A/N: For those actually reading this... The second chapter is now up. I know it wasn't the speediest update, but I don't write very fast.
Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own it. Period. All I own is this fic, and any ocs.
Deidara shuffled slowly down the hallway, Too early... He thought, shaking his head in an attempt to banish the fog; then the smell of hot coffee wafted up the corridor to meet him, and he moved a little faster.
"Whoa!"
The blond jerked backwards as the chipper voice exploded next to his ear, "...What?"
The young woman popped up in front of him, and grinned, "Good morning!" She said, "There's coffee in the kitchen, don't mind Itachi, I'm going to go wake up Kisame!"
She flitted off in the direction he had just come from, leaving him standing in a daze as he tried to comprehend the spiel of rapid-fire words she had just thrown at him.
After a moment, he dismissed them, it was far to early to try to work out the way her brain worked.
Amaya hurried down the winding stone corridors. You have to wonder why they put it underground... She shrugged, how does one comprehend the working of the criminal mind?
She paused at a at a junction in the hallway, Umm... She looked back and forth between the two halls, He said... Left? She started down the left turn, Yeah... Left.
"Hmm... First door on right..." She stopped at the door, "Hah! I got it right!" She reached out and tried the door. "Hrm. It's locked... How come Itachi didn't say anything about that?"
Wait... She sighed, I think he did.
"I don't think you will be able to get in his room."
Amaya drooped, "Well, he kinda said it..." The young woman stared at the locked door, "Maybe Itachi has a key... Wait!" She dug into the pocket of her short pants, "Aha!" She pulled out a piece of wire, holding it up triumphantly. "Now! To get inside..."
Bending over the door, she slid the wire into the lock, moving it around until a satisfying click sounded from the lock. "Heehee, this is fun!" She pushed the door open as silently as she could, holding her breath as a squeak came from it.
She crept into the room, her bare feet scuffing across the floor; there was a single bed in the room, and a snoring lump occupied it. Oh good. The squeaking didn't wake him up. If this guy's blue, then it must be him.
The young woman tip-toed over to the bed, leaning over the end of it to see the occupant's face. Blue skin. Gill thingies... Must be him.
She glanced around the room, searching for any weapons that might fall into the Shinobi's reach. Not that moving them will make much difference. The giant wrapped sword that lay by the bed was the most obvious example. Amaya crouched down beside it, "Ooh." She prodded the skull on the end of the hilt, "A skull." She lingered for a moment, "Shiny." She whispered, then pushed the sword away from the bed, using her foot to shove it away.
Then she poked Kisame.
The ninja exploded out of bed; Amaya toppled backwards, giving a squeak of surprise as she hit the floor.
Kisame towered over her, his freakish eyes now open, and glaring at her.
Amaya stared up at him, "...Hi?"
Kisame glowered down at the slight girl sprawled on the floor. What was this person doing in his room? And who was she? He glanced over at where Samehada usually was and found the sword several feet farther away.
"...Hi?"
He looked back at the girl, "Who are you? And what are you doing in here?" This girl doesn't move like a ninja.
She popped to her feet, "I need your help!" She dusted herself off, "With food!"
"..." She's from last night. Kisame went back to glowering at her. She didn't seem to notice, "There's no way I can carry it all. And if I got Deidara he would fall over halfway to town. And Itachi said he was busy, and-"
"Shut up." Kisame growled. Geez, what is wrong with this girl?
"Ooh..." A strange gleam entered the girl's eyes, "You have strange teeth... Do you file them? Or were you born that way? That would be weird, I wonder what your mother thought, did she freak out?"
Doesn't she ever run out of air? He leaned over her, so that she had to crane her neck almost completely back to see his face, "Get. Out."
"And blue skin." She continued, "That's weird too, and gill thingies, can you breathe underwater?"
He grabbed her shoulder, "I said out!" He spun her around and shoved her out the door.
Kisame propelled her through the door, slamming it shut in her face.
"..." Amaya stared up at the closed door, "That went well..."
"Hmm." She turned around, "Who else can I get to help me...?" She meandered down the hall, "Not Kakuzu, he wouldn't help me spend money. Umm, not... Hidan, he would probably try to kill someone... Tobi? Hmm, maybe." She tested a random door, "Locked. Uhhh... Not... Sasori?" She stopped mid-stride, "Why is there a plant wearing a robe in the middle of the hall?"
She walked a circle around it, "How strange..."
Amaya shrugged, dismissing the strange plant from her mind, "Maybe I should ask Deidara... He's probably awake by now." She turned away from the plant- Was it an Aloe Vera...?- and retraced her steps back to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, after taking a wrong turn and having to go backwards yet again, she made her way back to the kitchen. Itachi was nowhere to be seen; Deidara was sitting alone at the table, his head cushioned in his arms. Faint snores emanated from the blond, proving that he had gone back to sleep.
Amaya drooped, "No help there..."
"Help?"
"Eep!" She jumped, clutching her heart, and spun around to see the orange masked ninja, Tobi. "You scared me..."
He looked as contrite as someone wearing a mask could, "Sorry." He said, scratching the back of his head.
Amaya considered the ninja, "Do you wanna help me?" She asked hopefully, "No one else really seems too..."
The ninja brightened, "Yes!"
"Really?" She clapped her hands together, "Oh, good!"
"G'way..." A sleepy mumble came from the young man sprawled over the table as he buried his face deeper into his arms. Amaya blinked in surprise, and a grin tugged at her mouth. Most people, after all, didn't get to see this side of the dangerous S-class criminals.
"Isn't it lovely out here?" Amaya breathed in deeply, tilting her head back to let the sun warm her face. Bags hung from her arms, and Tobi carried a box. Both were filled with food- which the Akatsuki had had none of, their kitchen was now bare after last nights supper- and other basic essentials that she had picked up.
I probably shouldn't tell Kakuzu how much money I spent... She motioned to the Shinobi with her, "Let's go back!"
Tobi cheered, "Yes! I'm starving!"
The young woman laughed, "I wonder what y'all ate before I came along..." She shrugged, "No matter! As soon as we return, I'll whip up something real quick."
The two were half-way back to the hideout when a rumbling explosion shook the ground beneath them. Amaya halted, "What was that...?"
"Yeah!"
The young woman looked up at the sky, shading her eyes from the sun as she squinted upward, "...Is that Deidara?"
The ninja was already hopping up and down, waving both arms in the air as he tried to the get the blond's attention, "Deidara-senpai!"
The clay-looking bird that the bomber was standing on swooped downward, passing close enough over their heads to blow Amaya's hair into a disarray. She swiped it out of her face, waving as Deidara landed in front of them.
"Hey!" She set the bags down and ran over to the bird, "Is this alive?" She reached out and poked it, squeaking in surprise as her finger made a dent. "It's mushy."
The blond grinned, his expression maniacal, "This," He gestured proudly, "Is my art!"
Amaya's eyes widened, Huh? "...Art?"
He nodded, still grinning insanely, "Yeah! This explodes!"
"Explodes...?" She stared, "Ohhhh! Is that what that explosion we heard was?"
"Exactly, hmm!" The blond said; he peered past her, "Are you heading home?"
"Yes!" She scurried back to her bags and scooped them up, "Can we ride with you...?"
"Sure!" The bomber apparently didn't want to pass up a chance to brag about his art, he jumped back up onto the bird and held his hand down for her to get up. Tobi linked his hands together, creating a stirrup for her to get with.
Amaya set her foot in his linked hands, having set her bags down again so that she could get up on the bird, and boosted herself upward, grabbing Deidara's hand as soon as it was in reach. The blond tightened his grip and hauled her higher, staggering backwards in surprise as she came up far easier than he expected.
"Whoa!" She yelped, sprawling on the bird behind him.
The blond lost his balance and fell over backwards, barely missing landing on top of the girl.
"Eep!" I left a dent in the bird. She stood, wobbling in place, to help the prone blond up, and his hand snatched her wrist, "Unless you wanna do that all over again," The blond fumed, "You should sit down!"
How rude. Amaya crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, I was just trying to help. "Hmph." She plopped down, sitting cross-legged.
A bag dropped in her lap, startling her out of her sulking, "Ack!"
"Haha... Sorry..." The masked ninja rubbed his neck sheepishly, another bag dangling from his hand.
Another moment later the bird was gaining altitude, and Amaya forgot what she had been annoyed about, "Whoa..." She peered over the side of the clay creation, "We're really high." Oh, look... I think that was a person. She laughed quietly, no more then a breath of air leaving her mouth, "They looked like a little bug from up here..."
She glanced at the blond at the front of the creature; he was looking at something in his hand, a small... spider...? She scooted closer to the man, Maybe he isn't mad at me any more. She peered over his shoulder at the little creature in his hand, "...Does that explode too?"
He jerked, "Don't do that, hmm!" He said, glaring at her from the corner of his eye.
Amaya scrunched backwards, "...Sorry." She turned around, staring up at the clouds, He doesn't have to be so mean.
A hand settled on her shoulder and Amaya jumped, "Tobi!" She gasped, "You scared me!"
"..." Tobi stared at her until she began to feel uncomfortable, "What?"
"Don't mind him," The ninja said quietly, "He does that when people startle him."
"Oh." Her voice came out much smaller then she wanted it to.
"I can hear you, hmm." The blond said from behind her, sounding snappish. She sighed, "This is rather awkward now..."
Tobi patted her on the shoulder sympathetically, "We're almost home." He peered below them, "In fact, there's the hideout right there!" Amaya followed his pointing finger toward the ground, and a small laugh escaped, "It looks so little."
The wind blew her hair straight back as they descended, little stray tendrils lashing her face. Wow, fast. She stared at the door of the hideout as they got closer, watching it grow larger, until, with a jolt that almost knocked her over, the bird spread its wings and they slowed to a stop, settling to the ground.
Amaya jumped over the side, ignoring Deidara's startled yelp as she hit the ground. She looked up at the bird, "Hey, Tobi! Toss the bags down, please!"
The bags sailed over the top of the clay bird, landing in her outstretched arms, "Oof!" She juggled the bags for a minute, "Thanks!" She trotted over to the door, pulled her foot back, and kicked it.
The muffled thump was barely loud enough that she heard it. The young woman frowned, then kicked it again.
Same results.
She gave a huff of frustration, and tried to juggle the three bags over to one arm. "Eep!" She caught one of the bags just before it slipped from her arms, "Argh." This isn't working!
A hand reached past her, and opened the door, "Oh! Thank-"
"Yeah, yeah." The blond brushed past her, Oh! Amaya started, He held the door open. She hurried through the door, "Thank you!"
The blond released the door; there was a muffled yelp as Tobi collided with it, then it reopened and Tobi dashed inside, lugging the box under one arm, past them into the kitchen.
"Forget it." The blond grumbled, moving past her. Amaya stared after him as he disappeared down the hallway, I guess he can be nice...
I know this chapter might be rather slow, and nothing really happens in it, but things will start speeding up.
There will be occasional Japanese honorifics. They might seem out of place, but they're part of the story.
Oh. One more thing... Are the POV changes too abrupt? I think it kinda fits the story, but I wasn't sure... So drop a review and tell, please?
And a warning, if you can't stand people being even a little OOC then you don't want to read this. Because it's not meant to be taken seriously, and any romance with one of them requires them to be OOC. And that's the story.
See ya later. :)
~UndeadScribe~