Drowning in Freedom

Chapter 3: Wings of a Bird

A/N: I hope you guys like this new chapter :) Let me know what you thought about it!

moonlight46: Haha yeah that's what I always thought too, Itachi was the mother while Amaya and Kisame were the two siblings that always fought with each other, so I am happy that transferred over when you read it :) Deidara is honestly so fun to write on my head since he is such an erratic character and when him and Sasori get going... damn does it make for a good time. Yeah I debated whether to save Gaara or not, but I figured that it would be easier to follow the story line in this case so it makes Amaya look like she is more evil than she is. And who knows... maybe he is... maybe he isn't :P Anyway, enough of my rambling, I hope you like this update!

jordanbillings8: I am so happy that you liked this latest chapter! I am so happy that this story and DWA has intriqued you this much and that you look forward to weekly updates :) I will try to not be lazy and on top of things lol. Anyway, thank you for such high praise and I hope you like this new chapter :)

PrismRootStarlight: Well, here is your new update :) I hope you like the interactions in this chapter since everyone seems to be a little bit more on guard and we are finally getting places.

PinePair: :3

Naruto called out for Gaara to wake up again, his attempt was in vein. No matter how much he yelled at the red-headed boy, he would never wake again. As Naruto's voice started to grow hoarse, Kakashi placed an arm out. The blond looked at his sensei and that's when realization hit him. Gaara was dead. The pain manifested itself clearly on Naruto's face, the blond not bothering to try to hide his suffering over his friend.

"Would you shut up already? Red here is already dead" Deidara spoke, almost as if he was bored with the whole situation.

Naruto tries to launch himself forward without thinking. Kakashi quickly turned knowing that the arm he stuck out in front of his student wouldn't be enough to hold him back. Kakashi leaned towards Naruto and quietly whispered in his ear so the three Akatsuki members couldn't hear what he was saying. Amaya presumed that the white-haired nin was trying to make his student understand the situation at hand. With a quick glance once again at Amaya, Kakashi was more worried about having her there than the other members. He knew how strong she was, and with the years apart, he knew that she had gotten stronger. Not only that, but with the blade attached to her back, he could only assume that she had gotten her hands on one of the legendary hidden mist blades.

Anger boiled in Kakahsi's blood, the sickening feeling traveling throughout his body. Taking a step back once he knew Naruto wasn't going to bolt forward, he clenched his hands into fists as hard as he could. To him, Amaya looked disinterested, almost as if she wasn't strained by the whole ordeal. And why would she? She aided in killing the fifth kazekage. If people didn't want her dead before, she was now on everyone's priority kill list—even his. He had vowed that he would get answers from her, but looking at her cracked mask with her body seeming at ease with the whole situation, he had doubts that he would be able to. If she was now like this, it was making more and more sense just to end it. Kill her while they all still had a chance.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's voice held sturdy.

"What is it?" Kakashi responded, refusing to take his eyes off the three in front of him.

"The woman with the blue hair… do you think that's—"

Naruto never got to finish his sentence, as Deidara started to speak. Kakashi wanted to tell Naruto that both of their imaginations were being overactive, but the nin knew better than that. Kakashi, without a doubt, knew that Amaya was the woman in front of him. The one who had deserted the village. The one where there was no other place left in the world for. She was dead to the village, and dead to him.

"Anyway, Sasori… I guess I'll get up and take Kisame's pet with me. I figured that the other jinchuriki host is gonna come after the two of us due to kazekage's body."

"That isn't how this is supposed to go, Deidara… we each get a piece…" grumbled Sasori.

"An artist needs a greater stimulation in order to produce wonderful works… they may even be able to become my next muse."

"Pyrotechnics are bullshit. Your damn clay is not art for the last time."

"What the hell did you just say?" Deidara's tone turning threatening.

Amaya turned her head towards the other two Akatsuki members, knowing that this conversation would get out of hand quickly. She debated getting up and putting herself between the two of them, but figured that the best course of action would be to let them work it out. After all, someone had to watch the Konoha nin's that stared them down. Lackadaisically, the kunoichi pushed her hands out and leaned back on them as they supported her weight. With her head turned how it was, the Konoha nins probably figured that she was taking in her fellow member's conversation, but really, she was watching them. Waiting for the person who would strike first.

"You heard me."

"I will not tolerate you saying that my art isn't that… I make beautiful explosions—"

"That are disgusting to witness—"

"That bring light to people's faces!" Deidara yelled at the man sitting next to him.

The blue-haired woman started to tune out the conversation between the two beside her, and instead she focused on her former lover. His eyes were trained on hers, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he could see straight through her mask and into her soul. Amaya licked her lips even though her mouth felt dry. The love that she felt for the man in front of her never went away. Even after all this time from being separated from the village. She knew that if it came down to it, even with this mission she was on, she would give up her life for his. She vowed never to let anything happen to the man that she could prevent. And that's when Kisame's words went through her head.

If you didn't love him, then just the sound of his name wouldn't put you in this much of a frenzy. He is and shall forever be your weakness Amaya. You may not have any physical weakness anymore—I made sure of that. However, you will be killed over your love for that man… I can promise you that. It may not be me who kills you… but I promise that your love for Kakashi will kill you someday. You have my word.

She didn't want to admit it, but now that she had time to think about it, there was truth in those words that Kisame had spoken to her. It placed fear into her heart. If someone, like Kisame, who couldn't love, who only had anger and darkness in their heart could see what she felt for the white-haired man in front of her, who else could? Out of the two men she thought were her worst enemies, Danzo and Kisame, both had saw straight through her. Her love for the man obvious. She knew that he never would feel that love for her again, and yes, deep down, she knew that her cause of death would be defending Kakashi. Someway, somehow, that was how she was going to die.

"This is madness…" Sakura spoke up, interrupting the two quarreling partners that were about to take each other's heads off.

"Enough of this!" Naruto yelled, taking out some shurikens from the pouch on his leg and flinging them at Amaya, Deidara, and Sasori.

However, Sasori's puppet tail came from out of nowhere and slashed the shuriken out of the air, without even having to move a muscle. The three that the attack was aimed at weren't phased, and the action caused the conversation to take a different tone. Everyone on Konoha's side held their breath, looking tense and uneasy. One could read on their faces that they knew that they were fighting against the elite of the elite. No half-rate shinobi could do what Sasori just did, deflecting the weapons without even a glance towards them.

"Are you trying to make me angry here?" Sasori said, keeping the conversation going with Deidara and gaining Amaya's focus once more.

"I just know that you wouldn't like to deal with the nine-tail jinchuriki. Plus… I still think that my art… it is the explosion itself… that's what makes so much more beautiful than your grotesque puppets."

Without warning, Sasori used his tail and smashed the ground that Deidara and Amaya were both sitting on. However, both shinobi saw what was about to happen and jumped upwards before anything could happen to them. The clay bird that was behind them flapped its wings and rose to meet Deidara as he descended from the fall. Amaya, on the other hand, twisted backwards, doing a handspring off the ground getting away from Sasori. Amaya and Sasori stood there looking at one another, no words exchanged between the two of them. The kunoichi simply held up her hand as the clay bird came around. Deidara bent down and grabbed Amaya's wrist, pulling her onto the back of the clay bird with him.

"Watch it, Sasori! You almost got Kisame's pet hurt! You know he would kill us then her if we did anything to her!" Deidara screamed at his partner who chose to ignore him by facing forward.

As Deidara maneuvered the bird outside, Amaya turned to watch the ground below. She noticed that Kakashi and Naruto were the ones to split from Sakura and the elder. They were trying to keep pace with them as they flew through the sky. Naruto led the charge forward, eager to get his friend back. However, both Kakashi and Amaya knew that whatever happened from here on out, they were going to treat each other like the enemy.

"Hahaha! This is great! The amazing copy-cat ninja Kakashi is following me!" Deidara yelled so Kakashi and Naruto could hear his words as they followed on the ground below.

The blond who had his hair in a ponytail smacked Amaya's arm as if he was almost in disbelief that someone as famous as Kakashi was about to witness his artwork.

"You know, I have to ask this, but are you sure that you want to come after me, Kakashi-san? Well, I guess since you and your presumably student, who is quite annoying I may add, will be able to witness the beauty that is my art!" Deidara had a sick gleem in his eye, as he licked his lips.

Amaya forced her body not to shudder as she smelt the bloodthirstiness radiate from Deidara's body. The two Konoha nins made no attempt to try and say anything back to Deidara's words, and instead, this just gave the man more of an ego boast than he already had.

"You know…" Deidara started talking once again, enjoying that he was the only one talking. It made him feel like he was the star of the show. "Sasori is probably stronger than me… Same with Amaya-chan over here… Well… I would say that she is stronger than me and Deidara put together to be honest here…" Deidara started to chuckle glancing at Amaya who refused to speak.

Her silence neither confirmed nor refuted the claim that Deidara had made. However, if Amaya thought about it, the paring of Deidara and Sasori, with her skill set, she would be the one to come out alive. She couldn't claim that for every partnership within the Akatsuki, but she could say, with confidence, that she could hold her own between the explosion expert and the puppet master. Nevertheless, there were a few teams where she knew she would get herself into trouble if she didn't have any backup. A freakishly religious, immortal man, and a frugal, black market loving, elderly male came to mind when she thought of such things.

The kunoichi was torn through her thoughts when she peered down at Naruto and Kakashi again. However, this time, Naruto's appearance had started to morph. It was like the nine tails was threatening to come out as orange chakra bubbled out of the teen's pores, surrounding him in a chakra-like bubble. The chakra set her skin crawling. Never had she witnessed such a concentrated amount of chakra. It was like all her senses were tuned to the overpowered might thundering below.

"Kakashi-sensei… I have this. Go back and help Sakura" Naruto voiced calmly as he stared up at Deidara and Amaya.

The blond didn't know what was going on, but for some reason, Amaya-sensei had chosen to go down the path of evil. It didn't make sense, and for the boy, he wouldn't stop until he got some answers from her. If she was in this position, he figured that she may have some information regarding the whereabouts of Sasuke and how he was doing. If Naruto could get that information from his former teacher, he could cope with the rest. Amaya was never one to be evil and she had always been there when no one else was. She was worth fighting for—at least in Naruto's mind.

"Naruto… This may be more of a fight for me… than it is for you" Kakashi spoke up, making sure that Amaya knew that his sentence was directed to her.

Amaya tore her gaze away from the two following on foot and looked ahead. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Deidara's hand stop chewing, and a cynical smile spread across his face. The mouth on his had spit out another bird figure and before the kunoichi could question what the other Akatsuki member was about to do, the blond turned around and started to torment the Konoha nins following behind. Naruto started to become enraged, emotion fueling the nine-tail's chakra as more started to trickle out. Deidara's eyes went wide as he realized the teen wasn't paying attention, and the pony-tailed styled blond quickly turned the bird to the side.

Naruto and Kakashi couldn't control their momentum, and instead the only thing that they could do was run straight into the cliff side that was revealed. Both Konoha nins jumped up and landed on the slanted surface, the dirt slowing them down. But, Deidara saw through this and let his new clay bird fall to the ground. The material flapped its wings and headed to the cliff, exploding when Deidara used the same hand seal of release that undid genjutsu. The kunoichi didn't know why, but the blond next to her waited for the dust to clear. Once it had, the two of them could see that Naruto was trying to climb himself out of the rubble, but Kakashi had managed to dodge it completely.

His sharingan now completely activated. Amaya huffed, causing Deidara to shoot her a small glance, but the man couldn't ponder it long. Kakashi didn't waste any time and threw two shurikens at them. He used one to deflect off the other, causing a sharp curve that would be hard to dodge against. Without thinking or searching for a different weapon, the blue-haired woman pulled the blade from her back and swung it downwards, taking a step towards Deidara. She was close enough, that enough though the blade was still wrapped up, it cut off some of the hair apart of the blond's bangs. Deidara turned his head and was about to say something, but he heard the distinctive clank of metal on metal, finally realizing that Kakashi had thrown a weapon at him.

Deidara gave Amaya a swift nod of a thank you, still not knowing how she had moved that quickly to doge the attack. He knew that Kisame had trained his pet, but he didn't think that he had done this good of a job at it. That shuriken was specially placed in his blind spot and if Amaya hadn't moved how she did, the metal shuriken would have been lodged in the clay-welding nin's neck. The male that was behind Amaya's blade licked his lips and took a gamble, using one of his last pieces of clay that he had made in advanced. He lobbed the object over Amaya and her mist blade, and didn't waste any time making the object explode.

He also made the bird start picking up the pace, knowing that the distraction wouldn't be enough to stop the nine-tailed jinchuriki and the copy-cat nin. Amaya moved her blade so it was attached to her back again and watched as Naruto and Kakashi avoided the new explosion. She leaned down and turned the shuriken over in her hand and without hesitating, she threw it directly at Kakashi. She knew that he was trying to see how her reaction speed was, testing if she had gained any new skills. She didn't show him any ninjutsu, but showed enough to state that she wasn't the same person, or the same level shinobi she once was. Now, it was time to force Kakashi's hand.

Kakashi deflected the shuriken easily with a kunai, making Amaya smirk under her mask. He wasn't going to let her show him all the new tricks he had up his sleeves—at least not this early in this cat and mouse game of chase. Amaya knew that the inevitable was upon her. Kakashi and her were about to fight for the first time since she had tried to kill him. Only, this time, she knew that only one of them would truly be walking away alive.

"Amaya-sensei! Ponytailed weirdo!" Naruto voiced to get Amaya and Deidara's attention.

"I'm not that weird… just understood…" muttered Deidara.

"I will not let you take Gaara with you! I don't care what it takes I will get Gaara back!"

"You really are a strange one, jinchuriki! You have me wondering… what is your actual name?"

"It's Naruto." Amaya spoke, her voice crystal clear with no hesitation so all parties involved could hear her.

Any confusion that once was there, if that woman was really Amaya or not, with her tangled, long, blue hair flowing in the wind were now put at rest. Deidara's eyes opened, not used to hearing Amaya talk. On the other hand, both Konoha nins became filled with anxiety at the sound of her voice. They knew. They knew it was Amaya now and no matter what, they couldn't write it off any longer. They couldn't push it to the back of their mind and forget about it. No. This was a former member of Konoha who turned rogue and joined the Akatsuki.

"Well, Naruto, I do wonder… do you feel the same type of pain as this one-tailed jinchuriki felt?"

"His name is Gaara!" Naruto seemed at the other blond, letting his emotions filter through his words.

Deidara just smiled and stuck his tongue out at the younger teen.

"When the beast was being removed from this jinchuriki… all he could do was scream and cry! It was the end… I helped end his life! Him, you, you're all a means to an end! Trash… every single one of you… no matter what, none of you will ever be glorious enough to be called art!"

Amaya watched everything unfold after the words left Deidara's lips, and the only thing that she could think about was that out of everything, that was the last thing Deidara should have said.