Author's Note: Um... guys? You out there, reading this?
I... I'm sorry, but... I feel my steam running out. Please review, okay? Okay? I REALLY WANNA FINISH THIS STORY! Motivate me please!
Thank you to Kate, Drake, and the mysterious Mystery person (who's true identity is unknown!)
Please review... if you haven't before... I love my reviews, I WUV THEM!
Chapter Eight
A fire blazed, luminous, in the center of the dark cave, flickering and throwing shadows of the two people that sat beside it against the moist walls.
Deidara and Sakura sat at opposite ends of the fire.
Every once in a while, Deidara glanced up at Sakura to see how she was doing.
And every time he just saw the same thing. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and was staring into the fire, a dead look in her eyes.
Deidara eventually threw the stick he had been poking the ground with into the flames and stood up.
"You can't keep going like that." he said.
Sakura was silent.
"Sakura?" he said.
"Why should I go on," whispered Sakura, "If I have nothing to go on for?"
Deidara sighed and sat back down. "When you get back to your village, I'm sure you could prove that... that-"
"That I was working with you?" she said. "Yeah. They'll love that."
"You could just tell them that... that wasn't you!" said Deidara.
Sakura gave him an angry stare.
Deidara slid down against the damp cave wall. "Well... there must be some way to prove that what you were doing was... was fine."
"No I can't." moaned Sakura.
Deidara let out a long breath.
"Sakura, you have to find something to live for, or you'll stop wanting to live."
Sakura looked up, surprised at the deep comment.
"Maybe... maybe you were insane before after all." she said.
Deidara smiled.
"But I still don't like you." said Sakura.
"Wha... why?" said Deidara.
"You're annoying." said Sakura, grinning.
"Oh come ON!" Deidara said, falling back. "I saved you from dying, TWICE, helped you fight the Akatsuki... what does it take to please you, yeah?"
"Why do you care, anyway?" said Sakura, curiously. "Hey... what's YOUR reason to live?"
"My reason to live." said Deidara, "Is to find a reason to live."
"Figures." said Sakura. "But... I have a question."
"Shoot." said Deidara, sitting back up.
"Even if you are sane now... that doesn't explain why-"
They both heard a noise and tensed.
"What was that?" said Deidara.
"I don't know." said Sakura, standing up, "But that-"
"It's okay, children." said a voice. "I will not hurt you."
An old woman walked forward from the shadows were she had hidden in the back of the cave, and sat in front of the fire.
Deidara and Sakura looked at each other.
"Um, er... we didn't..." stuttered Deidara.
"We didn't know that this was... uh," Sakura went on.
"Your..."
"Your cave, we-"
The old woman held up her hand. "It wasn't my cave." she said. "I was just here."
"Uh... oh." said Deidara.
"Awkward moment..." whispered Sakura out of the corner of her mouth.
"Shush!" whispered Deidara.
"Children." said the old lady, oblivious to their whispered words. "Would you like to hear... a story?"
"A... story?" said Sakura.
Deidara tilted his head. "What kind of a story?"
"A story that's been passed down from generation to generation, hundreds of years... the story of the Bird, the Spider, and the Snake. Would you like to hear it?"
Deidara and Sakura looked at each other, and saw in each other's eyes the same baffled look. They turned back to the elderly woman.
"O...okay." said Sakura.
And the old lady began her story.
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The Old Woman's Story: The Bird, the Spider, and the Snake
Once upon a time, there lived three villages. While not exactly on friendly terms, they lived in peace, apart from each other. One was called Pahana, one was called Arania, and one was called Resepen.
One day, the village of Pahana discovered that one of it's precious heirlooms was missing. They did not know which of the ones from the other villages stole them, but warned them both. None of them confessed to taking anything.
The next day, another artifact was stolen from the village of Arania. Then, later something was stolen from Resepen.
The villages blamed each other, and argued. The arguments turned into fighting, and yelling at each other, and finally the villages gave in to war.
They practically destroyed each other. When the battles were over, the three villages sent one person from each of their villages to go out into the wilderness in search of a new life.
The people sent from the villages met in the forest, and decided to stick together so they could survive. They didn't like each other very much, but it had to be done.
Before long, the girl from Pahana started to fall in love with the boy from Resepen. But the boy ignored her.
The boy from Arania saw all this, and secretly harbored his own love for the girl, but said nothing, only comforting her when he let her down.
One day, the three were out hunting when they saw something surprising.
Sitting on a nearby branch were a bird, a spider, and a snake, seemingly deep in conversation.
The three children were surprised to see the animals talk and hid nearby, but the Pahanan girl tripped and the animals turned to them.
The three started to apalogize but the animals stopped them and explained that they had been looking for three humans to pass their spirits onto them, because they were spirit-animals and needed human blood to be passed down in.
The boy from Resepen, always searching for power, asked what was in it for them. The animals responded that it would give them great powers.
So the spirits flowed into the children's souls, and the girl from Pahana became the Bird, the boy from Arania became the Spider, and the boy from Resepen became the Snake.
They were all pleased with their powers, which they learned to use after some time... except for the Snake. He saw that the other two had gotten more power than he had, and this angered him.
The one that had gotten the most power had been the girl from Pahana, the Bird, and she could fly, and heal, and was stronger than the two other boys combined.
The spider also found his own way to fly, with different methods and his powers. He had a creative and open mind, and the Bird started to notice this. They started to fall in love.
But the power-hungry Snake went to the Bird and told her that he loved her. The Bird was confused, but happy.
The Spider saw through it, and pleaded with the Snake to stop it. But the Snake acted as if he knew nothing that the Spider was talking about.
The Spider knew that he had to stop what was happening. So, with a heavy heart, he waited for night to fall.
They were all together, asleep on the ground, except for the Spider. He woke up the Bird, and whispered to her that no matter what, they would find each other again.
And then he picked up the sleeping Snake with one of his flying instruments and disappeared into the forest.
He had given the Snake a sleeping serum, and so the Snake slept until the Spider dropped him off at a village.
The Spider then went to another village.
The Birds woke up alone. After much crying over the loss of her two closest friends, she collected herself and set off to find a village.
They all got married and had children, passing along the spirits of their animals as they did so. Eventually, how to use the powers was forgotten. And this story faded away.
But the birds still remember.
And the birds still cry for their lost love.
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By the time that the story was over, Sakura was leaning on Deidara's shoulder. She suddenly realized this and sat back up, embarrased.
"So... that's it?" said Sakura, propping her head up on her hands. "Did they ever find each other?"
The old lady said nothing, only sat and closed her eyes.
"But he promised!" blurted Sakura.
The old lady looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes. "I never said they didn't."
She stood up, and so did Deidara and Sakura.
"Well, er... thanks for the story!" said Deidara, rubbing the back of his head. "But, um... where are you going to sleep? I mean-"
The old woman dissolved into dust that spread on the wind and disappeared.
Sakura just stood there, but Deidara freaked out.
"AAAH!" he shouted, dropping to the ground and pulling his pack over his head.
"What?" said Sakura.
"C-c-creepy ghost lady!" he said.
"Oh, come on." Sakura huffed, though a little spooked herself. "She's gone now. You can come out."
Deidara's scared face peeked out from under the pack. "B-but she... she dissolved! I don't like this, yeah!"
Sakura gave an involuntary laugh and bent down. "Oh, come on! Are you scared?"
"N...no!" said Deidara, blushing and sitting up as he flung the pack to the side. "I'm scared of nothing!"
"Yeah. Just keep telling yourself that." muttered Sakura. She curled up on the floor and closed her eyes.
"Hey-! I-!" Deidara said, but then he leaned closer to Sakura and saw her chest rising and falling slowly.
"Whatever." he grumbled, and tried to get into a comfortable position. He then realized that one of his hand-mouths was gnawing on his pack.
"Cut that out!" he said to it, pulling his hand back. It just dragged the bag with it.
A smile slowly spread across Sakura's face.
"Hey! So you were awake!" he said, turning his attention away from his hand.
"Never said I wasn't." she answered.
"You'll be the death of me, I swear." groaned Deidara, trying to pull the pack off with his feet. "A little... help... here?" he said hopefully.
"Help yourself." said Sakura, yawning and stretching out.
The hand gagged and spat the pack out.
"Yes, finally!" said Deidara. "I can sleep..." He collapsed on the cave floor and was asleep instantly.
Sakura opened her eyes.
He really is cute when he's all frantic like that.
AAAAAAH! thought Sakura, gripping her head. S-stop thinking stuff like that! It'll make you crazy!
But it still was cute.
Sakura slammed her head against the wall, trying to clear her head.
The thoughts went away, so she did it again. She didn't notice that Deidara had woken up and was staring at her.
Why is she slamming her head against the wall? he thought.
"Er... Sakura?" he said.
She turned to him. They looked at each other for a while.
Sakura let out a sigh.
"You saw that, didn't you." she said.
"Uh-huh." said Deidara, nodding. Then, he leaned against the wall.
Their eyes slid towards each other.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" said Sakura, blushing.
"May I ask you the same thing?" Deidara answered.
They turned away from each other, faces red, and slept.
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"No!" said Naruto, anger in his voice. "It... it can't be!"
Tsunade pushed the two pictures towards him. "Naruto, listen to me. Had Sakura been acting strange before the incident with Zetsu?"
"NO!" said Naruto. "Sakura would never... EVER join the Akatsuki!"
"Lady Tsunade." said Gaara, peeking over Naruto's shoulder. "Deidara isn't wearing his headband, robes, or ring in this picture. Isn't it a little strange-"
"Gaara." said Lady Tsunade. "Look at this. Why would Sakura be working with Deidara? He's still a missing-nin, evil. He was an assassin before he came to the Akatsuki, you know."
"She would never... do that to us..." Naruto whispered hoarsely.
Tsunade took the pictures and slid them into a folder.
"For now, though... it's official." she said, looking into Naruto's eyes.
"Sakura is now an official missing-nin."
