Love You

Night began to settle in. Deidara landed on the forest floor, hair bang tucked behind his ear as to adjust to the low light. The soft glow of the moon appeared to give objects a blue hue, easily identifying them apart from each other.

Deidara kept both eyes peeled, slightly more sharp in his right eye due to the conditions. He froze when an owl hooted in the distance, reflective pupils turning towards him in an angle that would have been impossible by human standards. Of course, Sasori wasn't exactly human, so the child mused himself to think that the puppeteer could make an easy impression of the bird. Speaking of him, the two had agreed to split up. The redhead had instructed him sternly after healing his wounds, that it would probably be better to remain distanced from each other as so he could deal with any ninja by himself and the boy could run.

The owl blinked, bright eyes glinting off the moon. It puffed up, stretching its neck to a strange length before snapping back to its usual position. It ruffled its feathers, giving the bird the appearance of scales before it flew off.

Deidara stared at the branch for a second, a moment of sheer wonder. He'd never been out at night before, so he'd never been able to stay up long enough to see the owls come out. A truly magnificent species of bird, round faces and small beaks giving them a unique appearance compared to all others he'd known. From here, he'd only read about them in books he found in the Tsuchikage's library, the one about wildlife in the Land of Earth. However, he'd only ever been interested in boars, considering how they were often the ones that Deidara ended up being rammed into by. He always had to keep running or take shelter in a tree.

Oh! Right...I'm supposed to keep going...Deidara gulped and turned back to his path, ready to bound off again into the forest. By now, he'd assumed Sasori knew where the nearest exit was, and considering the sudden silence that came over his danna, he'd rather not make sure.

The soft glow began to fade; catching the seven-year old's attention. He blinked and looked upwards, noticing as a large dark cloud began to move over the moon.

Footfalls sounded behind him, bringing the boy to his senses as his hand mouths began to loll about in warning. He swirled behind him, watching as a humanoid silhouette jumped out of a bush. Deidara grit his teeth and pulled out a kunai of his own.

KLANG

He successfully countered the attack, both kunai blades screed as tiny movements were made. The enemy pushed the kunai against his own, but the blonde didn't jump back, putting in some pressure himself. I can match his strength! Does that mean...Deidara squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at his opponent. Uselessly, all he saw was a faint outline. His eyesight relied on the light to bounce off of objects. With no moonlight, he was as good as blind. But he can't see either then.

"Guess you got a little stronger didn't ya? Big bro?" A young feminine tone enquired. Deidara's eyes widened recognizing the voice. His hand mouths jerked again, signaling to the boy to get away. In response, he made one final thrust, creating a small spark as he flipped into the air, stumbling his landing a bit due to the darkness. He made a fighting stance again, holding his kunai up at eye level as he fished the pouch tied to his pants, chewing some clay up.

The cloud continued to move over the moon, the light once again peeking through as it the mass finally passed. Deidara watched in intense anticipation as the light once again reached his eyes. A girl about his age with short black hair stood before him, wearing shorts and chain armor around her legs. The light reflected off her forehead piece, the metal glinting proudly, indicating that it was brand new.

Deidara however, remained unfazed. This was no unknown ninja; in fact, he knew this one very well. After all, they used to live together with the Tsuchikage.

"Kurotsuchi..." He muttered.

Her eyes brightened, happy to hear her name uttered. "Hell yeah! You remember me!"

"Of course I do. We used to eat dinner together." The blonde frowned, eyes beginning to lose a bit of emotion and glazed over. "You dug me out of a hole."

The girl pouted and dangled her arms, still gripping to her kunai as he she acted disappointing, blinking a few times to emphasize that she was on the verge of tears. "It's been so long and that's what you have to say?"

"I blew up the village. I killed someone." Deidara pointed out.

"Duh! You get into trouble every other week!" Kurotsuchi remarked, quoting herself from a long time ago. "But now I'm a genin." She made a confident smirk. "Too bad Akatsuchi can't be here."

Deidara made a determined face, readying himself for the next attack.

The kunoichi pulled her blade back, throwing at the boy to force him to either dodge or counter. Deidara chose the latter, immediately deflecting the blade to remain still enough that he could chew his clay with the least time. Kurotsuchi jumped into the air, weaving hand signs. Her mouth puffed up, filling with water.

"Water style: water trumpet."

On instinct, the blonde quickly jumped into the safety of the trees. The girl cupped her hand around her mouth, giving her the appearance of playing a trumpet. Water jetted out of her hand, striking the ground with surprising strength, cracking the floor.

Deidara stood there for a moment, easily dodging when the water trumpet was guided upwards, slicing the branch he jumped from. In attempt to lose her, he propelled himself into the darker forest, knowing that he had the upper hand in a dark environment. As long as the moon covered over again, he would likely be able to see more in the darkness than his old colleague would.

Kurotsuchi wore out the jutsu, making a knowing smile. She knew this tactic. Deidara may have been creative with clay but repetitive when it came to technique in battle. She was excited to see him again, to test her own skill against the boy. The one whom she was forced to look up to, was now her enemy. Bring it on Dei!

Both children bounded into the forest. Deidara fell back into a shrub, wincing slightly as a branch scratched his neck. He lay low, hoping to avoid a fight and escape without trouble. This hope was dashed as another jet of water hit the shrub, Deidara skidding away from the plant. He glared at the girl.

The blonde tried to look more confident, creating a crooked smile despite the frustration that rose within him. He didn't want to see her, not after everything that's happened with the Akatsuki. "Is that all you can do? That water trumpet thing?"

"You couldn't even perform a simple hidden mole before!" Kurotsuchi laughed, earning a flustered look from the other child.

"Shut up! I'm better than that stupid jutsu!" Deidara exclaimed and jumped into the air along with her.

A flurry of shuriken was directed towards the boy, quickly dodging them before being struck again by Kurotsuchi's blade. She quirked a brow, edging him on. It wasn't a sadistic look like he received from Jirou, but a more friendly approach. "You sure?"

Kurotsuchi twisted her ankle around the blonde's, holding him in locked position as they fell together. Deidara struggled, trying to get free while the girl weaved some more signs.

"Lava style: quicklime jutsu!"

Lava style? Her Kekkei Genkai! Deidara glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening to see a grey substance splatter all over the floor beneath them. The quicklime spread throughout the area, creating a trap beneath them both. He made a hasty look at Kurotsuchi. "You know, you're gonna get stuck too!"

She turned to him and winked. "If we're stuck together, I can watch you while you're trapped! Good strategy huh?"

The two plummeted towards the floor, hitting the quicklime with a splat. Kurotsuchi sunk both of their feet into the substance, getting them nice and stuck. She turned to her old friend, ready to make another statement.

POOF

What!? Kurotsuchi wriggled in the quicklime, what previously was Deidara was now a rotting piece of log that fell over into the grey matter. She grunted in frustration, face contorted in a scowl as she glared up to see the blond up on a branch, feet hopelessly plunged into the hardening quicklime.

"Nice, but it needs to be better to beat me!" Deidara laughed, pulling his hand from his pouch. If she's gonna use Lava style, I'm gonna use my own style!

He stood up with his head held high, holding a hand out. The palm mouth grinned as the boy swiped the air, a line of saliva coated bug sculptures flying towards the girl. Kurotsuchi cringed at the sight of the mouths. "Ew." She weaved her hands and faced them to the floor. "Earth style: Earth dome."

Deidara made a yelp of surprise, knowing exactly what was going to happen as he quickly jumped to a high vicinity in the trees for safety. As expected, the ground cracked in an arc shaped line, rising from the ground quickly to form a dome and protect her from the bombs.

Damn! I have no choice! Those ones don't last long! The boy held up his signature hand seal, seething at the idea of wasting clay. "Katsu!"

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Sasori staggered to a halt, eyes shooting up above the trees to see dark smoke erupt from an area further off. He cursed to himself, angry that the boy had gotten himself into another predicament. Turning heel, he began to dash in the direction of the explosion.

Stupid brat!

Kurotsuchi watched eagerly as a boulder hit the hardened quicklime just a few inches in front of her. A large creak sounded, a gigantic fissure forming in the rock that ran directly towards her feet. Upon reaching her, the kunoichi wriggled herself free, breaking the mold and escaping the dome that had caved in on her.

Both landed on opposing branches, heaving steady breaths. Deidara made a genuine smile, adrenaline rushing through his veins. It's been a long time since he felt like this, not since killing that guy for insulting him. "This is...this is pretty fun, hm?"

"Yeah..." Kurotsuchi lowered her head, slightly worn out by the energy drain. She lifted herself again and looked at the blond, eye closed in a friendly manner. "Big bro...you're gonna get a bad beating after all this is over by gramps..."

Deidara considered the idea for a moment, imagining coming back to Onoki, his angry aura radiating off him before the boy received a fierce chop to the cranium. He irked at the scene. "No way, I'm not going back."

She pouted again. "Oh you will, and when we get you back, I'm gonna bring you straight to grandpa!" The kunoichi straightened herself, putting a hand on her hip. "Too bad I guess. Your explosion release is pretty important to the village. Gramps would have made you a walking mascot with the booms you make."

His eyes narrowed, a nerve popping. "Oh so now you compliment my art!"

"Art?" Kurotsuchi spat. "Big bro, I'm not into that stuff. I like more important things, like actually training to be an ninja! You used to sleep all day! Admit it! You're just a lazy couch potato!"

"I AM NOT!"

A pair of eyes watched from a safe distance. Sasori stared at the girl, recognizing her occupation as a ninja from Iwagakure. His hand stayed poised, ready to defend his subordinate at a moment's notice. That girl...they seem to know each other.

"Lava style: Quicklime jutsu!" She weaved the rabbit, ox, dog and snake, cupping her hand around her mouth to spit out a blob of wet quicklime. Deidara moved out of the way, keeping his distance.

A lava style user? Hm...she could be something. The redhead blinked in surprise as his subordinate actually laughed joyfully, as if he was having fun. Were they just playing? The situation quickly got more serious as the puppeteer considered the idea that the boy had been planning to return to Iwagakure, and that this whole fight was a ploy.

The girl laughed as well, enjoying the fight before engaging in taijutsu on a branch before both children locked themselves in a kick, bounding back to avoid the next shot, both of which must have anticipated from each other. Sasori frowned, an emotion he could only describe as betrayal swelling up somewhere within his heart case. Why were they laughing like that? Their blows seemed genuine, the two were obviously trying to harm each other and they were having fun? Training was one thing, but those two were enemies...they should be serious!

The chakra strings in his body tightened, pulling his limbs taught. He couldn't keep speculating about this. Whatever trap was possibly waiting for him, he could handle. Sasori needed to know and know right now who this boy devoted his loyalties to.

"You're taijutsu's still pretty terrible." Kurotsuchi noted while side kicking the other child. The boy held up both arms to protect himself, talking the attack and skidding back along the ground.

Deidara recovered and sidestepped another attack. "Don't get a lot of time to practice now."

"What do you mean?"

The girl suddenly crouched, holding out two fingers before springing up towards the boy's head, attempting to stab his eyes. He quickly backed off, avoiding the attack by a few inches. Deidara quickly put his hands to the floor, doing a cartwheel to kick the girl in the stomach. The momentum of the flip added power to the kick, sending the genin to collide into a higher branch.

"I mean, there's no time to do it." Deidara answered simply, producing a bomb on the spot and throwing it at the other child.

Kurotsuchi dropped from the branch, back already taken the brunt of the force. Catching herself in the air, she pulled out a kunai and attached a smoke bomb to it. The kunai was thrown directly at the sculpture, piercing it and sending it back towards the boy.

KLANG

The smoke bomb exploded, creating a white cloud. Kurotsuchi landed on the floor and stumbled back, having sworn that she saw something move in front of Deidara and deflect the blade.

"Who is she?"

A tail swiped the air, blasting the smoke away from the pair. Hiruko stood before him, dead eyes staring menacingly at the other child.

"Danna!"

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened, the very sight of the intimidating puppet causing her to shrink away. She observed the situation, suddenly realizing what the blond had just called the new arrival.

"D-deidara...who's that?" She stuttered in a low tone, backing away slowly. A sharp glare caught her eye, making the girl freeze in fear, intent to kill clear.

Sasori growled, turning his icy look onto the boy. "You were having an awfully good time fighting. Do you know her?"

The blonde gulped, submissively nodding. From what it looked like, the puppeteer seemed angry, and the child would rather that it was not directed on himself. The redhead frowned, briefly reminded of the Jirou incident. Deidara seemed to know a lot of people who came after him, and he apparently knew this other child too. He turned back to the front. "So whose side are you on?"

Deidara blinked, unsure of what his danna was talking about. "Huh?"

"Who are you with? Your old village or the Akatsuki? Them or us?" Hiruko's glare turned black. "If you're with them, know that I will treat you like the rest."

He stood for a moment, mouth slightly open. Immediately, he shook his head to get himself out the trance, sending a weak glare towards his mentor. "I'm with you! I told you already!"

Hiruko seemed to consider the answer, before hovering his tail over the boy, poison dripping off the end while the steel glinted off the light. Sasori's hand shook, something within him commanding him to quit scaring the poor child. They'd already established, that the puppeteer did not wish to hurt him, but now, he wasn't so sure anymore. "...Are you completely sure?"

Deidara didn't waver at the harsh tone, mouth set in a straight line. "Yes, danna!"

Both locked gazes for a few seconds, Sasori looking for a hint of a lie or hesitation within the boy. Finding none, he swung Hiruko's head in the direction of their enemy, tail pointed away from his subordinate. "Good, because once you're in the Akatsuki, you can't leave."

The tail reared up and began to slink over the puppet, as if contemplating what he should do to the girl. He could stab her right then and there, but he felt an extreme dislike towards her. Should he strike her with a puppet with a different poison? Was her Kekkei Genkai worth it? He already had a few puppets with the same release.

"I heard it somewhere over there!"

Everyone's heads shot to the left, the voice sounding dangerously close to the area. Sasori shifted his puppet and bumped into Deidara, urging him back from the sounds. "We're going."

The bulky puppet jumped from the tree, little boy following in suite. Kurotsuchi quickly caught sight of the two try to escape, moving to her feet in pursuit. She was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, so she had to be able to do something. Even as a genin, she was still technically a fully-fledged ninja, and a relative of a Kage, she needed to do more than wait and run like Akatsuchi.

I won't let them get away! She weaved her hands again, using the last bit of her chakra for the last jutsu. Making the same motion as before, Kurotsuchi spit out a blob of quicklime, trying to trap at least one of the pair.

Deidara looked back, gritting his teeth at the persistent shinobi. His hand spit out a clay spider, throwing it over his shoulder towards the quicklime. Bounding off a high set stone, the blonde made his signature hand seal. Like hell I'm going back there.

"KATSU!"

The moon shined over the horizon, peaks of the mountains reflected its light. Orochimaru continued on his path, already a few hundred meters from the outskirts of the Land of Earth. He was in a good mood, definitely a good mood. He'd gotten Sasori to peel his eyes off of him for a while, and the snake had finally gained a little freedom. He'd joined the Akatsuki in wait, but what he awaited hadn't come.

A slipped a scroll into his hand, gazing down at it with a satisfied expression, mouth tugged into a wide smile. At least he had gotten something to compensate for all that waiting. The brat's jutsu had failed to interest him significantly at first, since the snake figured that Sasori would have been breathing down his neck the entire mission as usual. However, the little child had actually managed to do something good, he got Sasori's attention and left Orochimaru with some legroom.

"Orochimaru."

The pale man paused, face twisting into a scowl. The scroll slid into his sleeve, hiding it from anyone's view. Orochimaru turned slightly, seeing his partner and the boy trailing right after him.

"Yes?" He hissed.

Hiruko shuffled up to the snake, regarding him. Deidara followed up from behind, observing the scene with a curious look.

"You weren't planning on giving that scroll to leader were you?"

The other Akatsuki tried to laugh it off, piercing gaze glaring daggers. "What you made think I would do that?"

Sasori thought for a moment, focusing on his partner before his tail whipped out, nearly striking at the blonde by accident. Luckily, Deidara managed to dodge it, stumbling back interpreting the action as a message to back off to a safe distance. The puppeteer berated himself in his head for his lack of control, briefly forgetting where the boy stood in relation.

"Give me the scroll."

Orochimaru complied, pulling out the object and tossing it over to the puppet. Hiruko's hand slipped out from under the Akatsuki cloak, catching it before retreating. "Come on."

Deidara moved to follow them before a sudden cry from behind nearly caused him to yelp. Turning around, the boy stood face to face with another person. Everyone looked on as an Iwa nin stumbled out of the forest, one arm completely blown off while part of his thigh seemed torn. The moonlight shone against the blood and sweat, creating a grisly scene. The man gulped and gasped, voice raspy as his blood splattered against the floor.

The blonde stared at the man's face, recognizing his features. That lifeless look in his eyes, empty of any sort of spark. He didn't think any human had the capacity to follow anyone for such a distance with such wounds, especially Sasori's spy.

"You!...what the hell...why..." The spy coughed, a blob of black and red liquid splattering the floor even more. He coughed again, squeaky breaths taking seconds longer than they should have. His eyes widened maniacally, turning to yell his heart out at them. "YOU MADE ME A CRIMINAL! THEY THOUGHT I WAS WORKING FOR YOU! I HAD A FUCKING LIFE AND YOU FUCKING DESTROYED IT!"

Sasori remained still. This scene wasn't a strange one, just as common as any other death. He wondered sometimes why people seemed to try to escape death so often, since they usually had done nothing worth their lives to prevent it. Sasori had turned himself into a puppet, a procedure that took years to finally gain enough experience to perform, and now he was eternal, immortal. These weak men remained flesh and blood, living within bodies that were doomed to failure and rot.

The Iwa ninja took a step forward, his ankle twisting with a sickening crack as the man fell to the dirt, crying out at the pain.

Sasori raised Hiruko's tail. "I'll deal with him."

"Wait."

The puppeteer frowned, turning the puppet's head towards his partner. Orochimaru smirked, eye narrowing with interest. "This ninja was your spy as well as a fellow citizen of Iwa, like Deidara used to be. Perhaps now is the time to know, whether or not your little whelp is loyal to us or not. Let him break the tie here."

Sasori glanced over to his subordinate, who had stepped back in horror at the scene. Of course, this man looked just as dreadful as all those other bodies they had seen at the abandoned laboratory. The blood was still there, and it was everywhere. Deidara might have seen his fair share of gruesome experiences, but it would take a while for even a trained shinobi to get used to this. Sure, the child had admitted his loyalty to the organization back at that fight, but...

"Brat."

Deidara blinked, eager to turn away from the man to look at his new master. Sasori put away his tail. "I know you already told me about it, but I want to see for real. As a subordinate of the Akatsuki, you will have to follow through with every order I give you. Iwagakure was where you were born, so I assume that you have some emotional ties with the village. However, in order to come with us, you'll need to sever those ties. I want you to demonstrate your loyalty to us."

The puppeteer gestured towards the man on the floor, letting the boy follow his gaze. "Kill him to prove that you have no remorse for the people of your village. It's customary to slash your headband, as a sign that you've abandoned your roots, so shall you to slash that man's headband. You can keep it as a sign that you've become a ninja; think of as your own personal graduation ceremony."

He absorbed the information, taking a few seconds to completely understand what the redhead had commanded him to do. Once it sunk in, Deidara nodded and made his way to the dying shinobi.

Deidara stared down at him, wondering exactly what his next victim was thinking right now. The Iwa nin gurgled and coughed out more blood, creating a pool on the floor.

Sasori watched his subordinate pull out a kunai, the blade glaring off of the light. The child kept his face hidden from him, back turned to the ones he claimed to serve currently. The boy knelt down by the head, raising the knife into the air slowly, but stopped.

For a second, the puppeteer interpreted it as hesitation. Was the blonde scared to do it? Surely he'd killed his own before, so it was more of a show if he did with his own two hands. Deidara was only a child, nearing his eighth birthday as he was told. He couldn't expect someone so young to be able to end another life in cold blood just yet, but it was something the Akatsuki required, and something Sasori would prefer of his new underling.

"Danna."

Sasori blinked. "What now? Hurry up already, we're going to be late."

The child flipped the kunai in his hand, facing the handle towards the dying man. His body didn't budge, but it didn't seem to be trembling in fear either. "Do I have to do it...with this?"

"Just kill him, do it however you want. His time running out, hurry."

Deidara turned his head, blank eyes looking at the kunai disdainfully. Sasori recognized that look, that glazed over pupil that he had after they left the mentally scarring room. The child's face showed disinterest at the blade. Slowly, his gaze locked on with Sasori's, the clouded stare began to clear, showing a whole other emotion. Deidara's mouth moved, moving up his cheek to create a sadistic smile. His eyes grew wide, excitement showing. "Good, cause that would be boring!"

The kunai was discarded and replaced with the blonde's own clay pouch. He fished the bag, letting his hand mouth chew up the clay. "Cause you know, I killed someone for insulting me before I left. I got angry and broke things afterwards, and I made the entire village go boom!"

Deidara made a crooked grin, molding his new sculpture in a more intricate form than before. This time it was an owl, not a bug, not a fish, an owl. It's round head and large eyes mirrored that of the owl he saw in the forest, a creature who quietly soared the skies and preyed on others. Ignoring the man's wails, Deidara shoved the sculpture in the man's mouth, pushing it back in his throat.

Afterwards, the boy sprang up, satisfied with what he did. Twirling towards his danna, Sasori noted how gleeful the child seemed, a light bounce in his step as he approached the two Akatsuki. He stood by the puppeteer's side and turned back to the shinobi.

"Since this was gonna be my graduation ceremony, I thought I'd make it really cool and meaningful. Bugs get up in the morning and owls get up at night...at least I think. But anyway, since I killed this way for the first time before, I want to do it again to celebrate!"

Sasori looked up at the new Deidara, a familiar aura coming off the boy. It wasn't unfamiliar but it was certainly unique, the lightness of it all. The puppeteer smiled and decided to remind him of something. "Don't forget the headband. You wouldn't want to lose it in the explosion."

Deidara's smile fell, taking his master's advice. "Oh yeah! Okay!"

Quickly, the little child dashed over to their former spy, untying the headband and grasping it in his own hands. The man screamed in protest, face turning a tinge of pale blue to indicate oxygen loss. Deidara ran back to the Akatsuki's side, using his kunai to scratch the Iwagakure symbol before tying it around his own head.

"Okay, all ready!" The child bounced, putting his hands into his signature hand seal.

(Naruto Shippuden Movie 2 OST Track 28 - Bonds)

Sasori shuffled along the path without Orochimaru. Leader had called for him, and requested that the snake make it to the nearest base now. The scroll could wait with the redhead, who had two more days to complete the mission.

Crickets chirped in the background, momentarily awakening the boy. Deidara trudged along the path, tired from all the activity of the day. His legs and feet ached, eyes barely able to stay open to see the increased distance between himself and his danna. It wasn't until the sound of his final collapse did it catch Sasori's attention.

Hiruko turned back, returning to the blonde. Deidara gazed up lazily while his hair was strewn about messily. "I'm tired..." He moaned.

"We'll rest around here then."

Sasori steered the puppet back in order to give the boy some room to get up. Unfortunately, it was worse than expected, as the child couldn't even get up due to fatigue. Sasori shook his head, looks as if he would have to carry him.

"Deidara."

The seven-year old cracked open his eyes, resting on Sasori's lap with a blanket pulled over his body. The soft glow of the oil lamp kept a good view of the puppeteer's face, blankly staring into the light in a trance of some sort. Deidara pushed up his headband, having refused to take it off since he didn't want to accidentally lose it.

Sasori's lips barely moved, his voice low and slightly solemn. "I know you're tired, but I want to ask you something."

The child shifted his head, turning his head up to the redhead. "Hm?"

Glass eyeballs reflected the flame, a blurry light dancing in his eyes in contrast to the dullness of them. "Do you...really want to stay with me?"

Deidara quirked a brow, as to ask why the puppeteer would ask the same question all over again.

"I don't mean the Akatsuki this time, you've proven that, but I'm talking about myself." He made a brief pause. "I've been protecting you this entire time, thinking that there was some sort of duty I was supposed to feel in doing so. However, I am dangerous, and I've already cut you while I tried to do that, protect. Do you really want to deal with that?"

Deidara nodded sluggishly, unable to think correctly due to his groggy state.

"As a ninja, it's already dangerous enough, I've seen loss. With me, it'll be even more dangerous, I can't even guarantee that I myself won't hurt you from time to time. Are you willing to deal with that? With me?"

The child's eyes were closed, Sasori's voice serving as some sort of lullaby to him. He nodded again. Finally, the puppeteer turned to look at the boy he had taken off the road, eyes softening at the sight.

"Because...you're like a..." The puppeteer stopped himself, turning away again. "...To me."

Deidara opened his eye again, frowning as if to ask whether the redhead was gonna keep prattling on for the whole night. Sasori leaned back, shaking his head. "Never mind, just go to sleep, rest brat."

A smile found its way onto the seven-year old's lips, closing his eyes. Sasori tried to get back into his thoughts, however interrupted as his torso moved involuntarily. Looking down, his heart sped up to see the tiny blond snuggling up to him, trying to get warm against the cold air of the coming winter.

"Love you." He murmured, finally finding a position to sleep peacefully in.

Sasori sat there, shocked for a moment at those words. A wind blew on the clearing, causing the oil lamp to cease its flame. The area became dark, the light of moon filtering through the leaves. Sasori lidded his eyes. "Damn it..."

"Ninja aren't supposed to say those kinds of things you stupid brat."

A/N: Hello there! After this chapter, we're having a timeskip! I finally got part 1 of this damn fanfiction done! Now, to get to the more exciting stuff. I can finally stop worrying about how I'm writing Deidara's dialogue too now because he'll be older(I keep thinking I'm writing him with a speech pattern that's too complex for his age, which I probably am).

Thanks to Anniegirl132 for being my Beta!

Nice to meet ya! Please Review if you'd like! I'm really wondering what the fanfiction has gone since the beginning! Good or bad, we're going somewhere!