I don't own Naruto and please read the AN on the bottom! – VZ
"What are you going to name her yeah?" The blonde sitting next to her on the couch asked, pointing to his clay creation purring in Sakura's lap.
"Hm….I was thinking….." She trailed off, wondering what exactly to name her new pet.
At first she was shocked at seeing a few of the Akatsuki members barging through her door with weapons and deathly glares all directed at Tobi. But after explaining the situation to them with a sheepish grin, they all understood. To her surprise, Deidara had come up to her and given her a gift. It was a kitten, made from his clay and his chakra. In a way she was touched by this gesture, but then she was also disconcerted. It wasn't good to be receiving presents from your enemy, much less something she would cherish.
"….Kumiko." She decided. Petting the soft surface of the kitten's skin. Since it was clay, it was completely devoid of fur. Instead, it had the white and slick exterior that all of Deidara' s creations had.
"That's a good choice yeah." He commented, although he thought that whatever name she wanted, he would still complement her choice. Damn…he really was turning soft. And all thanks to a certain pink haired medic that he can't seem to forget about. Not that he wanted to of course.
Sakura chuckled as Kumiko crawled up her body and settled on her shoulder, nuzzling her chin affectionately.
"Hey Deidara-kun, I just wanted to say thanks. I really appreciate your gift. It helped me take my mind off some things." She said with genuine appreciation. Having the tiny cat around had distracted her from several people that she'd rather not think about at the moment.
The blonde coughed into his hand as a bit of red streaked across his cheeks.
"No problem yeah, it was easy to make her. Although it took a bit more time, I would have given Kumiko to you earlier but….I'm much better at spiders and birds." He admitted, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed grin, reminding her of Naruto whenever he messed up but was eager to apologize.
And suddenly, a pang of homesickness hit her, so did the guilt of being comfortable with the enemy of her village and best friend. Sakura knew that she was getting attached, that's why it was best if she left as soon as possible. Just a few hours ago, luck had finally decided to look down upon her with a smile. For leader had assigned her another mission with Kisame and Itachi. The assignment was rather simple, just find then assassinate the target. Just like her last mission with them but there were two differences from before and now. One, the information given to them was much more accurate. Well, judging by the yells and screams of one of the target's employees. Two, their mission was at the border of fire country.
This was her one opportunity to leave, she had to take it, it was for the best.
"I think you did a perfect job on Kumiko Deidara-kun." She said with a small grin, the kind that made the bomber just want to stop and stare at her smile forever.
"Well, I better go. I have to get ready for my mission with Itachi and Kisame." Sakura stood up and was about to leave. But a hand caught hers in a gentle but firm grasp.
Green eyes immediately met with light blue, so light that it seemed almost grey.
His gaze was serious which startled her a bit. The medic-nin was so used to seeing his face so happy and carefree, even more so whenever he had a chance to make something blow up.
"Be safe Sakura-chan. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He said, his grip slightly tightening.
Her heart ached for him. All he wanted was her safety when she was about to use this mission to her advantage and escape. She even had both her shishou's scrolls packed under the folds of her yukata. Yes, she was able to keep it. Her confrontation with Pein and the ruining of his office had distracted every Akatsuki member from the twin scrolls she clutched tightly to her chest. Through time, they even forgot about it and no one bothered to ask where it was.
"I'll be fine Deidara-kun, trust me okay?" The pinkette hated herself for her choice of words but it couldn't be helped. The best thing to do was to make everyone around her think she was so comfortable and at home, that they wouldn't even think that she'd even want to escape.
Kumiko meowed and placed one tiny paw against her new owner's cheek, making her feel even worse about what she was going to do. The blonde had given her a gift and she was repaying him with betrayal. But then again, it's not like she held any real loyalty to this organization right?
"Of course I trust you Sakura-chan, I just don't want you to get hurt." He said so softly that she had to lean closer just to hear his words.
It still astonished her how much he cared for her safety, how close they had gotten in the span of a few meetings.
"I won't. Don't you think I'm strong enough to handle it?" She teased him, poking his cheek with her finger. The attempt was meant to make the atmosphere lighter, yet her action had just made him look sadder.
"No, it's not that yeah. I know you can take care of yourself….." Deidara inched closer to her.
Sakura was inwardly afraid of what was going to happen next, but deep down, she was anticipating it as well.
After a few moments, their faces were a hair's breadth apart.
Sakura knew in her mind this was wrong, yet why did she feel in her heart that it was right?
"…..but I want you to know that….." His tone was gentle yet strong, just like the man he was.
His hot breath fanned across her face and heightened her temperature exponentially. Her heart was beating so loud and fast she wondered if he could hear it.
"…..you don't have to." Deidara leaned in and kissed her…..
….on the cheek.
She could feel his warm lips caressing the skin there so very lightly.
His gentlemanly behavior just struck a chord with her. The way he respected her boundaries and never crossed them, it was very flattering and heartwarming.
"Deidara-kun…."
"That one was for the road, so you won't miss me too much." He said in a light and mischievous voice, but once again it dropped into a husky whisper.
"Like I said….I won't kiss you unless you really want me to."
And with that, she nodded and left the room shakily.
Not seeing the hurt expression or the longing look on Deidara' s face.
As Deidara sat back down on the couch, he fisted his hands tightly. A frown marred his boyish features, making him look far older than he really was.
"Dammit…." He cursed under his breath.
He knew that she was going to try and escape sooner or later yet why did it hurt so much?
The blonde had a feeling he was far more attached to the cherry blossom than he used to be.
At first he was merely interested and attracted to her, but then that attraction soon turned into something deeper. He liked being with her. He liked her smile, temper, strength and so much more.
And that's what scared Deidara the most. Not only was he getting soft, he was alright with that. As long as he was by her side, none of it mattered.
He ran one hand through his blonde hair, feeling even more lost than ever before.
"We'll stay here for the night, then we can meet up with our target early in the morning." Kisame stated.
"Hn." Itachi nodded and Sakura gave a small smile.
They were inside an inn; it was clean enough, with a few visitors that didn't look too shady.
There were lanterns that lighted the area and gave a warm glow to the place.
"Go on angel, get us a room. I don't think that guy is gonna let us in looking like this." The mist-nin gestured to their Akatsuki cloaks. Sakura understood, leader wanted them to complete their mission without any witnesses. True they could threaten them to keep their mouths shut but it was less of a hassle this way.
Wait…..did Kisame just call her-
"Angel?" She asked, her pink eyebrow arching at his new pet name for her.
"Yeah, well…." He continued off with a shy grin, not flashing all of his sharp teeth as usual.
"Well Kisame?" The Sharingan was blazing vivid red.
"Uh….You see, Deidara asked me why I kept calling you kid. Then I thought about it, you aren't a kid anymore. And angel was the next best thing." He finished, looking anywhere but Itachi' s deathly gaze and Sakura's impish grin.
"Really? Actually, I like it." She decided, bumping Kisame' s shoulder with her fist, without chakra of course.
He smiled; his signature sharp-toothed grin was back.
"But why though?" she wondered.
"Oh, that's a secret." He said, making the gesture of twisting an imaginary key over his lips. As if he was literally sealing his mouth shut. The movement made her roll her green eyes and smile, with a wave she left to get their room keys from the manager of the inn.
He turned his attention to his partner, who looked as stoic and emotionless as ever. But Kisame knew he wanted an answer for the new pet name and why he chose 'angel' of all things. And so, with a sigh he tried to make sense of why he called her that.
"It seems a bit stupid but I think it fits ya know? She's so innocent and pure, even though she's killed like us, she's completely different."
Itachi still stared at him.
"Angel is how I'd describe her okay? All sweet and kind." He shifted his weight to the other foot, not knowing what to do when in this type of situation.
"Be careful." The Uchiha commented while watching Sakura converse with the man at the desk.
"What do ya mean?" His partner asked, his gaze never leaving the form of the pinkette.
"It's dangerous to get attached to things or rather…..people that will never be yours." He said emotionlessly.
The grin on his face slid off after hearing his words.
Slight anger coated Kisame's voice as he spoke to the stoic man next to him.
"You're one to talk Uchiha, we both know that you feel for her."
It was silent after that, but as the medic-nin was walking toward them.
Itachi spoke.
"I do, but there is no problem with that."
Kisame was this close to punching that somber expression of his partner's face.
"The hell Uchiha? You just said-" He was interrupted by a cool and calm voice, the total opposite of his own.
"She will be mine, and there is no danger of feeling something for someone that belongs to you." He muttered darkly, a mysterious glint in his blood red eyes.
Before Kisame could reply, the object of both their affections came back, room keys dangling from her hand.
"Here are the keys. I got two rooms, I hope that's alright."
"It's fine, you can take one room and we'll take the other-"
Itachi, who looked rather smug for some unknown reason, once again interrupted Kisame.
"No." He stated softly, but everyone heard him.
Confusion must have been evident on Sakura's face (Irritation on Kisame's) for he explained his answer.
"You might escape, there must be one Akatsuki member with you."
Green eyes looked less bright after he clarified.
"Oh…."
"I will take you to your room and stand guard. Kisame will go get our food and meet us in an hour at the latest."
The way he said it left no room for arguments, so everybody nodded and did as told.
Hope you liked it! Thanks again for all the great reviews and lots of love and thanks for them, you guys are the absolute best! If it's not too much trouble, I would be very happy if you'd read another story I'm working on. It's called ' e'. Anyways, only 7 more reviews till' 300! Can you believe that?! Oh goodness, I just wanted to say thanks for everything guys! Well…..Till' next time! - VZ