--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hating Me, Loving You
Chapter Two
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
My first plan was simple enough. Women like to be given gifts, right? So I'd make something for Kuro out of the clay that I carried around. Normally, I only made explosives with that stuff, but how hard could it be to make a regular sculpture? Or even better, I could make a really big explosion! She seemed to be the type of girl who could appreciate that type of art, so why not give it a shot? Besides, it would be better than anything Sasori could do, should he become interested in her as well.
I prepared all of it a day early, putting a few different ores into the various bits of clay, so the explosions would have a bit more colour, kind of like fireworks. Iron powder, in particular, gives the explosions a nice red tinge, almost a bloody colour, a shade that I'm quite fond of, myself. I was so giddy that night, I could barely sleep. This plan would work wonders, I was sure. Ohhh, I was so good. She'd be head over heels for me in no time!
-----------------------------------------------------
I found her, by herself, in the nearby woods the next morning. She was standing, her eyes closed, her expression giving away no thoughts, in a small clearing in which nine targets were scattered about. Actually, it was almost as though she was meditating. Or waiting for something. Her cloak was tossed, rather carelessly, I thought, on the dew-streaked grass underneath an oak tree, and on top of it lay the same katana that had been at my throat the night before. I shuddered at the memory of the sharp blade against my skin, and I hoped this wouldn't end the same way. I looked away from it and back at her, now noticing two things I hadn't seen before. Firstly, she was actually wearing a collar. A black leather collar, as I gathered, with a small golden bell attached to it. Hadn't she said, just last night, that there was a huge difference between cats and cat demons, and here she was, wearing a cat collar? That was a bit hypocritical, if you asked me. And then, on the skin just below her right shoulder, there was a strange tattoo. A Roman numeral, as I could tell: Unlucky thirteen. I had no idea what its significance was, but I don't suppose it really mattered. Something to do with her past, most likely, and I wasn't going to ask, lest I want to be under that katana again.
All of a sudden, her eyes snapped open. As she crossed her arms in front of her, I saw three glittering silver shuriken in each hand, and my mind quickly put together what would happen next.
I barely managed to dodge them as they flew towards my head. Small as those throwing stars may be, they can do quite a bit of damage.
Well, she obviously knew I was there, so there was no point in staying hidden.
"You've got quite the arm there, un. Almost hit me," I said, trying to remain casual. Her glare didn't soften, though, and her tone was anything but kind when she spoke.
"If I had been aiming for you, dobe, I would have hit you," she snapped, moving past me and pulling the shuriken out of the tree that they had embedded themselves in and replacing them in the pouch on her leg. "I'm not exactly in the mood to feel Sasori-san's wrath. That's the only reason I haven't killed you already. But believe me, the second I get an excuse and a chance, you're dead meat."
I swallowed hard. She was actually serious about that.
"Why would you want to do that, un?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. I wasn't actually amused, but I didn't want to look like I was afraid of her. I wasn't, okay?
Kuro shot a second glare at me, then turned her attention to tying her katana on her waist. Putting on her cloak, she looked me right in the eyes and icily said, "Let's see. Probably because-" she paused here to adjust her headband-"I just fucking don't like you."
That's going to change, I thought to myself, barely able to keep from grinning.
That reminded me of what I had come here for in the first place, so I quickly regained my composure and gave a little smirk. This was definitely going to do it.
She glared at me again, something I was already used to. "What the Hell is your problem, baka?" This only made me grin more. I put my hand into my clay-bag and pulled out one o f the explosives I had prepared the night before and nonchalantly asked, "You know that I'm the Akatsuki's explosives expert, right, un?" "Hn." A monosyllabic answer. She must have been annoyed, so I figured I had better hurry and catch her attention. "You want to see some of my work?" She shrugged, saying nothing else, but concentrating on something a few yards away. A few hundred yards, actually, by the way she was staring, eyes narrowed, into the dense foliage ahead of her.
Now or never, I told myself, and formed a small bird out of the clay in my hand. She looked over at it, raising an eyebrow. Ah! She's interested! I smirked again, pleased with the apparent success of this plan.
The bird hopped off of my hand and onto her shoulder. I saw her eye twitch as she looked at it, annoyed. Was this her cat's blood kicking in?
It pushed off of her shoulder and flew around a bit before I, and she, I was sure, grew tired of watching it. I formed my signature seal and it exploded in a shower of clay shards and a puff of bloody red smoke. Kuro seemed uninterested. She hadn't said anything yet, anyway. And then I noticed she had burst into a coughing fit. Between coughs, she managed to get out a few words. "What was in that thing!" I grinned sheepishly and said, "Oh, you know, this and that, un..." And then, with the venom practically dripping from her voice, she said, "There was iron powder in that, wasn't there?" I nodded nervously, for the first time afraid that she might harm me. "You idiot!" She yelled, moving as far away from the cloud of smoke as she could get. "I'm ALLERGIC to iron powder!" Oh. Well. That explained a lot. "Gomen," I muttered, silently berating myself for losing this chance. She didn't hear me, though. She had already left, probably to a place with cleaner air.
"Plan A failed, then," I said bitterly, turning away from the debris from the explosion I had been so proud of before. Oh well. There was always tomorrow...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: Ahh. Deidara, you silly, silly boy. You made yourself look SO stupid just now. -gigglefit- Oh well. Keep at it. Even if you don't get her, you'll provide us, the author and her readers, with some good entertainment.
Deidara: That was so mean, un! How was I supposed to know that she's allergic to that stuff?
That's the kind of thing you find out before you try something like this, sweets.
Deidara: -immaturely sticks his tongue out- Doesn't matter. My next plan will work, un!
We'll see. Anyway, thanks for all your lovely reviews. Yes Kai-chan, you are VERY lazy, but that's okay, I love you anyway.
You see that little button there? The one that says "Review"? Give it a click please. It'd make this author a very happy person.