So I updated early yet again. I can't help myself. xD I just really like writing this story. :D The upcoming setting-up camp scene was inspired by another DeviantArt image. :3
The Camping Episode
A few days had passed since the Akatsuki entered the talk show. Deidara still hated Itachi, and everybody noticed, especially since the blonde accidentally kept leaving small cricket bombs near the door of Itachi's bedroom.
It was evening and almost time to hit the hay. Ryuu walked towards the kitchen where Kakuzu was counting the money and Itachi was getting himself something to drink.
"Hey Kakuzu."
He nodded.
"So, how much money do we got?"
"Well, since I told the manager from the fast food business to give us a whole week's profit, we made a lot of money, plus the extra we got on the side from that stupid talk show."
"How much do you think we have?"
"We have enough to buy camping supplies and a weeks worth of food. Although, how long did you plan to stay in the forest?"
"Um…I'm not sure…"
"Ryuu, you need to know how long we're going to stay there."
"How about…three days?"
"Alright. So judging by what I counted, we have more than enough for three days. The rest will be for emergencies."
"But why? I mean…we can just--"
"While we are criminals, we cannot reveal so. Therefore, we're going to act like normal people and use money to buy things, instead of stealing them."
"Oh I get it." Ryuu took out a map she had been hiding. "Ok! So, I found a map of a beautiful place we can camp out!" She laid it out on the table and pointed to the spot. "There. That's the perfect place."
Kakuzu looked at it. "That's fine and all…but how much does it cost?"
"Hmm…well…you know that extra money…?"
"Yes…"
"Eh…heh…we're gonna need that to pay for our camping spot…"
"It costs that much?!"
"But it's a beautiful place!"
"Ryuu…"
"And it's gonna be ten people, so the price is fair!"
"Zetsu is going?"
"Of course! We can't leave him out! That's not nice!"
"Very well…" He sighed. "Everything is set."
"Ok! Then we leave the day after tomorrow!"
"Let me guess…shopping is going to be done all day tomorrow?"
"Yeah! We need to buy clothes, supplies, and food!"
He groaned and gave a heavy sigh. "Fine…"
"Oh thank you so much Kakuzu!" She clung to him with a warm embrace, and planted a kiss on his cheek again. Then she walked happily out of the kitchen and up to her room so she could make a list.
Itachi finished pouring the soda and returned the bottle to the refrigerator. "I would have never expected you to fall under her spell."
"What nonsense are you talking about now Itachi?"
"Ryuu. That woman is slowly starting to pull all of you in."
"Itachi, we are just being good comrades to her."
"Well you all acted like idiots a few days ago when we went on that talk show. I saw the re-run yesterday. That camera added ten pounds to Hidan's body…"
"Yeah…it did…but hopefully he doesn't notice when it comes out again. He's self conscious about his looks even if he doesn't seem like it."
Kakuzu got up and began to walk out of the kitchen when he stopped. "Itachi."
"Yes?"
"I hope you realize that if you plan to hurt Ryuu, you will have five full fledged ninja against you."
The Uchiha merely stared as Kakuzu walked out of the kitchen. He did not like what he was seeing.
"Hmph. One day, all of those morons are going to fall hard." He gave a sly smirk.
"And it's gonna be tough to get back up."
--
Once the Akatsuki had shopped at the mall again and bought all the necessary supplies, they returned back home, but Ryuu had to summon a horse to carry everything.
Tobi was riding on top of the horse.
"Tobi."
"Yes senpai?"
"Get off. You're hurting that poor animal's back. Mm."
"But Tobi isn't heavy!"
"I beg to differ."
"So…" began Hidan. "We're gonna stay in the woods for three days?"
"Yup!" Ryuu chirped.
"And what are we supposed to do for three whole days?"
"I'm glad you asked Hidan!" She pulled out a list. "I have put together some things we can do for those three days."
"What about training?" asked Itachi. Ryuu still hated him, and gave him a cold look.
"There won't be any training. And if you want to increase your oh so sexy physique, then do it on your own damn time Narcissist."
Hidan chortled. "Eee, you got told off by Ryuu."
Itachi shot a death glare at him.
"So, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, there are plenty of things we can do for three days. Now let's all get home so we can pack alright?"
Sasori watched her as she happily led the horse to the mansion.
"For some reason I feel like this will be an…odd experience."
--
The next morning everybody got up early and made sure they were packed. Hidan was still half asleep when he got down the staircase.
"So," he yawned. "Is that everybody…? And why do we have to get up so early anyway?"
"Because Ryuu wants to get there before the sun is fully up," Sasori said. "She wants to spend the day with us…or something…"
Everybody was at the door waiting. Konan came downstairs. She looked really attractive. Her shirt was showing her belly, and she was wearing a vest with matching shorts.
"So are you supposed to be modeling for excursions or what?" asked Hidan. Even though he was half awake, that did not mean he was oblivious to the things around him. "We're going camping, not to a fashion show."
"These clothes are very comfortable for your information," she replied with a hint of irritation. "They're good for hiking."
"We're gonna hike?!"
"Uh, yes? We're not gonna just sit on a log and look at the sky." She sighed. "Nevermind. It's pointless to try and explain it to somebody like you. Are we all ready?"
"We're just waiting for Ryuu. Mm."
Tobi called towards the staircase. "Ryuu-chan! We're all ready to leave now!"
"Ok!" was the reply. They heard rushing footsteps and she descended down the staircase with her camping bags full of her belongings. "Alright. Keiko is still asleep, so I'll have to lock the door. Let me just get the keys."
The Akatsuki walked out towards to door and Ryuu went last, beginning to lock the door behind her. But the members stared at her. Konan noticed.
"Ryuu-chan…" Tobi said to himself. "She…she looks so pretty…"
"Are those…considered hiking clothes…?" Sasori said.
"Holy shit," was the only thing Hidan could say.
She dressed sluttier than she usually does, was the first thing that came to mind in Itachi's head.
Deidara just blushed.
Ryuu looked more attractive than usual, even more than Konan. She was wearing shorts and a sleeveless crop top that was tied in the center. Her hair was down in pigtails and her neck adorned a necklace with a sunflower hanging from it.
"Ok, we're all set to go," she said as she put the keys in her short pockets. She looked at the staring Akatsuki. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Konan said, trying to hide a smile. "Let's get going shall we?"
"Alright!"
She summoned a large sparrow and began to secure her bags on his back. "Hey Hidan, can you help me with this?"
He stood frozen staring at her, until Kakuzu smacked him upside the head. "Get out of your fantasy world and help her with the camping supplies."
"I will! And don't hit me! Geez…"
He walked over to Ryuu and helped her with everybody's supplies. But the Jashinist could not stop staring at her.
"So I think that's about everything," Ryuu said as she turned towards Hidan. "Thanks for the help!"
"Uh…you're welcome…" His eyes wandered when he looked at her but stopped when they went a little to far. He put his hand over his mouth and nose, dashing towards the ocean.
"Hidan?"
"What's wrong with Hidan-san?" asked Tobi as Ryuu continued to stare at the running ninja.
"He had a nosebleed when he saw her chest," was all Kakuzu said.
Note to self, Deidara thought. Kill Hidan when we get to a secluded part of the forest. Mm.
--
The flying went along smoothly and Kakuzu kept checking the map to make sure they were going the right way. Tobi brought along his video camera and was recording the scenes as they flew in the sky.
Hidan was faced away from the rest of them (by order of Kakuzu and threats from Deidara), a red streak plastered on his face.
Ryuu was talking with Konan and they were reviewing the things they were gonna do when they reached the camp site.
Hidan heard somebody approach him. "This bird is pretty big and spacious."
"Get the fuck away Itachi. I don't want to talk to you."
"Why not?"
"Because you made Ryuu slap me when you told her why I rushed to the sea…I don't want her to hate me asshole…" He rubbed the burning spot on his cheek.
"Then you should have controlled yourself."
"I couldn't!" he said as he turned to Itachi. "She just looked so…I don't know…"
"Sexy?"
"Yeah…that…" He sighed. "So very sexy…hell, if I wasn't her comrade and didn't have some level of morality, I'd probably rape her or some other vile thing like that."
"Which is understandable coming from you."
"Do you want me to cut your damn head off? I brought my scythe you know."
Itachi just smirked. "May I ask you a question?"
"Yeah."
"What is Ryuu to the Akatsuki?"
Hidan blinked. "Uh…I don't think I understand…"
"I mean, what importance is she to this organization?"
"Well…I guess as a trump card. She can use a whole lot of nature jutsu…she's flexible and good at taijutsu…she has medical abilities…can summon a shit load of animals…and can even morph herself into more than one creature at the same time."
"I see. So she's important to the Akatsuki?"
"Yeah. What's it to ya?"
Itachi ignored him and asked again "What is she to everybody else?"
"The same thing?"
"I meant on an emotional level."
He raised an eyebrow and looked suspiciously at him. "How the hell should I know? We don't feel the same things…"
"Then what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Do you like her?"
"She's pretty…and nice…most of the time…so I guess." He shrugged.
There was a pause, and then Itachi said "What about Deidara?"
"Hmm?"
"How does he feel about her?"
Now Hidan may not be the brightest out of the Akatsuki, but he sure wasn't a complete imbecile. "Itachi…why are you asking me these kinds of questions?"
"No reason."
He narrowed his eyes at him. "I would not know what Deidara feels towards Ryuu, but that's none of my business, and it shouldn't be yours either."
The man got up and walked towards the rest of the group, beginning to converse with Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame since the others were busy.
Itachi glanced back at his fellow ninja but mostly focused on Deidara, watching him laugh with the others. The Uchiha was on a mission and he wasn't going to let anything set him back.
Because Uchiha Itachi never failed his missions.
--
Finally, after hours of flying, the sparrow began to descend once Kakuzu found the proper place. And after everybody got the cargo down, the sparrow disappeared.
"Ok, so first we have to find the ranger," Ryuu said. She walked around the entrance to the campgrounds and came to a little foresty office shack.
"Excuse me."
The man looked up from his paper and noticed her. He immediately stood up and blushed when he saw her.
"Yes, how m-may I help you?"
"We would like to hold a camp site for three days and two nights."
"Oh…yes…of course."
Kakuzu came from behind her. "This should cover everything." He handed the money to the ranger. It was a lot.
"Um…are you two on a honeymoon or something?"
Ryuu laughed and Kakuzu sighed. "No, we have other people accompanying us."
"Oh…"
Suddenly, eight more people appeared next to them, including Zetsu who grew up from the ground. The ranger almost tripped over his chair as he walked backwards out of surprise and fright.
"Uh…ok…" He quickly put away the money and gave some papers to Ryuu. "J-Just sign here." She signed all the necessary areas and then the man gave her a ticket that said they were authorized campers.
"Thank you so much!"
"Y-You're w-welcome…"
--
As they walked by other campsites, people stared. Deidara looked annoyed. "Don't tell me we're gonna have to be around these people."
"I made sure we got a secluded spot," Ryuu told him. "So you don't have to worry about anything, ok Deidara?" She playfully poked him on his forehead and he smiled.
"Alright. Mm."
When they found their campsite, they began to set everything up. Ryuu was walking away to observe the area.
"So…" said Hidan as the Akatsuki looked at the pile of the supplies. "How are we supposed to do this?"
"Well," began Sasori. "We pitch up the tents…but I only see five." He turned to Kakuzu. "Why are there only five?"
"To save money. We're going to share and Ryuu didn't seem to have a problem with it."
"SHARE?" Deidara glanced at Tobi. He knew Konan and Ryuu were most likely gonna be camping buddies, so he dreaded the fact that he might have to share with Tobi.
"Something wrong senpai?"
"No…"
He gasped. "Does senpai want to share with Tobi?!"
"NO I DON'T--!"
He was glomped again by Tobi. "Oh I'm so happy!" The next second, Tobi felt his face hit the ground. Deidara had slammed him on the floor again…
"No clinging! Mm!"
"Well, let's get this set up." Konan looked around. "Hmm. We're gonna need firewood though. I'll go and look for some."
"I'll accompany you," Sasori said. Both of them entered the woods to gather something for the fire.
Kisame, while setting up his own tent, noticed his partner was missing.
"Where's Itachi-san?"
--
Ryuu loved the scenery. "Oh, I can't wait to go hiking later. We'll be able to see the waterfall!"
"You really love being outside don't you?"
She turned around and saw Itachi. "Yes." She had a serious expression on her face.
"Why did you want to come camping?"
"Because I wanted to spend time with everybody by doing something fun, but obviously that's very selfish of me for pretending they're my family. Don't you think, Itachi?"
He knew she was referring to the days prior when he said those things to her. "Yes, it is."
"Look, what do you want?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to apologize."
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe what you say is the entire truth."
"Well it is." He walked closer to her and she scowled at him, turning around and viewing the birds fly among the trees. Suddenly, she felt hands slide around her waist, and then wrapping themselves up.
"You know, you're a very pretty girl Ryuu."
"Don't touch me like that Itachi."
"I won't do anything to you."
"Just leave me alone."
"Why? Like I said, I won't do anything to you, or are you afraid that Deidara might be watching?"
She grabbed Itachi's arms and flung him towards the ground. "I said don't touch me."
Itachi got up and brushed himself off. "So, I hit the nail."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh nothing." He began to walk back towards the campsite with this new piece of information stored in his brain.
Ryuu really hated him. She sighed and looked up at the sky. "Sometimes I can't help but feel that Itachi is plotting something…he's so quiet and never talks, so it makes me wonder if he's gonna end up killing something…or somebody."
She decided to head back to the campground. And when she did, she was shocked.
"Wh…what the?!"
There were logs everywhere and about three beavers scurrying away. She looked around at all the members.
"Senpai…" said Tobi.
"What?"
"Tobi doesn't like this game anymore…"
He was tied to a large post with firewood beneath him. Since Itachi wasn't present, Deidara was trying to spark a fire with rocks, but then he threw them and decided to start one with a small explosion.
Kakuzu was fuming, Kisame looked confused, and Itachi appeared from the other side of the woods. But he noticed that they were staring at Hidan, who had drawn yet again, another Jashin sign on the ground. He was lying down on it.
"Hidan…" Kakuzu began. "Can you give us back our tent stakes now?!"
"I need to sacrifice first!" he shouted back from the floor. "So don't fucking rush me bitch!"
Konan, with some difficulty, was pulling what looked like logs, and parts of a puppet. She had Sasori's head tucked under her arm.
"Oh!" said Tobi, who was still tied to the post. "Konan-chan! What happened to Sasori-senpai?!"
"When we went to go get firewood, Sasori was trying to chop down a tree, only to have angry beavers attack him. They began to jump on him, eventually disassembling him, trying to use his wooden body parts to build their dam. He didn't want to fight back because then Ryuu would be angry with him for hurting the wildlife. We looked to Zetsu for help since we found him nearby, but he came out of a tree that the beavers were cutting down, so he fell and was of no use…"
"If anybody laughs," said Sasori. "I will kill you."
"So then where is Zetsu-san?" asked Tobi.
"He's probably eating the beavers to get revenge."
Ryuu was boiling with anger. "WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?!"
They all turned to see her, flames practically erupting from behind.
"Do you think I could borrow some of that fire Ryuu?" asked Deidara.
She stormed over to Hidan and lifted him up by his neck. "Hey! You're gonna choke me!" Ryuu pulled out the tent stakes from his body and tossed them at Kakuzu, who dodged the pointy ends. Then, she flung Hidan against a tree using her abnormal strength.
Next, she walked up to Konan, and began to assemble Sasori's body. She grabbed his head from the woman and placed it on his neck, spinning his head around more times than necessary. He was glad he didn't have a stomach, otherwise he'd most likely puke.
Finally, she stomped over to Deidara, untied Tobi, and threw a small rock at the blonde's head. "That hurt!"
"I leave for five minutes…and you guys cause a mess!" She looked ready to kill, but then calmed down, eventually looking sad. "Maybe this was a mistake…maybe we shouldn't have came…you guys aren't taking this seriously anyway…"
Ryuu sadly walked towards the forest again, looking for a reasonable amount of firewood.
Tobi began to sob. "We hurt Ryuu-chan's feelings!" Tears gushed out of his mask. "Uwaaaaah!"
The rest of the Akatsuki looked at where Ryuu had left. Deidara got up and went after her.
"Senpai?"
"Leave him Tobi," Konan said. She knew that if anybody could cheer up Ryuu, it would be Deidara.
--
The blonde saw Ryuu, sitting on a boulder, looking at the ground. It was almost as if a rain cloud was over her head.
He now felt bad that he wasn't taking this whole camping thing seriously. "Hey Ryuu."
She looked at him. "Hey…" He sat down next to her.
"I…um…I'm sorry about what happened moments ago…"
"Deidara…if you didn't want to come…you could have said so…"
"No…it's just…I guess I'm not used to doing things like this with everybody…"
"Maybe…he's right…"
"Who?"
"Itachi…"
Deidara was surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"Maybe…I shouldn't try to get you all to like each other…I shouldn't pretend you're my family…or my friends…I just…" Tears were beginning to form. "I guess I just am being selfish…" The drops descended from her eyes and onto the leafy ground.
"No you're not. Don't listen to a guy like him. Mm."
"But Deidara--"
"Don't 'But Deidara' me. Itachi knows nothing about you, so he shouldn't of said anything. Ryuu, even if the rest of us don't get along, we'll always still be your friends. And we'll try our hardest to make this little outdoors thingy work." He smiled at her. "And I promise to be your best friend, if you want me to. Mm."
"Deidara…"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek, much to his surprise. He became embarrassed and a blush returned yet again.
"Thank you…" She sobbed and rested her head on his chest. He embraced her for comfort.
"It was nothing. Mm." He kissed the top of her head. All I want is for you to be happy Ryuu.
The young woman wiped the tears from her face and smiled brightly at her comrade. He returned the expression.
"So," she said as they returned back to the camp. "Why were you trying to set Tobi on fire?"
"Because he is annoying and I found this opportunity to teach him a lesson. Mm."
She giggled. "Deidara, you never cease to make me laugh."
He smiled at her.
When they returned to the camp, all the tents were set up, the firewood was arranged in a neat little circle at the center, and the Akatsuki were sitting on a large log.
"Ryuu-chan!" cried Tobi as he bolted up from his seat and practically tackled her. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's ok Tobi. I'm not mad."
"Is Ryuu-chan sure?"
She smiled. "Yes, I'm sure."
Tobi continued to hold her, not wanting to let go.
"Tobi."
"Yes Deidara-senpai?"
"Let go of Ryuu. Mm."
"But…"
"NOW."
He was afraid that Deidara might try and roast him again, so he let go and returned to his seat.
"Ok," said Ryuu as she walked towards them. "So, who is sharing what tent?"
"I'm not sharing with Tobi," was Deidara's only response. "Or Sasori no danna. That's final!"
Tobi cried again and Sasori didn't care.
"Okaaay…well, then Tobi, who do you want to share with?"
"I want my own tent!" Hidan shouted. "I'm not sharing with anybody this time!"
"Fine ok! Don't yell! My God…" She sighed and looked at Kakuzu.
"I don't care whether I share or not."
"Um…alright."
"Ryuu."
"Yes Konan?"
"I'll share with Kakuzu."
"Ok, are you alright with that Kakuzu?"
"Yes. It doesn't bother me."
"Oh!" Tobi said as he waved his hand around frantically. Ryuu laughed. "Yes Tobi?"
"Can Tobi share a tent with Ryuu-chan?" He felt Deidara's glare pierce through him like an arrow. "Um…never mind…I actually want to share with Sasori-senpai!"
"Sure! Is that ok Sasori?"
The redhead, feeling the same glaring arrow, nodded. "I guess…" I have to remember to get Deidara back for this…stupid punk…
"Kisame, you don't mind sharing with Itachi do you?"
"No, it's fine Ryuu."
"Ok. Hmm…but what about Zetsu?"
"He wants to sleep outside," Konan said.
"Alright!"
"Hey…wait a minute…" Tobi began. "But then who's gonna sleep in the last available tent? Deidara-senpai and Ryuu-chan don't have a tent yet…"
"Then they'll have to share," Kakuzu said calmly. Ryuu blushed and Deidara looked a little shy.
"What?!" exclaimed Hidan. "How come he gets to share with her and I don't?!"
"Because on the way over here, you said that if you didn't have any morals, you'd rape her if you ever got the chance." Everybody turned to the Uchiha and gave Hidan a shocked expression afterwards. Kakuzu wanted to punch his partner and Deidara was about to throw a bomb at him. He was already forming it in his hand.
"ITACHI!"
Ryuu looked at Hidan, a deep blush painted across her face, anger in her eyes. "Do you think I'm some kind of sex slave or what?!"
"No!" Hidan tried to defend himself as his own face heated up. "I-I didn't mean what I said!"
He felt a kunai pierce through his shoulder. "Argh!" He looked at Deidara. "What the hell was that for?!"
"You can't die Hidan."
"But that doesn't mean it won't hurt!" He pulled it out and threw it on the ground, holding the wound. Ryuu began to calm down and then she became concerned, so she rushed over to him and kneeled down (he was sitting).
She removed his hand from the wound and green chakra glowed from her own as she placed it over the bleeding cut. It began to heal and close up.
"Are you ok?"
"Y-Yeah…thanks…wait, you're not gonna slap me are you?"
She smiled and sighed. "No, I'm not, because boys will be boys." She shrugged and got up, walking over to her bags.
Hidan was surprised that she didn't attack him unlike last time. Although, he made a mental note to add Itachi to the top of his hit list, just above Kakuzu.
"So," she said as she picked up her bags. "Let's all get accustomed to our tents!" She opened up her tent and stepped inside. Deidara got his things and was about to go in, when he heard somebody say "Deidara."
He turned around. "Yeah danna?"
"Don't do anything to Ryuu that you'll regret."
"I'm not like Hidan. Mm."
"I heard that Deidara!" shouted Hidan from his tent. The blonde gave an amused smirk and then walked inside his tent.
--
Once inside, he noticed that it was spacious for the most part, and Ryuu was already laying out her sleeping bag. It was green with silhouettes of leaves in a darker shade.
"Nice sleeping bag," he said as he zipped up the tent door.
"Thanks. I wanted it to match the occasion!"
She's so cute…Deidara thought as he put his things down. He unpacked his own sleeping bag, which was just blue. No special design on it.
"Tobi's sleeping bag looks like yours Deidara, except it has ducks on it."
"More ducks? What the hell is with him and ducks?!"
Ryuu laughed harder than usual. "So it can match his pajamas!"
"He brought his duckie pj's?"
"Yeah!"
"Geez…"
After they made sure their sleeping bags were properly placed, Ryuu began to stuff a backpack.
"What are you doing Ryuu?"
"Oh, well, I wanted to go hiking, so I'm putting some things in a backpack. Would you like to come?"
"Sure."
Ryuu smiled and continued to pack her things. Deidara wanted to tell her that he would like some alone time with her, but then he decided that it would look too suspicious to the other members. "Um…Ryuu?"
"Yes?"
He stood quiet. "Nevermind…"
She crawled over to him. "Come on Deidara, tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing. Mm."
"Please?"
"Forget about it."
She huffed and crossed her arms. When she noticed Deidara wasn't paying attention to her, she sighed and gave up. After a few more minutes of packing, everything was set, so the blonde collapsed on his sleeping bag.
"You're tired already?"
"No, just stressed."
"Of what?" she asked with a laugh.
"Everything…" He sat up. "I guess…well, I'm not used to living like this…I mean, we haven't had any real big missions in a long time."
"But don't you like having some time off?"
"Yeah I guess."
"Oh." She sat in front of him. "So what kind of missions do you like?"
"Eh, well any kind I guess. Ones that are challenging." He looked at her because her face was only inches away from his. "Uh…"
"Have you ever gone on dangerous missions, other than the one where we had to infiltrate and destroy Konoha?"
"Uh…dangerous…?" A blush grew on his face as he noticed how close her body was to his, and that her chest was unusually revealing today. "I uh…dangerous?"
"Yeah? You've said it like fifty times already."
"Well…um…there was this one time…where it was kinda dangerous…" Oh crap…having her near me like this is already dangerous enough!
"Hmm. Well, since you seemed to be tongue tied for a reason I don't know about, I'll tell you one of mine. Since I was employed by many people, I went on a lot of missions that involved stealing--"
"Um, I gotta use the bathroom."
"But I'm not finished!"
"You can tell me when I get back ok?"
Ryuu was about to get up when she slipped on the surface of the smooth sleeping bag, landing on Deidara. His back hurt again, mostly because there was no cushion.
"I'm sorry Deidara!"
"It's alright." He opened his eyes and stared into Ryuu's turquoise ones. Both of them blushed, but didn't move. She felt his hands slowly rest on the small of her back. Her heart was pounding when she noticed that her hands rested on his chest.
Nothing happened for a long time. Slowly though, she felt her face inch closer to his, and he felt his eyes close, her warm breath on his face.
"Deidara-senpai! Ryuu-chan! Are you guys done yet?"
Immediately he threw her off him. "Ow! That hurt!"
"Uh yeah, coming!" He looked at Ryuu. "Sorry about that."
She sort of glared at him. "Yeah whatever. Just don't do it again alright? I have to sleep on my back you know."
He gave a laugh. "Yeah."
Deidara opened up the tent and stepped outside. Hidan was the first to approach him. "Hey, why's your face so flushed?"
Crap! It is?! "Because it was hot in there. Mm."
"Or…do you mean you got hot doing things in there?"
Kakuzu once again, smacked him upside the head.
"Why the fuck do you keep hitting me?! Is it a daily routine now or what?!"
"Apparently yes. You cannot keep your mind out of the gutter, so the next time Ryuu slaps you, don't be surprised."
Ryuu came out of the tent, dragging her backpack along with it. "So, are we ready to go?"
"Where are we going?" asked Sasori.
"Hiking of course! There's a trail near here! Now hurry up and get a backpack ready, because we're gonna go mountain climbing too!"
"Yaaaaay!" Tobi said happily as he dived into his tent. "We're gonna go mountain climbing!!!"
The rest of the Akatsuki got their things together while Ryuu waited on the large log near the campfire.
--
Once everybody was all set, they began to walk up the trail, other campers staring at them, mostly because of Kisame and Kakuzu.
Ryuu kept taking pictures with the camera she bought and Tobi was recording things on his camcorder.
"And over there, you can see a cute little squirrel!" he said as he pointed the camera towards a tree. "Tobi hopes to see bunnies, because then he can tell Usagi-chan all about it!" He gasped. "Maybe Tobi will get to see Usagi-chan's family!"
Deidara made sure Ryuu was at the front of the group, so he could shield her from Hidan's view. He didn't trust him anymore, but the cynical one was not the Jashinist of the party. He was just the pervert. The one Deidara was really watching out for was Itachi.
"It's so beautiful out here," Konan said as she hiked. Sasori was right next to her.
"Yes, it is. Ryuu picked out a good spot for us."
"Yeah. I'm glad she knows about these kinds of things. That girl really loves the environment and all it's inhabitants."
"Konan?"
"Yes Sasori?"
"Why does it seem like Keiko hates Ryuu?"
The blue haired woman looked at him. "What makes you say that?"
"Keiko seems to dislike Ryuu for a reason I never thought would be possible."
"And what would that be?"
"I think Keiko is just jealous of Ryuu."
Konan stood quiet for a moment, and then said "Why would you think that?"
"Because Ryuu is very beautiful and she has a certain personality that makes her likeable, despite the fact that she's a mutant and a criminal."
The woman smiled. "You're right. And to be honest, Ryuu doesn't seem like a criminal at all."
"I agree. I think she's just…confused."
"You're very deceptive Sasori."
"Well, that's what I believe. Maybe since people hated Ryuu because she was a mutant, she thought that she should live up to her title as a 'monster' and become something horrible. Maybe she thought that if people should hate her, then they should hate her for a good reason, and not because she was different."
Konan was astounded. "Sasori, I cannot tell you how impressed I am at this moment."
He smiled. "Even so, I wouldn't want her to leave the Akatsuki."
"Same here. But even if she did try, she wouldn't escape it alive. Keiko wouldn't let her."
"To be honest, I think Deidara wouldn't let her either. Or…if he was stupid and crazy enough, he'd probably leave with her."
"I think more than one person would take her side Sasori."
"Even you Konan?"
"Perhaps…she's like a little sister to me." Konan looked ahead at Ryuu, who was talking with Deidara and Hidan, showing them all the types of flowers and trees, giving them names of each of the plants.
"You know something Konan…"
"What?"
"When you said Ryuu was like a remedy, you were right."
She smiled.
"That woman is like an antidote for the venom of the Akatsuki."
The two of them moved on to a different subject, like about why Tobi was carrying such a huge backpack that it seemed like it would topple over on him.
A certain person however, had eavesdropped and remembered to keep what they said in mind.
--
Once they reached the end of the trail, Ryuu walked over to the edge of the cliff. She looked at the scenery in front of her. "It's so beautiful up here!"
She noticed a bunch of people nearby. "That must be the mountain climbing." She looked behind her, noticing the Akatsuki struggling to catch up with her. She giggled to herself and placed her hands on her hips.
When they finally got to her, Hidan collapsed on the ground and Tobi fell backwards on his large backpack. Deidara sat down against a rock.
"You guys are ninja…you murder people…walk in all kinds of weather…use a lot of dangerous techniques…yet you can't hike up a forest trail…how shameful."
"Just…" Hidan tried to say though he was trying to catch his breath. "…shut up…ok? Please…?"
"That's the first time you've said please, so ok." She sat down on a boulder. "We'll take a break before we climb the mountain."
Ryuu unpacked her sandwich and began to eat it along with some berries she found.
"Is it safe to eat those?" asked Deidara.
"Yeah. I know every plant and tree by heart and which ones are poisonous. These aren't so I'm ok."
Tobi got up and took out a large picnic basket. "Look! I made lunch for everybody!"
"You can fit that in there?" Sasori asked, a little surprised.
"Oh yes! It's really awesome! Kinda like magic!" Tobi took out some more sandwiches and handed them to everybody. "I hope you like them!"
The Akatsuki began to eat, and to their astonishment, it didn't taste horrible.
"Tobi, these are very good," Konan complemented.
"Thanks Konan-chan!"
Once everybody finished their food, they relaxed a while, waiting for their food to go down since Ryuu didn't want anybody barfing while they were climbing.
"Ok, so are we all ready?"
She looked at her comrades who were resting in the shade. Konan was reading a book, Deidara was drawing some more in his sketchbook, Tobi was recording, Hidan was napping under a tree, and the rest were just lounging around.
They're not ready yet are they? the woman thought to herself. She sighed and decided to go mountain climbing on her own. She didn't want to bother them, so she walked away towards the crowd of people.
Deidara was enjoying himself, drawing a wonderful scene with different kinds of forest animals in it. He planned on painting it on a canvas, and giving it to Ryuu for Christmas, if Keiko even allowed them celebrate it. Sometimes he wished she'd go die or have a heart attack. Too bad I can't instantly kill her without her knowing. Mm.
The blonde noticed Ryuu was not anywhere near by. "Ryuu?" He closed his sketchbook and walked around.
"Hey," he said to the Akatsuki. "Have you guys seen Ryuu?"
They too, noticed she wasn't there.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching her Deidara?" Hidan said lazily, his eyes still closed. "You are her partner after all." Sometimes he felt like Ryuu was a child, or some sort of humanoid pet.
"Well…maybe she went mountain climbing," Kakuzu said.
Deidara rushed towards the crowd of people, the Akatsuki following after him. He saw Ryuu about to go up.
"Ryuu! What are you doing?!"
She turned around. "Well finally you guys get off your butts! I came here so I could climb since you were all resting in the shade!" She began to ascend up the rocky mountainside.
"Ryuu! Come back here!"
She ignored him.
Deidara sighed and turned to another ranger. "Can I get up there?"
"You're gonna have to wait your turn. That was the last set of mountain gear we had."
"Fine. Then I'll have to get up there by myself! Mm!" He began to climb up, being careful not to fall off.
"Wait senpai!" cried Tobi. He followed his senior up the mountain, eventually making the rest of the Akatsuki go after him. Itachi and Kisame stood down though, viewing the whole thing at a safe distance.
It was literally a rocky climb up because the Akatsuki had to make sure they didn't fall off, but the more careful they were, the farther Ryuu climbed away from them.
"Hold on a minute…" Hidan began. "We're ninja…hey! Why the hell can't we just climb using our chakra!?"
"That'll cause suspicion."
He looked at Kakuzu. "I don't fucking care! I'm tired of climbing like this!"
"Hidan, stop yelling and keep climbing."
"Alright, fuck this. I'm climbing with my chakra. To Hell with the rest of you!" He focused chakra in his feet and marched up the mountain. The viewers from below were astounded.
"What the?! Hidan!" shouted Deidara. "Get down! Mm!"
He merely flipped the birdie at the blonde, fueling his anger. Deidara decided to just do the same, and he ran up the mountain, soon giving the remaining four no other choice but to copy.
It really was easier to just do it that way.
They ran up the mountainside swiftly in a ninja-like fashion. "Ryuu!"
She looked down and saw they were coming after her. "Ah! What are you morons doing running with your chakra?!"
They paid no attention to her. She wasn't going to let them catch her, so she had no choice but to unhook herself from the safety wire, and run with her own chakra.
Deidara wasn't going to let her get away. He ran faster towards her, even though gravity was against him. In a way, he thought of this as a game, and an amused grin spread across his face. I'm gonna get you Ryuu. You can't run away from me!
Being one of the fastest Akatsuki members, Deidara was able to jump over boulders and continue to run at the same pace when he reached the mountainside again. Finally, he was just a foot behind Ryuu. He grabbed her from behind, much to the woman's astonishment. She blushed when she felt his arms wrap around her waist.
"D-Deidara."
"Ha, you lose Ryuu. Mm." He held her under one of his arms and continued to race up the vertical slope, the remaining Akatsuki following after them.
The people below watched in amazement.
"Who…who are they?" asked a bystander.
"If I'm not mistaken…" began the ranger. "I think…I think those are ninja!"
There were gasps from some of the people, and Itachi did not like how this was going.
"What are ninja doing here?"
"Are they on a mission or something?"
"Gee…I hope they're not rouge ninja or assassins…"
If only you knew lady, Kisame thought to himself.
--
Deidara and the rest finally got to the top where he put Ryuu down and the others hopped onto the flat surface of the mountain.
"Ryuu, what do you think you were doing?!"
"Climbing? What does it look like?"
"You shouldn't have gone without permission," Kakuzu told her.
"But I didn't want to disturb you guys, so I climbed up there on my own!"
"Do you not realize that you could have gotten hurt if you didn't have the correct footing?" Hidan asked her, a little angry.
"If you haven't forgotten, I'm a shinobi and I could always climb and hold on using my chakra. Why are you guys so angry with me?!"
"Because we don't want anything to happen to you," said Sasori. He looked at Ryuu who had a light blush on her face as she stared at them.
"Ryuu-chan…" Tobi started to say. "We were so scared that you went off by yourself…"
"But why? I'm an adult and a high level ninja, so there's nothing to worry about!"
"Yeah but you're still the baby of the Akatsuki! Mm!"
The woman turned to her blonde friend. "What?"
"Ryuu, you're the youngest member out of all of us…and yeah we know what you're capable of, but we…I don't know…we just…"
"We just don't want you to get into a tight situation," Konan finished for him. "While we are camping, that doesn't mean there won't be people who will not notice us. You never know; there could be ninja here as well and if they happen to know the Akatsuki, then we'll be in trouble."
Kakuzu nodded. "And it's dangerous for us to be alone, so that's why you should of at least had somebody accompany you."
"But I…I don't understand."
"Ryuu."
She turned to Sasori.
"Tell me…why do you think the plan to destroy Konohagakure failed?"
"Um…well…we weren't prepared enough?"
"That's what I had thought…but I realized I was wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"That jutsu Keiko used had a side effect. While we are alive and well, we were not restored to our full capacity of fighting. And that will never happen either. Her revival jutsu practically cut our power and skill levels in half."
The Akatsuki were shocked, just like Ryuu was.
"Sasori no danna…how do you know that?"
"Because I tested myself…and when I did…I realized I wasn't as strong as I should have been. Plus, I noticed that we were somewhat slower, even though it wasn't significantly noticeable. Deidara, you and the rest of us five members who have died before, including myself, are now weaker than when we were alive previously. Therefore, Konan, Tobi, Zetsu, Kisame, and Ryuu…may just be stronger than us…"
"Oh hell no," Hidan said. "Don't tell me I've become a weakling!"
"Probably. That means you're slower than usual."
"Damn it all…"
"Well Hidan, if it's not one thing it's another. Powerful jutsu like Keiko's can't be all perfect. There will be a flaw and a great sacrifice. The sacrifice was the humans she used to bring us back, and the flaw was our abilities cut in half."
Ryuu stood up, and looked at the Akatsuki. She didn't think they were weaker because they seemed pretty powerful, but if they knew it, then she probably never would have seen their full capacity, which was sure to be astounding and frightening.
"So…then we're weaker…" Deidara told himself. "Danna…about how much weaker are we?"
"It's shameful…but we are just barely in the Jounin level of ninja. Although we might be closer to Chunin. I'm not entirely sure."
"Fucking shit," Hidan said. "We used to be above that level damn it! Man…"
"So…" began Ryuu. "Then what am I?"
"Ryuu, you're at the Akatsuki level obviously. That means you are more powerful than a Jounin, which means you are also stronger than myself."
"And there's no way to get you back to your normal level Sasori?"
"No there is not." He sighed, running a hand through his red hair. "Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to stay dead."
"Don't talk like that Sasori…" She walked up to him. "I think you're all pretty strong."
"Then you've never seen us in an actual battle Ryuu. You'd think otherwise if you were employed in the Akatsuki earlier."
"Well," Konan started before the gloom could spread. "Let's all head back down to the campsite and--"
"But we haven't seen the waterfall!"
They all turned to Ryuu.
"Oh…the waterfall."
"Yeah! That's the main reason I came up here. The waterfall should be nearby."
"But all of our things are down there," Tobi said as he pointed down the mountain.
"Then let's go get them! They probably already know we're ninja, so I don't think those people would be scared if we walked down there using our chakra."
Ryuu began to walk down the mountain, using the chakra to stay balanced. The rest followed, having no problems climbing down. The people below were still shocked and the Akatsuki ignored their gasps as well as their comments.
They retrieved their things and began to hike up the mountain again, still using the chakra in their feet, ignoring the ranger's orders that kept shouting at them.
--
Once they finally reached the top again, there was another trail that had a signpost reading 'Waterfall' with an arrow.
"Yay!" exclaimed Ryuu. "The waterfall is up ahead! Come on you guys!"
"Ryuu-chan, wait for Tobi!" He reached her. "So is the waterfall big?"
"I hope so."
"Ryuu-chan…"
"Yes?"
"Can Tobi hold Ryuu-chan's hand while we're on this trail?"
"Sure, I don't see why not."
She grabbed his hand, and he happily, but shyly took it. The woman smiled at him and he smiled back. "Say Tobi, why don't you take off your mask?"
"I don't know…I haven't really thought about it."
"I think you should because of the elevation. Here, I'll help you." She untied the mask and placed it in his backpack. "There. Now isn't it easier to see and breathe?"
"Yes. Thanks Ryuu-chan." He grabbed her hand again.
"Besides, people wouldn't be able to see that cute face of yours!"
He blushed, which made him look even more adorable. "Uh…thank you Ryuu-chan…"
She smiled sweetly and they continued walking up the trail.
The others behind them watched the scene unfold. Deidara was radiating murderous intent and Sasori noticed. "Deidara, stop glaring like that. You look like a serial killer."
"Danna, don't start with me. I'm serious. Mm."
"I'm just telling you because Hidan is also giving off waves of bloodlust, so I don't want it to merge with yours and cause suspicion to hidden ninja. Think for once will you?"
"Shut the hell up Sasori no danna. I don't need to be lectured by you. Why don't you tell Hidan to stop then?"
"Because Kakuzu is already working on it. There's no point in me trying to do so."
Deidara ignored him and continued up the trail, faster than the rest but not fast enough to catch up with Ryuu and Tobi, who were happily in a conversation.
Once they reached the waterfall, they had to scream to hear each other. Ryuu was the first to do so. "Wow! It's so huge and beautiful!"
"I know!" Tobi responded. "Tobi wants to record it on his video camera but Tobi is afraid it'll get wet with the splashes!"
"I think you should try it anyway Tobi!"
"Ok Ryuu-chan!"
"It would sure suck if you fell down that thing!" Hidan commented. "Good luck to the idiot who tries to river raft down that stream!"
"For some reason it seems like you'd do something like that…" Kakuzu said, but Hidan couldn't hear him and admired the large environmental wonder.
Ryuu was happy to see them all gazing at the waterfall. She secretly took out her camera and snapped a photo of their delighted faces. It was a perfect photo and probably her most favorite. She was gonna have it blown up so she could frame it and put it in her room.
The Akatsuki stood gazing at it until Ryuu noticed it was getting late. They needed to head back down to their campsite.
"Ok you guys! Time to go!"
They didn't hear her and continued looking at the water.
"HEY!"
They turned around. "Stop yelling Ryuu!" Hidan said. "We're right here!"
"But you guys can't hear me with all the noise!"
"Well what do you want?"
"It's time to go!" She pointed down the trail again, and the rest got the picture.
Soon all seven of them were walking back down. It was faster going down because of the gravity, so they got to the flat mountaintop faster, and then they descended the vertical slope using their chakra again. Not a lot of people were at the bottom anymore, most likely because the sky was starting to turn orange and pink. Itachi and Kisame had left a long time ago, so the remaining ninja walked back to their campsite via the trail.
--
When they got there, Itachi had set up the fire already and Kisame was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, where's Kisame-san Itachi-san?!"
"Tobi, why are you yelling? I can hear you just fine."
"Oops…sorry." He tried to adjust his hearing. "We went up to see the waterfall and it was loud, so I had to scream."
"Well you're back on level ground so don't scream anymore."
"Gottcha. But seriously, where is Kisame-san?"
"He wanted to try and fish. I don't know why since we have a lot of food already."
The rest of the Akatsuki sat down on the large log, relieving their aching feet. They had never walked so much. Well yeah, they had, but not at different elevations all in one day.
Ryuu went to her tent and got out a towel, and shampoo as well as soap. She then got her sleeping clothes (which was a large T-shirt and some shorts since Deidara had given it to her so she didn't have to wear that sleeping gown again) and got out of the tent.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Hidan as he passed by her.
"I'm gonna go bathe in this small spring I found. Don't come over or I'll hurt you."
"I'm not gonna peek with you knowing."
"I don't know whether to say thank you or be disgusted." With that, she walked away into the forest.
Hidan sat back down in his spot. He had gotten some chips from the food supplies. Deidara looked at him. "We're gonna eat soon Hidan. Mm."
"What's your point?"
"Why are you eating junk food?"
"I'm hungry. Is there a problem?"
"Nevermind." He got up and walked to his tent. "Hmm…better go take a bath. I know there's some sort of spring nearby because I heard it when I went to go look for Ryuu earlier."
He got his sleeping clothes and a towel. He was just going to rinse because he didn't see the need to put on all that fragrant soap. Maybe he'll do it later. He was indecisive.
--
The sky was painted orange and pink now. Deidara came to a spring and he didn't see anybody in it. "There's nobody here. That's good. Mm."
He placed his towel on a boulder that was near the water. He figured it was a hot spring since there was steam. He untied his hair from its usual ponytail style, and began to remove his shirt. Finally after undressing himself, he stepped into the water. It went up just a little above his waist.
"Wow. This feels good. I haven't been in a hot spring in a long while. Mm." He wondered why the rangers never bothered to advertise it. "Oh well. It's all mine now." He wet his hair, which slopped all over his face. "I like my hair this long…but sometimes I wonder if I should cut it…nah. Why be like everybody else?"
He brushed his hair to the side with his hand to get the long bangs out of his eyes. That's when he heard splashing sounds. "Huh? What's that? A fish?"
He walked in the water past a large boulder that acted somewhat like a wall. He slowly approached the other side and saw a figure rising out of it. "Who the hell is that? I was sure I was the only one here. Mm."
The figure rose, and he saw it was a person. He was viewing their back and the water covered them from the waist, down. But…something seemed familiar. That person had a slender build and a feminine hourglass shape. The person got their hair and twisted it so the water could come out. Deidara's eyes widened when he saw the brown locks of hair were streaked with colors. "Holy crap…R…Ryuu?"
The woman froze in her spot for half a second, and then turned around surprisingly. She had her arms crossed across her chest, which only half worked since her arms were slimmer than her bust was small.
She looked horrified as she stared at Deidara, an extremely dark red blush surfaced on her face. He had the same colored streak across his face as he looked at her. The only thing keeping him from seeing things he shouldn't have, were Ryuu's arms shielding her bare chest.
The next second, she screamed really loud, spreading across the forest.
--
"Hey, where's Ryuu?" asked Sasori.
"Oh, she went to go bathe somewhere," Hidan said as he continued eating the chips.
"I see. Well, I hope she doesn't get caught or anything."
They all heard a scream coming from the forest.
"That's Ryuu-chan!" panicked Tobi. "Oh no! Senpai! Wait…where's senpai?"
Hidan shrugged. "Dunno. Last I saw him, he was carrying a towel. Heard him mumble something about taking a bath." He shoved more chips in his mouth, when all of a sudden it occurred to him what the scenario was. "Holy shit! I think he went to the same spring Ryuu was at!"
"You knew and didn't tell him anything?!" Kakuzu scolded.
"I forgot about it ok?!"
"Don't worry Ryuu-chan! Tobi is coming!" The masked man dashed towards the scream and the rest followed, minus Itachi and Zetsu.
"Hey, what's all the yelling about?" The Uchiha turned around and found Kisame with a dozen fish.
"Oh nothing. I just think Deidara might have seen things he wasn't ready for yet."
--
Tobi arrived at the scene and immediately ran up to the hot spring, only to have something furry and small cling to him. It was a brown bunny, but it was soaked.
"Oh, what's this?" He picked it up and held it in his arms. The creature was trembling. It looked up at him with turquoise eyes. "Ryuu-chan?!"
"Tobi!" She continued to tremble. The rest of the Akatsuki caught up to him.
"Hey Tobi, where'd you get that animal?" asked Hidan.
"This is Ryuu-chan! I think she transformed on purpose!"
"That's Ryuu? So then where's Deidara?"
He heard movement in the water and turned to the spring. "Oh there you are."
"Ryuu!" said the blonde, a blush on his face. "I swear I didn't see anything!"
"I don't believe you!" the bunny shouted back, still hiding her face in Tobi's chest.
"But I'm being honest!" He got out of the water, forgetting he was in his birthday suit and that Konan was present. She shielded her eyes and looked away. Sasori became irritated.
"For goodness sakes, put on a damn towel Deidara!"
The blonde realized he was nude and hurriedly rushed back into the water, walking embarrassedly to retrieve his towel. Once he got to it, he got out of the water and hid behind a boulder, wrapping the towel around his waist and then walking on the ground to Ryuu.
"Ryuu, you've got to believe me!"
"I don't! So there!"
"Deidara you lucky bastard!" Hidan yelled. "You got to see her naked didn't you!?"
"No I didn't! Mm!"
"Then why is your face so red?"
"B-Because!"
"You're stuttering…so you must of seen something."
"I didn't see anything! The water goes up to your waist and--"
Hidan gasped. "You son of a bitch! You saw her boobs didn't you!? Fucking Deidara…you're a bigger perv than I am!"
"I can't believe you just called yourself a perv," Kakuzu told him. Hidan glared.
"Look that's not what I'm trying to prove!"
Deidara became redder in the face. "I didn't see ANYTHING! She was shielding her chest with her arms!"
"So then you did see something after all."
"Hidan! I didn't fucking see anything damn it! Mm!"
"Why is senpai cursing!?" Tobi cried. "Oh no…you're…you really are turning into Hidan-san! First you cuss, and now you are trying to look at Ryuu-chan in the wrong way!" He turned towards Hidan. "Hidan-san, you should be ashamed of yourself!" He pointed dramatically at him, still holding bunny Ryuu in one arm.
"How the fuck did this turn to blaming ME?! What the hell have I done?!"
"You need to be vaccinated from perverted-ness!"
"There's no vaccination for that you dumbass! How can that be a disease?!" He sighed. "You know what? Just forget it. I'm going back to the campsite. I'm hungry again."
Tobi pet the bunny in his arms. "Ryuu-chan, where's your clothes?"
"Over there by that boulder." Tobi walked over and grabbed her things with help from Konan. Then they walked back towards the campsite. When they passed by Deidara, Tobi shook his head disapprovingly, a sad expression on his face.
"I didn't do anything!" he kept saying. Sasori walked up to him.
"Deidara…look me in the eye, and tell me the truth. Did you, or did you not see Ryuu nude?"
The blonde looked at him. "I only saw her bare back. But that's it…honest. Mm."
Kakuzu sighed. "Well, Ryuu is going to have a hard time accepting your apology. I suggest there to be a tent switch."
"No need to bother," said the blonde. He walked over to his things near another boulder. "I'll sleep in the tree."
"Deidara, you've never slept in a tree before so how in the world are you going to--"
"I'll make it work Sasori no danna. Now…if you'll excuse me, I need to finish taking a bath…"
Sasori and Kakuzu left the young ninja to his own business and returned to the campsite.
--
When they caught up with the others, they all reached the campfire Itachi had started. "So what was the problem?" he asked.
Tobi and Konan didn't say anything, but began drying the wet bunny. Then the masked man placed her inside the tent and Konan handed her the clothes. Kakuzu decided to respond instead.
"Ryuu went to go bathe in a hot spring she found, but Deidara had also discovered it, so he went to clean himself too. Unfortunately he caught her in the spring also and--"
"Basically he was a peeping Tom," Hidan finished. Kakuzu shot a look at him, but the Jashinist paid no attention. "He saw her naked, that's what happened."
"And you're still letting them share a tent?"
"No, he didn't see her that way Hidan," Sasori corrected him. "I asked him about it and he said all he saw was her back. That's it."
"Still don't believe it Sasori. Who knew Deidara-chan would be one of those closet pervs?"
Sasori placed his palm on his forehead, and a hand on his waist. "You know what Hidan? Just shut up. It would do us all a favor."
The silver haired man did not object, and got the bag of chips, only to find it empty. "Alright, who the hell finished these?"
"I did." The man turned towards Itachi. "I got hungry so I ate some."
"Fucker."
He sat back down, waiting for dinner, or at least some marshmallows. He knew he was a bit gluttoness, but he didn't care.
Ryuu had finished changing and came outside, but she wore sweat pants and a sweater.
"What's with that getup?" Hidan asked.
"I'm taking extra precautions now. My being isn't something to admire."
"Are you kidding me? You have an awesome body!"
"Well I don't want to be thought of as some kind of sex symbol. I have feelings you know and I am a human."
"Ryuu," Hidan said more seriously. "Look, I know you're embarrassed about what happened today, but that doesn't mean you have to stop being who you are. Continue to wear those girly clothes you like so much."
"I don't believe you…"
"No, he's telling the truth."
Ryuu looked at Kakuzu, wanting a more thorough explanation. "For once he's being honest without having that lust in his eyes. That's how I can tell he's being sincere."
Hidan raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't know whether what you're saying is a complement or astonishment."
"Consider it a bit of both."
"Hey, works for me."
--
It was finally dark and the Akatsuki were having dinner. But Deidara still had not returned.
"Dei's not back yet," Hidan said. It broke the silence. "Did he get eaten by bears or something? How long does it take one person to bathe?"
"Don't say that Hidan-san!" cried Tobi yet again. "I don't want to think about anything bad that could happen to Deidara-senpai!"
"Well he's obviously not here."
Ryuu was getting worried.
Sasori, noticing her discomfort, said "Deidara may be young but he's no moron. He can fight pretty well and a mere bear wouldn't hurt him. Do not underestimate him Hidan."
"Hmph. Ok, whatever."
As if on cue, Deidara came from the forest, wearing a simple T-shirt and sweat pants, with his hair down. Ryuu was happy that he was ok, but she was still embarrassed about earlier.
"Senpai! You're back!"
Deidara didn't respond but went inside his tent.
"Senpai?" Tobi looked concerned. He walked up to the closed tent. "Um…are you ok senpai?"
"Peachy."
"Oh…well, are you hungry?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Tobi."
"Ok…um…we're gonna make smores by the campfire…do you--"
"No, I don't. Mm."
Tobi felt defeated. "Oh…alright then…" He returned back to his seat and looked sad. Konan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Something wrong Tobi?"
"Senpai seems upset…and he doesn't want to eat…not even the delicious smores…"
"I think you need to give him time to calm down Tobi."
"Alright Konan-chan."
Tobi was hoping Ryuu would say something, but she didn't. She continued to eat her food, keeping her eyes focused on the paper plate.
--
It was night, and everybody decided it was time to go to sleep. It had been a long day and they all needed some rest.
"Goodnight Ryuu-chan, Konan-chan."
"Goodnight Tobi."
"Night Tobi."
Everybody climbed into their tents, and Ryuu went in last. She wondered if Deidara was asleep, but noticed him staring at the roof of the tent. "Hmm? Oh, you're gonna go to sleep?"
Ryuu nodded in response. She still didn't feel like talking. Deidara knew she didn't want to look at him, so he got up and retrieved a blanket and pillow. He began to walk outside and Ryuu watched him leave. "Where…are you going?"
That was the first time she had spoken with him ever since the hot springs incident. "Gonna go sleep in the tree. Night."
She wondered why he was going to sleep up there, but she decided not to argue since she figured he had his reasons.
Ryuu tucked herself into her sleeping bag, but she was a little lonely without Deidara inside with her. She felt a little guilty, so she decided to peek through the tent door and see her blonde friend.
He climbed up a tree and rested on the thickest branch. She could tell he was uncomfortable because he made a face, but that still didn't stop him. He rested his head against the tree, putting a pillow behind it so his head wouldn't hurt. Then he put the blanket over himself, and stared up at the starry sky. Ryuu really wanted him to come back down, but…she guessed he was a little upset since he didn't even tell her not to worry.
Sadly, she closed the small opening of the tent and crawled back to her sleeping bag. She felt bad, but she was also still really embarrassed. He had almost seen her without anything on, and plus, earlier she had almost even given in and kissed him, something she knew she'd regret if she did it.
Ryuu's eyes began to become heavy, and then she drifted off to sleep.
--
Deidara sighed. "Well this sucks…I hate sleeping in this tree. Mm." But he knew this was the best, if not absurd, solution. "I have to keep myself away from her…I need time to calm down and get my head strait."
The blush returned to his face, although it wasn't as deep in color as it had been before. "I almost saw her…I can't believe it…but…even though I wanted to turn around…I couldn't…somewhere…inside of me…I wanted to touch her…I'm…" He groaned. "Damn it all. I'm having sexual desires for her…stupid Hidan…but I guess I'm to blame as well."
He kept blaming himself, but he knew that it wasn't entirely his fault. He was a male after all, and a human, so he did have desires, whether it was for material possessions or physical needs. But feeling lust for a woman…that was something he's never felt before, and he realized that slowly…he was starting to give in. He was losing it.
"What am I gonna do? I want to continue being her partner…but I also don't want to do anything I'll regret…" He really cared about Ryuu a lot, and he figured that this was not going to stop him from doing something immoral.
"No…I'm not gonna let this get in my way…all I have to do is control myself better. If I really want to be by her side…I have to restrain myself. Other people have done it before, so why can't I?"
He decided this was a good plan. There really wasn't much else he could do.
Ryuu…I want to continue being your partner…I want to continue to enjoy your company…your smile and your laugh…and everything else that makes you who you are. Deidara sighed and shut his eyes, trying to make himself go to sleep.
There was no denying it. He had been pondering these emotions over the past week. The thing he feared most was unavoidable. He didn't want it to happen again, but she had revived it. The blonde finally admitted it to himself, and he wasn't going to lie to his heart.
Ryuu…I think…I'm in love with you.
Deidara finally realized his feelings!!! Oh em gee. Lol Hmm, yeah the chapter was kinda long, but I think it came out alright. I'm wondering if I should change the rating of this story after I reviewed this chapter. This one seemed to be on the borderline of T and M for some reason, probably because of Hidan's cussing and the hot springs incident. I was originally gonna use Hidan for that scene, but then I decided that I torment him enough. What do you guys think? Give me your opinion in a review if you want. :D By the way...I'm kinda stuck after this point in the story...so it might be a while before I come out with a new chapter...
So...I also wanted to know...did any of you catch the reference I made to another anime in this chapter? I'll give you a hint: it was in the scene where Deidara and the rest were lounging in the shade, before Ryuu climbs the mountain. I had also made a reference to another anime in the previous chapter, when Tsuki talked about her last week's guests. Let's see if you can figure out which two anime I hid in these chapters! :D