Sakura-chan!" He leapt through the trees and searched the area. No Sakura, or Deidara.
"Would Sakura happen to be the name of this lovely pink haired kunoichi, yeah?" Naruto turned to the sound of Deidara's snarky voice. His knees went weak at what he was looking at. Deidara had made it back on his clay bird and this time an unconscious and bleeding Sakura had joined him. "Well you know how much I'd love to stay and chat but we've got a long trip ahead of us, yeah," nodding his head at Sakura. "See you later, jinchuuriki." And with that, Deidara lifted the bird higher into the sky and flew off with Sakura.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried. "Kakashi-sensei, you have to help me-" he cut his sentence short after turning and looking at the situation at hand. Kakashi and Sai were both slumping against a tree, barely conscious, and Tobi was gone. "Damn Akatsuki!" Naruto growled. He was on his own.
Naruto could still see the bird and prepared to pursue it when he heard Kakshi's voice from behind him. "Naruto…no…stay here…"
Naruto's blue eyes widened in anger. "Are you fucking serious? That Akatsuki shit just flew off with Sakura-chan and you want me to just sit here?"
"It's a trap," Kakashi murmered. "Sakura's just bait…trying to lead you to…Akatsuki."
"But what about Sakura-chan! She's in trouble! We can't leave her!"
"Sakura-chan's strong. She'll be fine…"
"But Kakashi-sensei-"
"Enough, Naruto. Right now help me and Sai get back to Konoha, and then we'll report the situation to the Hokage. She'll make the final decision."
Naruto buried his head in his hands and growled. After a moment we went to the nearest tree and punched it so hard it left a nice crater in it. As he walked over to Kakashi and Sai he glanced at the horizon one last time and saw Deidara's bird flying away and, after a few moments, disappear.
Deidara looked over his shoulder, expecting Naruto to be following him, but there was no sight of him. The only person there, unfortunately, was Tobi. "Senpai! Senpai! Wait up! Does Tobi get to ride on the bird like Sakura-chan, too?" he called out. Deidara rolled his eyes and cursed his bad luck for getting a partner like Tobi.
"No!" Deidara called out. "Just try to keep up, yeah!"
"But SENPAI!" Tobi whined. "It's so hot and Tobi is so tired! Please, senpai! Pleaaaaaaaaase!"
Deidara sighed and knew he would keep complaining unless he got to get on the bird too. After checking to see if anyone had followed them but found everything to be okay, Deidara started to land the bird.
"Yaaaay, thank you, senpai!" Tobi hopped up and down.
"Just get on the fucking bird," Deidara muttered, wondering if anyone else's life sucked as much as his. His gaze lingered towards Sakura, who was still unconscious. Her life probably sucked at the moment, too. Getting knocked out and kidnapped would probably ruin your day.
Deidara continued to stare at Sakura. How the hell was she so strong? Here she seemed weak and fragile. It had been hell to knock her out. He had to get away from Naruto first and then mask his chakra so Sakura wouldn't see him coming. Sneaking up on her was the easy part; she was so captivated by watching Naruto trying to kill him that she had let down her guard, which was odd for a skilled jounin of her level. Once he was close enough he pressed a kunai to her throat and tried to hit the point on her neck where he knew would cause her to pass out, but she was fast and escaped his grip easily and punched him hard in the shoulder. He was pretty sure something popped, and it still ached and he couldn't use his left arm to it's full potential (actually, he could barely lift it). Dismissing the pain, he had retreated and thrown a small flock of clay birds at her. She had managed to avoid those, but not the clay crickets behind her.
The explosion caused Sakura to fall to the ground and she received many minor cuts all over the backside of her body. That was when he lunged for her neck but, apparently, he hit her a little harder than intended. He only needed her passed out for about two hours instead of ten.
Deidara winced and grabbed his shoulder in agony. Bitch, he thought. There was no way he could use the mouth on the hand on that arm to make explosions now! Sakura had definitely popped or broken something up there. How could a tiny cotton candy headed girl like her deliver such a painful blow? She looked so fragile, and, actually, the more Deidara studied her, he realized she was really quite pretty. Her features were soft and delicate and, dare he think it, cute. Not to mention the pink hair, which he still couldn't believe was natural. The last time he had seen her it had been chin length, but now it was a few inches past her shoulders. It looked better this way, he thought. It looked like..."Senpai? Senpai!"
"Huh, yeah?" Deidara said, coming back to reality.
"Senpai, were you just ogling Sakura-chan?"
"WHAT?" Deidara cried, cursing himself for even looking in the kunoichi's direction. "Of course not!"
"Well you were staring at her for a really long time and you had this look in your eye-"
"I WASN'T FUCKING OGLING SAKURA, YEAH!" He was about to reach for his clay when Tobi stopped him.
"Okay, okay senpai! It was just a question. Tobi will stop now," he said, holding his hands in defeat.
"Whatever, yeah," Deidara said and turned to fly the bird. His shoulder screamed in pain but he just grunted and pushed the pain away. After hours of Tobi babbling on and on, they were mostly silent and it was getting dark. Deidara finally spoke. "We're about two days away from the rendezvous point with Kisame. That means we're gonna have to find a place to stay at for tonight and tomorrow. My bird can't go on anymore so we're gonna have to land now and there aren't any towns nearby so we just have to camp out, yeah."
The bird began to descend and Tobi had become excited by the idea of a "camp out" and starting talking about marshmallows and singing songs. Deidara sighed and landed the bird in a small clearing within a large forest. His fingers itched to grab his clay and throw it at Tobi but he resisted, knowing Leader would get pissed if he lost his second partner. "Get the girl off the bird, yeah," he said.
"Yes, senpai!" Tobi said and carried Sakura's body off the bird bridal style. It was hard to believe she was still unconscious. Exactly how hard did he hit her? He made the bird disappear and he walked through the forest to find a good spot to stay for the night.
There was an area that seemed acceptable for staying the night. The leaves of the trees formed a canopy and the lower branches provided some coverage from enemies. The grass was also fairly soft so it wouldn't be too hard to sleep on it. The area was big enough for the three of them, but no more than that. This'll do, Deidara thought, and began to make his way back when his shoulder began to ache again. Fucking hellion! Deidara thought. His shoulder was completely fucked up, and there was no telling when it would heal. If it would heal. At this rate he wouldn't be able to make his art for who knows how long.
Wait a second, Deidara thought. The kunoichi was medical nin. Deidara smiled to himself. Maybe she wasn't just extra baggage after all. Hell, she could actually be pretty useful. Deidara smirked with pride and returned with his mind set on the medical nin of the Leaf.
When Sakura woke up, she noticed three things. One- there was an aching pain in her neck and her backside stung badly. Two- she was bound with extremely strong chakra ropes that would take a lot of chakra cut. Three- she was staring straight into an orange lollipop.
After noticing the lollipop, her head began to clear and she widened her eyes. That was definitely not a lollipop, she was definitely kidnapped by Akatsuki, and this time, there was only one.
"Good morning, sleepy head!" the lollipop said in a childish voice. "Well, it's actually night so you're going to have to sleep again soon, but good morning anyways!"
Sakura stared speechlessly at the childish man who was supposed to be in Akatsuki. Her mind was still a little hazy and she was groggy, but she managed to respond to him. "Let me go!" Sakura screamed, trying to resist the chakra ropes. "What do you even want from me?"
The lollipop fidgeted for a moment but then spoke. "Tobi does not want to keep you here, Sakura-chan. This is just orders. Tobi doesn't know why we're keeping you. That's a question for Deidara-senpai."
"Well then tell your senpai that if he thinks I'm just going to be his little rag doll and do whatever he wants me to and follow him like a puppy then you're just fucking stupid!" Sakura spat.
"Please don't get mad, Sakura-chan," Tobi begged. "I told Deidara-senpai that I'd keep you under control while he's gone."
"Again with your freaking senpai! Let me make one thing clear- I will not just sit here and wait for your lovely senpai to get back and play the happy family game with you Akatsuki freaks!" Sakura was raving mad now, and it was obvious she was going to blow and Tobi could sense it, but it was too late. Sakura created a chakra blade and cut the ropes in one swift motion. I'm free! She thought. But she couldn't just run. She had to take on the Akatsuki in the mask and try to take him out while the other one was away. It was the least she could do after getting herself captured.
Sakura reached for her weapons but realized they had all been taken away. She also felt like some of her chakra had been drained away. This was going to be much harder than she thought.
"Sakura-chan, Tobi does not want to fight a girl, but he will if he has to. Sorry, Sakura-chan," he said just before he charged at her and punched her straight in the gut. Sakura flew backwards, stunned by how powerful the punch was. She was at a major disadvantage here. But that didn't mean that she would give up. Just as Tobi was about to land another blow on her, she rolled to the side and landed a chakra infused kick straight in Tobi's gut. He flew back and landed in the middle of the clearing. He was shaky as he got back up, but the second he jumped towards her, Sakura's fist was back, ready to deliver another painful punch. At the last moment, Tobi ducked pulled out a kunai and cut a deep gash in her leg as he rolled to her other side. Sakura gasped and her knees buckled from underneath her.
Damn it! Sakura thought. Why was she being so careless? She needed to think her actions through more. As she got up turned she saw Tobi charging at her again, but this time she was thinking her plan through. Sakura readied another chakra infused punch in her right hand, but also her left. When Tobi came within range, she lifted her right hand to strike, but her left hand came up instead and the punch landed straight in his gut. Tobi flew backwards and slumped against a tree. That's how it's done, Sakura thought proudly.
Sakura limped as fast as she could to Tobi's shaking body. Every step she took with her left leg sent shots of pain up through her whole body. She grabbed Tobi's heaving and shaking form and pinned him against the crater she had made in the tree when she threw him in it. Just a moment before she was about to deliver a fatal blow to his temple, something grabbed her arm and a kunai was being pushed against her throat. Damn it.
Deidara.
Deidara ran back to the clearing as fast as he could after he heard the cries. He arrived just as he saw Sakura pin Tobi against a tree. Deidara smirked and grabbed Sakura's forearm and pulled out his kunai and held it to her throat. The arm that held the kunai was in so much pain that he had begun to sweat, but he had a feeling that would be over soon. "You're skilled kunoichi, I'll give you that," Deidara murmured in her ear, "but try to remember that you're dealing with Akatsuki, yeah."
"It's pretty hard to forget," Sakura growled. All of a sudden, she felt something shifting across her skin where Deidara's hand was. Oh, fuck. Not the mouth. Sakura squealed and tried to pull away.
Deidara chuckled. "My point is that did you really think you could escape this easily? That's fantasy, yeah. A kunoichi with your experience should know that fantasies don't exist for shinobi like us."
"Like us?"
"We're both shinobi, yeah. We're not so different."
"We are nothing alike!"
"I'd take it easy kunoichi, yeah. You might make my finger slip and cut straight through your neck, yeah. It won't be an accident, though, if you don't do as I say right now. You got that, kunoichi?"
"Fuck you," Sakura hissed.
Deidara chuckled again. "I'll take that as a yes. Now let go of my partner, yeah." To emphasize his seriousness, he pushed the kunai harder against her throat, but not enough to draw blood. Sakura hesitated, then tightened her grip on Tobi and threw him to the ground. Deidara squeezed her arm tighter and she winced. "I think that could of gone better, yeah."
"Whatever."
In a swift motion, Deidara used Sakura's arm that he was holding to turn her around completely so she was pinned against the tree and they were face-to-face, kunai still pressed to her throat. One ocean blue eye staring into two jade eyes. Her eyes were filled with hate and disgust and her eyebrows were stitched into a V. "You're a medical nin, aren't you kunoichi?" Deidara said.
Sakura's face went from anger to confusion. "What's it to you?" she spat.
"Answer the question, yeah."
"Yes, yes. I'm a medical nin, okay?" Sakura said, her patience running out.
"I bet you're a good one too, yeah," Deidara said.
"When you're the Hokage's apprentice I'm pretty sure you're considered as good. Why do you care so much anyways?"
Deidara rolled his head to his injured shoulder. "You banged me up pretty bad up there and I really don't think it's gonna heal very well on its own, so while you're our captive, you will serve as our healer, yeah. You might want to take the offer, kunoichi. It's pretty much the only choice you have, yeah."
"Why would I ever heal your arm? There's a reason why I injured it in the first place!"
"Maybe because your life depends on it," Deidara said, moving the kunai in a cutting motion across her throat, grazing the skin ever so lightly.
Sakura looked into his eyes for what seemed like years until she finally sighed in defeat. "Fine. Whatever. I'll be your healer."
Deidara smiled. "Good choice, kunoichi. So you-"
"Sakura! My name is fucking Sakura! If I'm gonna be your healer at least call me by my name! It's not "kunoichi" for gods' sake!"
Deidara was taken back by her sudden explosion. To be honest, he didn't even think of calling her by her name. She was a captive, for gods' sake, not their VIP guest. But if that was her price for being their healer, then so be it. "Okay then, Sakura." He rolled the R in her name and played with it on his tongue. "We have a deal then, yeah. You be our healer, and we won't hurt you and I'll call you Sakura. But if you try to escape the consequences are going to be bad, kunoi- I mean, Sakura. And I wouldn't even think of escaping once we meet up with Kisame. That's like asking for death, yeah."
"Fine. You can let me go now," Sakura said. Deidara complied and released his grip on her. She rubbed the spot on her arm where he had grabbed her. She looked around absentmindedly and began sit down when Deidara cleared his throat. She looked up and saw him pointing to his shoulder. "Oh! Right. That," she said in a monotonous voice. "Well then, you're going to have to take off your cloak and whatever shirt you're wearing underneath."
Deidara managed to take off his cloak without difficulty, but taking off the shirt was the hard part for him. He tried to take off his mesh shirt and dark undershirt but trying to do so with one hand was very unfruitful. Finally, Deidara sighed and looked at Sakura. "A little help here, yeah?" She rolled her eyes and helped him out of the shirts. The mesh shirt was easy to take off. It was the undershirt that was giving them problems.
"We obviously can't pull it over your head so I'm just going to cut it," Sakura said. She instinctively reached for her weapons pouch before realizing that it wasn't there. When she turned back around, Deidara was playing with a kunai in one hand. He was pretending to not even notice her staring at him, whistling and staring at the kunai spinning in his hand. After a few seconds later, he turned his attention to her. "Looking for this, yeah?" he said.
Sakura stared at him blankly. "Um, yeah. I can't exactly cut through your shirt without it."
"Hmm, I don't think I fully trust you yet being so close to me with a kunai in hand. You're gonna need to work up to that level."
"Fine, then. You leave me no choice." Before Deidara could even think of what she was going to, Sakura grabbed the fabric of Deidara's shirt and tore it off his body.
"Damn, pinkie. I liked that shirt," Deidara said. Sakura rolled her eyes and was about to examine his shoulder when she noticed how well built he was. She knew he wasn't a skinny tiny guy or anything (he'd probably be a really bad shinobi if he was) but she didn't expect his body to be this toned. She noticed his muscles flex every time he moved his arms and that the large seal that covered the mouth on his chest was still there. Her eyes roamed a little lower and saw, to her shock, that he actually had an eight-pack. Well that was unexpected.
"See something you like, yeah?" Deidara smirked. Sakura blushed furiously, scolding herself for staring so long. "Just sit down against the tree," Sakura mumbled. Deidara did as he said and sat down. Sakura closed her eyes and entered her medic nin mode. She focused her chakra into her hands and examined the wound. After a minute of examining, she folded her hands in her lap and said, "You didn't make it seem like it was so bad. The shoulder's been completely dislocated, there's a crack in your shoulder blade, and the upper part of the bone in your bicep has been completely shattered."
"Wow, thanks so much, yeah," Deidara said.
"Well did you expect me to just leave with you peacefully?" Sakura snapped.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't know you were so strong, yeah."
"Mmmm," Sakura mumbled. "Even with two healing sessions a day, you won't be able to fully recover for about a week. So don't try to use this arm or the injuries will just get worse."
"Yes, ma'am," Deidara mocked.
Sakura rolled her eyes and began the healing session. She focused chakra to her hands once more and the familiar mint green glow emitted from them. She placed her hands over Deidara's shoulder and began mending the damages. Deidara let out a sigh so big it was as if he had been relieved from carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He laid his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, obviously feeling more relaxed. She continued to do her work in silence and neither of them seemed to mind.
After the healing session was over, Sakura let out a huge sigh and stood up. That's all I can do right now. My chakra's getting low so I can't do anything until the morning. Just don't use that arm or sleep on it, okay?"
Deidara nodded and grabbed his mesh shirt and Akatsuki cloak. "It doesn't hurt as much now, yeah," he said, rubbing his arm. "I can live with it." Deidara had sent Tobi off to make a fire at the smaller clearing where they were staying for the night, and he suspected it was probably done by now. He grabbed Sakura's arm and led her through the woods to their campsite. Tobi was sitting there, staring absently into the flames. When Deidara and Sakura entered, he seemed to suddenly get in a much better mood.
"Deidara-senpia!" Tobi exclaimed. "Tobi made the fire just like you asked!"
"That's great, Tobi, yeah," Deidara mumbled. "I think we should all go to sleep now. We've got a whole day's worth of travel tomorrow. We need to be able to make the long trip, yeah."
"Of course, senpai!" Tobi began to lay down and make himself comfortable in the grass. Deidara did the same but was cautious not to land on his left shoulder. Sakura slowly lowered herself onto the earth and laid down facing the fire. Were they even going to bother guarding her? By the sounds of his snoring, Tobi was already asleep and Deidara would be soon, too. This could be her chance to escape! She just had to stay awake for a few more hours…
After about two hours of pretending to be asleep, Sakura was sure that both Deidara and Tobi were both sleeping soundly. This was a perfect opportunity to run away. She obviously couldn't take two Akatsuki by herself, so going back to Konoha would be the next best option.
As quietly as she could, Sakura got up and stood on the grass. Just as she was about to take a few more steps before darting off into the darkness, she heard a voice mumble, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, yeah."
Deidara. Again.
Sakura stood in the same position, in between taking steps, arms still in mid-air. How could he have heard her get up? She had barely made a sound! There was no way she could've woken him. Unless…unless he hadn't even been asleep in the first place.
Of course! How could she be so stupid? Two S-class missing nin in Akatsuki wouldn't just doze off without any methods of retraining a captive. Why was she being so stupid on this mission? She hadn't thought anything through so far and nothing had proved fruitful. She then heard Deidara's voice again, and that interrupted her thoughts. "I've placed little clay figurines with chakra seals all around this area. If they catch you, I'll know and I won't hesitate to detonate them, yeah."
Sakura hung her head in defeat and lay back down in the grass. "Don't worry so much kunoi- I mean, Sakura. You just stay with us a little longer, then we'll let you go and we won't hurt you, yeah."
Sakura grunted. The truth was that she wasn't worried about what they were planning to do to her. She was worried about what they were planning on doing to Naruto.