"Huff... huff..."
"Pant... huff..."
"DANNA!"
He couldn't do it anymore. His feet were so wobbly, and his head was spinning. The people were looking at the pair with suspicious eyes, for they were not used to seeing teo kids in green jumpsuits running around the village.
"...Danna... Let's just stop, okay? I'm SO TIRED, YEAH!"
He did exactly what he just said.
Right after Deidara said his sentence, he stopped dead in his tracks. Sasori, all red-faced and sweating wildly, turned to see how his partner was doing. Deidara just stood there with his shaking legs, and finally collapsed to the ground.
"I DON'T CARE IF EVERYONE'S GONNA THINK THAT I'M A WEIRDO FOR DOING THIS! I'M GOING TO SLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, DANNA!"
And with that, he dozed off, and looked dead asleep.
Sasori too, did the same.
"Stupid mission... stupid Tsunade! I'd rather die here in the middle of the Konoha than continue this insane activity. This isn't artistic at all!" he thought.
The red-head just lied down there, with his face facing the dusty ground. The people around the hidden village were now staring at them, but not a single person felt pity for the two children.
Sasori then turned to see the sky. His face was now covered in dust, and so was his mini green jumpsuit.
"What kind of fate lies ahead of me...?" he mumbled to the sky. "I'm supposed to be dead and gone fron the world... If that's how it's supposed to be... then what am I doing here?"
Suddenly, his vision was blocked by a huge shadow.
But this shadow wasn't dark, for it seemed that his clothings were reflecting the sun. Sasori couldn't see clearly, and he squinted his eyes to get a better view.
But all he saw was a very bright person, with long flowing hair, and the sun seemed to back-up this magnificent view.
It was an angel.
"Finally... I'm dead."
"Why are you lying down there on the road?" asked the angel.
"It doesn't matter, brat. Just get me out of here and take me to my eternal sleep!"
Sasori then closed his eyes again.
"So that's it? You're just going to die?"
"Yes. I'm supposed to be dead anyway."
"Then you are not fit to be called a shinobi of this world."
Sasori opened his eyes wide, and stared at this angel. His vision was still so blurry, he can't make anything out of it.
"What makes you think that, hmm? I'm a strong shinobi, even stronger than you most probably!"
"Then why are you lying down there? Are you really strong, because you really seem weak."
"I.. I... I'm just tired, okay? These insane people made me do a hundred laps around the city!"
"And are you close to accomplishing it?"
"Close? Yeah... We just need to finish this last lap."
"Then finish it. What kind of shinobi are you going to be if you just give up so easily? Are you not determined to finish this quest? You need to be courageous in everything you do. And to think, you're so close to finishing! You, brat, are no shinobi!"
Sasori felt a sharp cut in his heart.
"Me? Not a shinobi? Did you just say that I, Sasori of the Red Sand, am not a shinobi?"
Then it hit him.
"I... I am Sasori of the red sand!... Sasori of the all powerful Akatsuki!... I killed several people already, with no problem at all. This activity is supposed to be a piece of cake for me!"
"You're right, angel! This... I can do this!"
The kid struggled to get to his feet, and once he was positioned to a sitting form, he saw a helping hand in front of him.
He took it with his tiny hands, and looked at his 'angel' in the face.
"Neji..." he mumbled.
"What are you waiting for? Run to the training fields. Meet us there... young shinobi."
With a poof of smoke, he vanished.
"Stupid Hyuuga brat..." mumbled Sasori, with a very playful smile.
He was energized.
"Show to that stupid Hyuuga brat what you got, Sasori of the Red Sand!" he thought.
Slowly, he walked towards a dead Deidara.
"Wake up brat. We need to finish this one last lap."
"NO! I'm done for Danna, hmm. I don't want to EVER run again!"
After that, Deidara bacame silent.
Sasori became disappointed.
"Fine, if that's what you want..."
"Heh. Danna would probably just leave me out here. Tch. Stupid guy..."
He positioned himself in front of Deidara, and it was as if he was offering his back to the blonde.
"... them let me carry you all the way there. It's not that far, anyway."
That made Deidara look up.
His man was offering to carry him all the way there.
"Hurry up, brat. I don't have all day!"
"...Danna..."
Despite the aching ankles and sore muscles, Deidara stood up with all his might, and tapped his Danna on the shoulder.
Sasori turned to look at him.
And Deidara gave him a very big and playful smile.
"Heh, jerk. Do you really think I would let you carry me all the way to the end, un? You know, I never depend my life on you. I would look like a sissy girl if I'd let you carry me, yeah!"
"Stupid brat..." thought Sasori. But still, he smiled back.
His Danna gave him the inspiration to move on in this activity, no matter how insane it was. They are the all-feared Akatsuki, after all.
"Alright then!" said Deidara. He grabbed Sasori's tiny hands.
"Let's finish this hmm, Danna!"
"Whatever you say, brat."
And with that, the pair sped off towards the trainig grounds, hand in hand.
"What's taking them so long? Are you sure they're still running, Neji?"
"Don't worry Tenten. I'm sure they'll be here in a few moments."
The team was waiting under a big tree in the training grounds. It's been 30 minutes already, yet there still was no sign of the two.
Or so they thought.
"Gai-sensei!" cried Lee. "I see them! They made it!"
Gai looked towards the direction Lee was pointing at. They saw two tiny green dots that kept on becoming bigger and bigger.
"YOSH! Let's congratulate them!"
"Huff huff... NEECHAN! NIICHAN!" cried Dai-chan.
"Hey, act all childish, okay?" whispered Sasori.
Deidara just nodded his head, and ran towards their destination.
They finally arrived near the big tree, yet neither of them stopped running. Deidara ran into Tenten's arms, while Sasori ran into Neji's legs.
He looked up to his angel with big, amber eyes.
"Huff... pant... we did it, Neji-nii! We did it!"
Neji just stared down at the redhead, said nothing, escaped from the grasp of the small child, and walked slowly behind the tree. Meanwhile, Deidara was busy telling Tenten, Lee and Gai about his experiences.
"... Neji-nii?"
Sasori followed him, waiting for him to say a coompliment or a mere 'congratulations'. But none was heard. He just kept walking.
"What? Nothing? This... this is outrageous!"
"NEJI-NII!" he called out.
Finally, the Hyuuga stopped.
"A..Aren't you proud of us? We did everything to please you guys, but... but... did I do something wrong, Neji-nii? I did my best... I even woke up 2 o'clock, and ran endlessly just to... just to... just to hear NOTHING from you?"
For the first time, Sasori felt... he felt sad... angry... insane... he... he doesn't know what he's feeling!
"What's this pain in my chest?" he asked himself. "It hurts so much... It feels so heavy..."
Suddenly, he felt water drop into his eyes.
"I... I'm crying?"
Neji didn't know what's going on in the little kid's brain, but he felt like he needed to speak up.
"Satoshi..."
Sasori stopped staring at his wet hands, and looked at Neji, who was facing the opposite direction.
"... You did well, shinobi."
And he vanished.
Sasori wiped his tears, and looked up to the bright, blue sky.
"Stupid Hyuuga brat..." he mumbled. Then he smiled inwardly. And that smile was faint, but very deep.
He jumped from tree to tree, hoping to reach far soon.
"I guess I'm safe now..." he told himself.
Neji stopped, and looked around at his surroundings. Then...
"Sniff... sniff.."
He cried.
"Waaaaaaah!.. I'm so proud of you, SATOSHI-KUN! I'm also very happy for you, DAI-CHAN!"
He cried out tears of joy on top of the forests.
Tch.
Seems like Neji does have feelings after all.
Deidara was talking nonstop.
"... and we were like, ZOOM, yeah! And finally, we reached here and ran into your arms, Neechan! And then I told you what me and Danna went through!"
"That's such a fine story, Dai-chan!" cried Lee.
Gai then positioned himself in front of the two kids and his team.
"Dai... Satoshi... My team and I have something very important to give you..."
"You could stop the drama now.I know that it's a bronze coin." Thought Sasori.
"Let me guess, bronze coin, hmm?" thought Deidara.
"Open your hands!"
The boys did as they told.
"Oh! Oh! And make them close their eyes, sensei!" cried Lee.
"Ooooooooh! Close your eye – "
"Oh for crying out loud!"
Tenten grabbed hold of whatever's being hidden behind Gai's back, and she gave it to the boys.
"Here you go. Each recieves two bronze coins!"
"Nani? Two, un?" asked Deidara.
"Yeah!" replied Lee. "Neji said that you two went through a lot today. Did you know that he was watching you guys the whole time? He's like a guardian angel! He also said that your effort earlier are worth a million coins!"
"But" said Tenten. "Two coins is enough."
Suddenly, with a puff of smoke, Neji came back. With a very emotionless face.
"...Neji-nii! Where have you been, hmm?" asked Deidara.
"I did some... things..."
"Let me guess," said the chinese girl. " you ran into the Konoha forests and expressed all your emotions in front of the tree tops, right?"
"And what makes you say that?" he said with a very monotonous tone.
"The tear marks on your face."
"Huh? Whaaaaa?"
Neji became a little paranoid, and slipped out of his emotionless shell. He wiped his face like crazy, making the whole team laugh.
And both Deidara and Sasori never felt this kind of warmth before.