Sweets: I'm so sorry I've taken this long to update! I've been stuck with a fever of 102.9 and I feel like I've been hit by a truck!

Deidara: Do we care, yeah?

Sasori:Whatever. Just get beter.

Notes: Ok, it's a better chapter, yay, but please...don't just send me weird reviews like UPDATE!!!. I'll update when I feel better. Kay?

Kay.

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Chapter 7: Manipulation

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"Hinata. Wake up." Itachi's voice had that tinge of annoyance in it.

She's just like Sasuke.

The Uchiha had pulled his tired self from the hard, dusty floor and began to slip into his uniform. He turned his gaze to his partner, who gave an angry punch to the wall. There was a small crater where the wall had taken a routine beating every morning from the shark demon.

"You too. Get up." Itachi ordered, his pale fingers searching for his cloak folded on the dresser.

Kisame groaned as he dragged his slick blue body from the dirty covers of his rusting bed. He turned his gaze towards the lump next to him and the man standing over said lump. He scoffed.

"Tell her to wake up. This isn't a beauty school."

Itachi was silent.

The covers showed no signs of stirring, no signs of life. His obsidion eyes narrowed and he stripped the covers off his bed in one clean motion. His heart stopped beating and he drew in a sharp breath. Kisame looked up at his partner, a strange look on his face.

Granted, they usually never talked, but the way Itachi's body had gone rigid so suddenly caught his attention, immediatly.

"What is it?" he snarled, while dragging his shirt out from his pile of clothing.

Without a word, Itachi fled the room, his black cloak only half fastened and his black shirt hanging limply and haphazardly from his body. His frantic footfalls were lost in the darkness of the waking morning.

"Itachi!" Kisame roared after his partner, only half-dressed himself.

He turned to look at Hinata who should have been awake by now. He blinked in confusion.

Oh.

The bed was empty.

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Orochimaru examined the girl with interest. He paced, he muttered, he observed. Kabuto was next to him, checking her temperature, her pulse, her blood pressure, as if this was an ordinary doctor's office and it was any other ordinary day. Orochimaru gazed at her in an almost parental way, his maliciousness hidden beneath a dark smile.

"Well, my dear. Shall we start?" he chuckled, approaching her.

Hinata, dazed blinked in confusion. She knew she wasn't in Itachi's room. All she knew was that she was with Orochimaru and some strange silver haired man named Kabuto.

Orochimaru was pleased. His mission to capture Hinata had been a success and for all he knew, Itachi would take a while in finding them.

"W-where am I?" Hinata's soft, but edged, voice echoed.

"Why do you need to know?" Orochimaru laughed, coldly.

Hinata gave a start and scrambled back to the other side of the wall, fusing herself to the stone and knocking things over as she did so. Her movements were lazy and clumsy. Kabuto hastily picked up his medical tools as Orochimaru walked to her.

"Come now, child. Don't be foolish." the pale man said in a silky voice, his cold yellow eyes never leaving her face.

Hinata gazed into his orbs and compared them to Sasori's. Sasori's were much warmer, and softer, even with the indifferent glint he always held in him. Orochimaru's eyes were a hard, an almost sick yellow color. She paled as he grabbed her arm.

"P-please...Orochimaru-sama. Let me go back to Itachi-sensei...please don't-" her voice stopped suddenly.

"Hai, what is it?" he asked, grinning, pleased she was in such a state of distress and terror.

"Don't e-experiment on me!" she cried, curling up into herself, tears streaming down her face.

The ghastly man grinned wider, his face resembling a skull. Hinata's eyes showed she was far beyond terrified. Her mind was on what Deidara had said, all those days before.

"That sounds like an order." he mocked her. "That's not very nice."

She cowered under his stare. Kabuto remained in the shadows, watching the entertainment unfold. Was this girl...could this weakling be the key to their success?

"You are of a noble branch. You are a pure Hyuuga." Orochimaru stated, letting go of her and pacing.

Hinata watched him, her eyes following his abrupt movements. His voice was still silky and sweet. His gleaming yellow eyes never left her face and watched all her movements in turn.

"No cursed cage mark scars your face, yet you cower like a dog." he hissed, eyes leering.

At this, Hinata's eyes blazed and she scrambled up, even in her drugged state. Kabuto started in defense, but Orochimaru waved his hand, lazily.

"You won't kill me." he smiled. "Or rather, you can't kill me."

Dried tears stuck to her face and her eyes were blurred. Her blood rushed and her temper flared.

"I could if I-"

"If what? You are the failure of you Clan. No body wants you. No body cares. You can't do anything."

"ITACHI-SENSEI PROMISED-" she began to cry hysterically, but stopped herself.

Orochimaru grinned and began again.

"What's this about promises? You're stuck with me. He's not coming back, for you you know."

Her heart began to sink. Hinata's spirit grew weak and she felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her exahusted body.

"He said he would stick by me. No matter what..." she cried, trying to reason with not only the sly man, but with herself.

"Angel..."

Hinata looked up, but there was no Itachi. He wasn't there to gather her into his arms, to tell her he was sorry. She had forgotten. Why did she always forget? This wasn't the same Itachi.

"Angel. That was his pet name for you. Wasn't it?"

It wasn't Orochimaru who said this, but Kabuto. His voice held pity and his black eyes were soft. Hinata nodded, mutely. The doctor bent down to face the fourteen year old girl. If the wanted to get to her...mental torture was not the way to go about it.

"Do you mind if I call you that?" he whispered, risking a smile.

Hinata shook her head, her body beginning to open up a little. Kabuto grinned wider.

"We need your help."

His hands reached behind him and drew out a scroll. It was large, bound with a red and white seal in the shape of a fan. The Uchiha symbol?

"Do you know what this is...?"

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Deidara spied from a hole in the cavern watching Kabuto pace, whispering to Hinata, his words and voice soothing. The blonde smirked. Hinata was easy to crack, for sure, and she could be swayed easily. The only problem was...what was Kabuto holding? What tools and methods was he using to lure the girl into his web of lies?

An Uchiha scroll?

Deidara, who was camoflauged as part of the coarse, limestone wall, rarely did reconnaissance missions, but something told him that Itachi was still attached to this...creature. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been the one telling him to watch over her. Deidara, with a scowl, muttered,

"What a waste of time."

-Flashback: 24 hours eariler-

"Deidara."

The man swiftly turned, only to find Itachi, glaring at him through the darkness. The explosion master smiled and bowed.

"Hai, Uchiha-senpai?"

Itachi approached him, his steps slow and deliberate. They were in the darkness of the tunnels and the little light that brightened them cast omnious shadows across their faces.

"I have a task for you that I am requesting on a personal account." he said, his tone sharp and cold.

"It's about the Hyuuga girl, isn't it, yeah?" Deidara smirked, fingering the clay that was always convient to him.

Itachi did not reply. His eyes merely bore holes through his head and Deidara grinned back, neither one willing to admit defeat.

"I want you to spy on Orochimaru. He took her last night. If he hurts her, get her out of there immediately." he said, his tone hard.

"Ah. But what if he doesn't, yeah?" Deidara questioned.

"Then you will continue to spy on them until he does." Itachi muttered through grit teeth.

"Get Zetsu to do it." Deidara brushed him off.

"Zetus will eat her." Itachi snarled.

Deidara looked at him for a moment.

"What's in it for me, yeah?" he asked, walking around the tunnel.

Itachi watched his movements, his eyes calculating and icy. He reached into his dark cloak and pulled out a bag. He threw it down on the ground in front of the man. Deidara, smiled easily.

"You're keeping money from Leader-sama? He and Kakuzu will not be pleased, yeah."

"Will you do it or not?" Itachi demanded.

There was a silence.

"Yes, I will. But I want to know something." he bent down to collect his money.

"What?" the Uchiha prodigy looked down upon him and gave him a stony glare.

"What is she to you, yeah? Why do you even care? If you really cared then you would have looked after her better."

Itachi turned his back so his face could no be seen but the curious Akatsuki member.

"That is none of your business. Now I suggest you take that as your answer before I feel inclined to slit your throat here and now."

"Alright, alright. Just remember-" Deidara paused as they both began to go their separate ways.

"Companionship weighs you down, yeah."

The footsteps stopped and Itachi glanced backwards as Deidara muttered a quick 'Ja!' and vanished into the shadows.

-End Flashback-

So Deidara had pasted himself to the wall, wondering what the hell he was doing there. Money... yes, money was always good. Yet, something told him to wait this out...to go through with it. Because of his feelings, he knew that money wasn't it...there was something stirring in the Akatsuki, something that didn't seem to fit. It was as if there was an underplot, something hidden...a secret.

It wasn't all about kidnapping the Jinchuriki and becoming an independent mercinary group, loyal to no village. No, there was something more. Whether or not Leader-sama knew about it, it would take place whenever it was time.

Whenever they were ready.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kimimaru...what were they planning?

Scheming?

What did Orochimaru need with Hinata? Why did Itachi care so much? Deidara realized, that by agreeing to do this job, he was getting tangled in something that he should have just refused. That damn Hyuuga girl had to go with Itachi, all because of some stupid bond that Itachi had unwisely put on them both when he was still sane.

Deidara, however, was still curious about the strange girl. He couldn't place it, but there was something unique about her. There was something that lay dorment inside of her, just begging to be let out. Power, no. Something...bigger?

Deadlier.

The spy realized that with proper training and care, she could be of value to them. Leader-sama surely had a purpose for her, because he hadn't killed her right on the spot. On the contrary, his voice was sugar coated with delight when he saw her. Then it hit him.

The Byakugan?

No...something else, perhaps?

It frustrated him.

What do they want with this child?

Suddenly, a shrill, yet muffled shriek brought Deidara out of his trance and he found himself looking upon a most unpleasant sight. A seemingly lifeless body was slumped where a young Hyuuga girl had once sat. She was not moving. Orochimaru, with a smirk, began to collect his things, with an annoyingly calm ease.

Deidara realized...this was not his usual curse mark. Something was dripping off of the Sannin's fangs. It looked a lot like...blood?

Why is there blood on his fangs? His curse marks don't go that deep.

Kabuto was checking the girl's pulse, heart rate...his face held panic and worry. Was something wrong? Was that's why they were fleeing the scene?

The cavern floor become splotched with dark, crimson colored drops falling from a seated Hinata. There were bloody red lines stretching from the chair. It wasn't her blood though. Lines forming letters dark in color were stretching across to the corners of the room.

Kanji marks?

A dark, navy blue curse mark tainted her once pure skin and burned a firy orange. It crawled up her face, writhering up and down her body, covering every inch of her a dark blue.

Deidara, annoyed, crawled with bug like skills, down the wall, keeping his henge in place at the same time.

"." he muttered as he felt his chakra weakening.

He had used up too much, staying attached to the side of the wall. He listened to what Orochimaru was beginning to whisper.

"Leave her. We'll come back in the morning to see if she's still alive and complete phase two."

Kabuto nodded, and the two made to leave.

"Oh, and Deidara!" Orochimaru called out and the man on the wall stiffened.

He knew I was here...?

"You better hurry. Itachi will be missing his pet."

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