A/N: So here I am with another chapter of HummingBird. Please people, reviews are kindly appreciated. The only reason im really updating is for my one person who liked it enough to alert for it. Please tell em what you think!
"It's okay, Tori." Tobi mumbled, and I walked slowly, my eyes roaming over the stone walls. We were walking down a hall, and there were many doors on both sides of the hallway. I heard a door open and close behind me, and I could tell it was only the blonde man going into his room. Tobi's steps were light as he paused beside a door, opening it and walking inside. I paused outside of the door, afraid of the darkened area before me. There was a chuckle as Tobi's bright mask appeared out of the darkness. I smiled at it as he grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me into the room.
"Scared Tori?" he asked, and I didn't say anything, my eyes roaming over the decently sized room. He threw the mask onto a tiny desk, running his hands through his hair as his crimson eyes flicked over to me. I stood stock still, entranced by his eyes as he moved towards me. His face was void of emotion as he looked down at me, and I felt like a rabbit caught in the gaze of a wolf, waiting for the fangs to strike.
"You need to sleep." Was the last thing I remember before I was sucked into the awaiting darkness, haunted by his crimson eyes and my usual scattered bits of voices and flashes of faces that I called my dreams.
I awoke to the setting sun filtering across the short dark carpet. I moved away from it quickly as it started to burn my hand. I hissed, rubbing the sore spot as I looked around the room. I gazed curiously around me at the room. There was a shelf full of scrolls with the labels neatly lined up. A bed was neatly made and large enough for both of us. I shuddered at that thought, sitting on the couch that was across from the bed. A tiny desk was pushed against the window sill, covered in half finished scrolls and inkwells. Tobi was standing calmly by a tiny set of drawers and doing something with his hands. His back was to me and he wasn't wearing his cloak.
I sat up on the couch and tried to think, to make sense of my scrambled thoughts. I tried to remember anything from before Tobi woke me up, but all that was there was darkness and jumbled faded images and snippets of voices that made no sense. I remembered the dream I was having before I woke up as well. I tensed as a memory suddenly struck me as I sat, my eyes wide open and unseeing of anything around me but the memory.
"Wait!" she called. She had long black hair and red eyes. She was running towards a man no older then her. He had long black hair and he was walking away from his future.
"Why are you leaving?" she called, and he paused, turning to her so she could see one of his red eyes.
"Tori-san, go home." He said, and he turned to walk away. Putting on a burst of speed, she ran around to face him, face to face.
"Why? Who is making these decisions? Madara-san? Or you?" she said, a single tear falling. He caught it, and they both watched as it fell to the earth. She tried to look at his face, but it was blurry, out of focus.
"Go home, Tori-san. I work alone."
Tobi turned around from the clothes he was gathering to see Tori sitting on the couch, her eyes wide open and blank. He moved towards her, kneeling in front of her sitting form and debating on whether or not to touch her. She seemed to be in some sort of trance, her body entirely still and she wasn't breathing. He wasn't all that worried about her not breathing, for she didn't really need air to survive anymore. He took the risk and touched her lightly on her knee. She jerked, standing up rapidly and gripping his hand tightly, her eyes still out of focus. She yanked on his hand, forcing him to stand up with her and be face to face with her. Her eyes focused on the mask, and they narrowed.
"How nice to see you again after all these years. After this hell you put me through." She said, and she punched him in the chest, sending him flying. He caught himself on the bed, his mask askew and showing his mouth and eye. It was locked onto hers. She grinned, showing fangs as she crouched, preparing to attack again. Tobi's form blurred, appearing in front of her as his index finger poked her in the forehead. Her eyes widened in surprise before falling shut, her form relaxing and slumping into a heap beside the couch. Tobi looked down at her with curiosity in his gaze as he reached down to pick her up. She still weighed nothing to him, and he carefully arranged her body on the couch, spreading out a blanket with a mushroom like symbol on it. He walked to the window, looking over the sandy dunes as a storm gathered above them. He smiled as the rain started to pour on the ground, soaking into the dry terrain quickly.
The sound of running water was what I woke to. I stirred lowly, stretching and letting the soft blanket fall off my body. I lazily glanced around the room, noting the light from beneath a door. I smiled sleepily as I sat up, running a hand through my hair.
"Tobi?" I said quietly. I slowly stood up, and I walked to the bathroom door ignoring the cold wood floors beneath my bare feet. I knocked once, and I heard the water shut off. I waited quietly, listening as someone moved around inside.
"Tobi?" I repeated, a little louder this time. I heard the sound of someone stumbling inside as I waited for a response.
"Just a second, Tori-san!" I heard him call, and I went to the bookshelf that was by his desk. I read the titles quietly to myself as I browsed.
"Uchiha Virus. Blood Brothers. History of the Uchiha. Medical Issues. Itachi's Progress. Memoirs of a Different Past. The Legend of Uchiha Tori. Uchiha Record Book. History of the Vampire." I mumbled, and the one tilted 'The Legend of Uchiha Tori' was what caught my eye. I heard the bathroom door open as I was pulling it off the shelf. Tobi didn't have his mask on, but his hair was covering one eye.
"Tori, don't read that!" he said, and he was in front of me before I could even blink. He held out his hand, and I put the scroll in it. He gently put the scroll away on the shelf, and i blushed, suddenly aware o what he was wearing and his close proximity to me. He was clad only in a towel, his chest glistening in the faint light. He was well built, muscles rippling over a sturdy skeletal structure. He was pale, flushed slightly from the heat of the shower and I blushed again and turned away so he could change. A hand on my shoulder made me turn around. He was dressed normally; only he still didn't have his mask. His hair was away from his face so I could finally get a good look at his face.
He was only a year older than me, and he was breathtaking. His eyes were crimson with little black dots swirling around in them, and his hair was short in the front and styled. He had long black bangs that fell into his face, and it was spiky in the back. His face was handsome and young, but there was wisdom in his eyes. I looked from him to the window, aware that it was really late at night. He followed my gaze, and he smiled. I had to look away so I didn't embarrass myself and blush or start to babble.
"Do you want the bed or the couch, Tori-san?" he asked. I pointed at the couch, and he nodded. There was already a pillow there, and I grabbed the blanket from where it had fallen off of me earlier. There was a symbol stitched onto the cloth, and I recognized it but I couldn't remember what it was called. Tobi settled into the bed as I laid down, my finger still tracing the symbol. I had slept most of the afternoon but I was still tired.
"Go to sleep, Tori." He said, and with that I surrendered to the awaiting darkness.
I woke to the light, and I looked towards the bed for Tobi. Just as I expected, he was gone, his bed neatly made. I stretched and stood up, walking over to his desk. There was a small note stuck under a rock.
"Tori,
I was sent on a mission. I should be back later tonight. There is a training area outside of the base, but be careful. There may be rouge ninja or Sand ANBU outside of the base." I read to myself. I smiled as I walked to the door, unlocked it, and slipped out. The door shut behind me, and I heard a click as the lock activated. I let my head hit the wood of the door as I sighed.
"Great. Now I'm locked out and not sure of where the hell I am." I said, and I sighed again as I walked down the hallway. I had thankfully grabbed my borrowed cloak before leaving the room, and I had thrown it on. It got a little chilly in the base.
"What are you doing here, kunoichi?" I heard a smooth monotone voice ask. I paused, glancing behind me, and then I ignored the man behind me as I continued walking. A hand grabbed my wrist, spinning me around to face this person. My eyes narrowed at the contact, navy blue meeting crimson, which surprised me. He had eyes like Tobi, and long black hair tied back into a ponytail. His voice was a cold mask, and he had lines on his face. He was pale and handsome. What was with the men in this base and being irresistible?
"Hn." He said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked me over. I waited, sighing, as the wind blew around me. The man shook his head slightly and he let me go. I dropped my hands to my sides, watching him with narrowed eyes, for I was wary of him. He walked around me, seemingly disinterested now that I wasn't trying to put up a fight and was suddenly down the hall faster than I could see.
'So fast. Is he a vampire, also?' I thought, and the wind blew gently, wrapping me in a tiny cocoon of warmer air. I looked at the corner where he had gone and turned around, walking back the way I came. I had no real direction to go, but I didn't want to follow that red eyed man. I tensed as I heard a door shut behind me, but I didn't hear anyone walk out. There was a small hallway that I followed until I came to a dining room area and a kitchen. The blonde haired man was sitting casually at the table, nursing a cup of watery tea. He looked up at me as I turned the corner. My nose flared slightly as I realized how thirsty I was. He smelled delicious.
"Hello, blondie." I said, and his eye narrowed as his hand tensed around the cup. I heard the cup fracture as tea slowly started to leak out of the new cracks. I walked towards him slowly, trying to get the thirst out of my throat.
"The name is Deidara, yeah, and you better remember it, yeah." He said, and I bowed slightly, watching him for his reaction. He watched me, nodding slightly, and then he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. The hand that was soaked in tea. He cursed quietly as his bangs wetly flopped in front of his eyes, slightly sticking and clumping together.
"You're quiet, Deidara-san. What's wrong?" I asked quietly, looking at the kitchen, the table, the leaking cup, the ceiling, and the window, Deidara. He sighed before he answered.
"I've been sent on a mission, yeah." He looked at me, and I got the impression he was trying to gauge my reaction. I didn't know him that well, so I shrugged, moving towards the cabinets, curious to see what the others ate here. I haven't seen a single girl here besides myself, and men don't strike me to be the best of cooks. There was a lot of make it quick meals and canned vegetables and fruits.
He stood up, taking the broken cup with him and placing it next to the sink, upside down. I turned to watch him, tugging slightly on the borrowed cloak and enjoying the scent of Tobi. Deidara washed his hands, running his dripping wet hands through his hair to try to combat the sticky. I laughed at him when all that happened was his hair clumped together even more. He moved towards me, grabbing his cloak from the chair he was sitting in before and throwing it on haphazardly.
He nodded to me as he walked past, and I took it as we were not quite friends but we respected one another. I watched him leave, the only other person in the building I would know, and I felt a little pang of sadness as I realized I was still locked out with no idea what to do. I wandered outside, hissing as my skin made contact with the brilliant sun. I ducked back into the cool shadows, watching as the angry red welts on my skin darkened, and then started to fade, the pain dimming and dying out all together. I grinned as I brushed my hand over the unblemished skin, laughing quietly to myself.
"Awesome." I said, and I turned back to the hallway, walking forwards and going back to the kitchen area. I grabbed the broken cup and squeezed, watching as it broke in my hand, shredding my palm. I brushed all of the pieces off, picking them out of my palm before the skin healed. I grabbed a dirty rag and started to clean up the blood, ignoring the burning in my throat as my thirst kept making it known. I sat in one of the chairs and played with the dirt on the table, drawing people and animals and writing things. I waited until Tobi or Deidara came back and hoped no one new came to interrupt me. I had enough of surprises