Hello committed readers! This is the tenth chapter. And really its mostly a filler. The fisrt part is important, but thats about it. PLEASE review. It keeps me motivated. The more reviews i get, the quicker chapters come out mkay? I dont want to be like " I wont update unless I get 5 reviews!" But i reeeeeealy want them :3. Please be kind to my review-wanting self!~
"C-come on Ino-san!" A soft voice called as she waited for her friend. They were going on a mission with Shikamaru, and they needed to leave soon.
Ino sighed, and traced a hand lovingly over the large marble monument, and over a specific name. "Lyra..." She whispered quietly, before jogging over to Hinata. "Alright, lets go." She said a small smile coming to her lips.
"Okay, so we need to meet Kyoto-san on the border of mist. Then we need to get him here safely. Simple, easy, quick." Ino said, taking the role of leader once again. She saw both of her companions nod. On a soundless signal, they sped away, heading towards mist at lightning speed.
oOo
"I told you you could never win, yeah." A cocky voice said, with a smirk to match his tone. I glared at him, pouting slightly. His giant clay bird flew up into the sky. "Katsu." He said and watched as it exploded. Reds and oranges stained the sky, and smoke was soon to fallow. He was grinning wildly at it. What he said was true, his art was a bang!
"Shikoru was injured. Therefore, not in his best shape. Your win was void." I said crossing my arms stubbornly, ignoring the pretty explosion. Like hell I would admit he won. He didn't. The bastard cheated, and Shikoru was injured. And now I was angry and pouting from my seat upon Shikoru's back. Shikoru huffed in a short breathy laughter. Even he was laughing at my childish antics. I poked him in the ribs, his dark fur covering most of my hand. He yelped and spun around in a circle. I grinned while holding on. My dog was ticklish.
"If your done playing, un." Deidara said, and although his voice sounded irritated, he was smiling slightly.
"Yup, come one boy!" I said, and he started forward with the others. Heading towards the base, Deidara bit his thumb, and ran it over a seal, making several hand signs. I still didn't know the jutsu, therefore, always had to travel with another. It was particularly annoying. I watched a small opening in the complicated genjutsu that hid the headquarters under it. The space around the opening seemed to be deformed, and it made my head hurt just watching it. I was never good with Genjutsu. Leaning forwards on Shikoru, we fallowed Deidara and Tobi, heading towards the large compound- like building. It had a large stone wall with a normal gate, and a very large training grounds in the back. The Akatsuki either had a lot of money, or they took over this place. I think both are true, but the latter is more likely.
oOo
"So Mikoto is taken care of?" Pein asked, looking over to Deidara and myself. I nodded, my eyes hard. "And I suspect there was no other issue?" He asked. With that, I looked to Deidara, he nodded to me and I turned back.
"You see, I have a sister." I started, looking at the patterns on the wood of his desk. His eyebrows went up. "She comes from California, like I did." I said. He was one of the small group of people that knew I actually came from somewhere else completely.
"And?" He asked, not seeing the point.
"We ran into her. I honestly thought she was dead, like we should be. We did get hit by a car," I said, the words sounding odd in my head as well as on my tongue after not using them for so long.
"Car?" He asked, not knowing what the object was.
"Yes, it is like a cart that moves at very fast speeds, without the help of someone." I said, trying to explain it simply. "But thats beside the point. You have undoubtedly noticed that I have found my partner, Shikoru, for my sister had him." I explained, scratching Shikoru's head. He was sitting, looking only at me. He was also scared of the orange haired man.
"So you are afraid that Konoha will know your alive, and they will label you as a traitor?" He asked, looking through several things on the desk.
"No. She wants to kill me, and anyone who gets in her, or her wolves, way." I said. His gaze snapped up to me. I fidgeted, not liking his speculating eyes.
"That will be all, you can go Lyra. Deidara, you stay for a moment." He said waving me away. I nodded. Leaving the room, I instantly headed outdoors, and climbed onto Shikoru's back.
"What the fuck is that bitch?" A voice asked from behind me. I bristled visibly, and Shikoru growled at my reaction. Hidan. He was someone that managed to get under my skin more then Deidara did when we had first met. And no amount of punching or kicking seemed to ward him off. Quite the opposite, actually.
"This is my dog-nin Shikoru. And if you enjoy keeping the thing that makes you male, I would advise not pissing us off." I said simply. I heard him scoff. He knew the only thing I could do was yell and TRY to hurt him. I was currently made for stealth and quick, easy kills. Not full on fights with a member of the Akatsuki. And there was still the matter of the Chakra-staealing collar around my neck
"That fucking thing is huge! No way its a damned dog." He said, his sadistic grin sending chills up my spine. Shikoru growled, but I rubbed his shoulder, cooing soft words to him. The scent of blood coming off of him want helping either. It appears he has just made another sacrifice to his 'god'.
"He is pissing me of Lyra..." Shikoru said in a deep growl that sent an excited wave of blood lust through me. I breathed in deeply. I couldn't let that get to me again.
" I know, I know." I said rubbing soothing circles on his flank. Unfortunately, Hidan heard me.
"I didn't know you where fucking crazy." He said with a short laugh. "Talking to a fucking wolf, Thats rich!" He said, laughing freely now. He was trying to tempt me into attacking him...again. Last time it didn't end so well. For me that is. Its not fun almost getting sacrificed my a crazed religious freak. Thank goodness for Tobi's annoying interruption. That was before the missions, and I had promptly hid from everyone for two days. You don't forget OR forgive something like that easily.
"I can understand his barks and growls, but seeing as you are to dumb to get it, I shall leave you to your own thoughts, dumb-ass." I said, tugging lightly on Shikoru's fur. He sent one last deep bark Hidan's way, he leapt onto a low part of the roof. With another two jumps, we were on the highest part. I removed myself from his back, and sat on the edge, my feet dangling over, swinging slightly. I hummed a song my real mother used to sing to me when I had bad dreams. Shikoru sat next to me,enjoying the sound, and with a sigh I leaned my head against his side.
oOo
"I thought you said that if we didn't get information, she would be dead?" Deidara asked, sitting in one of the chairs in Pein's office, once again. He didn't particularly want her dead, he was just curious as to why she was still breathing.
Pein nodded, "That is true, but she has become somewhat useful, and I think if we continue treating her normally, she will spill about the Kyuubi and Konoha. And I do think she will have a little breakdown soon. Do you remember your first months in Akatsuki?" He asked a knowing smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
Deidara nodded. At first he had been angry, like her, for being forced into this Organization by Itachi. Then slowly he started to enjoy their merciless moves. But he had started to remind himself of the way his own people had treated him before he became a rouge bomber for hire. He had gone into a small breakdown and blown a lot of things up unnecessarily. He slightly winced at the thought of what Lyra and her new-found companion could do.
"Is there anything else you wish to tell me about the mission?" He asked, looking with a knowing gaze.
Deidara nodded. "Lyra's...sister, told me something, odd." He said using the only word he could to describe the words that she had whispered into his ear. Pein nodded to him, as if saying 'go on'. "She told me, ' I'll tell you this because I think your cute. Get away from Akatsuki, and My Onee-chan, if you want to live past the blue moon.'" he said, his voice trying to imitate her sickly cheer. Pein nodded, then waved a hand dismissing him. Deidara got up and left Pein to his own thinking.
He had little time for thinking, for a particular member chuckled, and seemed to materialize out of this air. "Oh I did indeed choose a fun little person." He said, his deep voice very different then from what Pein is usually used to hearing. But then again, this was just as common. "Although Little Lyra-chan could use some training up." He said with a pointed glance at Pein. He nodded once, a silent agreement.
"Do you think this is just mere coincidence?" Pein asked an odd amount of respect in his voice. He looked intently at the dark eye-hole in the swirled orange mask.
"Nothing is mere coincidence anymore, Pein-kun." He said, chuckling before he dissolved into the air once more.
Pein sighed, and used the telepathic connection from the rings all Akatsuki wore, to call Itachi into his room/office.
oOo
I woke up away from the edge of the roof, Shikoru curled up next to me. I was surprised that I fell asleep, but working so much without much chakra was hard. I yawned and scratched Shikoru's back. He grunted and shied away, still trying to sleep. I laughed sitting up. I was far away from the edge, and Shikoru was between me and the closest one. I smiled kindly, he was always looking after me. And I had no doubt in my mind that he got hurt because he was trying to find me.
I stroked his fur slowly, and my thoughts wondered to Konoha once again. What was that dumb blond doing? How was Hinata dealing with her father and her training? How was Ma, and Kiba, and Akamaru?
I eyes burned with unshed tears as I looked into the darkening sky. Colors swirled on the horizon, orange and purple mixing with navy blue. A few stars dotted the darker parts of the sky, where it was hard to tell if it was either black of blue. A sliver of the nearly-full moon was visible from the surrounding trees. I was sure, that if I stayed out here for the next few hours, the sliver light would envelop everything.
I was so wrapped up in my tear-jerking thoughts and the pretty night sky, as well as emotions that conflicted each other, I did not hear Deidara's stealthy approach.
"Hey there, yeah" He said, awfully close to my ear. One tidbit of advice, do not surprise someone who was meant to kill and disarm quickly. It just doesn't end well.
A few moments, and colorful words, later, I was sitting atop a very surprised, very irritated Deidara. And thank goodness Deidara was a comrade, or else I probably would have had a clay bird shoved down my throat. He obviously was expecting this, for I would have been able to under normal circumstances. Shikoru had woken up as well, and was growling over his face. Upon seeing his expression, I let tried to retain my laughter, but that only caused me to snort. Shikoru and Deidara looked at me with odd gazes, and then I couldn't hold it in. I did something I haven't done since the day I was kidnapped.
I laughed.
It wasn't the small dry chuckled, or even the giggle I was used to. It was a full blown belly laugh, with tears, that were already present, spilling over my eyes. My whole body shook with the laughter. It felt wonderful to laugh like this again. Like there wasn't a care in the world at the moment.
Both Deidara and Shikoru looked at me for a few moments longer, before Deidara chuckled continuously. And as soon as he would stop, he would take one look at me and start again. Shikoru had sat down on his haunches, and was grinning wolfishly.
"Lyra, your in a...suggestive, seating arrangement." He barked. My laughing ceased slightly at this and I took a moment to asses my so-called 'arrangement'. I was currently straddling Deidara's waist, with one hand on his chest, several inches below his odd tattoo and stitches. While he had on hand on my knee, the other on his face, while he was controlling his laughter like myself. Now I had stopped laughing all together, and the sudden lack of sound made Deidara look my way.
I knew my face was red, and I was guessing his thoughts were similar to my own, for I swear I could see a hint of red rush across his face, though he would deny it every time. I swiftly got up, and brushed imaginary dust off my cloak.
"Ahem, well." I said, looking anywhere but at him. He got up more slowly, and stood there awkwardly. "What did you come to see me about?"
"Nothing really, un." He answered. "I just heard Hidan going off about how you were acting crazy and talking to your wolf, yeah." I saw him glance at Shikoru, whom sent a toothy grin towards him.
I laughed two quick huffs. "Its true though. I'm an Inuzuca, even if by adoption. We can all understand out companions." She explained, sending Shikoru a knowing smile. "Even though I do think I am related to them" I turned towards the moon, which was starting to reveal itself now. "Its an Bloodline thing. Normal Shinobi cannot understand them, unless they talk, like the Copy-nin's" I said, only referring to Kakashi in this manner, for his own good. Even though I had started to... you could say trust them, I didn't want them to think I knew much.
Deidara nodded. "My hands are a result of bloodline as well, un" He said, turning his palm in my direction. This pink tongue slid out, and the mouth grinned in a mocking manner. I grinned back, and stuck my own tongue out. He chuckled. "I use them for my art. I just happen to be helping the Akatsuki with it, yeah" His voice was not so cheery anymore, and I could tell there was something else up.
" 'Art is a Bang!' Right?" I said, not really asking a question. " You know I think your art says a lot about you." I absentmindedly blurted out. He looked at me with a confused raise of his eyebrow. I sighed and explained, " Your Art is explosions. You make things that explode, just to see the beauty for a moment. You also have an... explosive, personality. Like earlier, with the shirt issue?" Said issue had been resolved when I put the shirt back on, jumped on Shikoru, and proceeded to run in the direction of the Akatsuki base. Deidara had yelled, and made a giant bird, flying himself and Tobi after me. But all-in-all, I had kept the shirt because of pure stubbornness.
Deidara let out an agreeing grunt, remembering the ordeal. I continued on. "And your like an explosion as well." I rambled, " Sometimes out of control, and always destructive. " I saw him grin at that. "But there is an ...art you could say, to you. People see you and some just cant help being drawn in." I whispered the last part. It was unusual for me to speak of anything very emotional, except to Hinata and Ino. I sighed, realizing that by doing that I was twisting myself further into the rope that was Akatsuki.
A cute moment there. Any suggestions? Questions? Need me to clarify anything? LET ME KNOW wit that handy-dandy review button! I also have drawn my first Fan-art for this story. You can find the link on my page. If any of you Artist wanna draw any characters, scenes or battles, DO IT! And let me know, ill put it on my page as well as a link to your FF Page. :3 3