Chapter 7- Observation

"Deidara-san, if you don't get up this minute I'm going to leave you."

His blue eyes cracked open, and glanced out the guest-bedroom window. It was still dark outside! He groaned and turned over to look at the peeved medic.

"Sakura-chan, it's not even daylight out yet…"

"No, it isn't. But I've got a shift at the hospital starting in 45 minutes, and if you're not coming I'm leaving you here to be assassinated by whoever thinks they can get away with it."

"Aww, you'd take revenge for me?"

"No. I just don't like people coming into my apartment without permission."

She was already out the door, and missed seeing the pout on his face. But he climbed out of the bed and tried only half-successfully to ignore the freezing cold wooden floors. The dresser across the room was bare except for a hairbrush and a single holster, and somewhere in the back of his head, a whisper said it needed pictures and keepsakes to clutter it up a bit. Two things he would begin collecting very soon. But for now, he opened a few drawers, pulling out a change of clothing, and then took to the bathroom for a morning shower, which managed to go absolutely frigid when he was only halfway through. When he told Sakura, her response was:

"That's because this hot water heater serves for two households. We live in a duplex, y'know. The neighbors are civilians, and the dad takes his showers in the mornings. Your best bet is to get up earlier than he does."

"And when is that?"

"Listen for his alarm tomorrow and you'll know." She was grabbing her keys already, and he had no choice but to skip what he had hoped would be the first relaxing breakfast since… well, since quite a while, anyway. He couldn't even remember the last time he had breakfast, much less the last relaxing one.

The walk to the hospital was quieter than he expected. It seemed most people really were still in bed at this hour, and it wasn't just laziness settling in early. Sakura's swift, solid strides carried her quickly and without hesitation; though as he followed, even without standing beside her, he noticed that she was actually quite small. He didn't have any room to talk, mind you; he was only 5'5" himself. So… basing it on an artistic guess, he mentally declared her 5'3".

He kept up with her power-walk, but didn't get beside her. He watched her, but made sure his gaze wasn't intense enough to get her attention. One could possibly call it his version of humble obedience, but it would never last for long. Right now… he was just observing.

Her name was Sakura, and it suited her complexion well, at least. The former Iwa-nin wondered what sort of gene pool could pop out her lovely coloring, but there wasn't even a vague possibility of him asking. Her skin looked like it wouldn't hold a tan no matter how many hours she spent under the sun, which was amusing. And contrary to what he'd remembered about her appearance, she wasn't doll-like at all. There was a slightly angular set to her features, and her eyes were more slanted than she probably wanted. A sly, cat-like quality.

Well, instead of sly… Intelligent. Unlike her name, she didn't look fragile at all.

A smile quirked his lips. She was definitely different, his new toy.


"Sakura-sama, this chart-?"

"Goes to room 408's Giichi-san. Someone mixed it up with room 804's Kiki-chan. They must've glanced at it wrong. Hamura-obaa-chan in ICU needs to get checked on by the nurse on duty every half-hour, and inform me of any changed immediately. That heart attack she had may be peanuts to the injuries we get, but it looks like it shut part of her heart down. I refuse to take chances. And this," she held out a five-inch thick stack of manila folders, her eyes never leaving the medical chart she was reading, "needs to go to Inuzuka Kiba. He came by for a check-up the other day, and left this paperwork here. I won't say it was on purpose, but I'm sure he understands that's what I'm thinking."

"Also, Sakura-sama…"

"Yes?"

"Who…?"

"My new pet. Think of him as an overgrown kitten or a potted plant. Just ignore him and go on with your work."

"… Yes ma'am…"

Deidara had to sulk. Just a little, at least. "Who's a potted plant?"

"Don't grumble. I also suggested overgrown kitten." From the rickety pipe chair in the corner, Deidara had a difficult time suppressing the desire to stick his tongue out at her back. Sakura'd been staring at that desk for the last nine hours. They hadn't even gone for lunch. He'd shout it to the whole damn village here in a minute.

"I'm hungry."

"Nice to meet you, Hungry."

His futile attempts to get her to put down paperwork were getting simpler. At first, he'd tried wandering off in the hospital. Sakura waited for him to slink back to her office, and then sighed when Shizune appeared behind him in a rage. The patients were too disturbed, the staff was practically on red alert, and the summary of it meant he was, for the remainder of the day, confined to Sakura's office.

Damn it, he wanted food, but she hadn't stopped doing paperwork longer than it took to pop her back and grab one cup of water the whole time. Not even when someone was talking to her. He growled.

"Sakura-chan, it's two in the afternoon, and I haven't eaten for the last twenty hours. If you didn't have breakfast, you haven't either, yeah. It's time to eat. If you were your own doctor, you'd be saying that, right?"

Oh praise God, her pen stopped.

"Five minutes."


"What happened to five minutes? That was five hours ago."

She was the one sulking now. Deidara looked about as happy as a wet cat, but when one boiled it down, he had been extremely patient. In the end, he'd stolen her pen, broken it in half, and then proceeded to drag her out of the clinic. It seemed that her actual shift had ended more than six hours ago. Chieko, one of the desk workers, had chanced a wobbly smile when she spoke to him.

"I bet… no one told you how much of a workaholic Sakura-sama is, did they?"

"Your pet will die if you don't make sure it gets three meals per 24-hour period, Sakura-chan." She blushed and grimaced, but didn't say anything. Good. She was reflecting. Deidara sighed, and decided he would forgive her. It was nice knowing that someone had common sense enough to recognize their mistakes. "Well, if you don't want to eat out just say so. I'll cook for you at home."

"You can cook?"

"Every bachelor should be able to cook his own meals."

"I'm sure you're one of the very few of that opinion."

Deidara didn't say anything to that. From the look on his face, she guessed he was used to that opinion, and probably laughed at people when they realized they should've followed his example. She could quite see where it would come in handy, both from a personal and professional standpoint.

They made a stop by Ichiraku, and surprisingly, Naruto wasn't there. The tenchou said Konohamaru had come to retrieve a to-go order for he and the Hokage an hour or so ago, and Sakura had to ask how that worked.

Apparently, it was assigned as a D-rank mission to his team. Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon each had a container in both left and right hands, and Moegi with the best balance had a third on her head.

Deidara's jaw may have gone slack, but the best Sakura could manage was a grave, pitying nod. She'd had to master that technique herself; though eventually she discovered his kage bunshin no jutsu was good for even more extra-combat purposes than she originally thought.

The meal was… pleasant. The old man was at ease around Deidara, which came from his civilian background… but it was more than that, she thought. She'd noticed it the day before, but the former Iwa-nin was very… child-like. Not innocent in the ways of the world, but in the ways of normal people, it seemed he was ignorant. Common courtesy almost seemed to mystify him. The easy smiles of the old grandpa behind the counter made him smile in return, and when he did it was with the sparkling purity of a kid. A sweet kid, that didn't have any idea of the evils around him. One that had never seen bloodshed, but maybe… maybe had also never known love. Or maybe he had known love… and then lost it.

In the muted natural lighting of paper lanterns, his hair glowed a tawny color, deep, like the color of wheat. His blue eyes were so deep and clear that she vaguely remembered a festival one year, where she'd been sitting alone in a castle's courtyard, luring out an enemy; she'd been standing on a bridge, staring into the most beautiful koi pond she'd ever seen, when fireworks when up and lit the water all the way down to the rocks. It was that same look, with the light and the sparkle of laughter lighting up his eyes.

Sakura wouldn't lie. There was a lot of difference between the current Deidara and the one she remembered from the ANBU Bingo Book pictures; even between the current him, and the one she remembered from their brief skirmish at the sealing statue before he escaped. He also seemed different from every profile she'd ever been given. He wasn't an explosive personality. He didn't seem to be the 'attack first, ask questions later' type. Those were the descriptors she'd been given. When Sasuke killed Orochimaru and returned to the village, he'd brought back enormous amounts of information with him—especially on Akatsuki. She'd memorized those files so thoroughly she could quote them backwards letter for letter if need be.

Deidara, former Iwagakure ninja. Received into the village for official training at age 8, graduated Academy six months later. Attained rank of Jounin at age 13. Defected for reasons unknown, though by Sasuke's report it was because he wanted "more freedom to perfect his art," meaning his explosives. Entered Akatsuki at age 15. Currently age 19.

He was known for explosives, and aerial espionage. A top shinobi, one of the top ten in the world at least.

He was only three years her senior. How amazing.

Sakura thoughtfully sipped a cup of sake, not bothering to hide that she was staring. He couldn't say anything against her anyway, and it appeared that with his mood lifted, he did not intend to. His eyes, which had always seemed extremely cold and malicious in pictures, now glowed with a gentleness that was actually starting to unnerve her.

Why was he so different? Why did he come here? He said he didn't really have a reason for saving them, but for coming here—for going through everything that had and would possibly continue to happen—what sort of reason did he have? What made him become Akatsuki, and then take a chance with his own life in making a way to escape? What made him seek an enemy both past and present as a hand of saving grace?

This mysterious, childish man was taking up all of her thought-processing power, and it was beginning to piss her off.

So instead of pouring another cup of sake, Sakura picked up and downed the whole bottle in a few long draughts, before scarfing down the remainder of her now slightly soggy miso ramen.

"Gochisousama deshita."

"You're always welcome, miss. Sorry Naruto couldn't be here to eat with you; you two are always so lively, and seem to have so much fun."

"Lively yes; fun is relative. I don't call it fun when I have to haul him home after two bottles of sake and seven bowls of pork ramen. He's heavy." The old man chuckled, though his hands never stopped kneading new dough. She sighed and stood. "The food is amazing as always, tenchou-san. Have a good evening."

"Take care, Sakura-san. And you too, Deidara. I hope you settle in quickly."

Sakura gave the young man a pointedly curious look; but he just smiled brightly, said a word of parting, and slipped out past the low-hanging curtain behind the stall's seating area. She followed him without comment, however. Like he had done previously, she walked just slightly behind him; yet like before, she observed him without hiding her stare. He was either extremely dense or was ignoring it. She didn't have a preference, though she wished she knew more about him.

His shinobi track record, his stats, his techniques; those were things that she knew. Those were things she could find out through any half-decent snitch on the street. Hell, most Jounin—ANBU-ranked or no—could tell you that sort of thing.

What she wanted to know, she couldn't find out from observation.


AN: ... Yes, I finally. Things happened, like a day at work so horrible I cried, and before that I hit a stride in drawing so I spazzed over it for a couple of days. I have a lot of things to work on. Like the four or five DeviantArt contests I've entered myself in. T_T; One thing to praise God for: my chapters have gotten longer. ^^ I was going to make this one longer than it is, but I decided this was a decent stopping place, it would make transition easier, and it would keep the story from rushing so much. On TOP of the "They want to read this, so I should hurry up and get the lead out." So enjoy.

Next Time: The Face of Repentance