Tobi and Deidara had switched places sometime during the night and the process had gone surprisingly smooth. At first light, Deidara prodded Tobi awake and sent him to get breakfast.
As soon as Tobi left, Deidara sat down on the bed with a sigh. Leaning with his elbows on his knees, he watched Sakura as she began to stir awake.
Sakura gave a soft groan and flipped over to her side facing Deidara. She then slowly opened her eyes just enough so that she could make whoever it was whose presence she felt in front of her. Seeing Deidara, she quickly squeezed her eyes shut harder then necessary.
It's only a dream It's only a dream when you wake up, there will be no Akatsuki in the same room as you. There will be no hot blond guy staring at you. When you go to Konoha, there'll only be one blonde and he'll have short hair and whiskers and then you'll go eat ramen with him because this is only a dream. It's only a dream…
Sakura opened her again and frowned.
"You're still here."
Deidara took her statement as a question so he simply shrugged,
"I'll always be here, un."
Sakura sighed and flipped to lie on her back so she could stare at the ceiling.
"I thought it was only a dream."
"Pfft, this is too good to be dream, yeah."
Sakura turned and saw that he was smirking. Within a second, a pillow flew out of nowhere and nailed Deidara head-on. When he finally recovered and straightened himself up,
"What was that for, un?"
"I never asked for this." She said without looking at him as she sat on the bed, hugging her knees and looking glum. "I never asked to be your 'muse'…I never…I never imagined that you, a member of Akatsuki, would end up following me instead of Naruto or even somebody else…Why are you even here?"
Deidara frowned,
"I thought I already told you why?"
"Well…tell me, again."
"Because you're my muse, yeah, and…and I love you."
Sakura remained silent for a few moments and Deidara thought that she had been sated with that answer alone. So he got up and sat next to her, settling an arm around her shoulder. Then, out of nowhere, her voice squeaked out,
"What if you're wrong? What if you're making a big mistake?"
Deidara frowned.
"I'm not, un." He bent forward to nuzzle his nose into her cheek. She pushed his face away.
"No. Stop, Deidara. What if I don't feel the same way? You'll hurt yourself." He pushed her hand out of the way and continued.
"I get hurt all the time. I'm a ninja, yeah."
"This is a mistake." Sakura backed away from him and he finally stopped.
"So what? It's only human to make mistakes, un. Besides, I don't care. Do you have any idea what kind of mistake I'm really making right now?"
"No…what?"
"I'm not giving a damn about Akatsuki, only you. Itachi can freakin' kiss my ass and even that won't make me do anything for them anymore."
Sakura's eyes widened as she thought this over. Was he really going against orders? Against the organization which thrived off of tormenting people?
To Sakura, loyalty was a very important thing and she couldn't even fathom the idea of abandoning Konoha. Sure, she hated killing, but if the Hokage told her that she had to, then she did it. She was a kunoichi, and as such, it was her duty. But she also knew that if ninja ever abandoned their villages, they were hunted down and killed mercilessly. And in reality, that philosophy went for any organization. Especially Akatsuki. They had too many secrets to let anyone get away from them alive.
She looked at Deidara in a new light. He was willing to spend his days running from Akatsuki wrath? He was already labeled a missing nin, so the only place he had to go to right now was the organization comprised of other missing nin. They were the only ones that accepted him. She felt more worry for him then she did for herself, and she had no idea why.
But she reigned her thoughts in as they happily floated closer and closer to the idea of having Deidara around. Inner Sakura must have been waving her whip in that direction, but Sakura knew that this wasn't a good idea. She was in no way to be associated with a missing nin such as Deidara. Not only was she not killing him, but everyone knew that he was from Akatsuki. That would most definitely make her look like a traitor to Konoha and all its allies.
And speaking of Akatsuki again, if they found out that Deidara had no intention of following their rules, they would most likely come to kill him. In fact, they could already know and be on their merry little way towards her and Deidara.
Sakura could just imagine the look of shock on the Hokage's face upon reading the next message scroll: Haruno Sakura, found dead at Inter-Akatsuki battle scene on her way back from mission. Two Akatsuki killed with her.
"…but what if I get hurt?" Sakura said, not because she was scared, but because that was the last reason she could think of that might keep things from getting out of hand. She was playing on the fact that Deidara most likely didn't want her to die, and it was a gamble she was sure she could win. Deidara grinned in response and whispered,
"I'll never let that happen, un."
She turned around to meet his eyes but, before she could respond, Tobi came in with a breakfast tray. Immediately, Deidara and Sakura put a good distance between themselves and acted like they weren't just talking.
"Look what Tobi brought for Pretty Girl! Tobi is a good boy!"
"Tobi, stop running with the food, yeah! You'll drop it!"
"Oh, don't worry Sempai, Tobi got Sempai breakfast, too."
"Yeah, yeah…just put it on the table, un."
As the three took seats for breakfast, Deidara took one next to Sakura and Tobi sat across from her.
"Wow, this stuff looks great, Tobi! You are a good boy!" Sakura exclaimed as she looked at the all the steaming breakfast foods.
"Yay! Tobi is very happy. Does Sempai think Tobi is a good boy?" Tobi clapped his hands together.
"Yeah, Sempai, what do you think?" Sakura elbowed Deidara playfully as she bit down into a stuffed bun.
"Tobi, un, are you sure that nobody saw you?"
"Of course, Sempai! Only Zetsu-San is faster then Tobi!"
"…alright, but we better leave from here soon, yeah, somebody's bound to come after us if that bastard from last night said anything." Deidara reached over to begin stuffing himself.
"Where are we going, Sempai?"
"To Konoha." Sakura answered before Deidara could.
"…uh, yeah, Konoha…" Deidara said as he passed Sakura a warning glance.
"Really? Why are we going there? Ooh! Is it time to catch the Nine Tails now? Tobi is so excited! Tobi will finally get to meet him and-" Tobi was almost trembling with excitement.
"Tobi! No! We're not going to catch the Fox, yet. We're going to escort Sakura back, yeah."
"…'Sakura'? Oh, you mean Pretty Girl?" Tobi pointed at Sakura before he grabbed one her hands in both of his and leaned close to her from across the table.
"Can Tobi keep calling you 'Pretty Girl', Sakura-San? Because Sakura-San is sooo pretty?" Considering that Tobi's voice had completely changed from his childish tone to something a lot older, and that Sakura was not used to taking compliments, she blushed.
Ok….this is weird, a lollipop is flirting with me…
And his voice is totally different… creeeepy
And why is he rubbing my hand like that?!
"uh…just 'Sakura' is fine." Of course, Deidara watched this entire scene a little curiously since this was the first time Tobi had stopped talking like a five year old or expressed interest in a girl. But he didn't think anything was too serious since he knew Tobi, and if Tobi was flirting with his girl, then it's the same as letting a five year old flirt with his girl. No harm done, right? That is until….
"Tobi you idiot! You were trying to rub Sakura's leg weren't you?!" Deidara delivered a swift kick under the table at Tobi's leg and Tobi yelped in pain. No five year olds do that when innocently flirting, now do they?
"But Tobi didn't know what he was doing! Tobi's leg is not being good!" The childish whining tone was back and Sakura looked uncomfortably at the masked man clutching his leg on the floor.
"You got that right. If I catch your leg or any part of you 'not being good' again, it won't be there for much longer, un." Deidara scowled at his partner.
"Okay! Okay! Tobi is very sorry, Sempai! Tobi didn't mean to rub Sempai's leg, Tobi though it was Sakura-San's leg." Tobi whimpered as Deidara's scowl turned into a glare.
Wow, what a pervert.
I thought he was a 'Good boy'. Hah.
"Sakura, hurry up and finish eating, yeah. We have to go, and don't worry, Tobi won't do that again." Deidara told her as he sat back down next to her.
"Yes! Yes! Tobi is a good boy, Sakura-San." Tobi got up and was about to take his own seat but Deidara stopped him.
"No, you're not sitting near Sakura again. Go Stand by the door, un."
Sakura finished her breakfast in silence and thought about what Deidara had said earlier about 'escorting' her. She imagined walking through the gates of Konoha with two Akatsuki walking on either side, all three of them standing proud and strutting through after telling the guards that they were her 'escorts'. Sakura immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter and a chunk of food flew out of her mouth.
Of course Deidara had no idea what she had just visualized, so he was reasonably concerned about her spontaneous laughing fit.
"uh…what is it, un? You okay?" He reached a hand forward to try and help her sit up straight again, but she waved it away.
"Sakura-San is laughing? Sakura-San is happy!?" Tobi inquired from his post by the door.
"I'm fine, don't worry." She said a little breathlessly.
"Then what was that just now?"
"It's just, it's just…you know…" She giggled.
"What?" Deidara was starting to get really worried.
"You. Him, Akatsuki, 'escorting' me! To Konoha!" She pulled her self closer to him and laughed into his shoulder like a giddy child. That's when it finally clicked in his mind at how ridiculous that plan looked. He grinned. He had only made that up for Tobi and it seemed like a logical reason for them to go to Konoha with Sakura at the time, especially since he wasn't planning to officially 'escort' her, but now that he thought about, the hypothetical image was ludicrous.
"What are you guys going to do when we get there?" Sakura asked as she lifted her face from his shoulder.
"I don't know, but we'll think about that when we get closer to Konoha, un." He fingered the fabric of her shirt,
"For now, we need to find you something better to wear, un. You'll get cold again."
"It only gets cold at night, the blankets at the inns are enough." Sakura straightened herself and stood up and walked over to her night stand. Deidara watched her as she re-outfitted herself with all of her weapons. Ideally, that should have been the first thing for her to do after waking up, but he supposed it was okay since he was there to protect her anyway.
He watched mesmerized, as she swung her leg up onto the edge of the bed to strap on her kunai holster and carefully put all the poison senbon back in place. The smooth expanse of skin caused him to form a light sweat so that he had to swallow and look away. He was positive that it wasn't just her hair that caught everyone's attention.
--
When they finally left the inn, Deidara and Tobi both had inverted their cloaks. They strolled to the small square in the center of the town on Deidara's orders.
"But we'll waste time, Deidara, we have to leave as soon as possible!" Sakura complained as she slumped against the wall of a small store. She was in no mood for shopping, and had no idea why Deidara, of all people, was.
"Don't worry, un. Look, I got us here before dark last night, right? I'll get us to Konoha on time, too." He said as he peeked into the store's windows. "Look, this one seems good, let's go."
"Can Tobi have a lollipop?" Tobi tugged on Deidara's sleeve as Deidara walked into the store and Sakura was obliged to follow.
"You already look like one….Deidara, this isn't good, you'll both be recognized by the townspeople." Sakura grumbled as she came to stand next to Deidara who stood in front of a rack of clothes.
"Relax Sakura. Tobi has a special genjutsu that makes us look different to other people." He picked a pair of pants from the rack.
"Oh really? It must be so powerful that I can't even sense it." She bit out sarcastically with her arms crossed.
"It is." He answered her distractedly before holding the pair of pants up for her. "Here, try these on."
"What?!" She took a step back as if he'd just burned her or suggested something completely heinous.
"I'm serious, you should wear pants, un."
"Deidara, this is fire country, do you have any idea how hot it gets?" She looked at him appalled. First, because he was a guy trying to get her to try on clothes, and second because he was making no sense whatsoever.
"…but I don't want you to get sunburned, yeah…" He said lamely but with a pleading look in his eyes. The real reason he wanted her to wear pants was because she probably made it really hot for other guys, but he couldn't tell her that.
"Deidara, I'm a medic, I can easily treat any of my own injuries."
"Please Sakura, just put them on, yeah?" He said softly as he placed the pants in her hands. Sakura looked down at the pants and then at his face. With a huff, she made her way to the changing room. A moment later she walked out with a scowl on her face,
"It looks like I'm wearing a bag!"
Deidara grinned, "Yeah, but you make that bag look good."
Sakura was standing in front of a mirror surveying her backside when she turned to give Deidara a glare, unfortunately for her, the effect was lost since she was blushing. Again.
Gah! He's always saying these stupid things! And I know they're stupid. But why do I keep blushing?!
Maybe because you like it….
No! I hate it!
Denial…
And why does he want me to wear this, for God's sake? It's hideous!
Actually….it's not that bad….look
No! It looks…it looks…the color isn't right!
He is an artist dear, he's got an eye for design. Don't deny it.
Deidara chuckled lightly as Sakura spent a little too long in front of the mirror.
"Right then, we're getting that for you, hey Tobi!"
"Yes Sempai?" Tobi popped out from between the two nearby racks.
"Grab some food for the trip and wait outside while we pay for this, un."
"What?! Do I not get any say in this?!" Sakura yelped, indignant as she clutched the fabric on her pants for emphasis.
"Well…you can pick a different color, but that one tones down your hair pretty well, yeah." He said with a straight face, not there was anything funny about the situation.
"Deidara…what are you planning to do?" Sakura sighed and rubbed her brow as she finally caught on to the situation.
"When you were talking about being 'escorted' and stuff this morning… it got me thinking, that it would look really weird and stuff if people saw you traveling with two strangers in black cloaks…and you're recognized really easily, so we're all going to try to blend in and look like regular travelers….just to be safe."
"Yeah, but…isn't this a little overboard?" Sakura said as she began to unbutton the pants and roll them down. Deidara had no idea what she was doing, and right in the middle of the store, too! Oh crap, now he was staring at her. He diverted his eyes back to her face and answered a little shakily.
"Everyone knows you're a Konoha kunoichi and they'll see you traveling with us and think it's weird. D-Didn't you say you didn't want anyone to know who we are?" He watched as Sakura looked down to pull down her zipper and begin pulling her pants down, he finally couldn't handle it anymore and before she could answer his question,
"Sakura! What are you doing, yeah?"
"huh? I'm just taking these off….relax, I'm wearing my short under them." She saw that Deidara was standing with his cloak spread open around her to block her off from other's view. He looked kind of ridiculous, like some superhero. Unfortunately, people would clearly be able to see the Akatsuki clouds if they happened to walk by. But to his dismay, Tobi ran in with his bag of food.
"Oh! Is Sempai playing a game?! Tobi wants to play too! Tobi too!" A vein throbbed on Deidara's forehead as he whirled around with his cloak billowing about him.
"No, Tobi! I told you wait outside, yeah!"
"But Tobi only came in because he wanted to tell you something! Something importaaant…"
"Tobi, how important can it be if you can't wait a minute outside?"
"Tobi saw some ninjas from Konoha."
"You what?!" Deidara nearly shouted at the same time as Sakura said "Konoha? Really?"
By now, Sakura had taken the pants off and held them in her arms and Deidara had fixed his cloak.
"I should go meet them and find out what's going on." Sakura was about to leave their corner in the store but Deidara grabbed her arm.
"No! They can't know that we're traveling with you, un. And they might be able to recognize us."
"I thought you said Tobi did a genjutsu?"
"I lied. Tobi, are they outside in the front of the store?"
"Yup!" Tobi nodded happily.
"What?! I knew it!" Sakura pointed her finger at Deidara, but he grabbed the pointing hand and pulled her towards another rack. She didn't even bother trying to meet the her fellow Konoha ninja, knowing resistance to Deidara at this point would be futile.
"Ok then, we'll pay for this and grab some other stuff then leave from the back, yeah."
Deidara quickly grabbed a few more items of clothing and paid for them at the register, before coming back to wear Tobi and Sakura stood. Tossing them their garments, he told them to put them on as he went to change as well.
"I look like a civilian. And why the hat?" Sakura asked as she walked out to meet them in her new wardrobe.
"Pink hair, yeah. Nobody else has pink hair." Deidara said as he straightened out his own, dull civilian pants and shirt. He had stuffed his cloak and clothes into the pack on his back.
"Tobi thinks Sakura-San looks nice." Tobi pointed out as he picked at his shirt collar. His orange mask was still in place.
"Shut up, un." Deidara cast an annoyed glance at his partner.
"Tobi, what about your mask? It's a little more noticeable then my hair…." Sakura asked as she straightened the wide brimmed hat on her head.
"It's really weird, but nobody ever notices Tobi's mask. It's like they just don't see it or think it's abnormal, un….so it shouldn't be a problem. Ok then, lets go, yeah."
"Really?" Sakura inquired as they exited through the store's service entrance together.
"Yeah, I mean just look. He should stick out like a sore thumb but nobody even spares him a second glance." Deidara pointed out at the nearby people as an example.
"Wow."
"Tobi is a good boy!"
And just like that, the unlikely trio avoided the other ninja and was well into the direction of Konoha. Unfortunately, as mock-civilians they couldn't use they chakra to travel, so they all had to walk on foot down the well trodden path.
"At this rate, it's going to take days! Thanks a lot for making us civilians, Deidara." Sakura said bitterly as she stomped ahead.
"I didn't think there'd be other shinobi around, un." He said tiredly.
"Sempai…when…will we take a break?" Tobi asked breathlessly from the back.
"How about now, 'Sempai'?" Sakura stopped in the middle of the road and walked to the clearing on the side.
Lol...yeah, new chapter in a long time...more of a practice run for the next MC chappie
