Welcome to Chapter Twenty-Eight! This one starts a new story arc. This one will only be a couple of chapters long, and it will be more drama than adventure. It serves as a bridge between the last arc and the one after this one, but the information will move the plot of the story along. It will mostly focus on Itachi's and Deidara's growing feelings for each other, and the reactions of Aoi and various Akatsuki members.
This chapter focuses on Itachi, Deidara, and Aoi.
Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed!
Nope, I don't own Naruto.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cold
Aoi was cold all over. However, she didn't want to wake up from the blackness that enveloped her mind. Here there were no emotions, no dangers, no people that would hurt her. She felt safe wrapped up in her own mind; she didn't feel the pain of her injuries or the fear that Sasuke brought upon her. Sasori was not there, and she felt a pang of loneliness, but quickly brushed it aside. She wanted, no, needed, to be by herself at this point. She needed to sort through all her thoughts, and she needed to do it alone.
Suddenly, she felt the blackness disappearing, and she thought, Wait! I don't want to leave yet! I can't! She resisted the brightness that was taking over, forcing herself back into the black state. She only relaxed when she felt the darkness wrap itself around her once more. I can stay here for awhile, she thought lazily. I'll wake up in a little bit…
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"Sasori no danna, what's up with Aoi, un?" Deidara asked. He had seen her stir, as though she was going to wake up, only to fall unconscious once more. He gripped the brunette's hand tightly in his own. His half-lidded eyes snapped open in alarm when he realized how cold it was. "Her hand's freezing!"
"She's always colder than normal; she became like that ever since the chakra device was implanted," Sasori answered.
"I know that! She's even colder than she usually is, un. I know something's wrong with her!" the blonde persisted.
The puppet master walked over to where Aoi was laying on the ground. "If it'll make you feel better, Deidara, I'll look at her." He kneeled down and checked her pulse, looking alarmed. "Her pulse is fine, but you're right; she's abnormally cold." He looked at Deidara. "Hold her, to warm her up. I don't want her to freeze to death!"
The bomber looked down, and realized that Aoi was only wearing a ripped pair of Akatsuki pants, a bra, and a mesh shirt. He was hesitant about picking her up with so little clothing on, but he didn't want her to get any colder. He gently picked her up and hugged her close to him. When he did this, she let out a small squeak of pain, and Deidara realized that her chest was bruised and swollen. "I think that some of her ribs are broken, un."
"My chakra is low because of the battle and fixing your concussion. I don't think I'll be able to heal her properly. I was only able to heal the cuts on her chest. The rest will have to wait until we get back to the base," said Sasori. "Just be gentle when holding her; I don't want the wounds getting aggravated any more."
Deidara nodded. As he stroked the girl's hair, he realized that his romantic attraction to her had faded. He still loved her, very deeply, but only as a friend, and nothing more.
After awhile, Sasori and Zetsu had gone to sleep, leaving the Iwa-nin and Itachi to keep watch for the rest of the night. The Uchiha was really the only one watching for danger; Deidara was too focused on Aoi.
As her breathing started to slow, the blonde started to panic. Though he had a grudge against Itachi, he was worried that Aoi was going to die, and didn't care about petty squabbles at the moment. He needed help. "Uchiha!" he whispered desperately. "Something's wrong with her! She's not breathing right, un!"
With one last look into the forest around them, Itachi swiftly walked over to where the bomber was sitting. He gently laid the girl down on Deidara's sleeping bag and put a hand lightly on the center of her chest, to feel her breathing. "I don't know much about anatomy," he finally said. "But I know quite a bit about the human mind. I have a feeling that Aoi-san is in a self-induced coma."
"Self-induced, un?" asked Deidara, confused. What does that mean?
"It means that her mind is forcing her body to stay unconscious, even though she is physically okay, besides her hand and the broken ribs."
"Why?" asked the blonde.
"Because," Itachi explained, "she is mentally and emotionally broken at the moment. This would only happen if she felt extreme panic, danger, or trauma, and felt as though the only place she could be safe is in her own mind."
"What did Sasuke do to her, un?" Deidara muttered. It was the wrong thing to say. The raven-haired man stiffened, and his eyes grew cold. The bomber didn't apologize, though. He didn't feel he needed to; Sasuke had tortured him, and he was glad that the youngest Uchiha was dead.
After a moment of silence, Itachi continued speaking. "I am going to try to jolt her out of this; I need to know what exactly…he…did in order to help her heal further."
"Go ahead, Uchiha, un."
"For this to be effective, I'm going to have to remove her shirt," the Uchiha stated.
Deidara shrugged. The shirt was already see-through. Though he didn't like the idea of Itachi touching her chest, he let him; anything was better than Aoi acting half-dead.
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Itachi nodded, gently slipping the shirt over her head. Concentrating chakra into his hand, he softly hit the center of her chest twice. When that didn't work, he tried once more. This time, her eyes snapped open, and she sat up, wrapping her arms around herself, shivering. As she looked up at Itachi, she whispered, "No, Sasuke, don't!" She closed her eyes, as though trying to evade the Sharingan.
The raven-haired man looked absolutely appalled. Sasuke, what did you do to her? he thought, dismayed. "Please, Aoi-san. It's me, Itachi. I need to look into your thoughts to help you heal emotionally. I promise I won't hurt you."
"I-Itachi-san?" she whispered, slowly opening her eyes.
Itachi used this moment to look into her eyes with his own Sharingan-activated ones. He slipped into the memory he was looking for without any resistance from Aoi. He didn't know if this was good or bad.
He watched, sickened, as the brunette was tortured, both physically and mentally, by Sasuke. What happened to you, little brother? he thought sadly, shaking his head. When the youngest Uchiha threatened to rape her, Itachi's blood turned to ice. This was not the brother he once used help with shuriken throwing. His mind had warped into something twisted, something ugly. He winced as Sasuke stabbed the girl's hand and kicked her to the floor, sadistically cutting her chest and apparently, her neck as well. He wanted to clap his hands over his ears as his younger brother picked up a glass top off one of the tables and smashed it onto her small body, making her scream in agony before she passed out.
The memory ended with Sasori kicking the door down, and Itachi found himself staring at Aoi's unconscious form once more. He realized that if the puppet master didn't interfere when he did, the girl would probably be in a much worse state than she was now. The middle Uchiha shook his head, trying to clear it of the memory. However, Aoi's last scream reverberated throughout his head.
His eyes snapped open when he realized that Sasori had never healed Aoi's neck injury. Probably because her hair covered it. He softly brushed back her hair, revealing not a simple cut, but a small Uchiha fan carved into the left side of her neck.
Now Itachi felt really sick. Sasori was right, he thought, sinking to his knees. He really went insane! Fortunately, the wound had stopped bleeding. Unfortunately, if Sasori didn't heal it right away, it would scar, causing the fan to remain etched into her skin forever. He didn't want to wake the puppeteer up, though, he needed his sleep. He knew that the redhead couldn't sleep right, and didn't want to risk it.
He sensed someone moving behind him and whirled around, ready to fight. He relaxed when he realized it was only Deidara.
"Are you okay, Uchiha, un?" the blonde asked, looking concerned. "You were staring into space for awhile."
"I'm fine," Itachi said stiffly. Though he kissed the bomber, he had to work out his feelings for him. All he knew is that he was attracted to the Iwa-nin for some reason. He wasn't sure if Deidara liked him back, though.
"Why were you looking at Aoi's neck, un?" he pressed, his large blue eyes narrowing.
The Uchiha decided to show Deidara what Sasuke had done. He realized that both he and Sasori would find out eventually, and the raven-haired man figured that it would be best if the bomber saw first, since Sasori seemed to have a possessive streak, and would most likely be angrier than his partner. Itachi knew that the redhead and Aoi had a relationship since the day Pein almost drowned her.
"Come here," he finally said, kneeling down next to Aoi.
The blonde mimicked the action, kneeling next to Itachi. As the Uchiha moved the brunette's hair out of the way, Deidara's face went pale. "That sick bastard!" he whispered. "What was he trying to show? Was he marking her as his own, or something, un?"
Though Itachi suspected that this statement was for the bomber himself, he answered, "I think that's exactly what he wanted to show." This realization only made the raven-haired man grieve more. Not just for the physical death of Sasuke, but for the death of his naivety and innocence that happened long before. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to cry. As he focused on his breathing, the emotion passed, and he opened his eyes, unemotional once more.
He felt something on his shoulder, and automatically tensed up. Realizing that Deidara only put a hand on his shoulder, he let himself relax.
"Look, I can't say that I'm grieving over the death of that bas—Sasuke, but I know you are, un," he said. "You're not acting like yourself."
Itachi absolutely hated how he was feeling at the moment. Like Sasori, he liked to be the one in control. And right now, nothing was under control: Aoi's trauma, his grief, and feelings for the blonde next to him. Everything was all messed up.
"Normally, I wouldn't do this, un," Deidara stated gruffly. "You took something away from me that can never be returned. But seeing you like this…it…hurts." With that, he pulled the raven-haired man close to him, wrapping his arms around him. Itachi stiffened at this, but found himself tired and overwhelmed from the day's events. Add his aching eyes to this, and one can understand why he fell limp in the Iwa-nin's embrace, a peaceful sleep overtaking him.
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Deidara didn't know what he was doing. As he saw Itachi pretty much break down in front of him, his heart started to ache. What the hell is the matter with you? Itachi was the one that forced you to join the Akatsuki against your will. He took away your freedom! But no matter how much he wanted to hate the Uchiha, he realized that he couldn't. He just couldn't. At least, not at this moment. He just looked so, so…vulnerable.
Before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around the older man, pulling him close, so close that he could feel the Uchiha's heart beating. Something about comforting Itachi just felt…right to him. And that made him feel sick. No! You're a man! You're not supposed to like this! He was disgusted with himself. But he couldn't get a certain thought out of his head. He is so beautiful when he sleeps. He closed his eyes and mentally shook his head, trying to clear it of the thought. What the hell is the matter with you? He thought of letting go of the Uchiha and putting him on the ground, but he couldn't make himself. Instead, he moved his arms into a more comfortable position, Itachi still in his embrace. Kami, why is this happening to me? Why do I feel this way? This isn't supposed to happen!
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Itachi shifted in his sleep, muttering something that sounded like, "Sasuke." Gone was the peaceful demeanor; it was replaced by sadness, the emotion twisting up the raven-haired man's face.
Deidara didn't like this expression at all. It was so unlike the normally emotionless façade Itachi always wore. Without thinking, he started to softly rub the Uchiha's shoulders, trying to make his expression peaceful once more. Why am I doing this? Why should I care? I hate him!
But as the middle Uchiha smiled in his sleep, Deidara's heart swelled. He decided that he could be truthful with himself, at least in his own mind. He finally admitted to himself what his heart was telling him for awhile now. He wasn't cold to Uchiha Itachi because he truly hated the man; the reason for this emotion was clear to him now. It was because he had fallen for him.
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And that's the end of Chapter Twenty-Eight. Not exactly the most action-y chapter ever (it's actually quite boring, lolz), but I actually like it.
This chapter was to actually show Deidara's growing feelings for Itachi.
Speaking of our favorite bomber, I really wanted to make him the stronger person for once, and Itachi the more vulnerable one. I actually like how it turned out, especially with the state that Itachi's mind is in at the moment. This was also to see if people preferred DeiIta over ItaDei. It doesn't really matter to me, either one could work for the story. I thought it was refreshing to make Dei the one in control, lolz.
Hopefully, the moment between Deidara and Itachi wasn't too cheesy.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
