Hello, again. :) Wow... This is a long chapter. My fingers are sore from typing. I love Tobi! 3

Warning: Hidan curses.

Enjoy this chapter! Don't hesitate to write a review. Reviews are very nice. :)

Chapter 12

When Deidara, Kisame, and I entered the dining room, I grew silent and shrunk away from everyone except for Deidara. Of course, my tactic didn't work. As soon as I sat down at the surprisingly fancy dining table, I peaked the other members' interest.

If I thought Kisame was weird-looking, he didn't compare to the guy (or thing) sitting in front of me. One half of his face was white, and the other was completely black. He had short, light green hair, and two, green, claw-like appendages framed each side of his face, giving him an appearance similar to a Venus flytrap. I couldn't see a mouth on the back side of his face, but on his white one, his mouth curled up in a small smile.

"Why, hello, there," said the white face. His voice sounded relaxed and surprisingly… normal. "I'm Zetsu. I hope we can become friends."

It took almost all of my willpower to not look away or cling to Deidara at that moment. "…Hi," I whispered.

I became even more startled when the black half of Zetsu's face spoke. Instead of the relaxed, lethargic voice I heard just a few seconds ago, I heard a deep one that didn't sound far from a growl. "Can't you see that you're scaring her?" it questioned. "You always scare everyone away. It makes things harder for everybody."

White Zetsu laughed, but his eyes still lingered on me. "You're one to talk."

Deidara leaned in and put his arm around my shoulders, sending jolts of electricity down my spine. "I see you've met Zetsu… hmm."

"You seem to know Deidara well," White Zetsu remarked. Not really… Suddenly, it dawned on me that I didn't even know him for a month. And yet I loved him… Or I thought I loved him… Something weird was certainly going on here. But as I turned my head and looked at Deidara, all feelings of doubt vanished and passion overwhelmed me. The only thing I could do was nod slightly.

Despite all the ordinary activities I witnessed the Akatsuki do, the normal dinner still surprised me a little. Pain (I had to call him Leader Pain out loud, but I would never think of him as my leader) seated himself at the head of the table, and we had bowls of miso soup. Afterwards, Pain rose.

"Report early tomorrow in the main room so I can assign the two-man teams," he announced. "As you all know, Savanna Raiyn had recently joined the Akatsuki." As all the heads swiveled towards me, I fought to maintain a composed facial expression.

Pain took no more notice of my presence. "You are dismissed," he curtly said. Gracefully (somehow), he strode out of the room.

When I stood up, Deidara almost immediately grasped my wrist. "We need our sleep for tomorrow, un. Why don't we…" He stepped closer to me and dropped his voice a little. "…have some fun? Hmm?"

My heart leaped in my chest. Whatever he was suggesting, it gave me chills… The good ones, of course.

Tobi walked past me and jabbed Deidara in the side with his elbow. "Hehehehe… Remember what Leader Pain said, Deidara-Senpai!"

Deidara jerked away from him, a scowl appearing on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?! So many people have already reminded me, but I'm fully aware, hmm!"

As Tobi tried to apologize to Deidara, my confusion peaked. A lot of people did warn Deidara about going too far with something. But, what? It didn't appear to me like he was doing anything. From then on, I decided to be more alert about my surroundings.

I sighed and nudged Deidara. "It's late. We should be going to bed, and Tobi's sorry. Right, Tobi?" I winked.

Tobi nodded his head way too enthusiastically. "Oh, yes! I'm very, very sorry!" He paused for a moment and put his finger on his chin, "…I thought you didn't know. I mean, you never listen to anything Leader Pain says, right?"

I mentally face-palmed.

Deidara snapped. "I'll get you, Tobi! I'll blast you off to the heavens, un! Of course I listen to Leader Pain. If there's anyone who doesn't listen to him, it's you! Hm!" When he took a step forward in anger, I frantically groped for something to say. My mind going blank, I gave Tobi a knowing look.

"Gah!" Tobi exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I really mean it this time, Deidara-Senpai! But, it's not like I wasn't sorry last time! I was! So, I'm sorry both times! That doubles the sorryness!"

Deidara seemed to grow even more furious, but I couldn't help it; a giggle escaped from me. His expression quickly changed to that of surprise.

"Tobi is nothing but infuriating. Hm," he stated.

"No, he's not," I retorted. "He's sorry."

Tobi nodded again. "Yep! See ya later!" Before Deidara could catch him, he zipped off.

He sighed. "Don't be so easy with Tobi," he said. "Once you get to know him, you'll want to punch him whenever you see him, un."

Wow… It appeared like the only person who could make Deidara lose his cool was Tobi. Other than that, nobody could seem to anger him. I fell silent, pondering over his mysterious personality.

Of course, Deidara took a hold of my waist with his arm and led me down the corridors. A blush began to form on my cheeks as we arrived at his room. However, instead of opening the door like he usually would, Deidara kicked it open and quickly zipped a few feet away from it.

"What was that for?" I inquired.

Deidara had on his "Tobi" expression. "Tobi had played a countless number of pranks on me, but I'm not going to get fooled again, un."

The more Deidara hated Tobi for his silliness, the more I liked him. I wasn't going to mention that, of course. We walked into the room and took off our robes for the night.

I marveled at my feelings yet again as I watched him change; my feelings of affection for him diminished. Something was definitely not right here. But, what was the cause of my emptiness? Or, more importantly, what was the cause of my… "Love"?

Suddenly, a pang of misery struck my heart. Naruto… I missed him so much. I wanted to get back to him. I needed to get back to him! I almost started to move, but thankfully the knowledge that Pain would surely destroy the Leaf Village if I left nagged me in the back of my mind. I would have to slip out unnoticed, somehow…

While I was immersed in my thoughts, Deidara appeared in front of my and brushed the brown hair away from my face. Returning to the present, I quickly took in the sight of his body and marveled at the flawlessness of it. My earlier feelings of emptiness were nearly forgotten, but not quite. The heat coming back into my cheeks, we snuggled under the covers of the bed in the corner.

All my neutral feelings towards Deidara was now gone; I even pressed up against him for warmth. He gazed into my eyes and eagerly wrapped his arms around me.

"Now," he murmured. "it's dark, but even now… I know this is art."

He didn't exactly say what he called art, but I was fairly certain he was talking about my body. One of his hands lightly traced the contours of my frame, and I loved every second of it. Deliberately, he started to lean down so his lips could meet mine.

My conscience seemed to warn me. Pain said something about Deidara going too far with something. Aren't you wondering what it is? What about your earlier feelings of emptiness? Aren't you just the least bit curious as to why you felt the way you did?

I wasn't exactly sure why, but I grasped those thoughts and held onto them. When our faces almost met, I tilted mine downward and Deidara's lips came in contact with my forehead instead. Heat spread throughout my body at the touch, but I fought against it and surprisingly… it nearly faded away. In order for Deidara to not become suspicious of my actions, I pretended to breathe in his scent.

"Mmmm," I sighed. "I feel like I could lie here forever."

Judging by his stiff body, he wasn't fooled. Cautiously, I looked back up. He gazed at me with such an amount of intensity that I could have sworn he was concentrating on something.

Suddenly, a fiery passion seized me and I felt like I needed to kiss him right then and there. Wrapping my arms around Deidara's neck, I crushed my lips to his. Where did that come from? I thought he would be confused about my sudden behavior, but instead he welcomed it gladly. Deidara returned my aggressiveness and wound his fingers into my hair, pushing himself on top of me as we kissed.

Soon after, I felt the need for air, so I broke the kiss. He and I lay tangled up with each other, breathing heavily. Deidara stroked my hair and smiled. "I'm in pure bliss," he said. That feeling of fiery passion still hadn't left me. I was trying to fight it, but it overwhelmed me even if I just looked at Deidara.

"I am, too," I agreed. Slowly closing my eyelids, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I kept my eyes closed just in case Deidara was up. So, cautiously, I opened my eyes and took in the sight of him sleeping on the other side of the bed while facing me. If I could somehow leave the room without him noticing, I could maybe find out the reason of my conflicting feelings for him.

Speaking of that… right now, I felt nothing.

The truth hit me like a bucket of cold water in my face. For some reason, I only loved Deidara when he was around me (and awake) and concentrating on me. That's why I had no feelings for him during training; he couldn't concentrate on me because he was concentrating on fighting.

But, what enabled him to manipulate my feelings?

Obviously, Deidara was more powerful than I thought. If I could find out how to stop that madness, then I could concentrate on returning to the Leaf Village unnoticed. I wondered how they took the news of me disappearing. Ino, Sasuke, Shikamaru… Naruto…

Naruto's name fueled my motivation even more. Slowly, I lifted the comforter off of me and then carefully wriggled off of the bed. So far, so good. Deidara hadn't moved an inch. After waiting a few moments, I deliberately tip-toed to the door and creaked it open (not without slipping on my cloak first; Pain made it a rule for an Akatsuki member to wear their cloak at all times). Once I was safely situated in the hallway and the door was completely closed again, I zipped down the corridor.

Crap. I had almost forgotten how this place was not far off from a labyrinth. Sure, I knew where everything was, but it could take me forever to reach my destination since moving quietly would take a long time. I couldn't leave yet; the Akatsuki would surely track me down. How was I going to obtain information about what Deidara was doing to me? I decided on grabbing some food first before exploring around the vicinity.

Eventually, I came across a big kitchen and grabbed a bagel I found in the fridge. In the room adjacent to this one, I spotted the guy known as Hidan completely sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep, with his scythe on the floor next to him. I smirked. I guess I had to expect the unexpected if I was ever going to get used to the Akatsuki.

Speaking of unexpected… Tobi came bursting into the kitchen.

"SAVANNAAAAA!" he yelled. "You're awake! Good mooooorning!"

I flinched and covered my ears. "Um… Good morning. But seriously, Tobi-"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Tobi and I turned around at the noise. When I found out who it was coming from, I froze. Hidan apparently jumped up from the couch he was sleeping on and grabbed his scythe when Tobi made his entrance.

While I stood in my spot frozen, Hidan advanced on Tobi. His silver hair was matted in many places. "Don't you #$%ing dare interrupt my beauty sleep! How many times do I have to tell you to stop yelling? I swear, I'll kill you!"

Tobi tried backing up and persuading him to stop, but Hidan wouldn't listen. I kind of liked Tobi, too… Instead of being serious, he was goofy all the time. But, wasn't Hidan the guy that tried to seduce me when I first met him…? So far, he creeped me out the most out of all of the Akatsuki members.

Nonetheless, I slowly approached him and put on my best smile. "Hidan, is it?" I asked.

Hidan currently had Tobi pinned against the wall by the neck, but when he heard my voice, he let go of him. Tobi crashed to the floor.

A sly smile replaced the furious expression Hidan had on just a few seconds ago, and he smoothed out his hair with his free hand. "I'm surprised you remembered my name, Savanna. Sorry about that… Tobi's an asshole. You'll agree with me later on. Trust me." He winked.

I guess this was supposed to seduce me or something, but it did anything but that. I chuckled. "He's just… different, that's all. Don't be so harsh on him… It's just kind of violent for me." Yeah, right. Like that was too violent for me. I just wanted the members to stop bullying Tobi. Trying to act sheepish, I looked down.

Hidan sighed. "That's violent for an Akatsuki member? Heh… Fine. Tobi doesn't know how lucky he is… I'm only letting him go for you."

Oh, god. How flirty could he get? I didn't want to provoke his temper or anything, so I lifted my eyes until I met his violet ones. "…Really?" I breathed.

"Oh, yeah." He paused. "Remember what I asked you last night? You should come visit my room sometime. Right now would be the best time, though…" Hidan walked over to me with the smile still on his face. When he slid his arm around my shoulders, my panic rose. I almost felt relieved when Deidara appeared in the doorway.

Almost.

"Hidan," he nearly growled. "Get your arm off of Savanna. Hm!"

Tobi scrambled up from the floor and rushed over to Deidara, holding onto his leg. "Waaaahh! Deidara-Senpai, save me from Hidan!" However, Deidara blatantly ignored him.

Gah! I still didn't know where to go, but I needed to avoid Deidara at all costs. I also didn't particularly like being around Hidan, either… I was getting a strong feeling that I was going to get raped by him or something. Quickly, I averted my gaze from Deidara.

"Heh," Hidan chuckled. "And what if I don't want to?"

I could hear the anger in Deidara's voice. "Leader Pain won't be happy, un. She belongs to me. Obviously, she's not very comfortable with you."

Hidan glanced down at me while I regarded the floor. "Whatever. She knows she wants me." However, when I thought he would let me go, he leaned down and whispered something in my ear.

"My offer is still standing," he murmured. I gave no answer, but when Hidan slid his arm off of my shoulder, I could have sworn he caressed my butt. My eyes flicked to him, but he was already walking down the hallway, muttering to himself.

Deidara opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it. "Tobi?" I inquired.

"Huh?"

I regarded him pleadingly. "Stay."

Understanding clicked in a few seconds later, and Tobi clung to Deidara's leg like there was no tomorrow, making Deidara curse and shake it. "You got it!" he said.

So far, I still had no feelings toward Deidara. However, that was probably only because we were standing across the room from each other and I was purposely not looking at him. "Sorry, Deidara," I said. "I need to run a few errands." Quickly, I turned away and started walking in the direction Hidan headed.

"Wait, un!" Deidara called. "Tobi, if you don't get yourself off of my leg this instant, you'll be the canvas of my art!"

While they were fighting, I wheeled around the corner and made my way down the corridors, Luckily, Hidan was nowhere to be found. But soon, I heard a bang and Tobi's voice grew silent. Mentally cursing, I started jogging and looked behind me.

Big mistake.

No sooner had I turned around than I ran into the wall and fell onto the floor. Thankfully, it was carpeted. Holding my forehead, I slowly sat up and found Deidara standing over me, smirking. He held out his hand and I gladly took it.

"What was that about, Savanna? Hmm?" he asked.

When I looked at his sad expression, all of my resolve disappeared. However, the rational part of me still made up a good lie. I launched myself toward Deidara and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I'm so sorry, Deidara!" I exclaimed. "I wanted to be an Akatsuki member by myself. I wanted to do things on my own, but that was proven to be a disaster. I was so selfish… Please forgive me."

Deidara tilted my chin up with his index finger, and I regarded him adoringly. He was so attractive that I couldn't stand it… His light cerulean eyes made me want to melt… I wanted to let his blonde hair fall through my fingers…

"I will always forgive you, no matter what you do," said Deidara. "Now, come on. Leader Pain said he was going to reassign the two-man teams, un."

We all met up in the central room for the conference. Only the Deidara-Sasori team changed; Sasori was assigned with Tobi (Tobi was all bandaged up from his quarrel with Deidara), and I was assigned with Deidara. Big surprise. That move from Pain made me even more suspicious about the theory that Deidara was somehow playing with my feelings. I guess Pain wanted me to be manipulated by Deidara 24/7.

Despite all the resistance I provided, my "love" for Deidara always prevailed in the end. Every night, I had a make-out cession with him, and each time, I was gradually convinced that being with him was the right thing for me.

Maybe, it really was…

No. I had no proof yet, but there was always this small voice in my mind that told me those weren't my true feelings.

Weeks and months passed. Too soon, it was already a year since I'd joined the Akatsuki. My missions up to then were always centered on retrieving the Jinchuriki for a tailed beast. Now, we had every tailed beast except for the Nine Tails. I already knew what my mission would be when Pain called me up to his office.

"Retrieve the Nine Tails Jinchuriki," he ordered, "and bring him here alive. However, you will not go with Deidara this time. Tobi will be happy to help."

A small smile played on my lips. "Yes, Leader Pain," I answered. With Deidara not there to distract me, I could properly focus on the mission and capture this Nine Tails Jinchuriki… Whoever he or she was.

I would never admit it to anyone, but Tobi was still my favorite Akatsuki member even though everybody else hated him. I had yet to discover why he even joined the organization, but frankly, he was just enjoyable to be around. I also like seeing him prank Deidara. One time, unbeknownst to Deidara, I even helped Tobi pull a stunt off.

Pain frowned slightly at my small smile. "You will leave as soon as possible," he stated. "Take what precautions you feel are necessary. You are dismissed."

As I left the office to go and find Tobi, I ran into Deidara. As usual, I became overwhelmed by affection, but he seemed in a hurry. Quickly, he pecked my cheek. "Sorry, Savanna," he said. "I have to go check something with Leader Pain, hm. Don't you have to go on a mission with Tobi, un? Well, good luck. Kill him while you're gone, will you? Okay? See you later." And with that, he briskly strode down the hallway. Deidara didn't usually act like that… Whenever he would see me, he would pin me against the wall and kiss me like there was no tomorrow. I wished he really had done that…

No. Mentally, I scolded myself for my foolishness. Now that Deidara was no longer in my presence, I felt nothing but disgust towards him. The sooner I left with Tobi, the better.

When I finally found him, he was playing with Deidara's clay in one of the living rooms. I giggled. "Tobi, when Deidara finds out about that, it won't be pretty."

Tobi quickly stuffed the clay under the couch. "Hehehe… He won't, because Tobi is a good boy!"

I was so used to hearing him say that statement, so I didn't give it a second thought. "Yes, you are," I muttered. "Now, come on. Let's go on our mission and capture this Nine Tails Jinchuriki. Do you know where we're going?"

Tobi nodded his head vigorously. "Ohhh, yes! Follow me!" Before I could respond, he bounced out of the room. I could do nothing but try and follow him.