Title: Vessel, Part 12
Fandom: Naruto, post time-slip
Title: Vessel, Part 12
Archive: No archives unless I put them there myself, no MSTings.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters I write about in fanfiction. I'm only a little bitter about it.
Vessel, Part 12
Sakura was an emotional person.
She was quick to anger when family or friends were threatened. She was also empathic and sympathetic even to enemies.
It was why she was fundamentally unsuited to ever become ANBU. She could not block out her more tender emotions or her instinctual need to help rather than hurt wherever possible.
It had caused trouble for her before. Ordered to stay away, she had instead sprinted towards the possessed Naruto during that first mission with Sai, and Naruto — or, rather, his rampaging fox symbiont — nearly killed her.
Right now, it appeared as if her over-reaction to Deidara's saying —what he had said— had just landed them both in an equally perilous situation.
Sakura realized that, although Deidara had his hands straight down by his sides, his cloak was arranged in such a way that she could see his hands while Kisame and Itachi couldn't. That made sense; Deidara's bloodline technique relied upon using his hands in such a way that the enemy didn't know what hit them until it was too late, which worked best if the enemy couldn't see the hand seals. One hand was clenched closed, presumably working on an explosive clay creation, but the other was going through a repeating series of movements that, because it had been a while, it took Sakura a moment to comprehend.
Deidara was flashing hand signals to her. Obviously Sakura didn't know any signals the Akatsuki used, and he didn't know any Konoha ones. There was, however, an underlying hand alphabet common to most villages, which was what Deidara was using to spell out instructions for her.
R-U-N
Over and over.
It was an imminently practical solution. Deidara was powerful, perhaps even powerful enough to survive a physical confrontation with two other preternaturally strong shinobi. Sakura was still drained, only beginning to feel the tickle of chakra along her extremities. Although her perfect chakra control was legendary, right now it was fragmented as chakra surged painfully along one pathway and appeared completely absent in another. She could try to force it to her feet and run like crazy while Deidara held the other two off. It might even work.
Except that Sakura was an emotional person, the sort of person who ran into danger to help a friend rather than away from it to save herself.
"No," she said clearly.
"Tch," grumbled Deidara, although he stopped flashing those urgent hand signals at her.
Across from them, the big water specialist sighed in an exaggerated manner. "Kids," said Kisame, "this is all very sweet and romantic and so on, but it isn't practical. Go back to the compound before the Leader finds out."
"Tch," said Deidara again, but there was a different note to the indistinct noise. Sakura could tell, somehow, that he was now grinning that wide, half-mad smirk of his. She could also see that both his hands were open and empty.
The next instant, the ground behind Itachi and Kisame imploded.
Sakura had the impression of segmented monsters, vaguely centipede-like but with squared-off heads, large enough to tower over Kisame. She didn't get a good look because Deidara blurred out of existence in front of her and the next thing she knew she was over his shoulder staring at one of the clouds on his cloak as he leapt towards his bird. There was a roar of compressed pressure that she took to be a strike from Kisame's sword, following by a dull shattering noise. Deidara laughed under his breath. "Yeah, like that'll work." Reaching the flying clay construct Deidara dropped her without any preamble. Scrambling to a sitting position, Sakura took in the chaotic scene as fragmented impressions.
Kisame fighting not one big monster but several smaller ones as the separated segments of the construct he thought destroyed came to life and converged on him—
Itachi wrapped up like umeboshiin in onigiri as two of the segmented monsters curled around his torso, legs and face, effectively blocking the use of his sharingan—
Deidara preformed a seal with one hand and snarled, "Katsu!"
—before blowing up in a curiously bloodless puff of smoke—
"Hell, I knew that was too easy," gritted Deidara.
"Indeed," came a quiet voice directly behind Sakura.
From the direction of the sound Itachi was standing over her kneeling body. Sakura didn't risk a glance. Instead she attempted to focus what little chakra she could gather into her elbow and drove straight back, hoping to connect in a very vulnerable area.
Had she been successful, there was little doubt any future revival of the Uchiha clan would have become the sole provenance of Sasuke.
However, Sakura drove through Itachi with far too much ease. She wasn't surprised to be surrounded by the gray smoke that typified a shadow clone phasing out of existence.
"Gotta fly," Deidara bit out, which Sakura took as a directive to hang on tight to anything she could. She curled her fingers into his robe and tightened her knees against the clay bird. There was a disorienting sensation of leaving her stomach behind as the bird lurched straight up.
Before they cleared the treetops, however, everything came to a crashing halt.
Perhaps a better turn of phrase would be a drenching halt.
It was a grim fact that clay did not hold its cohesion well when engulfed in a solid column of water.
Swearing violently before cutting off and coughing as he took in a mouthful of water, Deidara reached for Sakura in mid-fall. He landed on one knee, Sakura cradled in his arms. His wet hair was flat against his head, streamed across his face. The two were immediately surrounded by Itachi shadow clones.
His mouth so close to her ear that Sakura could feel his lips move, "Fight?" Deidara asked in a barely-audible tone.
"Can you?"
His smile was savage. "Wet clay makes great quicksand. If Kisame sucks the water out of it, it'll also make him one terrific tomb. As for Itachi; oh, I have techniques developed just for killing him, eh."
Sakura tried not to be shocked at his lethal intent. Even years after his desertion most Leaf ninjas spoke of retrieving Sasuke rather than eliminating him; evidently life in the Akatsuki was far more cutthroat.
Which made it odd that Kisame and Itachi had moved to contain more than attack.
"Talk," Sakura said. "Try talk."
Talk? She wants to freakin' talk?!
His other unvoiced option was run. He was faster than Itachi, and with the adrenalin currently racing through his body likely faster than Kisame as well. "Talk" was not even on his short list.
His head was so close to hers Deidara couldn't actually see what she was doing, although he could hear the creak of her leather glove as she flexed her uninjured hand.
…Oh. Stall. Stall until her chakra pathways open up more…
Yeah, that he understood. All he had to do, Deidara thought grimly, was think of something interesting enough to keep the other two Akatsuki from attacking again.
…Yeah, that's all.
He stood, releasing her legs so that her feet could swing to the ground, anchoring her in place next to him with the arm around her shoulders. "Back off," he growled at the semi-circle of Itachi clones.
Surprisingly, they all 'poof'd' out of existence. The real Itachi stood next to Kisame, looking as if he had never moved from his original position during the fight. Perhaps he hadn't. The Uchiha's specialty was deceiving the senses.
Reaching up with his free hand, Deidara pulled off the scope covering his left eye and clenched his right eye closed. He surveyed the Uchiha critically. Although it might be a clone, at least Deidara could tell that they weren't caught in a genjutsu. He had trained his eye to resist and overcome the effects of the sharingan; as long as he kept his untrained eye closed, the sharingan would have no effect on him.
"Fun workout," growled Kisame, who did not appear as if he had truly enjoyed himself. Water dripped off of him, making the Akatsuki cloak cling. Normally he didn't mind being wet, but there was a nip to the air and Kisame hated being cold. Little wonder he looked so cross. Deidara theorized that the big male must have tapped into the forest's underground water table to perform his jutsu. "Enough playing, kids. Itachi and I have work to do. Go back to the base and we'll forget this ever happened."
Deidara snorted. "What, if we promise to be good and not stop for candy on the way back, you'll let us go? I don't think so, eh."
"Don't," said the Uchiha in a tone that was, even for him, very cold, "be foolish enough to make us do this." Kisame punctuated his partner's comment with a teeth-baring smirk that lacked any true amusement.
Deidara dropped his arm from Sakura's shoulders and moved slightly in front of her. "Not making you do anything. Not making anyone do anything, okay?"
Kisame braced his sword against his shoulder so that he could free up one hand to slap over his face. "Yes, the situation sucks. It sucks, Deidara. We all agree it sucks. We don't like it. We haven't from the beginning. That doesn't change anything," he snarled with sudden anger. The big male stopped, took a breath, and finished more calmly with, "We need a vessel, and individuals with appropriate skills to both provide it and to contribute to it. That's all."
Deidara shook his head. "Not good enough."
With only the slightest trace of mild curiosity in his voice, the Uchiha asked, "You would prefer it to be one of us?"
Kisame scowled and glared down at the ground.
Deidara smirked as his one open eye narrowed. "She prefers that it's not any of us. That's all." He folded his hands into his wide sleeves, absently rolling clay between his fingers. A sign, woman, give me a sign, tell me when to move—! Nothing. Her breathing was calm; whatever she was waiting for hadn't happened yet.
"Why all the urgency now?" asked Kisame, not looking at either of them. "You're really not pregnant, Sakura?" There was an outraged squawk from behind Deidara. She lunged into Deidara's line of sight as she started forward indignantly. Grabbing her by the elbow, Deidara searched her face as he held her in place. No, she wasn't attacking; she was gearing up for one of her shouting fits. Realizing the same thing, Kisame shrugged defensively. "Well, you've been acting weird all week, I just thought—"
"She's not pregnant," insisted Deidara crossly as she fumed impotently next to him. "There's no vessel, there isn't going to be a vessel, you aren't losing anything by letting her go!"
The Uchiha cocked his head as his gaze turned towards Sakura, sharingan swirling. "I see that she isn't," he murmured. Sakura gave an outraged gasp and splayed her fingers across her stomach, glaring, before scowling and dropping her hands as she realized it was probably a bluff. The byakugan could show physical surroundings and conditions, but the sharingan stopped at mind control. The Uchiha turned back to Deidara and said, "Why not?"
That threw Deidara. He stammered, "We haven't — she just isn't, okay?"
"If you prefer men, just use a jutsu on her and pretend—"
Deidara sputtered. "I do NOT prefer men, okay?!" In spite of the situation, Kisame started chuckling. His face red, Deidara struggled for what to say. "It's just — it's just—"
"It's just—?" repeated the Uchiha in his usual even tone.
"I can't do that to a kid of mine," snapped Deidara. "I won't."
Kisame stopped laughing.
The Uchiha actually rocked back on his heels, head tilted as he stared into Deidara's flushed face.
"I see," he finally intoned with what was, even for him, an distinct lack of verbal emphasis. The Uchiha switched his gaze so that he looked up at his partner. Kisame appeared grim, mouth pressed together in a white slash across his face as he stared down at the forest floor.
The perceived threat level dropped as Kisame reined in his chakra. The Uchiha didn't follow suit, but since his gaze was no longer focused near him or Sakura, Deidara concluded Itachi was likewise less dangerous than he had been just five seconds earlier.
Amazingly, this talking thing was working.
Which was a shame, because he was antsy and he really wanted to blow something up. Especially Itachi.
"So just let us go," said Deidara when no one else seemed willing to say anything. "There's no point in us going back to base. I'm not going to let anything happen to her."
"You can't leave," responded the Uchiha flatly.
That was a curious emphasis. Deidara pressed his opening, thinking that he was getting good at the whole 'talking' thing. If the Akatsuki did ever managed to establish their own country, perhaps he could be an ambassador. "I'll come back, I'll take whatever punishment, but let us go now." No response from the other two as they remained the same position, the Uchiha looking steadily at Kisame, Kisame utterly fascinated by the ground in front of him. "At least let me take her to Fire's border. Her chakra isn't stable yet, she won't make it by herself, okay?"
The Uchiha was still staring at Kisame instead of paying any attention to them. The big male finally sighed and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
It was creepy the way the two of them communicated so well without words. At the same time, though, Deidara thought it was too bad Tobi couldn't pull that trick off so that he wouldn't have to listen to his partner's general weirdness.
"The reports said he was about a day away," Kisame told the Uchiha. "That was last night."
It was said casually, as if Kisame were reminding Itachi of something.
For Sakura and Deidara it was out of context. The two exchanged questioning looks. The Uchiha, however, nodded. "Acceptable."
"If he finds out, we could all be dead," Kisame added in the same casual manner. This seemed to be a different he than was referred to in the first statement.
"Acceptable," said the Uchiha again.
"For you, maybe," said Sakura, regarding them both warily. "What are you two babbling about?"
"Your friend the jinchuuriki has slipped his leash and is making his way here," said the Uchiha. Sakura made the same strangled half-scream she made when Deidara told her that he was taking her home, and again clapped her own hand over her mouth to smother the squeal. Itachi continued, severely, "For someone who wants to be Hokage, he has a hard time placing the needs of the village above his selfish personal desire to protect his friends."
Deidara perked up. "He's here, eh? If we can grab him, the Leader won't be so pissed at—" Sakura slapped at his shoulder, which fortunately Deidara caught out of the corner of his eye. He jumped away and scowled at her. "What's that for!?"
"Aw, they're so cute," snickered Kisame.
The Uchiha continued speaking as if the little interplay hadn't occurred. "He is being followed by a retrieval party from the Leaf headed up by Nara Shikamaru, as well as a retrieval party from the Sand led by Sabaku no Kankuro. Or so the story is going to go. However, the party from Leaf caught up with him two days ago and, instead of taking him back, is continuing with him as they try to track her down. I have no doubt the same thing will happen when the Sand shinobi make contact, which should be later today if it hasn't already happened. This selfishness seems to be a particular characteristic of the shinobi of your generation," he told Sakura sternly.
The Uchiha sounded like a disapproving schoolmarm. Sakura scowled at him, no doubt thinking someone who was only five years older than she and who had murdered his entire clan should not be giving lectures on personal loyalties versus mission objectives. "Is Naruto your mission?" she asked suspiciously.
"Scouting him, yes. We are only to engage under certain conditions. Those conditions do not exist."
"I thought luring him here was part of the plan."
"Not when he is accompanied by ANBU squads from two different countries," said Kisame sourly. "Him we could take out. Him plus a bunch of ANBU getting underfoot, too complicated."
She looked like she might want to argue the point. Not about the ANBU squads getting in the way, Deidara knew; about any of them being a match for the jinchuuriki. He headed off the argument by clarifying an important point. "We're letting her go, right?"
"She is taking advantage of our absence to escape," responded the Uchiha evenly.
Kisame chuckled again. "I hope you don't mind looking like an idiot," he smirked at Deidara.
"Tch, whatever," grumbled Deidara, knowing it was necessary but thinking Kisame was enjoying that part a little too much.