Chapter Two

Nakiro blinked dumbly, staring at the blonde before her, trying to ignore how fast her heart was racing. He was even more handsome up close, his visible eye was penetrating hers, the blue locked with both her red ones. She felt her cheeks going warm at the amused look on his face, a cocky smirk rose to his lips at the sight of her blush, she felt her stomach do a flip.

"It's not like a mind a cute girl looking at me hm." he started, his smirk widening by a fraction. "Demo, you weren't interested in how I look, were you hm?"

A silent breath passed her lips at his words, her face was on fire from the sound of his voice, the velvet words playing on his lips with the accusation. She didn't think she'd ever heard someone sound so seductive. She stared at him wide eyed, unsure of what she should do as his amusement seemed to grow.

"Nani hm?" he teased. "Nothing to say?"

She bit her lip nervously and lowered her eyes, her book had fallen to the ground, she had no way to respond to him. She swallowed and slowly moved her free hand from the wall behind her, reaching up towards her throat. She could feel her knees go weak at the grin on his face and managed to touch her throat, tapping it twice. She watched his visible eye blink and the amusement he'd once had disappeared from his face, he leaned back away from her.

"You're a mute hm?" he questioned.

She lowered her eyes sadly and nodded once, pointing to her book. She looked up through her bangs, watching curiously as the blonde picked up the book and began riffling through the pages, looking over some of the things she'd wrote down. She stayed frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do with herself before he moved his eye from the pages.

"This is how you communicate hm?" he guessed, she nodded again. "Alright, let's go talk hm."

She blinked dumbly when he pulled her away from the wall, his arm wrapping loosely around her shoulders. She could feel her cheeks burning as she lowered her eyes, holding the book tightly to her chest as he walked her out of the alley towards the inn. She swallowed nervously, her face was blood red at the idea of being in a room alone with an attractive man, what would her mother say if she could see this?

"By the way hm." Nakiro glanced over at the blonde, flushing darker when she saw the smirk on his lips. "I'm Deidara."

She lowered her eyes, even his name sounded seductive. They entered the inn side by side, she didn't want to look up and see the expression on the check in girl's face, she was far more than just embarrassed by the situation she'd gotten herself into. She almost flinched when his arm tightened around her shoulders, looking up at him and holding up four fingers to signify her room number. Deidara's grin never faltered as he led her down the hallway, she could feel how hard of a time her lungs were having as they drew closer to her room, it was almost impossible for her to breathe when they were right in front of the door. She took a silent breath and managed to unlock the door without trembling, taking a step inside as she opened the door.

She walked away from the door to her bag, looking through it for a book she had labeled as her Conversations Book. She grabbed a pen from the bag, trying not to jump when she heard the door shut, she prayed she hadn't gotten herself in a life or death situation. She placed the first book back in the pack and grabbed her conversation book, turning to face the blonde known as Deidara. She flushed darkly when she noticed he was already staring at her, his blue eye locked on her face.

"Shall we sit hm?" he cooed. "Or would you prefer the bed?"

Her eyes widened at the words and she quickly crossed the small room to the couch, taking a seat across from the armchair. Deidara chuckled softly in amusement and took a seat across from her, his eye locked with hers again. She tore her eyes from his quickly and moved her eyes to her book, opening it to the first page since she could anticipate the first question. She looked up through the turquoise strands above her eyes, waiting for the question.

"So hm." the blonde started, resting his cheek in his hand. "What do you think of art?"

She tilted her head to the side curiously at the question, she hadn't been expecting that and she certainly didn't understand why he would ask that when she'd been spying on him. Hell, he didn't even know her name so why was he so concerned with her opinion of art? She moved her eyes to her book and flipped through the pages, finding a clean one and began to write her answer.

I think there's a second that you can appreciate everything and see the beauty in that one moment. It's not something that can be seen all the time but when you do, you appreciate it even more than you normally would because you realize how extraordinary it is. I think that's what art is about, every little moment in life where you can see beauty.

She looked up from the page and hesitantly offered Deidara the book, a smirk rose to his lips as he took the book, their fingers brushing. She watched as he looked over her words, playing with her fingers nervously. She hoped the answer wouldn't displease him, she certainly wasn't ready to die because of a wrong answer. He finally looked up from the page, the smirk on his face turned into the most beautiful smile as he stared at her.

"Wow hm. Some deep thoughts there." he observed, she nodded a little in agreement when he offered the book back to her. "I've always thought art was a single moment too hm. It's the embodiment of my own art hm." She felt a small smile come to her lips at his words, she could see the passion he had for it as she stared into his visible eye, it just lit up with happiness. "I have to know who you are, someone that shares my opinion on art is hard to come by hm. Especially a beautiful woman." She felt her cheeks go warm at the compliment and flipped the book to the first page, trying to ignore his cocky smirk as she held it out for him to see. "Nakiro hm, pretty name." She smiled softly, waiting for the next question. "So, why were you spying on me hm?" She moved her book into her lap and flipped to a clean page, writing.

I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your personal business, I've been trying to acquire information about someone and it's harder since I can't speak. I'm very sorry for listening in on your conversation.

She showed him the book, watching as his eye scanned over her words before looking up at her. It seemed as though he believed her, even though he still had that smirk on his face, she was sure he knew that she wasn't lying. He nodded a little, his blonde fringe moving slightly to briefly show his other blue eye. She could feel her heart skipping, his eyes were so captivating.

"It's no problem, I'd be more careful if I were you hm." he advised, sounding teasing. "Not everyone is so relaxed about being spied on." She nodded in agreement, a small smile coming to her lips when he chuckled quietly. This was the first person she'd had a casual conversation with in a long while, it was nice to have human interaction for the first time in a year. "Who're you looking for information on, maybe I could help hm."

She felt her cheeks go warm at the offer; his generosity was only making him more likable. She didn't know if she could handle being alone anymore, but she didn't want someone to get hurt because of her, she had a target on her back and it would be wrong of her to involve someone with her problems. However, if what she had heard was the truth then he was more than likely a rogue shinobi, perhaps he was alone too. She felt her heart lighten at the thoughts and turned her attention to the book, writing down the Sannin's name before showing it to the blonde.

"Orochimaru hm." he read. "I'm sure I could find some things out about him for you hm."

She smiled appreciatively at his words, feeling optimistic for the first time since he'd left and nodded. He chuckled softly and leaned forward in the armchair before moving from the seat and taking a step towards her, closing the space between them. She felt her breath hitch in her throat when his gloved hand cupped her cheek, his fingertips brushing down her cheek to her neck as he leaned closer to her. She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks when he stopped a few inches short of her face, his free hand brushing through her dark turquoise locks.

"I'll help you, if you help me hm." he murmured, his voice coming out husky and low sounding. Her stomach did a flip at the seduction in his voice, she could feel her legs shaking at the grin on his lips, his hand brushed over her shoulder. "You help me with my contract, and I'll find out everything you need to know hm."

His fingers shifted, moving around her back and slowly trailing down her spine, she quickly nodded in agreement to the proposal. He grinned cheekily and moved back from her, finding his seat in the armchair. She lowered her eyes shyly, unsure of what had just happened, but she couldn't very well turn away someone willing to help her, she'd just have to deal with his flirting until their proposal was complete. After that, they would go their separate ways and more than likely never see each other again.

"Alright, what do I need to find out for you hm?"

His voice grabbed her attention, she bit her lip in thought before turning to her book, making a short list of the information she sought before ripping the page from the book, passing it to Deidara. He looked over it intently, his brow furrowed in concentration while Nakiro sat silently, waiting to see if he would agree to the terms of her side.

"Okay, easy enough hm." he finally said, folding the paper and sticking it into the pocket of his pants. She nodded, feeling grateful that he was willing to help her, but she was more curious on what he'd need from her to help him with his contract. "My turn hm. The contract I just accepted is the assassination of a small clan within the village walls hm. You don't have any qualms against murder do you?"

She shook her head, even though killing and violence were something she was truly against. She was a peaceful person by nature, becoming a shinobi had been the will of her parents, the more she'd learned about the life of a shinobi, the more distasteful it was to her. A land with peace was ideally what she wanted for her life but in this age, that wasn't possible and she had come to accept that. However, if doing this would give her the upper hand against Orochmaru, she was willing to make some sacrifices. She watched a small grin come to Deidara's lips at her answer, his visible eye twinkling with amusement.

"Alright, you'll be able to witness my art for yourself then hm." he lightly boasted, Nakiro tilted her head to the side curiously.

What did his contract have to do with his art, was it some type of jutsu or technique against enemies, could that have been the reason he had so much passion for it? She watched him as he pressed his lips into a thin line, he must've realized she'd never heard of him before this meeting, had she just dug herself into a hole? He huffed softly, not seeming very pleased before pulling off one of his finger-less gloves, turning his visible eye to her.

"You don't know who I am, do you hm?" he pressed, she shook her head hesitantly. The blonde groaned softly and stuck his un-gloved hand into the pouch on his side, moving some stray blonde away from his visible eye. "Well I guess it's a good thing. You get to witness my art with your own eyes, you'll be the only one to experience it's greatness without dying hm." She swallowed nervously, watching with interest as he pulled his hand from the pouch, glancing down at his hand. "Tell me Nakiro, do you like butterflies hm?"

His voice came out as a purr, she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks at the intensity of his gaze, managing to nod once. He chuckled softly and held out his hand to her, she scooted forward slightly to see a couple of small clay butterflies resting in his palm. She looked up through her bangs, blushing darkly at the grin on his lips and watched in amazement as the butterflies began gliding out of his palm, flying around the room above their heads. She felt a small smile grace her lips as she watched them, this was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. She turned to face Deidara, mentally praising him for the beauty of his art and blinked dumbly when he raised his hand into a sign, watching curiously as he focused his gaze on the insects.

"Katsu."

Her eyes widened when the butterflies exploded in a quiet bang, some soft lights falling from under the clouds in an assortment of different colors. She felt a heavy breath leave her lungs, marveling at the beauty of what she'd just witnessed. She understood now why his art was so important to him, why he was so passionate about it, it was breathtaking to witness. She turned her red eyes to meet Deidara's blue one, trying her hardest not to gaze at him with the admiration she was feeling.

"And that Nakiro, is the true form of art." he murmured, she nodded agreeing. "This is how I plan on completing my contract, with my art hm."

'So this means that he's a bomber. What does he need me for though?'

Nakiro bit her lip in thought and turned her attention to her book, wondering what the best way would be to word her question. She didn't want to come off as cowardly to him, she just wasn't sure what she could possibly do to help him complete this mission. Finally, she put her pen to the paper and wrote.

What is it that you need me to do?

Deidara quickly read the question and grinned up at the young woman, looking incredibly cocky and smug as he pulled his glove back on his hand.

"Just a few things hm." he teased, leaning closer to her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat at his closeness, she was unable to gather her thoughts as his blue eye penetrated hers, what was he doing? "I need you to find out the layout of their compound and when you do, plant my art everywhere hm."

'He wants me to help blow up those people. How powerful are his explosions if they can even do that?'

Nakiro wasn't sure what she wanted to do but she knew she had no choice, she needed to gather information on Orochimaru and the only way that was going to happen was if she accepted Deidara's proposal. She hated the idea of killing innocent human beings but if this would lead her to achieve her goal, she'd have to accept just that.

"Can you do that for me hm?" he purred, snapping her back to reality. An inaudible sigh passed her lips as she nodded in agreement to his terms, knowing fully well that she couldn't back out of her decision. "Alright hm. I'll come back tomorrow so we can plan this out."

She nodded again, watching him rise from his seat and quickly copied his actions, following behind him as he approached the door. She watched as he exited her room, looking around the door at him when he glanced back at her. A cocky smirk came to his lips as he observed her, her cheeks went pink from his stare.

"Oyasumi...love."

She blushed darker at the words, staring as his retreating figure confidently head down the hallway. She smiled softly to herself and shut the door, locking it behind her. She quickly crossed the room and retrieved her book, returning it to her pack before changing into some clothes to sleep in. She quickly moved under the sheets, pulling them over herself and her head hit the pillow as she snuggled into the warm bed. It had been so long since she'd had the softness of a bed, it was a nice change for her however odd it was. She tried so hard to fall asleep but her thoughts were still going, bolting from question to question.

She hated to admit it but she was rather interested in Deidara, she didn't know if it was because she'd been alone so long or because she was attracted to him. It had been a long time since she'd found any man attractive before him. She didn't want to think that it was possible for her to have an attraction to the blonde, especially when she didn't know a thing about him. It was baffling to her, it just had to of been because she hadn't had any human contact in so long, she'd been away from people too long, she was just attracted because he was the first.

She nodded against the pillow, trying to assure herself of just that and relaxed against the bed. They'd go their separate ways and she'd never see him again, it was stupid of her to have a schoolgirl crush, she had more important things to worry about. She was going to get justice for her family, make Orochimaru pay for what he'd done, and avenge those closest to her. Once that happened, she could go on with her life and do the only thing she wanted.

One day, she was going to find Itachi and reunite with him, once that happened, she'd never leave his side again. She would always be at his side and protect him from whatever dangers came at them. She still loved him and would do whatever she had to do to be with him again. She just hoped and prayed, that he'd want her back too.

Author's Note: And there's the second chapter! I plan to do one chapter a week for the foreseeable future but we'll see how it goes. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter since the first one isn't as eye-grabbing. More things to come next week!