vampgirl8: So, I wrote this for a friend and decided to post it on here to see how it'd do. It's just a one-shot, but tell me what you guys think, kay? Please review!
Promise
Brandi couldn't speak. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging slightly open as she looked at the male in front of her. The one she'd always believed to be dead.
But no, Deidara was alive and well if what she saw before her was anything to go by. It was really a coincidence that she'd stumbled upon him here, now of all times, when she was heading back to Stone after a completed mission like the loyal kunoichi she was.
As he looked up at her, his one visible sky blue eye widening as he took in his sudden guest from his position on a boulder in this sunny clearing, she had flashbacks of all the times she'd spent with him, almost like a movie playing in her head.
A girl, with chocolate brown eyes and mahogany colored brown hair that swung from it's position in a ponytail at the top of her head, walked calmly down the street to the park. Classes at the Academy had just let out for the day, and she'd decided to have a bit of leisure time before going home.
The park was empty at this time of day, and she welcomed the silence. It was calming, and while she was the type to like some fun most hours of the day being the hyperactive person she was, she could also appreciate times like this as well.
After a few moments of relaxing, Brandi felt her eyes closing little by little as it seemed sleep would overtake her…
BANG!
The sound made her eyes snap open and she swung her head around to the woods behind her, where the noise had come from. Curiosity overtaking her better judgment, she hopped off the swing and walked into the forestry.
She came upon a clearing, one with a large stone boulder in the center, and a boy panting lightly in the grass. He had long blonde hair that went past his shoulders, a fringe of the locks hanging to cover one of his eyes, which were closed. He wore a black short sleeved shirt, and underneath was a longer sleeved mesh one. His pants were black and a bit baggy on his trim, muscled waist.
Brandi stepped forward, and the boy opened his eyes as he noticed her presence at last. One sky blue eyes gazed at her, sparkling and curious.
"Who're you, un?" he asked.
She smiled at him. "I'm Brandi, you?"
A large grin encompassed his face. "Deidara, un."
She walked over to sit next to him. "Pleased to meet you, Deidara. What are you doing out here?"
"I'm training, un. I want to become a Chuunin, afterall."
She widened her chocolate orbs. "You're a Genin, then?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, un."
"I'm still in the Academy. I'm graduating this year, though." Brandi drew her knees up to her chest. "You sure say 'un' a lot."
He scowled. "Don't make fun of my speech impediment, un. I can't help it."
She laughed. "I'm not! I think it's kinda cute-" she stopped, blushing, and looked down as she realized what she said.
"Cute?" Deidara mused, giving a curious look to her.
"Yeah," she whispered, nodding.
She was afraid to look up at him, thinking he'd be angry with her for saying such, but was surprised when he started laughing. Shooting her head up, she widened her eyes again when she saw he was clutching his sides and laughing so hard tears formed at the corners of his eyes.
"What's so funny?" she asked, a bit annoyed that he was guffawing at her expense.
He didn't answer until the laughter had died to a few chuckles before answering. "No one has ever called it that before, un."
Brandi pursed her lips. "Yeah, well I do."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped at the jolt it sent through her. "Thanks, un."
She met his sky blue gaze, and felt something…a warmth, almost…spread in her chest. "No problem." Then she furrowed her brows. "You said you were training…did you make that 'Bang!' noise earlier?"
He nodded. "Yep!" Then he jumped to his feet, pulling her up with him. He showed her his hands, and she was shocked to find two mouths. "I use these to mold clay, un. Then I can make it explode!"
"Cool!" She leaned in to get a closer look, and suddenly a tongue came out of the mouth on his right hand to lick her cheek. "Eep!" She drew back, blinking rapidly. Deidara chuckled.
"Sorry, un, they do that sometimes." He seemed to muse over something for a second. "Do you want me to show you my clay, un?"
Brandi made an excited noise and nodded enthusiastically her accent. He laughed and reached into a pouch at his hip, pulling out a chunk of clay and letting the mouths eat it. She watched, fascinated, as they spat it back out as clay birds. The birds flew up and circled her head, then went higher before exploding with small 'Bang!' noises of their own.
"Wow," she breathed, awed at the sight and flashing lights created by the mini explosions.
"Art is fleeting, un." Deidara smiled as he watched her.
Brandi's answering smile was soft. "Beautiful."
Following that came another memory. One that she'd held close for so long.
A twelve year old Brandi ran through the trees, ignoring the cuts and scrapes marring her arms and legs. Tears blurred her vision, and her hair wasn't in it's usual ponytail. It clung to her face in tangled, dampened tendrils, but she made no move to pull them away.
She finally reached her destination, the clearing with the single boulder resting at it's center. The place she'd met Deidara a year ago. Collapsing to the ground, mud seeped into her rain soaked clothing, mixing with the blood of her wounds.
She wasn't sure how long she was there, or when it was that the tears had stopped-her eyes seeming out of the elusive drops. But the rain never stopped, it kept coming.
Finally, someone found her. She sensed Deidara next to her, and he crouched down to gather her in his arms. He carried her to the boulder, and sat with her in his lap. Brandi clutched his shirt tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"They're gone," she whispered.
"I know, un." His voice was as soft as hers as he lowered his chin to the top of her head.
"They're gone, Deidara," she repeated, voice cracking.
"Shh, I know, I know." His hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"But why are they gone? Why did they have to go?" Tears gathered in her eyes once more, sad and bitter.
"They were shinobi, un," he said, "it happens sometimes. Your parents are no exception."
The blunt answer did it. Pearlescent drops fell from the corners of her clenched eyelids, and she pulled herself closer. She knew that he was right. They'd been shinobi, this sort of thing was common. She'd always believed she'd be ready for this should it happen, but thinking about it and actually having it occur were two totally and completely different things. Nothing could have prepared her for this…pain, this…agony.
"Deidara," she choked out between sobs, "don't leave me. Don't go away. Stay by my side."
His answer was immediate. "I will, un."
And he held her as she cried, letting her frustration and despair out in the only way she could. Shinobi weren't supposed to show emotions. But there were times when it was impossible not to.
He kept his promise. In the few years following, he'd been there for her for everything. He'd watched her during the Chuunin exams, given her presents on each of her birthdays, celebrated with her after a successful mission. It wasn't a surprise that she came to care for the boy as more than a brother.
That she came to love him.
But of course even the best of dreams are eventually woken up from.
Brandi skipped leisurely down the sidewalk, humming to herself. Her joy was palpable in the air around her. He'd kissed her last night. They'd been in their clearing, and he'd just leaned over and done it.
She smiled, remembering the flushed look on his face when he'd leaned back and mumbled excuses before leaving. Today she was going to tell him how she felt. She would finally tell him she loved him.
Just before she could head off into the woods, she was stopped by a fellow shinobi. "Deidara's missing," he panted, clutching his side after his long run here. "The Akatsuki have taken him."
To Brandi it seemed as though time froze. The Akatsuki? What did they want with Deidei? Would they kill him? Did they want village secrets?
Deidara, her Deidei, was…gone?
It didn't take more than that thought to send her sprinting into the forest, leaving the man behind. When she burst into the clearing, she hopped onto the boulder and whirled in every direction.
"Deidara?" she called. "Deidara!"
No answer came.
She sat down, pulling her knees to her chest and gently rocking herself. He would come, she assured in her mind. He'll escape somehow. He'll come back to me. He promised.
He never came.
Brandi refused to look away from the young man on the boulder. His eyes were dazed, as though he too was having flashbacks. They were in the clearing, their clearing, and he sat on the boulder she'd been on the day he disappeared.
No, she amended, taking in the black cloak with red clouds he wore. The day he left, the day he joined Akatsuki.
The day he betrayed her and broke his promise.
"Brandi," he whispered.
She resisted the urge to shiver from the sound of her name from between his lips. Why, oh why had she decided to come here after her mission? Why hadn't she just gone home like everyone else? Why had she felt the need to torture herself once again with memories that she should have locked away long ago?
Because, her mind whispered, you never stopped hoping he'd be waiting.
And here he was. But now that she finally had what she wanted, she wasn't sure she wanted it anymore.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was deathly quiet.
Deidara opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "I-"
She didn't give him the chance to finish.
Two shuriken whizzed past his head, and he barely dodged them before more followed.
"Brandi!" he shouted, jumping to avoid a barrage of kunai, "Let me explain!"
"No!" She gave up on the projectiles and ran up to engage in hand-to-hand. "You betrayed the village!" She sent a punch to his face, which he blocked with his forearm. "You betrayed me!" She spun, her leg flying out to try and land a kick on his side. He caught it, but the force behind the kick made him stumble, bringing her down with him. They rolled in the grass a bit, until she lay on her back with him hovering over her, hands pinning her wrists to the earth.
She looked up at him, as the backs of her eyes began to sting. He was so close, she thought, so close. His ponytail, a hairstyle she'd given him the original idea for, was loosed, so his golden hair brushed her cheeks. Those two blue eyes stared back at her with a mixture of emotions that were swirling and changing so fast she couldn't sort through them.
"You promised, Deidei," she whispered, the nickname coming out without second thought. "You promised you wouldn't leave me."
His expression softened, and his eyes were now sad. "I didn't want to, un," he whispered, "but I had no choice."
He was telling the truth. She knew that. She'd always been able to read him better than anyone else. But that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Why…?" She was pleading with him now, begging him to take away the ache in her chest. "Why didn't you have a choice?"
His expression darkened. "I was forced. Do or die."
She closed her eyes and gulped. "Deidara…"
Then he did it. He leaned down and kissed her.
Brandi's eyes shot open as she gasped, and he took advantage of it to slip his tongue in. A moan burst unbidden from her lips, and she found he no longer pinned her wrists. She moved them to weave into his blonde locks, loving the silken feel. After a few minutes, Deidara broke the kiss and stood, helping her to her feet.
"I have to go, un."
For a moment that utter despair threatened to engulf her, but before it could he caught her chin between his fingers, letting her see the promise in his eyes. Then he whispered something in her ear, and disappeared.
Brandi didn't know how long she stood there for, but the entire time it was with a smile. He would be back, he would keep his promise. All she had to do was wait for the right time.
Warmth burst in her chest as she replayed his words in her head.
"I'll be back, un. I love you, Brandi."