Koizuki Eri stared ahead, uselessly toying with the meal of eggs and toast in front of her. Even if she tried to force herself to eat, she wasn't hungry. Three months she had barricaded herself in this cabin. Her time was drawing short, but still she couldn't bring herself to go home.
Her swollen belly prevented her from sitting too close to the table, and, with little else to do, Eri reminisced of how she had ended up here.
(Six months earlier…)
Winter was coming to the tiny Whirlpool Village. Not snow, but certainly colder weather. Akira had been missing for months, and by now Eri and Kaname were accustomed to trips with only the two of them. They had long since abandoned hopeful conversations of the many things they would do together upon the Hyuuga girl's return.
Secretly, Eri had not given up looking, but seeing how sad it made Kaname whenever Akira was mentioned, she kept it to herself. Eri had seen that orange-masked man herself, and every night, she placed a mizubunshin onto her bed, cloaked her chakra, and slipped out of her parents' house to once again patrol the area where Akira was last seen.
She couldn't remember having ever skipped a night, save for when she was out of town on missions. Even then, she found herself wide awake at night while those around her slept. For what felt like an eternity, her efforts proved futile and any traces of her friend or the missing nins long since vanished. Until one night, her efforts paid off.
It was just another night creeping about and dodging wild animals in the woods. At this point, she had long since strayed away from the outskirts of the village where the masked man's blonde partner had been and now advanced her search into the forest extending outside town. The duo could have taken her friend anywhere. Although tonight, rather than the usual bustle of animals and wildlife, this time, she heard a loud boom near the forest's stream, leading her to a campfire where two voices argued loudly.
"Tobi! How many times do I have to tell you not to touch the fire while I'm out, un?!" Likely, he'd left his partner to take a bathroom break.
"But, Senpai, Tobi was only trying to help—"
"You burned the fish! That means I have to either go all the way back down to the river and waste more of my explosive clay, or we both go hungry for dinner tonight, un!"
"Tobi is sorry, Senpai…"
Tobi? Eri concealed herself behind a mess of bushes roughly ten yards away from the duo. That voice and that mask, and undoubtedly those two chakras—this was the same team that had taken Akira!
Ensuring her chakra remained concealed, Eri watched a few moments longer. Kaname or Akira would have charged in right then and there, but the dark-haired girl was a far better strategist than either of her friends.
"Look, I certainly don't feel like skipping another meal tonight, un," Deidara continued, "so you—" although she couldn't see, she heard the ex-Iwa nin shove something into his partner's hands, "get rid of this disgusting burnt stuff and wait for me to get back."
That explains the explosion I heard earlier, Eri thought. But who in their right mind uses explosives to fish?
The blonde ninja, apparently named Deidara, headed out of sight again. She needed to think of something and fast. She hadn't spent all those nights patrolling and researching just for nothing, and—
Her thoughts ended the second she felt the cold steel of a kunai against her throat. Her chocolate eyes widened as Deidara's chakra reappeared behind her.
How did he do that? she wondered incredulously. She hadn't sensed him at all.
"Well, look what we've got here, un." The blonde bomber smirked. "An eavesdropper."
The next thing Eri knew, Deidara yanked her out from the bushes and forcibly dragged her by the arm over to the campfire where the one named Tobi stood. Deidara had locked her arm behind her back with one hand and dangled the kunai formerly pressed to her throat from the other.
"Hey, Tobi!" Deidara called, twirling the kunai with his free hand. "I vote we blow her up, un!"
"Eri-san?" The kunoichi's eyes widened in shock when the Uchiha addressed her by name.
"You know her, un?" Although she could not see him as he currently had her arm jacked in a rear hammerlock behind her back, he sounded appalled.
Scowling, Eri turned away. There was no use making a run for it. Although she could easily extricate herself from a lock like this, this was the only shot she had at finding anything about Akira.
"She was with Akira-san when I asked her to come heal you." Eri would never forget such a gratingly immature voice. Clearly, it aggravated Deidara, as well.
"You never mentioned she had any friends with her at the time, un," Deidara frowned. Clearly, he was pissed.
"You never asked, Senpai! Besides, I managed to get Akira-san to come all by herself, didn't I?"
With the duo caught up in arguing, now was her chance. Bending her wrist down to prevent Deidara from raising her arm any further, Eri stepped diagonally between his legs and used the force of her body to elbow him in the face with her free arm. While the shock from her strike set in, Eri intercepted Deidara's kunai and pivoted so that she was behind him and pressed the kunai to his throat to finalize the technique.
"Don't move or I'll kill your partner," Eri challenged, glaring daggers at the one named Tobi. "Where is Akira? What have you done with her?"
"Now let's not get violent," Tobi began, frantically motioning with his hands.
Mimicking what he had done with her, Eri pressed the kunai tighter against Deidara's throat.
"Then start talking! Is she alive?"
"Relax, kunoichi. Your friend is alive." For being at knifepoint, Deidara was surprisingly calm. But, before she could demand further information, he melted into clay and she felt a square kick in her back. Not expecting the strike, she fell face first into the clay.
"Now," the real Deidara pressed his knee into her floating ribs and further shoved her face down in the clay of his clone, clutching her wavy dark hair to hold her in place, "aren't we in a predicament, un?"
Eri glared death at Deidara with her only eye the clay didn't obstruct. That had been foolish—she should have expected him to use a substitution jutsu.
"If you're going to kill me, you may as well do it now," Eri growled. In the least, she knew Akira was alive. She could die knowing there was still a chance her friend could come home.
"A pretty thing like you? Why would we do that, un?" Deidara smirked evilly. "You see, Tobi and I are here on a mission that's going to take a few days, and thanks to my wonderful partner here, we don't have any money to spend on a hotel."
"How is that my problem?"
"Well, you live here, un, and clearly, you want information on Akira. I'm offering you an unusually generous deal. Not only will I let you live, but in exchange for food and housing for the next few days while we finish out mission, I'll give you information on Akira."
"Senpai, are you sure this is a good idea—?"
"Shut up, Tobi!" Deidara snapped, and then turned back to her with an unusually cheery tone. "So, what do you say, kunoichi, un?"
These guys were clearly criminals. If she were caught by anyone in her village, the penalty for aiding and abetting them would be severe, maybe even costing her life. But they had information on Akira. Besides, she'd been sneaking out for months, and even her parents had yet to catch on to that one.
"Fine, deal!" she snapped. "Now get off me!" Far more slowly than she would have liked, the former Iwa nin released his knee from her back.
Eri shoved the Iwa nin's kunai into her weapons pouch for safe keeping and then stood up.
"You two may want to put out that fire. You won't be needing it."
Five minutes later, the fire was out, the charred fish buried and the trio made their way back in the direction of the village. Housing-wise, she couldn't risk her parents finding these two, and asking Kaname for help was out of the question, which left only one sensible option.
"Whose place is this, un?" Deidara questioned when they arrived.
"Akira's," Eri said curtly. "Thanks to you, she hasn't needed it."
Out of habit, Eri had kept a spare key to Akira's house and even dropped in to clean sometimes, in hopes that the place would not be a complete wreck when her friend returned. But as the months grew longer, her cleaning sessions had significantly lessened.
"Excuse the intrusion," Eri muttered under her breath as she unlocked the door and slid it open.
She turned back to Deidara and Tobi while the two slipped off their shoes at the entrance. "Please ignore the mess."
It's not that the place was cluttered or anything, just dusty. Thankfully no one had broken in or attempted to steal anything yet.
Deidara whistled. "Nice place for living by herself, un."
Eri briskly walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Next, she opened the cabinet above the stove, where several non-perishable food items still resided.
"These should serve as enough of a meal until I'm able to go shopping tomorrow," Eri said, bringing out two packaged ramen. "Akira's bedroom is down the hall, and the study is right across from it. Unless you two want to share a bed or have one of you sleep on the floor, I suggest one of you sleep on the couch."
Deidara claimed Akira's bedroom, and Tobi got the study. The orange-masked one was surprisingly submissive when it came to his partner. Was he really a missing nin?
Eri procured clean sheets and pillow cases from the washroom while Deidara and Tobi settled in. She assured them that most people did not pass this way, so it would be unlikely for someone to notice the house suddenly being inhabited.
"Still," Eri cautioned, "be wary."
Deidara snickered. "No need to worry about us, kunoichi. We've been at this a long time."
Eri ignored the sick feeling of nostalgia when she reentered Akira's room to set up Deidara's bedding. The area was untouched from when Akira was last here. The only thing missing was the fishbowl Eri had taken back to her home to ensure Akira's two fish, Kisame and Kin, wouldn't die.
One detail slightly out of the ordinary, though, was the overturned pictured of Itachi and Akira from the hanabi festival on top of Akira's nightstand. The shattered glass from the cover had long since been cleaned up, but the photo remained face down.
"Seems like a very Akira-type place, un," he remarked, whistling again as he examined the blue walls bearing a target for weapons and several kanji paintings.
"You may want to eat your dinner before it gets too late," Eri's voice cut. The one named Tobi was already in the kitchen and she still needed to set up his bedding in the study. Despite her soft spoken nature, she was having difficulty playing maid with the two who had taken away her friend.
Much to her chagrin, Deidara peeked at the overturned picture on Akira's nightstand beside the one of her family and the other with Kaname and Eri. Eri was surprised when he stifled a laugh.
Her eyes narrowed. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, un!" Deidara snickered, clearly lying, but Eri felt no desire to pursue the issue. "Who's the guy?" He pointed to Itachi.
"Uchiha-san, a friend of Akira's." Eri spoke slowly, trying to read his expression.
Still snickering, Deidara put down the frame and finally headed to the kitchen after Tobi. Brushing off the occurrence, Eri finished replacing the bed sheets and moved to the study with a blanket and a clean pillow for Tobi.
What am I doing? Eri wondered as she fluffed Tobi's pillow. She'd certainly had brighter ideas, but how else could she find out about Akira?
Once Deidara and Tobi were fully situated, Eri headed back to her own home. Ushering the water clone formerly sleeping on her bed out the window, Eri released the jutsu and allowed the excess water to spill onto the grass. With a defeated sigh, she glanced at the clock on her nightstand, which read four in the morning.
Considering some of the nights she'd endured before, three hours of sleep wasn't bad.
Her parents were their usual naive selves at breakfast. Being the only ninja in the family, she could scarcely relate to them on anything, let alone ask for help.
As usual, she met up with Kaname, although her healing lesson with Kaede-sensei was quite a drag. Her exhaustion combined with sitting still for so long caused her to dose off. Kaname elbowed her a few times as a wake up. Despite the rudeness, Kaede-sensei said nothing as Eri forced herself to take notes and somehow managed to maintain a steady chakra flow when they tested the day's healing lesson on fish and birds.
After class, Eri told Kaname she had errands to run for her folks and headed out to the market to shop for Deidara and Tobi. This was certainly not her favorite part of the day, but she did the best she could for not knowing how long Deidara and Tobi would be here.
When she returned home, Deidara's chakra was gone. She found Tobi wandering aimlessly about the perimeter, and without thinking, she questioned him.
"Where's Deidara?"
"Eh?" The hyperactive ninja made an expressive gesture with his hands, and Eri sweat-dropped. "What do you want with Senpai?"
"Just wondering." It wasn't like she was worried. "I don't need him getting caught."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that, Eri-san! He's off exploring."
Research? Eri's sweat drop didn't disappear.
"Exploring the perimeter," Tobi elaborated. The movement in his hands seemed to be compensating for the lack of movement she couldn't see behind his mask.
"And how does that benefit him in not getting caught?"
"He flies!"
Shaking her head, Eri walked inside to start making dinner. How much could she really trust anything Tobi said?
Deidara didn't return until nightfall. By then, Tobi had already retired to Akira's study and Eri was doing her homework at Akira's table. The front door flung open, and, hair disheveled and looking exhausted, Deidara trudged past her, but not before Eri uttered, "Dinner's in the fridge if you want it. Tobi was nice enough to save you some."
Without even a simple, "Un" of acknowledgement, Deidara veered his course into the kitchen. She heard him open the refrigerator door, fumble around for a pair of chopsticks and then head off to Akira's room, dinner in hand.
Eri frowned.
He'd better not spill anything.
Deidara's routine disappearances continued for the next three days. She'd check on them just before she was supposed to leave for school with Kaname, both him and Tobi supposedly still sleeping, come back, and Deidara would be gone. Tobi would continuously give her the same lame excuse, and, after walking away, Eri would roll her eyes.
Why doesn't he ever take his partner with him? Eri wondered. What was the point of having a place to crash if you never stayed? Was he only blackmailing her to babysit his partner? Tobi had to be good for something, right?
It wasn't until the fourth day that she actually saw the clay nin again before nightfall. Tobi kept talking about Deidara "flying" to get to his destinations, but no matter how she imagined, Eri could not think of a jutsu that would allow for such movement save for a summons, and somehow Deidara did not strike her as the contract type.
The light breeze tousled her dark hair as she walked down the path leading to Akira's house. Rather than her usual red and black get up, Eri was dressed in a light blue top with a pointed collar, a flowing white scarf fashioned as a belt, and black pants. Her ninja headband rested around her neck and her clothes were trimmed with a darker blue color which matched her ninja shoes.
Eri her way to the grassy area at the back of the house where she typically found Tobi wondering. However,this time she found Deidara rather than Tobi. His back was turned to her.
He threw something on the ground, but from her angle she could not tell what, formed a hand sign, and muttered something. A puff of smoke filled the air and the next thing she saw amazed her.
A giant clay bird, large enough to ride on, lay before him, its wings fluttering slightly in the leftover smoke. Could that have been what Tobi meant?
A bird made out of explosive clay? Can it actually fly?
Before she could so much as advance a step toward him, Deidara unceremoniously leaped onto the giant clay creature, and, just before he could form the hand sign to take off, Eri opened her mouth.
"Where are you going?" How he could hear her over the strong wind, Eri had no idea, but somehow, he did. Rather than taking off, he turned around to face her.
"Finishing my mission," he said simply with a shrug. "Leader-sama was getting impatient. Told me I needed to hurry up."
Leader-sama? Eri wondered.
"So you're not just 'exploring' this time?"
Deidara gave a sideways smile. "Is that what Tobi calls it?"
Eri folded her arms and nodded. "It's a miracle no one around here has caught you yet."
Deidara laughed this time. "Trust me, kunoichi. No one in your pathetic village could possibly detect me, let alone catch me, un."
Eri bristled at the insult. "Akira did."
"And look what happened to her."
Tension filled the air.
"Well,"Deidara began forming his hand sign, "Guess, I'll be going then."
"Wait!" Deidara paused mid-hand sign and gave her a curious look. "Ano…" Eri blushed slightly, although why she did not know. "Why don't you ever take Tobi with you? He's your partner, isn't he?"
Putting down his hand completely, Deidara laughed sardonically. "That idiot? No way."
Eri gave him a look, expecting him to say something else. He did, but most certainly not what she expected.
"Do you wanna come, un?"
"Eh?"
This time, he frowned at her. "I'm not repeating myself, kunoichi, un. Yes or no will suffice."
Eri's head spun. Come with him to where? Did he mean around her village? Farther away? Did she actually expect her to fly with him? On that? Could it even safely fit both of them?
It was ridiculous. Beyond stupid. What she was already doing was reckless enough.
In the few seconds it took her to reply, Deidara tapped his foot impatiently, but before he could make any more snappy remarks, Eri surprised even herself at her next words.
"Sure."
Yes, it was stupid. Yes it was reckless. Yes, she had no idea where they were going. But in all honesty, she didn't care. She wanted out of this godforsaken place where she felt nothing but guilt for her friend's kidnapping.
Two steps forward and with a slight tug of her hand, Deidara pulled her onto the bird with him, completed the ever-interrupted hand sign, and they were off.
