Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

8: General

Deidara couldn't remember the last time he was so scared. He knew it wasn't actually Tobi's fault, but he had this habit of turning his fear into anger and Tobi usually got the brunt of it. He felt bad for continually hurting him; he could never figure out why the kid stayed by his side anyway, though.

Deidara walked at a brisk pace toward his locker. Home was usually the last place he wanted to go – it always felt so empty. But today, it sounded like sanctuary. At least he'd have a phone nearby if anything happened. School wasn't where he wanted to be at times like this.

He wished he knew where Tobi was. So it would give him more confidence. Tobi had wandered off with his new friend, Zetsu. It wasn't that he had anything in general against Sasori's other friends, Deidara was just unsure of how things would turn out in the end if Tobi was mingling with his…at this point, enemy.

Before Deidara could touch his lock, a feminine hand slammed into his locker door. "Looking worried there, Deidara," an all too familiar voice mocked.

Deidara's body went into lockdown while his mind raced. Would she really try here? Of course. The sky's the limit for The Guardian. He scowled at the metal in front of him. He'd never believed in karma – until now. He'd spent most of his time since he was thirteen doing things like this. Watching people suffer had always brought him such pleasure. Oh how the tables have turned.

"What do you want, yeah?" Deidara surprised himself with a relatively calm voice, though his tone held an everlasting resentment and his body shivered with fear.

"Still hate me, huh?" her voice held a false sadness. Deidara glanced at her face; her red eyes closed as his purple ones fell on her. "Is it just me or is it everyone?" she asked softly.

He had always wondered how Kurinai could stand to kill someone. First time you meet her, you'd think she was completely innocent. She was sweet, and the way she acted just made you think that blood would totally wreck her "fragile" mind. You'd think wrong. Deidara had learned that it was all just a kind of lure before she slit your throat. Not that he'd experienced it first-hand; but he'd seen her do it. It was quite frightening and that was one of the main reasons why he was scared.

"All of you," Deidara spat, his resentment unfreezing his body. "I hate all of you, yeah!" Knowing that the reaction he'd get would be less than pleasurable, he stumbled back a little.

Kurinai's eyes snapped open; fire seemed to glow behind her pupils. As her hand shot out toward his throat, Deidara stepped backward until his back hit the wall of lockers behind him. She walked forward and wrapped her hand around his throat.

With a sudden pang of fear, Deidara wondered if he was still stronger than Kurinai. Doubt almost overtook his fear, as the dark haired girl lifted him up a good two feet off the ground and slammed him back into the lockers. He let out a strangled gasp as he worked to slide his fingers under the opposing ones.

"Man, when Leader sent me to come after you, I was so psyched! 'Cause I thought you'd be a challenge," Kurinai mocked. "Did you get weaker over the past, what, four months?" When Deidara didn't say anything, she continued. "You know, I think he misses you. I mean, I wouldn't know for sure, I don't spend a lot of time with him—"

"'Cause you're wasting it with Asuma, yeah!" It sounded like he was choking on his own voice. Deidara had always been one to take risks; he'd just never taken one that put his life in serious danger.

Zetsu didn't interfere with Deidara and the intruder's struggle. It wasn't his place at the moment. And besides, what had Deidara done for him? Nothing that he could think of. Except befriend his best friend and then have Sasori give him responsibility over that brat Tobi. Zetsu could only think of reasons to let the fight continue.

Well, it wasn't quite a fight. Considering "Kurinai," as he'd heard Deidara call her, seemed to have the upper hand at the moment.

But the thing Zetsu couldn't understand was why a member of their rival gang, The Protectors (1), was only interested in some lowlife like Deidara. He couldn't imagine the blonde pissing off a gang member.

A strangled cry echoed though the now almost empty halls as Zetsu watched Kurinai apply more pressure to Deidara's throat. It was quite amusing to watch. He wished the boy would put up more of a struggle though.

"Deidara-senpai?!" Zetsu looked past the two freaks and saw Tobi, Sasori, Itachi and Kisame at the end of the hall. His fun ruined, Zetsu turned on his heels and sauntered off.

Tobi ran down the hall, not pausing when he reached Kurinai; just took the swing and had her trying to keep herself on her feet. Tobi had never liked the girl – too stuck up and bitchy. So hitting her just now had felt so good.

"What is your problem?!" Kurinai shrieked, gingerly touching her cheek where he had hit her. "You and Deidara…!" Her voice wavered with rage, but she didn't continue.

Tobi tried not to be possessive; sometimes it was just so hard though. He stepped in front of Deidara and the girl stepped back a little, turning and racing out of the school. His heartbeat sped up as he turned to the blonde, who was clutching his throat and looking confused.

Kneeling beside him, Tobi asked, "Deidara-senpai? Are you alright?"

Deidara blinked a few times and looked up at the orange mask. He nodded weakly and forced a smile, saying, "Yeah, fine, scared."

Tobi shook his head, taking his friend's hand; he stood; helping him up at the same time. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah." Deidara nodded, but his face had a far away expression. "You can go back with your friends if you want, yeah."

Tobi glanced back over at Sasori, Itachi and Kisame. He could hardly call them friends. Looking at Deidara, he whispered, "No, Tobi would rather be with you."

The blonde looked up at him curiously and said, "Okay…"

"Do you need your stuff?" Tobi moved his hand to the small of the other boy's back to help him keep his balance. Deidara-senpai got off lucky.

Deidara visibly shivered and he shook his head as he stared at his locker. "No, I'll tell my mom I'm sick and she'll keep me home tomorrow, yeah."

"You get out of homework so easily!" Tobi muttered teasingly as he waved to the three at the end of the hall. They waved back uncertainly and he guided his friend away. Deidara smiled up at him. Sometimes, it was so easy to think that they were more than friends.

Sasori stood there for a minute with Itachi and Kisame; trying to process what had happened. He was also trying to sort his feelings. The way Tobi had acted just now…It felt like thorns were being wrapped around his heart.

"We should tell Leader," Sasori said coldly and started walking away. It was odd for him to feel so attached to one person. Compared to some of the other guys he'd dated, Deidara was by far the most frustrating; even though they weren't technically dating yet. Sasori couldn't figure out when he was telling the truth and when he wasn't. Like now: Was Tobi really just a friend?

The other thing that was bugging him was he was having a difficulty telling himself that he should just hurt the blonde and be done with it. He couldn't really see how he could and that alone was enough to drive him mad. Deidara had a strong hold on him that he may not even know of yet. Sasori looked up as they left the school, almost ready to cry for quite a few reasons. One of them was that for once in his life, he felt weak. Everyone had always bowed down to him, but now, he felt like he was bowing for Deidara. It made him feel weak and powerless.

"Are you alright, Sasori?" Kisame asked, keeping pace with the redhead. Zetsu stood as Sasori's best friend, but Kisame was a close friend too.

"Weirded out," Sasori answered, hearing the edge in his voice. Then he sighed and muttered, "And totally frustrated."

Kisame was quiet for a minute. Finally, he asked, "Do you like Deidara?" That was one of the things he liked about Kisame – he asked for the general look of things and tried to avoid getting personal. Right now, he seemed like the ideal person to talk to.

"Well…" Sasori turned his head. "Yeah. I don't quite know why either." He lowered his gaze to the sidewalk and watched his feet move.

"I don't think that's fair." Sasori looked up at Kisame incredulously. "I mean..." The blue haired boy looked down at him. "If you like him, you shouldn't have to hurt him. I'm sure Leader's seen you're change. But he keeps persisting and getting impatient all the while. It's not fair to you." He smiled a little; as though he thought what he said should make Sasori feel better.

I've changed? Sasori adverted his gaze again, staring at the worn pavement. "I guess…But it's my…" Job? That doesn't sound right. He knew he could back down too, so it wasn't his duty either. "I'm supposed to do it. It's expected. Feelings don't matter now," He said firmly; he was sure he was trying to convince himself as well as Kisame.

Kisame glanced over his shoulder at Itachi and grinned. "I don't know, Sasori," He said, turning back around. "That's pretty debatable, you know."

The redhead made a face as they turned onto Leader's walkway. Fixing his expression to bored, he knocked on the door.

It swung open and Leader stood there, looking half-surprised and half-angry? "Yes?"

"We need to talk to you," Sasori stated bluntly.

Deidara leaned against Tobi as they sat on his couch watching TV. Well, they weren't actually watching; more like staring absentmindedly.

"Hey, Deidara-senpai?" Tobi suddenly chirped. "Do you remember that night…after you and Asuma had that fight?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Deidara sat up so he could see his friend's masked face.

"Tonight kind of feels like that…to Tobi anyway." He didn't look away from the TV. "Except it's in a different place and you fought Kurinai instead."

Deidara moved his eyes to his hands on his knees. "I didn't really fight her, yeah. I was too scared. Man, I need more practice, yeah!" He ran one hand over the right side of his face. "She was right. I am weaker now, yeah."

This time, Tobi looked down at the slouching blonde. "Since when do you listen to them? Last time Tobi checked 'Deidara-senpai rebels and ignores'."

Deidara smiled. He'd forgotten he'd ever said that. He had gone by that up until he started dating him. "Last time you checked, I was still mentally stable, yeah." He almost laughed and almost cried at the same time. Between his old leader and Sasori, he had practically gone crazy with all the irony that kept hitting him.

Tobi did laugh though. "When were you ever mentally stable, Deidara-senpai?" Something in his words made Deidara think he was only half kidding.

The blonde chuckled lightly. "I don't know…Before you, yeah?" His orange-masked friend shoved him lightly and pretended to whine. Deidara leaned back on Tobi again and got lost in memories.

"Tobi wishes some things had never changed." The dark-haired boy absently tweaked at the blonde's hair.

I know exactly what you mean, Tobi.

A/N: Okay, I know that this might not make much sense. I'm really trying here. I don't want to give away too much too soon and that's really hard for me.

I didn't forget that Deidara called the gang "The Guardian" and Zetsu called it "The Protectors". It's not a typo or anything. It'll be explained between – at this point, if I'm right – chapters 13 and 17. I don't expect it to get to 17 though, so expect the explanation to be sooner than later.

Anyway, please review.