Rose: Yay! New chapter, love you all!
Disclaimer: OC's and plot.
It should start picking up now, enjoy!
CRASH! BANG! SMASH!
Deidara and I both shot up in the bed as the noises echoed from outside, together we grabbed our clothes and filed into the hallway where the others were "what's going on?" I panted, brushing the hair from my eyes,
"Tobi is attacking" Itachi muttered,
Hidan and Deidara groaned "he hasn't make a fucking move in two months!" the Steam-Nin growled "why now?"
"He was waiting for us to lower our guard" I answered before Itachi had the chance "and lead us into a false sense of security" the blond clenched his fists "what should we do?"
"As long as he doesn't enter the house we should just sit tight" the Uchiha took charge "it's too dangerous for us to try anything in the middle of the night" we accepted defeat and the others went back into their shared room, I rubbed my forehead,
"I don't feel well" the Iwa-Nin rubbed my back and smiled sadly,
I leant back into his chest "did you want some tea? Un" I clutched my stomach and nodded before following him downstairs, the noises were still going on and we were both wondering what on earth Tobi could be doing to cause so much disruption, when the kettle had boiled the male handed me a mug of green tea, I sipped it carefully as we returned to bed "is it your stomach?" I nodded again and sat down slowly, the mug in my lap,
He sat down behind me and kissed my cheek whilst stroking my shoulder "my head hurts too" I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, he pecked my cheek again and moved down my neck "Dei…" he hummed "what're you doing?"
"Taking you mind off of your problems, un"
I finished my drink and placed the cup on the bedside table "it's not working" climbing under the covers I heard him give a sound of disappointment before he did the same and wrapped his arms around me,
"You didn't even give it a chance! Un"
I elbowed him "I'm not in the mood!"
"You haven't been in the mood since the shower, un"
I chuckled "you're such a sex-oholic" he laughed and snuggled into my chest, the crashes from earlier seemed to have ceased but it still took me a long time to fall asleep.
The full extent of the damage was revealed early the next morning;
Nana was gone.
The gate had been chopped and broken and part of the fence was demolished, it was unlikely that Tobi had taken her himself, the more probable explanation was that she got scared and bolted when the opening was flashed to her. I bit my lip and kicked a plank of wood out of the way; Deidara draped an arm around my shoulders and lay his head on mine before helping me to clean up and leaning the wood against the wall "we'll find her, un, or Abir will; he won't let anything get her"
I rubbed my forehead "I'm not in the right mindset for this crap, I'm ill, I'm stressed, there's a madman chasing me…I just want it all to end!"
I felt his fingers clench into my shirt before he sighed "we'll think of something, un, please don't upset yourself" I moaned "why don't you go back to bed?"
I did just that, but I didn't sleep, stretched out in the large bed I stared up at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes and a bored expression, Deidara came up every couple of hours to check on me, chiding me when he saw I was awake each time, I merely sighed each time and explained that I was too stressed and that I didn't feel well enough to relax,
I hadn't eaten all day either; my meals were placed by the bed but the smell of them was repulsing me to no end, around six in the evening the blond cleared them away in exasperation and lay down beside me to hug my form "Petal…" he whispered "how are you feeling? Un"
"Sick…" I forced out slowly "between sleepwalking these past weeks and a loss of appetite I've becoming so drained" he kissed me behind the ear, making me giggle lightly,
"We'll think of-"
"Stop saying that!" I turned and glared at the male "you've been saying that for two months but have you gone through with it? NO! So please, either put up or shut up because I've had enough!" I flopped down and buried my face into my pillow to sob "I'm so tired!" he pressed his forehead between my shoulders,
"I'm sorry I keep saying 'we'll think of something' but I really do believe we will, un, the best plans will come to us; we just need to wait" I sniffed,
"I hate it when you're so calm even when I blow up at you"
"If we're being honest, un, it actually turns me on" I burst into laughter "and I hate arguing with you so I usually think it's easiest to just apologise, even if I don't know what I've done"
I laughed harder if possible "Dei…I really like you sometimes" as I was speaking I saw him stiffen expectantly but when my sentence ended his shoulders dropped "are you alright?"
"Yeah, un, I just…I thought you were going to say something else"
"What?"
He shook his head, golden locks bouncing "nothing, un" I stroked his cheek,
"You're so odd" he pressed his lips to my nose "any news? The others went out earlier didn't they?"
"Still haven't found him or the goat, un, though they did find Abir and tell him what happened"
I breathed out "that's good I suppose" he frowned sadly,
"Akina, I don't like seeing you like this, un" I blinked "I just wish there was something I could do"
I lay my head on his shoulder and curled into him "I guess we just have to wait and see"
He tied his arms around me and buried his nose into my hair "yeah…"
It was later that night when I felt the familiar tug at the back of my mind which indicated that Tobi was trying to take control; to stop him I woke myself up by climbing out of the bed, Deidara moaned lightly in his dream driven state and hugged onto a pillow he was mistaking for me; I strolled to the kitchen and was surprised to see the light on and was even more shocked when I found Itachi sitting at the table, he looked up when I entered and smiled weakly, I took a seat opposite him,
"Good evening" he greeted,
"Hey…" I sighed "Itachi, I need your help"
He blinked "with what?"
Rubbing my forehead I locked eyes with the older male "you haven't found Tobi because I haven't been with you, I'm who he wants, so if I'm out there he'll show his face. I need you to come with me out to look for him"
"Akina-"
"I know it sounds stupid and dangerous…but I figure that fighting with him should be a last resort, especially if he's as powerful as you say, I want to try talking to him but I know Deidara would never agree to it so I want you to go with me"
He tapped his fingers against the wood "this is an unpredictable plan"
"I know"
"You could be kidnapped if something goes wrong"
"Wouldn't be the first time" I shrugged,
The dark haired man lowered his gaze and remained silent for a few minutes "very well. I'll give you an hour to find him and talk"
I grinned and grabbed my coat from the hanger by the front door, pulling it over my shirt and tugging on my shoes I followed Itachi to the back door where he silently unlocked it; for a May night it was cold and windy but other than that the environment was fine,
Walking side by side we vanished into the trees and darkness.
"We've been walking for forty-five minutes; I think it's time to head back" I blinked up at Itachi before sighing tiredly,
"Yeah…I guess you're right…" we'd walked through the valley behind the house and arrived at a clearing after half an hour of walking, we'd continued on from there but so far the trees only seemed to be getting thicker and the moonlight was becoming sparse,
As we turned back around there came a crack from the left and the 'chink' of metal hitting a trunk, the two of us span around and stiffened, the Uchiha activated his Kekkei Genkai and I watched his lips drop into a frown "it's him"
I brushed my hair from my face just as an orange mask stepped into one of the few available spots of moonlight "Tobi!" I cried, moving forwards until I was only a few feet from him, Itachi tried to call me back but I ignored him,
"Someone's happy to see me" he muttered "what brings you to my humble abode?"
I hesitated before answering "we need to talk"
"About…?"
He crossed his arms "everything" I said coldly, his head cocked to one side,
"I don't quite know what's going on…but if we're to talk, then it must be privately" he motioned to his kinsmen behind me, I looked back and gulped,
"Fine…but he has to remain close by, within sight or near enough so that if you try to do anything-"
He waved me off "agreed" grabbing my hand he lead me into the trees where he'd come from, behind them and hidden amongst the thicket was a small cave, Itachi had to wait outside as we ventured in, it was a rather deep cave, but not so tall, my head was close to brushing the ceiling when I sat down by the little fire he'd made,
"This is quite a step-down from Ame" I joked,
Tobi hummed "yours is the only house in the surrounding area, I had to live somewhere. Which reminds me…where is your lovely husband?"
"He's not my husband" I whispered under my breath, the man ignored me "and he doesn't know I'm here, he would never had agreed to me being alone with you"
"Hm. What did you want to talk about?"
I looked up to see he'd removed his mask and placed it by his leg, I clenched my fingers into my pyjama pants "I want you to leave us alone" he cocked an ebony eyebrow "I'm serious! The sleepwalking, the attacks, demolishing the goat pen, it's making me ill" I saw his back straighten "I haven't eaten all day, I can't sleep because I can feel you in my head, I keep thinking I'm going to throw up every five minutes. If you really cared about me, if you really loved me, then you'd stop all this and let me be!"
He was fishing around in a little brown bag as I spoke, when I finished he pulled out some kind of thick bread and handed it to me "it's not good if you don't eat" I took the bread but didn't eat it, I couldn't help but smile lightly "I do love you Akina, more than life itself, I can't live without you; I won't be able to exist unless you're with me, and that's why I can't, why I won't, stop pursuing you"
"But I don't want to be with you in that sense" he frowned deeply "even if you kidnap me, even if you killed Deidara…which I know you're planning to, I can see it on your face…it won't change anything"
"Akina-"
"If you're so dead set on this, why haven't you just taken me already? You've had plenty of opportunities!"
"I want you to be willing, I want you to want to be with me"
I snorted "so mind control counts as willing?"
"I got impatient...but once Deidara is gone-"
"There is no 'once Deidara is gone'! I told you, it won't change a thing!"
There was a long silence; only broken by the crackling of the fire "he got to you first…"
I shook my head "it's not a case of 'getting me'! I've always thought of you as just a friend, I'll never be able to think of you as anything else now, but…if you insist on continuing this stupid goal of yours then…then I don't want anything to do with you!" he remained silent "you were the one who forced Deidara and I together and now you're trying to separate us; you've done terrible things to me Tobi, you permanently scarred me, you caused me vicious nightmares, you made me miscarry but…I'm willing to forgive everything if you stop this now"
"You love him"
"Tobi-"
"Don't try to deny it; you love him, that's why you're so dead-set on staying with him. I don't understand; I'm probably the most powerful man on earth, I could give you the entire world, I could make you a Queen but…you'd rather have…this?" he swept his arm to the entrance of the cave "some shack on the Cliffside? A pseudo-farm? I never took you for the boring white picket fence type"
I laughed a little "don't misunderstand me Tobi, I don't love Deidara…but he's special to me; the same way as Itachi, Hidan and Kisame are special to me, the same way all my friends back in Konoha and Suna are special to me…and you, you were my first real friend in Akatsuki, you'll always have a place in my heart but…not the place you want. So please, please stop this"
He turned his head away from me "no" my shoulders dropped "I refuse to give up"
My gaze lowered to the fire, the red burning into my blue orbs "I'm really sorry to hear that" I stood up and began to leave, when I was outside I turned to Itachi and looked up at him with a sad expression,
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah…let's go, talking didn't solve anything. I was an idiot to think it would" he rubbed my shoulder as we began walking in the direction of home,
"It took a lot of bravery to confront him and try to negotiate; it takes a strong person to refuse to fight"
I nodded "thanks"
"AKINA!"
We stopped and snapped around to see Tobi making his way towards us, Itachi pushed me behind him a little bit but he was effortlessly shoved aside, I gripped a Kunai tightly in anticipation "yes?" I saw his hand clench and shake with force, a cold shiver ran down my spine and I immediately tried to back away; I wasn't fast enough however before his fist sunk into my stomach "AHH!"
I screamed and collapsed to my knees coughing up blood, I saw his feet twist as he strolled off as if nothing had happened "I'll be launching an attack at the end of the week so…yeah" I wrapped an arm around the area he'd attacked and struggled to breath, my comrade was at my side pulling open my coat and already pumping chakra into the spot,
"Breath, breath Akina!"
"I'm…t…try…ing" I choked out painfully, he lay me on my back and continued healing the bruised point,
"Shit, you're bleeding from your…holy fuck!"
I'd never heard Itachi so panicked and I also couldn't remember him ever using such coarse language, whatever was wrong was obviously very bad "w…wh...at?"
"Akina you're bleeding from your uterus!" I blinked slowly "there's a concentration of chakra…I've seen it before…"
"Wh…at…s…wr…ong?"
"You're pregnant!" I convulsed in shock "calm down! Calm down! I think I can save it if we act fast" the warm glow of chakra filled my belly and my eyes closed softly "it's still there…but for how long I don't know. We need to return, now! There's a fifty-fifty chance of this continuing onto a full miscarriage either now or at a later date" he lifted me into his arms,
"Dei…dara's…going…to…find…out…now…"
"I think that's the least of your worries Akina"
"He's…gon…na…be…so…m…ad" I coughed,
The wind rustled through my hair and caressed my cheeks as the man ran "did you know?"
"I had…a hunch…about…a…month ago when…I missed a period, but…I didn't have any symptoms…like last time so…I just thought…it was…due to…stress" it was becoming easier to speak the further we went but I still felt like I was going to faint any second "I just…put it to…the back of my…mind"
"We're almost there now, don't worry I won't let you lose it…and I won't let Deidara yell at you either"
I laughed tiredly "good luck…with that…"
And then everything went black.
Rose: I've started making the chapters longer again for you, I realise they've been a little short these past few so I hope you enjoyed the extra two pages, hehe,
Review please!
