A/N: I apologize in advance for the long wait for this chapters, and for any possible errors that I missed.
I wrote about half of this on my plane here to Florida on my iPod, so don't be too harsh. XD
This is also a little shorter than others, but I hope it's enough when it comes to detail and effort.
Also, once more, the next chapter may take a while as I'm still currently on vacation, but I'll try to write as much as I can!
Please enjoy the chapter! :D
Ino blinked feebly. Flustered, she turned her head away from Deidara and Tobi. The blond male felt the corners of his lips quirk into a secretive smirk. Tobi was oblivious to all of this, and both inwardly found it better that way. Despite how her cerulean eyes shied away, she spoke.
"So," She swallowed. "What's the plan?"
He gave her a weak shrug. "I need to talk to you for a bit," A flat statement. "so come with me, un."
She cocked an eyebrow, inquisitive on the situation, and began to amble behind him. Tobi began to poke Deidara, tangled with what was going on but was forcefully told to quiet himself. They swerved at corners, exiting the hotel and took countless steps into the emerald frosted forest, leaving Tobi behind.
"What's going on?" Ino asked, a touch of fear harboring her voice. "...Is something bad going to happen to me...?" Her lips began to quiver as her eyes buttered, fearing the answer but wanting it.
The blond Akatsuki rolled his eyes apathetically. "Nothing like that, un." His lips curved curtly, but the sly simper of amusement played on his lips. "I won't do that again." He assured her, though an uncertain touch to it made her wince skeptically, however she saw his eyes flicker, as if rectifying his statement.
"Ah, okay." She nodded meekly.
"So, Pe- our leader says you're too involved with us, un." That was what sounded like an envelope to death, didn't it? He looked at her meaningfully to assure her she was fine. "And though you're nothing special when it comes to skill, you're..." Reluctance cloaked his voice as his lips stiffly parted to continue. "Ahm, you're going be Sasori's... subordinate, un." His fists balled as his face turned rock hard, disapproving of his own words. It took moments for the words to chisel into her ears.
Her mouth opened. "S-subordinate? Sasori's...?" Ino's lips wavered. "Why?"
The Yamanaka froze as he moved forward, one half end of his body pressing against the other half of her own. "Do you want to die?" He purred, giving permission for his words to contradict his reassurance from before.
"...No..." She whispered with a gulp. "But," She interceded as he began to move away. "Why couldn't it be you?" It was an insinuated plead, and that was what she had implied.
He raised a golden eyebrow. "Me?" Deidara asked bluntly.
"Yeah, you."
She watched his mouth twitch in gratification and amusement. "Well," He smirked, amused. "we wouldn't make a good pair, would we?"
Fogged by the base of the question, she pursed her lips, protesting. "Maybe."
He began to amble away, the smirk still present. "If it were us... I think it'd be too..." He hesitated on the perfect selection of words. "out of control." He chuckled, strolling away.
Ino drew a deep breath at his ambiguous words; how so? Hate, love, lust, disagreement?
Out of control. She blinked, before scurrying after.
The bedroom was dull; eerie air, tedious colors of grey, brown and black painted the room of its condiments and natural, tousled equipment and objects laid on the cold, dead ground. Deidara's room was lifeless, the only specks of vibrance coming from Tobi, truth be told.
"You want me to stay here?" A disappointed cord struck her voice as the words slipped out.
Deidara peered at her. "Hn, yeah." He said, nonchalantly. "The idea of you sharing with Tobi isn't that great... so you can room with me." His eyes averted immediately as both listeners stared on, stunned. He cynically changed the topic,"I need to catch up with information gathering right now before Sasori gets pissed about doing everything, un."
"Oh?" Tobi peeped eagerly.
"And I don't know why you're here with us," he commented dryly, eyes darting at Tobi. "Sasori and I are already a team, un." As much as the words burned in his throat, it was true. And he much rather prefer Sasori over Tobi, though neither needed the details.
Ino glanced at them. "...And Tobi? Where's he gonna be?"
"...I'll save you the trouble; he can come with me, un." His jaw squared at he forced the words out.
The Yamanaka felt herself inwardly beam at his favor for her. "Okay," was her feeble response.
Despite having her eyes locked on the other blond, out of the corner of her orbs, she felt another stare bore into her back, trying to ignore it. Why the hell is Tobi just staring at me like that? It was uncomfortable, and Ino hoped that Deidara would notice, but it seemed he didn't as he headed to the door. "Hurry up, Tobi, un." He ordered. There was a pause of silence before Tobi rose eagerly, and she was thankful that the feeling of the stare was gone. Ino turned to eye Tobi suspiciously. though he was already by Deidara's side.
The two men began to leave the room, but just as the blond crossed the door, he turned back to give her a look. "Stay here, and don't do anything bad, un, okay?" He urged. She nodded in obediance. He grinned slyly, a shockingly beautiful simper that reverberated across her spine enthusiastically. Oh, God. And the door shut and he was gone.
The sky mirrored Ino's mind, she had to admit. Up high, the dusty, fickle grey clouds concealed the brightness and cast a shadow of gloomy dread upon the village. That's how SHE felt. Her mind was gloomy, miserable, for some unknown fogged reason. It was bushed, clouded. Clouded by him. It pained her. Seeing his face, his hair, his eyes... Hearing his voice echo like calls from cliffs in her head... It clutched her arousal, pulling her deeper into the depths of her cravings before releasing her back into reality.
She didn't want it. Ino didn't understand. Really, it did shatter her having to think about him - about wanting him, but not having him. Why did she crave him, she knew. He literally followed his art of explosions; he created the most enthralling explosions of instances she'd ever felt, whether it was lust or ardent emotion. He was sexy in his unique way, he was enjoyable, he was amusing, he made her feel special.
But, the question was, why did she crave him that badly? With all of her thoughts binding into one, only one thing concluded in her mind.
He was Deidara.
That was why. Ino closed her eyes, sucking in a shrill breath.
And then, suddenly the truth darted at her like knives torturing her in every defile way; something new, oh, so new clicked. No.
She loved him.
"Dammit, where is she!"
Frantic on finding her, he scoured across the room, eyes scoping for the Yamanaka critter.
Where'd she go?
Deidara ambled across the moonlit field, his eyes peering across the yard. She disappeared. Even after urging her not to, she did. That nerve she had... The Akatsuki felt his skin tighten in frustration. She couldve been anywhere. His foot angrily skimmed through the soft, earthy blades of grass as his eyes roved across the trees, the bushes.
I can't sense her chakra around here... Maybe she's not- Weeping. Silent, gentle weeps of melancholy echoed, carried by the steel wind. It was a familiar whimper of tears; he'd heard it before. But... It was less rough, less panicked, less pained than he remember. Softer, gentler, miserabler.
Following the sound, he stopped abruptly upon watching the trembling girl softly cry helplessly. Her face was shielded by her arms, which hugged her knees to her body. He felt twisted; no pity, no anger. Confusion. What had happened to make the Yamanaka this way...? Why was there always something that had to come across her tears?
"Ino...?" his low voice whispered, tentatively. Ino was struck by the voice that called out to her, and she hesitantly lifted her head slowly, the crystal tears streaming down her soft cheeks. Deidara watched as she froze upon having her eyes lay on him, perplexed at how glassy she looked. It wasn't baffling to see her look so fragile, so breakable, but he wasn't able to comprehend the way her eyes faltered after seeing him. Even though she was tough, outspoken, strong-willed, it didn't break the fact that she could collapse at anytime.
What had happened...? The thought crossed his mind once more. There was nothing bad, Pein had said he would allow her to live, so what was the situation...?
"D-Dei...d..." her quivering lips faltered. Her heart throbbed at the blurry sight of him. "I-I... I fell." she lied.
Pathetic. He thought. That was the worst lie ever. "I feel insulted, un." he cocked an eyebrow. "Are you implying that you believe I'm an idiot to believe such a ridiculous lie?"
"...No..." she trembled. He stepped closer, and the movement frghtened her, causing her to flinch.
"Ino..." her chest flipped vibrantly at the voice saying her name. "Tell me the truth. No more lies, un. What the hell happened?"
That's the thing, her mental voice whispered, nothing happened. "Nothing..." she voiced.
"...What the hell, Ino? Please, just answer it truthfully, un." he urged, provocation touching his voice.
"I-I am..." He arched an angry brow.
"You really want me to believe that?" he spat.
"It's the truth..." Silence cast on them. Even the stars' song of luminescence had ended. They sprinkled across the sky, shining darkly. And then.
"You know..." his voice reflected the darkness of the stars. "Ino," He shook his head, looking down, his bangs curtaining his face. "...For once, would you stop lying, un...!" his tone instantly veered, and he snapped the words at her.
"...Wh-what...?" Her tone invested shock, the jolts of sudden pain appearing and marking their target on her.
A frown quirked his face. "Is it a habit, un?" the words were forceful, urging. "Or can you not trust me?" Ironic as it was, even with him knowing it'd be idiotic to trust an S-rank criminal, it just felt right. Ino felt the glare stab her. And suddenly, she realized this was what shouldn't be released from an Akatsuki; anger. It was one of the most lethal things that could be let loose, wasn't it?
"N-neither..." She whimpered, weak. It didn't mitigate him. Deidara still thought she was beguiling him. "I am telling the t-truth..." The Yamanaka whispered softly, her eyes flitting to meet his.
He didn't know. Her eyes held honesty, whereas her words weighed impracticality... Deidara swallowed, crouching down in front of her. Immediately, her gaze dropped, her long, soft bangs shading her face. Gently, which was quite rare with him, his hand softly swept her bangs away, so he was confronted with her broken face, closer, stronger, right there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched his fists clench in frustration. Then, instantly, in a swift, fluid motion, he rose before sweeping out of the grass, out of sight.
Finally, Ino was alone for a moment. But now that she was experiencing it, she was unsure whether she really wanted to be left on her own or not.
Deidara fumed angrily as he marched through the hallway. Whether she was lying, whether she was an idiot, whether she was crazy - he didn't know. He didn't have answers. He needed the answers to mend the torn anger that drilled across him. What had pestered her, what had been the reason of her rolling tears... He growled viciously at not knowing.
"Hey! Senpai!" A figured bounced into sight. "I was looking for you!"
The blond squared his shoulders. "Get out of my way, un!" He thundered, plowing past Tobi.
Tobi backed away slightly, before taking his and reaching towards the blond. "Senpai...?" Instantly, as Tobi's fingers were inches away from touching his shoulder, he whirled around, his fist tightened and it snapped out immediately. The masked boy went flimsy, swinging his body to the side, able to just barely dodge the maneuvered punch. "Ngah!"
As he recovered, Deidara had already left for his room.
He was gone, temporarily, she speculated. His belongings sat lifeless on his messy bed when she had gotten back very late at night. Ino couldn't sleep; she had tried all night, all morning, all afternoon, but to no avail, it had failed. The damp, dusty, grey clouds were rolling in once more - it was somewhere around sunset, yet the sun never showed. Would he be back soon?
Lugging herself off the bed, she skidded out of the hotel, unprepared, unorganized - and for once, she didn't care. The shadow cast from the clouds was dim, very shady. She wandered across the grass, away from the building, from the villagers - to get alone, to think.
Why was it so bad? A regular life was slowly slipping out of her grasp; uncontrollable as it was, it probably had already slipped away.
She shook her head adamantly to herself - there was still hope, wasn't there? And at the way her chest faltered, at how her shoulders slumped, she knew the answer.
And the tears began to fall once more.
The wind caressed his face, shoveling his bangs, cooling his blood... Flying - the perfect treatment to cool his temper. He released a heavy, exhausted sigh, eyes narrowed, locking and scouring for Sasori. Where'd the damn bastard go anyway? Probably out, finding information which was what he was supposed to be doing, but at the time, relaxation was all he needed, nothing to fan the flames. He was flying mere inches beneath the misty clouds, allowing it to dust his head like feathers of wind.
Suddenly, Deidara's eyes darted at a splotch engulfed by trees; a purple splotch to be more specific. He felt his skin tighten, veins tensing. Trouble, obviously. I shouldn't go down there. But he did. Despite his will, his thoughts, his dignity, the bird descended.
Ino choked on her tears and throat as feet met the ground with a padded thud.
"Go away..." Her voice muffled as she turned away, shielding her face from him as to protecting how shameful she felt.
"What did you just say, un?" He spoke. "Say it again."
Valiantly, she repeated herself. "I said, go awa-" Her sentence was snipped as fingers held her chin and jerked it up, forcing her face to lock in front of his. Of course, the same face painted with sorrow was introduced to him, right in his face, right there.
"Say it again." He breathed, eyes narrowing.
But she didn't have the nerve to.
Deidara continued. "Do you want to try again? Try telling me what's your reasoning behind all of this?" He snarled, as she attempted to free her chin from his grasp.
"I-I can't..." She breathed. Droplets began to plummet across the sky, beating on the ground, on the trees, on their heads. It wet their hair, stained their skin and drowned their breath, yet he didn't move or repel from the position - he was persistent.
His grip tightened. "Why, un?" His face was getting blurry from the tears that buttered up. She hoped that the rain, which was now falling badly, strongly, would disguise any evidence of tears.
"...I just can't."
"Ino," He growled.
The hostility and animosity that netted his words chained her, haunting her. The way his voice caged her, threatening to strangle her with even more words was far too much, and she knew that she wouldn't hold out for it. That her sanity would completely die if she bottled it in. Ino needed to let it out - once, twice, however much it needed to free her from the terror and guilt of locking it away from him. The tears broke out, streaming down her face, and still with hopes that the actual rain would cloak her truthful tears.
But he could see them. Deidara could see her tears of sadness.
She continued to weep in submission, even as his hands softened on her chin, and his fingers stroked her cheeks as if comfortingly caressing her. She choked on her tears, her state, but what suffocated her most was the words she spoke next.
"I love you."
A/N: I hope you're all satisfied with this chapter. ^^
The feeling of your confusion will be answered in this next chapter, most of it, that is.
Thanks everybody who's continuing with reading my fic; I really love you guys. And for everyone who had just recently subscribed too. :'D
Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I'm still on vacation. :]
Once more, thank you~! && even if the next chapter is long, I hope it's anticipating. ;D
Reviews are lovely . X3
The following is my response to 'Dedicated Fan xD' , since I can't properly reply to the message via FF . net system. :D
I'd just like to say that I can't just ignore such a review and that i HAD to reply to this. X3
Of course, thank you so very much for reading my story, and reviewing on top of that. I'm glad that you're enjoying my story, and I feel so energized from receiving such positive, friendly feedback, so thanks so much for that!
I too would agree that my writing has improved from the start, and I'm glad that you pointed that out. I'm also happy that you're able to follow with my writing and it strikes you in a way, because it gives me confidence in myself and motivates me to the best with how I write. :D
Ahaha, I'm ALSO glad that you noticed the whole "roles reversal" thing. X3
I purposely did that, but only indirectly to play with readers' minds, so it makes me content to see that someone noticed it. :p
The confusion of Deidara & Ino's relationship does play a huge role in this story, so it's good that it's quite prominent out there and adds to the anticipation.
Again, thank you so so so so much for the review && I do feel much more motivated to this story.
Thanks! [As if I hadn't said that enough. :P] .