book titles/foreign words

demon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ =later

- =next day

flashbacks are marked

Lonliness is Only Half the Problem

~:Momoko's P.O.V.:~

It's been a couple days since I ran away from the Akatsuki and Sasori. The whole time I've been thinking about him on and off. Every time he crosses my mind, I mentally scold myself for thinking about him. Although, the more that I think about it, the more I realize the only reason I fled was to escape death. I'm not seriously mad at him any more, but at the time, I had been.

Currently, I have a tiny camp set up somewhere in the woods. I call it tiny, because all I have is a fire going. I sleep curled up by the fire for warmth, forced to sleep in that skimpy thing the maids at the hotel had given me. On my other side is my laptop bag. I wind the strap around my leg so I can feel it if someone tries to steal it.

My mind wanders back to the night at the hotel. First off, he had brought me in from the cold when I fell asleep on the bench. And on the bus ride into town he had tried to protect me. I lingered on the memory of him sleeping on top of me because of the single bed in our room. Even though it was WAY awkward, it had felt nice.

Then my memories slide into our hike. I hadn't thought much about it then, but allowing me to ride on his back was actually a kind gesture as well as a way to allow us to travel faster. I remember our kiss, how it had tasted so good and felt so right. And those three simple words he said.

I miss him. His bright red hair, his chocolate brown eyes, everything that is him. I want it all back. But I know I can't go back. And he probably won't take me back, not after I called him such a horrible name and ran off.

~:Sasori's P.O.V.:~

For the past couple of days, I've been sitting outside near that same spot. The spot she last stood before running off. No one questions why I've been outside, they don't really care and know I don't eat or sleep. They don't even know that she ran off, they just think I killed her, because that's what I told leader. I'm actually afraid to tell the truth because he might send someone after her.

I'm not going to lie. I miss her a lot. Even though she called me a two-faced jerk, I still love her. I must have a stubborn heart. Or maybe it's because she's the first person other than my parents that I've loved.

"Hey Danna, you ok un?" Damn, I missed the brat coming out because I was too focused on my daydream.

"Yeah." I reply, lying.

"You sure? You've been out here ever since you killed that girl un."

"So what?"

"I'm starting to get the feeling there's something you aren't telling us un."

"You're wrong brat. I don't lie."

"Danna, you can tell me what's wrong un. I won't tell."

"Yeah right brat. You have a big mouth."

"I promise. I just wanna know what's wrong un."

"You wanna know what's wrong?! Fine, I'll tell you! It's the fact that she's dead, and that I had to kill her!" I nearly shout hysterically.

"Why is that such a problem un?"

"Because I fell for her."

"You................fell for her......................un? As in, like, fell in LOVE with her un?"

"Yes, that's it exactly."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

"Wow. You're so dead if anyone finds out un."

"Definately. You better not tell."

"I won't, I promise un."

"Thanks. I'm gonna go for a walk now."

"Alright. See you later un." Deidara turns and heads back in.

Then, for the first time in two days, I stand. My joints creak from having sat so long. It's not like I can feel it though, I'm a puppet. But I sure can hear it. Then I head in the woods in the direction she had run.

~:Momoko's P.O.V.:~

I sigh. I just finished lunch of roasted fish. Time to pack up camp. I put the fire out and get rid of the leftover wood. Then I pull my laptop bag on my shoulder and start walking.

I'm not in much of a hurry anymore. I only ran on the first day. But I keep moving just in case someone comes after me. Usually I leave after breakfast, but I hung around later because my memories had captivated me. Generally, that happens just before I go to sleep.

As I walk, my mind wanders yet again. First, it replays the scene before I ran off. Then it jumps back to the hotel. Then our adventures before that. And finally, it flashes back to when I hurt my friends, the first time my demon took over my body.

~Flashback~

A me about a year ago stands facing her two friends, hot with rage. She had just asked why they hadn't invited her to a party. Her younger friend, Tsukiko had told her they had invited too many people. Her same-age friend Riku had told her inviting her hadn't crossed her mind.

"Those are just exuses!" She snaps, her eyes now blood-red. "If you hate me so much, then TELL me!"

There's a blur of motion as she attacks her friends, injuring them very badly. When she finally returned to normal, she snatched her friend Tsukiko's cell phone and called 911. She cried the whole time they were being put on stretchers, reminding herself over and over that she was the reason they were going to the hospital.

A week later, she stands before a judge in court. Some believed her attack on Tsukiko was her cause of death. Luckily, she was able to prove that Tsukiko's cause of death was suicide, but she was fined because the injuries probably had some contribution. Riku had convinced her parents not to file a lawsuit against her and her parents. She knew her friend well enough that she knew this was something new.

But this wouldn't be the first time my demon would hurt or kill someone.

~End Flashback~

I look up from the ground. It had been spinning while I remembered that night, so I had stopped. The sky had turned dark due to storm clouds. Great, now it's going to rain.

I want to continue, but my head hurts. So I'll find shelter in the hollow of the tree and hope lightning doesn't strike the tree I choose. Luckily for me, I find a hollowed-out tree not far from where I had stopped. I walk in it just as the rain stops.

I hope Sasori isn't out in this.

~:Sasori's P.O.V.:~

I hate the rain. Not because it does damage to my body, but becasue it annoys me. And I won't admit it to anyone, but the thunder scares me. The lightning just ticks me off because it reminds me of the brat's view on art. He's always saying, "Art is fleeting un!" or "Art is a bang un!" He's wrong. Art is eternal.

I hope Momoko found shelter. Heck, I don't even know if she traveled in a straight line. She probably did since she's not a ninja, but it's hard to say. Most non-ninja and lower-ranked ninja tend travel in straight lines because they don't know better. Upper-ranked ninja like myself, know better. We tend to take confusing paths to lose possible persuers.

Now that it's raining, every time I see a hollowed tree, I stop to check. Just checking makes me feel a little better, a little closer to possibly finding her. If I do find her, I won't be going back to the Akatsuki. Hopefully she didn't really mean what she said and was just upset.

Every once in awhile I've seen little black patches left behind, possibly from campfires. The further I go, the more recent they become. I'm definately on the right path. I just haven't found her yet.

~:Momoko's P.O.V.:~

Usually, I'm not afraid of thunderstorms. They just wake me up in the middle of the night and the noise keeps me from sleeping. Being out in one with no protection is different though. I'm constantly worried about the tree being struck by lightning. I'm also not sure if I'll live to see another day.

Right now, all I want is Sasori. I want his warm embrace. I want his soft lips kissing mine. I want him to tell me everything will be fine, that we'll live through this storm, and if we die, we'll die together and live together in the afterlife. I want him back so bad, it's nearly unbearable.

I sink to the ground, sitting Indian-style. It's not only because my legs are tired, but also because I'm starting to give up hope. Hope that I'll see him again before I die. I should have agreed to dying in his embrace, because if he really did love me, he wouldn't have been able to bring himself to kill me. And if he did, maybe he'd kill himself right after so we could be together in the afterlife and not have to worry about the stupid rules.

It must be pretty late, because I'm getting more and more tired. I'm also hungry, but I can't really do anything about that without going out in the rain and catching cold. So my stomach will have to wait until the rain lets up. As for sleep, I could do that now, I guess.

I lie on my side, curled up in a ball. I haven't bothered to change into my nightgown or take my laptop bag off, but I don't mind. I'm warmer in my uniform. Just as I'm about to close my eyes, I notice something in the distance. A red flame, moving closer at a rapid pace.

I really don't want to deal with whatever's heading my way. But if I fall asleep now, whatever it is could hurt me. So I force myself to sit up, then rub my eyes so I can see a little better. It's getting closer to where I'm hiding out.

And then it hits me in the back of the head. That's not a red flame, it's red hair. The only person I know with red hair....................................is Sasori. Once this clicks, my heart rate starts to increase as I realize he's probably looking for me. If he's out in this looking for me, well, he must really care about me.

Suddenly, he's standing at the entrance to the hollowed tree I'm in. Then he's on his knees, hugging me, not exactly in the warm embrace I wanted, but that's fine by me. I find myself crying, hard, for God knows what reason. He rubs my back and patiently waits for my crying to slow enough that I can hear him.

When my crying finally slows, he whispers, "I'm sorry, for everything I've done that hurt you."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I called you such a horrible name............................I really don't deserve this." I say between sniffles.

"It's alright. All I want is to have you back."

"You never really lost me. The whole time............................I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"That just makes it all a whole lot easier." He kisses my forehead.

"Do we have to go back?"

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good. I want it to be just the two of us, alone."

"Sounds good to me." He unbuttons his cloak and pulls me tight against his chest, then manages to rebutton it.

I slip my arms around his neck, adjusting myself a little so I'm warmer. His arms slide around my waist, pulling me even closer. Then we kiss, first just gently, then with more and more passion. After awhile we stop and I nuzzle into his neck.

"I love you." He says softly, closing his eyes as he pretends to sleep.

"I love you too." I whisper, then drift off to sleep.

A/N: Reviews are like sugar. Sugar keeps me going. So review peoples!