Hey everyone! I am back!!!!
Here is the latest installment of Kure-Tori.
Now just to set things straight, this is multi-character. The plot does not revolve entirely around just Deidara and just Sakura's relationship. It has to do with a lot more. Their relationship is just the main pairing as well as the story is from their focal points.
I have not said anything about any other pairings. Be clear on that. I said that Hinata had a crush on Naruto, not that they would get together. I know, hate me, but it has been overused way too much and I want this to be a little different. Don't worry, I'll give her a happy ending. Just I don't know with who.
Naruto is going to get smart and fast. Just to give you a heads up, he will be using shadow clones to learn and so he speeds up the process that way. But he has a lot more to learn then he initially thought. He will be learning for many chapters to come on different things as well as Deidara and Sakura.
But for now:
Enjoy
Kure-Tori
Chapter 8
Lessons to be Learned
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, yeah. Or it would be totally different! Dattebayo!
Deidara sighed again as he stared at the ceiling. Darkness had invaded the room a good two hours ago when the sun had set and Sakura had turned out the lights after dragging Naruto away from his room so he could get some sleep.
He couldn't sleep.
He had closed his eyes and feigned sleep as long as he could, but he just couldn't sleep. Before, Sakura had put him under and he never noticed until now that he could not sense chakra. Sensing chakra required one to use their chakra, which he could not do at this time. So every sound kept him awake and alert.
After hearing another creak coming from the floorboards expanding, he finally used all the strength he could muster and sat up. He turned on a lamp and looked about with a weary gaze before grabbing one of the zillion of books Naruto had brought into his room to study.
Naruto had been hard to sit with at first because he would squirm around, but after Deidara instructed him to find some clay in the desk drawer and mold it while they talked, he was able to focus better.
In one day, they had gone over a vast amount of things that Naruto should have known. They had skipped the history for now and Deidara concentrated on letters and numbers.
Naruto, to his disbelief, didn't know a lot of kanji. He said he just guessed at what they meant with the words he did know. Deidara put a stop to that immediately.
The teenager would have tried to rip out his hair at the thought of a sixteen year old not knowing their letters or basic grammar, but he couldn't muster up the strength. He managed to rub his temples as he thought up the solution.
"Go," he had ordered, pointing at the door with one hand, "get as many empty scrolls as you can as well as dictionaries and as many grammar books. Use Kage Bushin. Make the clones the grammar books and practice your letters in the scrolls. Use up to fifty if you can, just learn this and learn this now."
Naruto had gone and done exactly as he was directed and soon Deidara's large room was filled with clones and some more clones were in other rooms studying.
Then Deidara decided to quiz the boy on other subjects just to get a feel for him. On occasion, the clones would come in and ask questions. Not stupid questions or nonsense blabbering like Tobi, but good questions that needed direction. If Deidara didn't know, he would send the clones to Sakura.
She had nearly had a heart attack the first time they all had come up to her, but after asking 'what the hell is going on here and you two better not be up to trouble', she would answer their questions without a second thought. She eventually ended up sitting on one corner of Deidara's bed as Naruto sat next to Deidara as they went over the context of the books.
She had been reading her thick medic books happily listening to the two talk endlessly.
One question had caught him by surprise though. He even noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Sakura lift up her head to listen.
"How did you get so smart, Deidara?" Naruto had asked him after he answered another question Naruto didn't know, "Did you have a lot of teachers to teach you all of this stuff?"
Deidara just shook his head before answering the other blonde.
"You and me are very similar, yeah. It is rare to find a person who is very observant to everything around them. I have been alone for a very long time. I had to learn for survival, yeah. Most of my knowledge is trial and err, but some is from knowing the basics and applying it where I need to."
Naruto had stared at him for a moment with that fox like expression of thoughtfulness, but then went back to asking questions.
Eventually it had become lunch, which soon became dinner, and Sakura had finally been able to drag Naruto out saying he had worn out Deidara enough for one day.
But Deidara just couldn't sleep. He ran his fingers through his hair as he cast a glance at the history book he had grabbed.
"Might as well, yeah," Deidara said as he opened it up and began to read.
It was going to be a long night.
Naruto was eager the very moment he had woken up. Last night after Sakura had dragged him to bed, he released all his bushin and passed out and slept through the night.
He was very excited to know all those words and now have an understanding that he never had before.
He didn't know if Deidara would be awake yet, since the sun had yet to rise, but Naruto was too excited to learn to lay in bed. So he dressed himself and quietly headed to Deidara's bedroom to retrieve one of the books to see how much he had learned.
What a surprise to see Deidara sitting up with bags under his eyes looking at the other blonde who had quietly opened up the sliding door.
"Shouldn't you be asleep, 'tebayo?" Naruto asked as he looked at the time on the clock next to Deidara's bed.
"Shouldn't you be asleep, yeah?" Deidara shot back as he returned to the history book that was almost finished.
"I woke up early," Naruto said as he closed the door after entering the room, "You look like you haven't slept at all."
Deidara just squirmed a bit, but didn't reply. His eyes glued to the pages of the book.
"You… didn't sleep… did you?" Naruto asked as he sat on the other side of the bed.
"Nope," Deidara said with a sigh, knowing Naruto wasn't going to drop it until he told him, "I couldn't sleep, yeah."
"You look tired enough to sleep though," Naruto shot back with a pout on his face, "So why are you still awake?"
Deidara muttered something under his breath as he turned the page of the book just to see the end notes.
"I didn't catch that," Naruto said as he leaned in closer.
"I said, I can't sense chakra. I don't feel safe without being able to do that, thus I cannot sleep, yeah."
The blush was evident on Deidara's face even with the soft lighting. He was embarrassed to be so vulnerable. Naruto knew the nineteen year old hated it. He noticed it during the many events that had him go and get books and supplied instead of Deidara.
"…Oh…" Naruto said, immediately quiet before speaking again, "I'll stay in here if that makes you feel better."
"Obaasan and Sakura will wonder what you're doing in my room so early, yeah." Deidara grumbled as he finally looked up from his book.
"I'll just get back to my room before they wake up. We're ninjas. They are like clockwork when it comes to waking and sleeping unless the mission demands otherwise."
Naruto was amazed at how well spoken he had said that. Usually he would have said something like 'They won't wake up till they have to. And I'll be back in my room before they even get up to check on you.'
"Books are helping," Deidara noted with a nod before adding, "As long as you don't get them worried over this, please, do that."
"Sure," Naruto said before hopping up and grabbing one of the novels he was suppose to read, "I'll just be reading. Go to sleep."
Deidara nodded before slipping back down into the laying position and closed his eyes. He didn't even realize how tired he was until he fell asleep in the matter of seconds.
Naruto on the other hand had waited for Deidara to fall asleep before summoning ten clones. He had kept his voice low and ordered them to go about the books and continue practicing. He also told them to dispel themselves one at a time to see if that would help the brain rush he got every time their knowledge came back to him.
Each went about their work and would dispel themselves after they finished their work. Naruto only made more when they did.
He smirked as he thought about being right. One at a time didn't make him woozy at all.
Time went by quickly and soon Naruto had all his clones dispel and he headed back into his room to catch a half an hour worth of sleep before getting breakfast ready. He knew Tsunade would be up in a matter of ten minutes.
Quietly, he snuck out of Deidara's room, making sure the other blonde was still asleep before getting back in bed and resting before the day officially began.
Sakura stretched as she rose from her bed. It was still early in the morning, but she had a lot of things she needed to do before she was stuck indoors all day watching over Deidara.
Not that he was a bother.
It was amazing listening to him as he helped Naruto make sense of everything. He was able to say things just so precise that Naruto could understand. What even amazed her was his insight on how to keep the usually restless blonde concentrated.
Clay.
Ordinary molding clay that didn't grime up a person's hands.
Once Naruto's hands were busy, he took off like a rocket educational wise.
Why didn't anyone else think of that?
Probably because that was how Deidara learned how to concentrate.
Sakura couldn't help but smile at her thoughts as she showered in her bathroom.
She was really proud of Naruto. He really came a long way in just one day. Over seven books and that was with Deidara summarizing them and then telling different clones to read each book once they got done just to make sure Naruto would remember.
All to quickly, her shower ended and she dried herself and readied herself for the day. Her hair was still wet when she went outside, noticing the coolness of the morning air helped clear any grogginess she had. Tsunade was up as well and heading out the main gate.
"Shishou," Sakura whispered as she caught up with her master.
"Ah, good morning Sakura, how are things?" Tsunade asked as the two exited the compound and began to walk on the still empty streets, "Did Naruto do well with the books I gave him?"
"He is with Rei's help," Sakura replied with a smile, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Tsunade grinned as she stared at her pupil, "Rei has a tendency to help when she feels like it. If Naruto had gained some respect, which I didn't doubt for a second after Jiraiya and his rude comments, then Rei would help. She would help me with my paperwork just to pass the day away when she was still following me around. By the way, you had better get back before she wakes, she-"
"Hates being alone." Sakura said, finishing off the other woman's sentence, "I know, Shishou, I just need to run to the library and pick up a few things, then get some more groceries, and then straight back. She probably won't be up for another half an hour or so."
Tsunade just nodded and looked at her student, "My ANBU reported that she was up most of the night last night."
Sakura's head snapped over to look at her teacher, "What?"
"Apparently, around dawn Naruto came in for a book, but ended up discovering Rei awake. From what they could hear without giving themselves away, Rei couldn't sleep because she couldn't sense chakra and it unnerved her."
Sakura looked panicked at the thought of Deidara not getting enough rest. He was prone to illnesses in his weakened state and not getting enough sleep would lower in immunity even more. It was what Tsunade said next that kept her from going back and giving him a good check up right then and there.
"She's asleep now. Naruto stayed with her for the rest of the morning and read while she rested. For now, let's not let them know we have caught on. It's good for their relationship."
"But her immunity-"
"You'll just have to be super careful with her then. Give her a couple check-ups a day and make sure everything is alright. Give her all her vitamin pills and mineral pills and just keep a really close eye on her. If she starts to get sleepy, kick Naruto out, create a clone to help him if he gets stuck, and tell her to take a nap without leaving her alone. You're the one who's currently in charge so remind them of that if they start giving you lip."
Sakura nodded before Tsunade made a turn to head for work.
"Oh," Tsunade said with one last thought, "Tell Naruto that it's only you three for breakfast. Sai might show up later, knowing him, but until then no worries."
"Alright," Sakura said as she waved goodbye, "See you at dinner Shishou!"
With that the two parted ways and Sakura headed off to the library. Of course, to the public, the building was currently closed, but to Sakura or any other shinobi with the keys, it was twenty-four hour access.
During her beginning chuunin months, she had been assigned to the library in order to get her familiar with the system. Now, she had a copy of the keys and was allowed to take whatever she pleased as long as she signed them out properly, which of course she did.
She decided to take out a couple books for her, Naruto, and Deidara, so that it wasn't all work all the time.
So as she scanned the book titles she was surprised to see a book written by Jiraiya.
'Probably some of that smut he writes,' Sakura thought as she pulled it out to read the back.
From what the rating was on the back, it wasn't.
"Wow, Jiraiya-san writes more then smut? That's a surprise," Sakura said, but decided to open it up and take a look at the beginning.
Naruto. That was the name of the hero. Sakura flipped the book to the beginning to see when it had been published.
Way before Naruto had been born.
"So if… then… what?" Sakura said to herself as she looked at the book again.
It didn't make sense. Someone obviously named Naruto after the character from the book and Jiraiya was aware of it or he would keep making cracks about it to Naruto. Something didn't add up, but Sakura decided giving the book to Naruto would excite him.
Soon she was hunting down more books. She had discovered the ones that she wanted, but now she was once again looking for Deidara and Naruto. It would have been easier just to ask them, but then again Naruto would probably ask what a library was. So it was just easier this way.
Finally she had pulled out a book about the Valley of the End. She didn't know why, but she put it with the rest of the books and continued on without once thinking of Sasuke. She hummed lightly to herself as she grabbed a couple more books before signing them out and heading to the market that was now just opening.
The streets were still quiet as she bought the things they needed from a 24-hour store, making sure that nothing was already opened or expired and headed home. No one was there to bother her and she was able to get in before she knew Ino was up and about.
If that blonde got wind of her living with Naruto and another male, the platinum would never let her hear the end of it.
She sighed in relief as she closed to main gate's door and was safe within the compound.
Sakura made her way into the kitchen that they used just to hear Naruto banging around in the pantry, pulling out things for breakfast.
"Morning Naruto," Sakura said as she set down the grocery bags.
Naruto turned around and smiled at her once he saw the bags, "Morning Sakura-chan, thanks for getting those. I didn't even know you were up yet."
"Yeah, I've been up since six," Sakura said as she set all the books on the table, "I wanted to get out before Deidara got up. Is he awake yet? I need to give him a check up to see how he's doing so far."
Naruto just shrugged as he started to pull out the groceries, "I haven't checked. You might want to do that while I'm making breakfast, dattebayo."
"Yeah, I'll do that now then," Sakura agreed before remembering the book, "Oh, Naruto. I went to the library and found the strangest thing."
"What? A book written by Jiraiya that wasn't smut?" Naruto joked with a small laugh.
"Exactly that," Sakura said with a serious look on her face, "And the main character has your name."
Naruto paused a moment before looking up at her with a confused face, "When did he write it?"
"Several years before you were born," Sakura replied as she pulled out the book and set it on top, "Maybe you should read it. I don't know it looked… different then the rest of the books the man's wrote."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed as he walked over to it and picked it up, "I probably will."
Sakura left him standing there looking at the book to go and check on Deidara. She quickly grabbed some utensils she would need to give him a non-chakra using check up to make sure he was okay.
After wrapping the stethoscope around her neck, she headed over to his room to check. She didn't knock, but she flared her chakra out of habit. She gently opened the door getting a mumbled 'good morning' out of Deidara who looked like he just woke up.
"Good morning," Sakura whispered as she walked into the room, dodging large stack of books that took over the room, "How are you this morning?"
"Sleepy, yeah," Deidara yawned as he tried to sit up.
Sakura beat him to it and helped prop him up before he would expend his energy before the day even started.
"I need to give you a quick check up, Tsunade reminded me that your immunity is low, so we can't be wearing you out," Sakura said as she sat on his bed looking at him with a smile, "So let's get started before Naruto comes in with breakfast."
Deidara just nodded as he rubbed his left eye sleepily. Sakura just began to do a small check up, asking if he was sleeping well and such as she worked.
He lied, of course, but she never acted like she didn't believe him. After pulling the thermometer out of his mouth and reading the temperature, she clarified the check up done for now.
"You're tired still, go back to sleep," Sakura said when she caught him rubbing his eyes again.
"No, I'm good, yeah," Deidara tried, but she looked unconvinced.
"Then you are going down for a nap after breakfast," Sakura said as she got up and moved a couple books off of his bedside table, "Let's get your vitamins and minerals in you right now before Naruto comes in with breakfast."
He took them slowly, eating more as Sakura handed them to him. She herself was going through all his pills and tablets on the table. She turned around expecting to get at least one complaint about how nasty some of the pills tasted, but Deidara had dozed off again. She smiled ruefully as she sat next to him and slowly laid him back down without waking him.
He was so tired from not getting enough sleep that he probably didn't remember that he had ANBU watching him and telling Tsunade if anything was wrong. The idiot, trying to hide something like this.
About ten minutes after she had laid him down, she noticed him beginning to mumble some things and instinctively reached out and petted his hair as a way to calm him. He was dreaming already.
His face screwed together as he began to whimper words that sounded terrified, so Sakura began to run her fingers through his hair and whisper things that sounded right, like 'It's okay, it's only a dream,' and 'Sakura's here, it's only a dream.'
His mumbling died away after a bit and he finally entered blissful sleep, having his expression smooth out and his breathing evened out better.
That must have been the beginnings of night terrors that Tsunade had warned her about when she first met Deidara. She continued to run her fingers through his hair as she thought about it.
Usually, it could end up in him crying out to whoever was in the dream to stop, but this time, with Sakura, it didn't get that far. Sakura sighed as she readied herself to check on Naruto, who was suppose to be in here by now with breakfast, and tell him not to bring it for a while.
She quickly rested her hand on his forehead, a habit she had from being a medic, before getting up and exiting the room. She shut the door gently and walked back into the kitchen.
"Naruto," Sakura started to say, but never finished because of what she found.
Breakfast was still unmade and the short-haired blonde had his nose stuck in the book. He didn't even seem to notice her that was how involved he was with his book.
"Naruto," Sakura tired again, this time startling the boy.
"Oh, sorry Sakura-chan, I was just reading the beginning but is was really good, 'tebayo." The blonde apologized as he began to get up, "I'll get working on breakfast right now."
"No need," Sakura said as she stopped him from getting all the way up, "Deidara fell asleep again. He looks really fatigued, so let's put off breakfast for a bit."
"Alright," Naruto happily agreed as he opened the book again, "I'll just be reading."
Sakura laughed at the thought. Never before would anyone ever think that Naruto would say such a sentence.
It was midday when Deidara actually looked at the books that Sakura had retrieved for him. He and Naruto were taking a break and lounging a bit since they had just had lunch and Sakura wasn't too interested in picking up her own reading just yet, so they had all be chatting about random subjects.
That was when Sakura had mentioned the books she had picked up for him. He hadn't noticed them earlier since he had been very drowsy, but now he was interested. He picked up the one on top and looked at the cover name 'The Battle at the Valley of the End'. It seemed promising. Very rare according to Sakura since it had actual pictures of both Uchiha Madara and the Shodai.
Deidara opened it up to the very page with the pictures. They were faded, old, but there on the paper was a face he could never forget…
It was the face of his attacker.
Sakura and Naruto became worried as he fell silent and his eyes were glued to the page. It wasn't until he started trembling and his face paled did both of them jump into action.
"Deidara," Sakura asked as she neared him and touched his head gently with her hand, "What's the matter?"
"Please," his voice cracked, he looked up and Sakura noticed the tears beginning to fill his eyes, "I need to talk to Obaasan, yeah… I need to talk to Obaasan."
"Naruto," Sakura said as she looked his way, but he was already out the door and heading to the Hokage's office, leaving Sakura to handle Deidara.
His breaths were beginning to become uneven as he fought off the tears. His aura drowned in negative emotions. Sakura sat on his bed, close to him and pulled his head to rest on her shoulder as she began to stroke his hair. He wrapped his arms around her and tried to pull her close, but couldn't because he was too weakened. Sakura just scooted close to oblige.
She continued to just stroke his hair waiting for him to cry, but he fought it. She didn't know why, but he refused to cry.
So finally she said something, "Deidara, it's alright to cry. It's alright to cry. I cry at times too, you know that. It's not good to hold it all inside, just let it out. Get it off your chest."
Finally she felt the hot tears soaking into her shirt as he began to sob quietly into her shoulder, holding her as close as he could as if she was his only comfort.
He wasn't able to compose himself by the time Tsunade came into the room.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Tsunade questioned worriedly as she walked up to Sakura and Deidara.
"Here," Deidara croaked as he tired to hold back to sob stuck in his throat, "This-" he motioned at the book that Sakura had gotten him. "- open it to… to the page with… with the pictures…"
Tsunade did as she was told and turned to that section of the book and showed it to him. He winced a bit as he pointed to Uchiha Madara.
"Him." He whimpered, "That is the face of the man who… the man who attacked me… yeah."
Tsunade dropped the book, "Are you sure Deidara? Uchiha Madara was a founding father of Konoha, he would be over one hundred years old."
Sakura looked worriedly at Deidara as he nodded. He tried to compose himself, but was still too upset to be able to.
"Yes… I will never forget that… that face." He said as he choked back another round of tears.
"I believe you," Tsunade said with a saddened look, "We'll talk more about it another time. Thank you for telling me, Deidara."
She got up and looked at Naruto who was standing at the door with a worried look, "Come Naruto, I am going to show you the process of writing a proper report."
Naruto didn't argue with her and instead just followed her out wordlessly, but not before casting Sakura a glance. One that pleaded for her to help the older teen. She nodded as she began to stroke his hair again and soon the two where left alone.
She just continued to stroke his hair and began to hum to him gently as she let him cry quietly. She didn't know how long it had been when she finally began to talk, as a way to calm him down.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," She started as she rested her head on top of his and continued to run her fingers through his long, soft hair, "It really isn't fair that it had to be you. I was told as a kunoichi that it sometimes ruins one's thoughts of love. I hope you aren't confused on that subject."
"I don't understand what love is, yeah. What is love, what is lust? It all mashes together to me." Deidara said with a cracked voice, not looking up from his spot.
"Lust," Sakura started, "is wanting something that can never be yours, sometimes even taking it. Lust is between a married woman and another man who is not her husband. Lust is what men that go into the red light district feed off of… But love… love is pure. It is gentle and caring and does not take what is not available.
It is the feeling of devotion and fullness. There are several kinds of love though. There is the love of friends, who will always have your back and care for you in times of need. There is the love of siblings, which like Naruto and I, we care for each other more then just friends, but not enough to be something more. Siblings have a deep understanding of the other and even though they bicker and fight and might yell words they don't mean, they will always love the other. Then, there is the parent-child love. It is different for each child and parent relationship since each child holds different things close to their heart. It is special and a bond only a parent can form with a child."
Sakura took a deep breath as she thought of the last category she had for love, "Then there are lovers. People who truly love each other so deeply that they would do anything for the other… anything. They are happy when the other is happy, sad with the other is sad… they are like two halves of a whole circle. I use to think that Sasuke was in that category, but then I realized he was like a brother to me… along with Naruto… but then he went and tried to sever those ties, but he doesn't understand he didn't and it just makes it hurt more that he even tried to…"
Deidara's breathing started to even out a bit as the tears stopped flowing, Sakura moved her hand from stroking his hair to rubbing his back as she lifted her head a bit to look at him.
"You know," Sakura decided to end her little speech on this note, "Lust is like a cheap imitation of love. It is shallow and cold. But love is deep and passionate. You will know when you are in love with someone, because of how different it feels from lust."
He lifted his head to look at her with those deep ocean blue eyes as he asked her a question, "What category am I in, yeah? Or am I even in a category…"
Sakura just sighed as she stopped her rubbing and pulled her hands back. She looked him square eyes as she answered, "I don't know."
He seemed to think she meant something different then what she really meant by the way his head sunk, but Sakura didn't want to end it like that.
She use a hand to lift up his chin and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She then kissed his temples before kissing both eyelids that closed right before she kissed them by impulse.
She pulled away to look at his confused face with a gentle smile, "I don't know what category of love you're in whether it be friend, sibling, or lover, but Deidara, know this now: I do love you."
Silence filled the air as Deidara nodded solemnly.
"I love you as well, Sakura, yeah."
There were no need for anymore words. Sakura laid him back to rest on pillow and whispered for him to try and sleep a bit, promising to stay close to him. She pulled up his blankets and fluffed his pillow.
He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come, but not before he felt the light pressure of Sakura's lips on his forehead. Sleep came easily for once and the dreams were nothing but of Sakura, Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, and his new life in Konoha.
Thank you for all the wonderful Reveiws!!! I have officially reached over 100 and hope to receive more of your input!
...
So here are some things I would like you to answer:
Did you like it?
How many of you are already liking where this is going?
How did you like how I did the chapter?
How did you like the ending? With the comforting?
Anything special you want me to add later on?
Here is the translations so far:
(Dat)Tebayo: Naruto's japanese catch phrase... not sure it really means believe it. Someone told me it didn't mean anything though- like Gozoro.
Kure-Tori: Clay bird
Shishou: master
obasan: Aunt
Baa-san or Baa-chan: old lady or grandma
Please tell me what you think so far!!
Ja Ne
Volleys-chan
