A/N: Hello everyone! This chapter is extra long to make up for the long wait between the this update and the last. Also one of my reviewers pointed out to me that some of the earlier chapters were a little fast which was something I'd been thinking anyway so I have posted completely rewritten versions of chapter two and three which i highly recommend you check out! You'll find a lot of changes; some new scenes and some you'll recognise but different than before and more importantly, more DeiSaku! I am also doing a rewrite of chapter four so watch out for that sometime in the near future. I shall post it in an authors note for a new chapter and my profile page when I have.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
A big thanks to XxXWolvesInTheNightXxX, Okami X Ko X Bites, Angel's Wiings, .Hated-, Doll-Fin Chick, Meira Evenstar, .67, Tadashi Satsu, Sea-Glass88 and Psycho-Killer-Freak for your reviews. They were very much appreciated! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 11: Trust
A light, soothing breeze ruffled amicably through the coarse tufts of grass like a small child threading its fingers through a thick furry hide – a breeze that brought with it the smell of fresh, wild flowers and a hint of woodland. The sweet scent suffused through the pink-haired medic's nostrils; the overpowering aroma almost overriding her senses as she took deep shuddering breaths in an attempt to control her erratic breathing and thudding heart. Small tremors rippled over her skin in waves yet her eyes remained steadily fixed upon the blonde-haired figure that watched her calmly from the tree line.
An owl hooted softly from overhead, hidden by the dense canopy of leaves which encased the surrounding woodland in a thin membrane of foliage and left the clearing open to the elements. The sky had long since darkened to a deep midnight blue, unbroken except for the tiny pinpricks of light which marked the heavens but these natural wonders were lost on the two shinobi that faced each other. They had eyes only for each other.
Sakura watched the man across the clearing warily, refusing to take her eyes off him for even an instant. Her mind struggled to comprehend why the wanted criminal would dare to reveal himself to her so openly. She was a Konoha kunoichi. He knew that. He should also know that she wouldn't hesitate to turn him in if he turned out to be a threat, which was looking more likely with every passing second.
A slight movement from the man had Sakura moving fluidly into an attack position without thought before she realised that he was simply walking across the clearing – with all the time in the world, apparently.
As he came out from under the safety of the trees he was bathed in pure, incandescent moonlight which accentuated his features turning his hair a pale silver and not for the first time Sakura was struck by how attractive he was right down to that infuriating little smirk he favoured but she shoved the unwelcome emotions into a small recess at the back of her mind to deal with later, if she chose. The moonlight served another purpose; highlighting his garments for the first time. Sakura hissed and clenched her fists instinctively for there was a cloak shrouding his clothes. A cloak covered in red clouds. A sharp pang of sadness jabbed at her insides upon realising which path he'd chosen. She chastised herself mentally for leaving herself open to such vulnerability. He was a member of the Akatsuki, she reminded herself. She should never have trusted him to begin with!
"What do you want?" The medic sent Deidara what she considered to be a well-deserved glare, full of open hostility and as she'd expected, that glare halted his slow progress across the glade.
"Sakura-," he breathed. His eyes widened in shock at her rebuff but she knew it was all an act.
"Don't-" she cut him off sharply, weary of his incessant lies. She exhaled deeply and took a moment to compose herself before speaking once more. The underlying anger in her tone was impossible to mistake. "You have some nerve showing your face again after what you did," she spat out venomously.
She expected him to deny it, to make excuses and promises he couldn't keep, but not a sound passed his lips. He only looked at her with his unerring blue gaze and began to wend his way through the tall grasses, cutting a green, dewy path through the undergrowth and effectively lessening the gap between them. To her horror, Sakura felt slightly disappointed. A small part concealed deep inside her had wanted him to lie to her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay; but that was all it would be. A lie.
Her eyes stung with anger and betrayal as she watched the blonde, now only a few metres away. She spun on her heel and faced the stream, unable to look at his face any longer. A deep ache throbbed inside her chest and she was suddenly gasping for air.
"Sakura". She ignored Deidara's murmered words and lifted her head skywards, jade eyes tracing the celestial pattern of stars across the sky as they burned with anger and humiliation. She jerked away when he touched her pink hair with a soft caress, re-establishing the distance between them. It was too much. How could he expect to come back and for everything to fall into place? For everything to be as it was? It would never be the same!
"Don't touch me!" She seethed, swatting his hand away furiously. "I believed you Deidara! I trusted you! And all this time you've been plotting-"
He shocked her into silence with the simple act of grabbing her wrists. A strange expression played across his face, an emotion akin to regret but Sakura, furious at his lack of respect for her personal space failed to notice. "Believe me I never wanted this," he muttered urgently. It was crucial for her to understand. "I never plan-"
"Get away from me!" She spat, recovering from her initial surprise. She wrenched her wrists from his grasp and glared at him with naked fury in her eyes. "You lying, cheating-"
She wasn't even vaguely aware of how loudly she was shouting. The woods rang with her words as she siphoned off her anger and rage into the only outlet that was available, the source of her pain: Deidara. In that moment she didn't care if the screams and shouts brought down an entire patrol of shinobi or even several. She was literally shaking, her voice raw with anger.
"Sakura, please listen-" Deidara pleaded desperately, very conscious of the fact that their chance meeting might not stay secret for long. "Listen to me!"
"No! If you think that for one minute I'll stand to listen to your lies then you're wrong!" Sakura deflected his words instantly, unwilling to give the Akatsuki member even an inch of leeway.
"You don't understand!"
"What don't I understand!" She replied, now dangerously close to tears. "All I know is that you wouldn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on! You never trusted me enough to let me on your plan to escape! You let Sasori kill Kankuro! You're a member of the Akatsuki! It doesn't matter to you who you hurt or how many people die just so you can live, I can't believe how stupid I was for thinking you were different!"
"It wasn't like that, yeah!" Sakura's words had hit a nerve seemingly. Deidara's breathing was ragged and shallow and his hands were balled tightly into curled fists. "I have never lied to you! I was no more expecting Sasori's arrival than you were!"
"I don't believe you," Sakura retorted, ignoring the seed of doubt that had begun to niggle away at her brain.
Deidara heaved a great sigh and ran a hand through his hair distractedly. "Look, I didn't come here to argue. I want you to leave. It's too dangerous for you to be here, Sakura".
Sakura threw him a look she reserved only for her mother whenever she suggested that perhaps it was time for her to stop this kunoichi nonsense and settle down with a nice young man.
"You expect me to believe that?" She laughed humourlessly. "Even if you're right and it is too dangerous, I would stay regardless. I won't abandon my friends".
Deidara looked like he was about to argue but at that very moment he stiffened in surprise.
"Someone's coming".
"I guess you'd better get going then," Sakura replied faking nonchalance. She struggled to meet his sapphire-eyed gaze which reminded her so strongly of the constant, yet ever-changing ocean. She couldn't bear to stare at a concrete reminder of all her recent mistakes any longer. He had once called her naive. He had been right. Well, she had learned her lesson.
Deidara opened his mouth and then closed it again.
"Fine," he conceded, albeit reluctantly. "Fine, just take this".
Sakura's fingers instinctively curled around the hard, cool handle of a kunai which had inexplicably found its way into her hand as Deidara reached for a small, black leather pouch at his waist, previously concealed by the dark fabric of his cloak. The idea of threatening the Akatsuki to stop what he was doing with said kunai crossed Sakura's mind several times but indecisiveness held its sway over her and by the time she had decided, a small lump of something soft and malleable was sitting in the palm of his hand. She squinted through the gloom curiously in an attempt to discern the properties of the unknown object but before she even had a chance, a moist pink tongue protruded from the palm and curled itself expertly round the object. In a flash it disappeared. Sakura barely had time to wonder – time in which was spent observing the surface of the palm which chewed and munched much the same way as any normal mouth would. She would have been appalled – had she known it – to discover that her mouth opened slightly in shock. The only indication that Deidara noticed was a slight lift to the corner of his mouth. Some people, he thought wryly, were just too easy to please.
After several seconds of chewing the palm quivered and fell still. Sakura tried and failed to wipe her face clean of a rapt expression as the pink tongue made its reoccurrence to spit the object out onto his hand. Unconsciously, Sakura moved closer, eyes fixated on the small shape in the likeness of a bird that rested on his outstretched palm. It was clay, she realised. A small, beautifully crafted clay bird.
"It's beautiful," she complimented in spite of herself, a smile unbidden played across her lips.
"Just remember what I said, yeah," Deidara cautioned and placed the still-warm sculpture into her unwary palm. It was only as she turned it over reluctantly in her palm that the reality of the situation hit her with all the force of a battering ram. Her anger, only kept at bay by the curiosity that had dominated her thoughts for those few crucial seconds flooded back in full force. She raised her head furiously, torn between giving the bird back and smashing it against his thick skull only to discover that he had vanished.
The girl exhaled noisily – a clear sign of deep irritation. She suppressed her natural instinct to clench her fists having learnt from experience that most objects she held shattered when subjected to such extreme pressure before she remembered that it was only Deidara's clay bird. She wavered between two equally appealing choices; crushing the bird to dust or dropping it in the fast flowing stream and watching it as the water's course buffeted it against a myriad of obstacles including stones and dead branches. She did neither of these things however and for reasons unknown to her; she set it alongside her medical kit and kunai in the small pouch belted to her waist, ignoring the nagging voice that cautioned the wisdom of accepting objects from strange shinobi.
Her scrutinising gaze surveyed the small patch of trees where Deidara had appeared with a hint of scepticism. He appeared to have left but Sakura wasn't as arrogant as to presume that she was the better shinobi. She sighed. What was the matter with her? When had she transformed from a dutiful shinobi of Konoha to one that accepted strange clay birds and considered freeing a wanted criminal from a neighbouring village? And the worst part was that she had wanted to believe him, had wanted it to be all a misunderstanding. If he'd lied, she would have believed him.
She ignored the numbing, pricking sensation that spread up her legs as the night deepened around her statuesque form. The chill night air clung to her arms and the nape of her neck like a little lost child. She shivered, feeling goosebumps form on her exposed skin and turned away. She had already stayed far too long.
Halfway to the camp she froze, remembering two fatal words. Deidara had definitely said someone was coming but she'd seen no sign of them. The knowledge sent cold dread running up her spine as she evaluated the possibilities. It was possible he had lied of course but to what purpose? For the life of her, she couldn't think of any reason why he would. That left the other, more disturbing possibility. Ice flooded her veins and she trembled at the very thought. She hadn't sensed anyone in the area but she knew there were many much more skilled shinobi out there who were perfectly capable of concealing their chakra from her. If someone had seen!
She took deep, calming gulps of air in order to regulate her panicked system and instead forced herself to take a logical stance on the matter. She was getting worked up over nothing, she assured herself. She had no proof that someone had seen her and to leave the camp would only arouse suspicion. Even if someone had seen her, there was no guarantee that they had seen or heard any of her conversation with Deidara.
However, to be on the safe side, she resolved to keep a closer watch on the camp from now on. She only hoped she'd made the right decision.
Sakura awoke the next morning to stiff and aching bones. The effort of peeling away layers of blankets required a conscious effort and so the kunoichi made no attempt to work her muscles, content to remain motionless like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Her eyes traced the brown canvas roof of her tent through which she could pinpoint the exact position of the sun as it filtered through the gaps in the woven material before realising what it was she was staring at. She only required a few more moments to remember why she felt so angry and confused. Suddenly the prospect of rising from her warm, inviting blankets seemed much more daunting.
A passing cloud blotted out the sun momentarily, causing the interior of the tent to darken substantially and objects took on a grainy, surreal quality. Sakura sighed. The weather mimicked her melancholic thoughts perfectly. However, even the current climate could not detract from the fact that as much as she'd have liked to hide out in her tent all day, it would be practically impossible and besides, the air was becoming rather stuffy which dampened the attractiveness of the plan. After several minutes of fumbling around for her clothes Sakura exited her tent sleepily, painfully aware of every ache and bruise she'd acquired from a sleepless night of tossing the blankets this way and that, determined to bully her mind into submission before eventually passing out just as the sun had begun to peek over the horizon.
The majority of the encampment comprised of a motley collection of brown canvas tents in tight-knit circles however Sakura only had eyes for the colossal tangerine tent – more like a marquee than anything – she must have missed under the cover of darkness. It dominated the camp, like a cathedral in amongst small ramshackle houses. Sakura had no doubts about who owned that particular tent.
As the medic cut across the camp in search of water, she noticed a pair of sentinels posted its entrance. Instinctively she gave them a wide berth despite her constant reassurances that if news of the impromptu meeting last night had reached their ears, she would have heard about it by now.
The familiar bubbling laughter of water dancing over stones and swirling in little eddies greeted her ears as she approached the fast-flowing brook. A sudden outburst of laughter alerted her to the presence of a number of shinobi occupying its sandy banks. She grimaced and wandered over to a quieter part of the river where she was content to watch the light catch upon the surface, fragmenting into a thousand reflections which shimmered like diamonds across the silent body of water. It was calming and peaceful away from everyone else; Sakura found that breathing came easily in this quiet, secluded place and she began to think more rationally. She stared out across the water, dipping her fingers into the swirl of liquid lazily, feeling its cool, gentle touch on her skin.
Half an hour later, she trekked back across the campsite cradling a heavy saucepan laden with water when she heard a sudden shout.
"Sakura!" Her head darted up and she stumbled backwards in surprise, slopping a substantial amount of water down her front. She breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to calm her racing heart when her eyes took in the familiar ecstatic smile and open, honest eyes of her teammate; Naruto.
"I've got some water," she gestured to the pail, only managing to muster a half-hearted smile while ignoring his barely controlled sniggers. A sudden idea struck her and she suppressed a grin. "You can carry it back, if you like". Her eyes glinted with mirth.
Swiftly, she tossed the metal bucket at the unsuspecting shinobi, watching with some satisfaction as it sailed through his outstretched hands and hit him hard in the chest. The impact caused a torrent of water to slosh over the rim of the bucket, creating a dark patch of water which spread rapidly across his orange t-shirt; matching Sakura's equally soaking top. Both of them stared at the empty bucket in Naruto's hands. Sakura eyed her handiwork smugly. Now they were even.
Unfortunately Naruto seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he darted back to the river, clutching the bucket like a life-line. A broad smirk written all over his features.
A second later and Sakura realised what he was planning.
"Hey, wait! Come back!" She called, half-frantic, half-laughing as she sped towards the brook, hot on the heels of her teammate. She reached him about the same time that he slowed down, her sandals flooding with water as they splashed through the crystal clear shallows. Her outstretched fingers were a mere hairsbreadth from her quarry when he spun around, drenching her with the newly filled bucket of water. She spluttered, blinking wet hair out of her eyes and met his anticipatory gaze with a wry grin.
"Oh now you're going to get it," she splashed flecks of water at the laughing boy who waded out of range, dipping the bucket into the river's cool depths for a second assault.
Sakura didn't wait for it to come. She ran through the water, momentarily freeing large droplets of liquid from its collective body. She caught the handle as it rose up to greet her and the metal buckled under the force of her grip. She grinned, putting all her weight behind wresting the metal container away from Naruto. A loud snap sent her reeling backwards with a splash as the pressure vanished. She glanced down at her still-curled fist to see that handle within her grasp had separated cleanly from the bucket. Unfazed, she stood up, regaining her footing on the river bed as little rivulets of water cascaded down her. Naruto stood several feet away grinning. She couldn't help herself. She grinned back, full of determination to win back the bucket.
Half an hour later, Kakashi extracted an extremely dented, abused piece of twisted metal from his two sopping wet students who were both trying and failing not to look pleased with themselves."Remind me never to send either of you out for water again," he reprimanded, shaking his head but his lips quirked into an unseen smile and his eyes glinted.
The rest of the morning and much of the afternoon followed without much incident. Sakura likened the hustle and bustle of the camp to an ant hill; patrols of shinobi constantly departed and arrived back at the site but from their expressions she was able to deduce that nothing major had occurred. Surprisingly the water fight had been refreshing and exactly what she'd needed. It had never occurred to her how badly she had needed some time out of her hectic schedule – time to breathe, relax and a respite from the chaos that had ensued over the past few days.
It was only when sorting through her tent for some supplies that her hands clasped around an unfamiliar object and she drew it out from a small leather pouch, hidden under a bundle of clothes she'd stuffed roughly in the corner. It was the miniature clay bird. She sat back on her knees with a sigh and examined it closely in the palm of her hand, having not had the opportunity or desire to do so before. It was rather unremarkable, she realised as she turned it over, scrutinising it carefully. It did not appear to be dangerous or to have any function that she could detect, although there was an unusual amount of residual chakra left over from its making. She sighed and returned it to its pouch.
It irked her that Deidara would have the gall to leave her something so small and inconsequential but at the same time potentially problematic. She wondered why he had wanted her to have it so badly. She ground her teeth angrily, wondering why she cared. At the time he had appeared nonchalant but looking back, she knew he had been anything but. She bristled at his incorrect assumption about her; that she would willingly accept whatever he gave her despite the barrier that lay between them. She had no intention of keeping the bird and – she thought with fresh determination – she would make sure he knew! Feeling better for her decision, she straightened up and exited the tent with one destination in mind: the secluded glade where they had met the night before.
The clearing was deserted.
The pink-haired kunoichi settled down on a large flattish white rock by the banks of the stream, attempting to hold back a wave of bitter disappointment. It was stupid, but she had been positive, beyond a doubt that he'd be there. She regretted ever coming, unconsciously clenching her fists out of frustration and self-loathing. She should have informed the Sand of her encounter – leaving out the specifics of course – instead of accepting a potentially dangerous gift and returning to the scene, hoping he'd come back! So why had she?
Sakura found that was a question she didn't really want to answer.
There was no point in staying any longer, she thought dolefully. Deidara had not reappeared – although that was probably a good thing – and she had made the wrong choice in returning. She supposed she should be thankful nothing worse had happened. As was her custom, the medic gave a cursory glance about the clearing and made to leave. She was halfway across the clearing when a deep, velvety voice cut across the silence, freezing her in mid-stride.
"Looking for someone?"
Sakura spun around in shock, fear clutching at her throat as she turned to face the very man she'd been waiting for. In spite of her fear, the kunoichi couldn't help but notice how reminiscent of the night before the scene was. She surveyed him angrily, eyes tracing his figure and reading the wariness in his face. He appeared to have lost some of his cocky attitude. His face was unusually pale, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes.
"What do you want?" She asked abruptly, disapproval of his words seeping into her tone.
"Isn't that what I should be asking you?" Deidara replied with less zeal than before. Years of practice drew her attention to the subtle way that he transferred most of his weight to his left foot. His wounds were still affecting him, she calculated, not wholly surprised.
"I came to give you this back," the kunoichi answered resolutely. She chided herself for being distracted so easily. If he was suffering from an injury that was his business, she reassured herself, quashing the urge to heal his wounds. He was no longer her patient. She would do well to remember that.
"Is that really the reason you're here, Sakura?" Deidara replied, his keen gaze cutting through her own and rendering her speechless. It was all she could to gape at him unattractively as she pondered the meaning of his words. What was the reason? No, she could not afford to be side-tracked. One mistake was all it took. She had to remain focused!
"I don't know what you mean," Sakura countered airily. "I only came to give you this back. I have no ulterior motive, though I can't really say the same for you". She paused, letting the words sink in. "I've been here for less than ten minutes and you show up, out of the blue. Tell me, were you waiting for me to return or is your camp conveniently close by? Somehow I doubt it's the latter".
"You shouldn't be here," Deidara announced, his expression turning from one of mirth to cold and something Sakura couldn't quite distinguish. Inwardly she groaned at his denseness. You'd have thought I'd got it the first time, she thought heavily, her thoughts laced with irony.
"You keep saying that, but you don't seem to want to tell me why. Why then should I believe you?"
"I can't tell you that". His expression became shuttered, like that of an empty house with boarded up windows.
"Well then I guess we have a problem," Sakura sighed, wishing inwardly that everything could be simple and straight-cut. She wished that Deidara would be straight with her, she wished that this conversation had never occurred and she wished that her heart would not beat out a violent tattoo against her ribs at the mere sight of him.
Deidara said nothing. It seemed he had run out of things to say. In truth, he was running over a myriad of things to say, each less likely than the last. He couldn't bear to tell her the truth, but if she stayed she would die and Deidara could not stand to have that on his conscience.
"Take it," Sakura startled him out of his thoughts in time for him to see her proffer the little clay bird of his own making. He glanced at it briefly.
"No," he shook his head. "It's yours".
"Just take it, Deidara".
He glared at her, fists tightening in unmistakable anger as his short temper frayed. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult, yeah?"
Sakura huffed and crossed her arms out of sheer irritation, willing herself not to rise to his bait. He watched her with blazing eyes, almost willing her to fight back, to release some of that fiery spirit which had drawn her to him in the first place. He hated seeing that lost, helpless expression she'd worn upon her face moments before he'd chosen to reveal himself, knowing that he was likely one of the main causes of that. She had closed herself off to him. He had lost her trust and that made him angry. Angry because he knew he had only himself to blame.
"You won't even give me a chance to explain!" He fumed, as he paced up and down, beside himself with rage. "And anything I would say, you'd disregard because you don't even trust me to tell the truth!"
"Of course I don't!" Sakura countered. "You are an enemy of Konoha, therefore we are enemies by default. That's what you said wasn't it?"
"Sakura-" Deidara protested.
"No Deidara. I'm sick of hearing your lies," she choked out, turning her back so that he couldn't see her expression.
An audible crunch shattered the silence of the glade as she reflexively folded her fingers into a fist, grinding the shell of the clay bird into dust. Surprised, she let the fragments slip from her fingers and become lost in amongst a forest of green blades. She strode away, half expecting him to stop her, to feel his hand grasp her wrist or to hear him call her name but she was disappointed. She reached the edge of the clearing unhindered, not daring to look back.
A little while later Deidara left the clearing.
"So did you persuade her?" The red-head asked dryly, pausing half-way through cleaning and modifying his man-sized puppet, Hiroku. To his distaste, grains of sand had wedged themselves inside the contraption, clogging up the wooden joints. Sasori scowled. It was a large job, made no less easy by the number of components and joints that made it up. In short, it was absolute murder to clean. Certainly, it was not a task he'd ever dream of delegating to anyone other than himself as fixing the puppet took time, steady fingers and a degree of trust.
The puppet-master so fixated upon his task, barely raised his head when Deidara came storming back into camp with a face like thunder, nor did he stir when the blonde kicked an empty tin that happened to be in his path. Emotions were so... troublesome, he observed stoically.
"No," Deidara's heavily laden tone of voice left no room for explanation. He settled down onto a large piece of fallen debris nearby whose splayed branches groped skywards mournfully and ignored the constant snap and crackle of the fire, preferring to mull over the events of several hours earlier. The light reflecting off the dancing flames were mirrored in his wide, unseeing eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he dimly registered the weight of Sasori's impassive grey eyes watching him silently from across the camp fire. A scowl unbidden, leapt to his face.
"It was foolish," the puppet-master stated coldly. His voice was unconcerned and disinterested, bordering on apathetic. "You could have been seen". When those words were greeted with silence, he added without inflection, "how's your leg?"
"I'll live," Deidara snarled, ripping back his trousers to reveal heavily bloodstained bandages which he tore off with unwonted abandon, ignoring the stabbing pains which ricocheted up the entire length of his leg.
"Well I won't hold my breath," Sasori said sardonically, not bothering to lift his head this time.
"I wish you would," Deidara said sourly, deliberately keeping his voice raised. Only a faint narrowing of his companion's eyes told Deidara that he had heard.
With a sigh, the blonde leaned forward to observe the wound under the fierce, orange flickering light of the flames and grimaced. The blood had congealed, preventing further blood loss but it was healing much too slow for his liking. Any heavy exercise would force the wound open again, he concluded wearily. Unfortunately, fighting fell under that category and it was inevitable that fighting would occur in the next few days. Trying not to think about that too much, he proceeded to clean the wound with a cloth soaked in water from a pan sizzling over the fire, wincing occasionally. Once he was satisfied, he retrieved a roll of sterilised bandages from his pack in the tent behind him and bound his leg with little skill. After much cursing and several long minutes of unravelling and reapplying the bandages he decided it would do.
Reluctantly, he had to admit that the exchange between himself and the pink-haired medic had not at all gone to plan. It had been with some surprise that he'd sensed her chakra in the vicinity as – based on their previous meeting – he had assumed that she had wanted nothing more to do with him. He wasn't far wrong. He toyed with the idea of seeking her out one last time, to make her listen to what he had to say, to make her understand why he had acted the way he did. He sighed and shook his head. Tempting as it was, Deidara knew it would be a mistake to return.
That left one option.
"I'm not doing it, yeah". His point-blank refusal barely carried above the merrily crackling flames but its meaning was by no means diminished. The puppet-master sighed and an understanding passed between them as his eyes met the gaze of the determined explosives expert.
"Can't or won't?" From under a crop of dark burgundy hair, Sasori scrutinised the blonde.
Deidara let out a low growl and tightened his fists. "What does it matter? There are other ways to achieve our goal!"
We've been through this," Sasori replied in extremely irked tones, more because of the interruption than anything else. "It's the best plan by far and will ensure that we capture both of the jinchuuriki".
"But Sakura-"
"She made her choice, as did you when you joined the Akatsuki," Sasori reminded him evenly; tone completely devoid of empathy and mind already returning to the task at hand which was – in his opinion – much more interesting than the troubles of others.
"You know full well I had no choice," Deidara grumbled, eyes flashing at the mere mention of that day.
"And I say you've taken a ridiculous view from the beginning," Sasori reprimanded. "It's not like you had anything to go back to".
"That's not the point," Deidara returned bitingly, involuntarily clenching his teeth at the unpleasant turn of conversation. Sasori's gaze hardened. Deidara's lack of cooperation irked him to no end and so he returned to polishing his puppet with renewed vigour. "I don't see you risking your neck for this damn mission, Sasori!"
Sasori set down his rag and sighed. He knew from past experience that Deidara was as stubborn and immovable as an old mule. It would be almost impossible to convince him to change his mind. "Alright but you'd better have a good alternative, Deidara".
"Sasori-".
"Don't misunderstand me," Sasori cut across his partner sharply, his ears already weary from conversation. "This is not something I want to do. But as much as it pains me to say it, the mission won't work without you. There is no other choice but to abandon the plan".
"Don't say anything to the others, yeah," Deidara replied, relieved that the puppet-master had agreed to forsake the plan. "I don't want any of this getting out".
"No I suppose you don't," Sasori smirked. He seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Fine, but when the time comes I shall ask a favour of you Deidara".
After a moment's pause, Deidara reluctantly agreed.
"Where were you?" Naruto blurted out upon meeting a weary and dishevelled Sakura halfway across the darkened camp. The sun had set only minutes before but already she could feel a chill breeze creep down the nape of her neck. The dry bracken crunched under their feet as they wended their way through the sea of tents towards the eastern edge of the camp. After several moments of silence – filled only with the swish and crack of dry branches – Sakura shrugged.
He continued to stare at her expectantly so she fobbed him off with as vague an answer as she could muster: "Out for a walk" and kept her eyes fixed on the horizon which still glowed faintly as the last remnants of sunlight slipped away. In her mind's eye, she was reliving the conversation with Deidara. She remembered his hard, blazing look, of the fury that had contorted his face when she'd dared to offer him the clay bird back. She shivered. Of one thing Deidara had been adamant. That it was dangerous for her to stay. She pondered the potential meaning of those words apprehensively, sensing that – due to the sensitive nature of the topic – it could be likened to poking a sleeping lion in the eye or pulling out a very sharp thorn.
She sighed. Could it mean that he still harboured feelings for her? A swooping, hopeful emotion soared briefly in her chest before she quashed it instinctively. No. He would never have done those things if he'd cared, she chided herself sharply. She would do better to forget those long days in the hospital under the burning sun. Those days were gone.
"I'm off to find Kakashi," Naruto announced as they neared their destination. "See you later, Sakura," he walked off with a confident wave of his hand. When he was gone Sakura let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding. She wondered for how much longer her mysterious behaviour would go unnoticed. She could feel the charade she had hastily erected cracking at the seams. When it broke, she feared what lay underneath would be laid bare, for all to see.
She paused at the break in between their little ring of tents, unsure whether to step out of the shadows and into the warm, bright firelight. She could distinguish three distinct, huddled shapes bunched around the small campfire at the heart of their circle of tents and as she neared, she was able to identify them as members of Team 10: Neji, Ten Ten and Gai. They would notice her sooner or later, she realised and so she took a deep breath and relinquished the safety of the shadows. Almost immediately, her quick gaze perceived that all of the logs were occupied by at least one person and so – wincing inwardly – Sakura sat down next to Gai, feeling numb.
"Are you alright Sakura?" Gai startled her out of her reverie. "You look a bit down," he continued, a little too astutely for her liking. She contemplated answering but then realised she really had nothing to say. Gai stared at her for a second and then brightened visibly. "I know exactly what you need; one of my famous pick-me-ups!" Sakura stared at him incredulously as he excused himself, presumably to make said pick-me up.
"I'm sorry," Ten Ten apologised once he was out of range, her smile altogether too understanding. "He can get a bit much sometimes".
"No it's alright," Sakura managed to smile faintly. "How do you put up with him all the time?"
"Them you mean?" Neji intoned suddenly, gesturing to the two Konoha shinobi sporting green spandex outfits. "I have no idea".
Sakura giggled, unable to help herself. Their joking, easy tones calmed her mind, putting her strangely at ease. For the first time since she'd returned to the camp, her heart felt unburdened by the worries that had plagued her since before leaving Suna.
Feeling marginally better, she shifted into a more comfortable position on the mossy log, uncoiling her tightly wound shoulder muscles as she relaxed her guard.
She chose to listen to Ten Ten and Neji's amiable chatter rather than join in, enjoying the short liberation from her poisonous thoughts. Somehow, the whole situation seemed more bearable with people she knew surrounding her. She was comforted in knowing that Kakashi-sensei and Naruto would support her at the very least.
At that moment, Gai chose to make his reappearance, entering the circle of firelight holding a tin mug of something that had a strangely aromatic scent. Sakura took the mug with a smile of thanks and sniffed it gingerly, the heat from the liquid warming her chilled fingers. She deduced that it was a herbal tea of some kind, although she couldn't identify the ingredients by scent alone.
"What's in it?" She asked him, eying the concoction suspiciously.
"Ah, now that's a secret!" He said with a grin, wagging his finger at her knowingly. "If I told you then soon everyone would be stealing my uber-cool herbal drink!"
"Right," she replied, privately thinking that she'd rather pass judgement once she'd tasted the so-called uber-cool drink. She hesitantly brought the tin mug to her lips and took a tentative sip, taking care not to burn her tongue from the scalding hot liquid. A sweet, floral flavour pervaded her senses; it put her in mind of woodlands and sweet pastures. She was surprised to discover that she liked it. The medic took a second sip, savouring the flavour this time. She could detect camomile and a hint of lemongrass along with some other ingredient she failed to identify.
"This is really goo-," she exclaimed, turning round to compliment Gai on his brilliant tea-brewing skills but for once he wasn't listening. None of them were.
Sakura followed their line of sight, seeing what had caught their attention almost immediately. The entire camp had been roused like a hive of angry bees. Shinobi were abandoning half-finished meals at firesides, others were shouting orders as they ran across the packed site and many more were converging upon the patch of cleared ground in front of the Kazekage's tent. It was not long before Sakura and the others joined the rear of the expanding throng. The air was rife with alarm and confusion. An uneasy feeling settled at the bottom of her stomach as she caught echoes of the infectious emotions which rippled through the anxious crowd. She chanced a glance at the others but their eyes never strayed from the head of the crowd as a silent authoritative figure made his appearance. Sakura watched him too.
The man raised his hand and the murmurs subsided.
"The sentinels guarding the Kazekage's tent have just given me some very disturbing news," he informed the waiting crowd, many of whom had already begun whispering half-formed theories to their neighbours. "Up until moments ago, they had been unaware that the Kazekage has been missing for over an hour! It appears that he and his personal guard vanished right after dinner; apparently he was intending to take a walk to stretch his legs and never returned".
The buzzing increased in volume until it reached a crescendo. "Vanished? What does he mean vanished?" Sakura whispered to a startled Neji, taking advantage of the confusion that ensued. "Do you think that the Akatsuki-"
But Neji hushed her to be silent.
"I want everyone to remain calm," the speaker shouted, struggling to make himself heard over the hubbub of noise. Gradually the shouts of outrage and mutinous muttering subsided and Sakura was able to hear what he was saying. "Meet back here in five minutes where you will all be sorted into teams. If you find the Kazekage send up a green flare, if you find the Akatsuki send up a red flare," he instructed. "Well? What are you all waiting for?"
Under his stern glare, the astonished shinobi hurried back to their tents, quite unable to believe what was happening.
Please review and don't forget to check out the rewritten versions of chapters 2 and 3!