Chapter sixteen.

I apologize for the super-lateness of this chapter, but now my studies are over, I will try my absolute best to upload a chapter per week on the Friday. However, I may not be able to stick to this all of the time, so please have patience with me!

I have changed the Konoha prison a little from in the anime because it looked to far-fetched – but since it only appeared once in a filler anyway, I don't think it matters.

I do not own Naruto!

Tenten's captors had evidently tried pretty hard to hide their progress from would-be pursuers, that much was certain. At least one of their number had to have a decent head on their shoulders, Deidara thought to himself as he cursed to himself, looking around. He had to admit it; he was lost. The fact that his enemies had managed to lay a false trail deceivingly enough that it had succeeded in completely fooling him was commendable in itself.

Usually, he would have just retraced his steps and started over, but this stupid false trail had kept him going for over a whole day, and he had completely lost his idea of where he had previously been heading. The forest looked the same in every direction; an interminable see of deep green and dull brown. It had been hours since he had even seen a road or trail.

Frustrated and tired, the blonde shinobi turned and started heading in the direction he had come in, trying to remember the many twists and turns in this endless forest that the false trail had lead him on.

One hour later, standing in another featureless forest clearing, Deidara turned and kicked the nearest tree with a snarl. He was getting no-where and was getting increasingly irritated and desperate. He chances of finding where Tenten had been taken were dwindling by the minute, and he was lost in this infernal maze of trees, with no idea where he could be or even what time it was.

He looked up at the patch of sky that managed to look down at the centre of the clearing, an oasis of light in the perpetual green cloak of the forest. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, but there were none of the vibrant colours of yesterday's sunset; the sinking sun was shrouded in an escort of dark clouds that turned the world grey. Deidara certainly felt grey. He wanted his kunoichi back; he had to admit that to himself.

The criminal flinched as a drop of rain suddenly hit his nose, making him jump with alarm. He took some steps backwards so that he stood back under the cover of the main tree on his branch as more raindrops began to fall. Of course, the foliage surrounding him shielded him from most of the shower, but the patch of ground in the clearing was quickly becoming a quagmire as the rain became heavier.

"Just my luck, hm? What a cliché…" Deidara growled under his breath.

Soon, the leaves were not enough to stop the rain from reaching the forest below, in fact, it all but made it worse as great drops of water collected on the leaps and then fell down to soak whoever was unfortunate enough to be caught out in the downpour. Deidara gritted his teeth in irritation as a particularly large and cold drop of water fell down the back of his neck.

This was useless. This rain that was getting heavier by the second would wash away any markers of his targets that still remained. However, if he gave up now, he would loose both his pride and his new team-mate, and neither appealed much to him. No, he wouldn't stop looking, not now.

Tenten closed her eyes as the door clanged in a metallic fashion behind her. She went through all of the exercises she had been taught when still part of the village – how to keep yourself calm in a battle situation; slow breathing, clearing the mind, that kind of thing. If she was going to undergo torture, she would do so with dignity.

A cold breeze brushed her pale face as she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. It was clouded over and grey in such a way that it was difficult to tell where cloud ended and sky began. From the heavy and oppressing feel of the air, she could tell that rain was on its way.

She looked behind her at the gun-metal grey door that had closed behind her. It belonged to a sprawling building of only one floor, the same dull shade all over. It was the medical unit she had woken up in not long ago.

A chain of similar buildings were sprawled around it, probably serving the same purpose. She felt a lot less exhausted, and could actually feel her strength trickling back to her muscles, her alertness also returning.

However, there was no way the brunette kunoichi was even pondering trying to escape at the moment. She stumbled as the thick chain attached to her tried wrists was yanked suddenly and she was pulled forwards. Tenten scowled in irritation, but quickened her pace.

She was surrounded by four anbu black-ops, their masked faces turned away from her. Once of these held the other end of her chain and was waling a couple of paces in front of her. The medic ninja who had seen to her wounds had disappeared.

The Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, in which she was now contained, was quite a distance from the main village, set in the mountain-like hills beyond the rim of the cliffs that enclosed the town. In some places, long bridges connected the building because of sudden ravines or dips between buildings. As Tenten looked up, she could see the dark shape of a far larger building in the distance; the site of her interrogation. She felt sick and her stomach hurt. Her skin crawled as she thought of how she may be about to be tortured in such a short amount of time. She was like a hare; ready to bolt at any second.

The particular bridge over which she was walking was wide and sturdy, yet seemed as if it was made of cardboard to Tenten in her jumpy state. She suddenly found herself wondering if she could break free of her captors long enough to throw herself off of the side of the bridge and end it then and there. No. She had more pride than that. She would free herself, she knew it – somehow.

There was no sound other than the steady pace of bother her own footsteps, the footsteps of her guards and the continual clinking of the chain that was attached to her bound wrists. The metallic sound was starting to grate against Tenten's temper.

Time passed too quickly. It seemed like they had reached the tall door to the Interrogation building in less than a few seconds. It was made from smooth metal, featureless just like most of the other doors and buildings in the place. The guard holding the chain stepped forwards and knocked twice before taking another step. The sound resonated through the air, doing nothing to calm Tenten's agitation. A single drop of rain hit Tenten's pale cheek as the sun disappeared from view below the hills.

"The Akatsuki member is here, Ibiki." The guard said.

From the other side of the door came a voice that was harsh and weathered by years of suffering. It sounded like its owner was talking whilst trying to gargle with gravel.

"We are ready for them. Bring it in and leave."

Deidara could barely hear himself think. The downpour had worsened into a veritable monsoon, and he had been forced to travel on the ground as the branches above had become slippery, especially the ones covered in algae and moss.

Visibility was also poor, as the wall of rain meant that the darkening forest that had already been hard to see through was doubly as dire. Deidara's hair that usually hung over his eye was plastered to his face, and his long robes were sticking uncomfortably to his body. However, Deidara remained glad of the fact he had especially purchased waterproof bags to hold his detonating clay.

The criminal shinobi leant back against a tree for a moment. He had been running for a long time now, and had seen nothing of any use whatsoever in his hunt of Tenten's captors. The whole notion seemed more hopeless than ever in this bleak situation.

The darkness of the forest was all around him, and the sound of the pounding rain was all he could hear. Or was it? Deidara stood up straight and looked up, his expression suddenly sharp with concentration.

What was that sound?

Thud thud, thud thud, thud thud, thud thud…

Deidara slid behind the nearest tree in the blink of an eye as he realised what it was. At least one person was coming his way, running by the sound of the footfalls. By now he could also start to hear voices as well. He dared to look around from his hiding place so he could just about see who it was.

Two shinobi stood before him, facing one another and evidently arguing. The rain was too thick for him to work out what village they were from by checking the insignia on the headband. Even the colour of their uniforms had been drained by the darkness of the evening and the relentless grey of the rain.

"I tell you, I can't believe they sent us out in this weather…"

"Yeah, but someone's got to be a messenger haven't they? After all, they can't send birds in this weather. Besides, if we get a reward, it will be worth it right?"

"I don't know…I just wish this blasted rain would stop. Urgh, the waters got into my boots!"

Deidara observed the argument with a lazy smile as some of his old gusto returned. Perfect. He drew away a few metres and reached into the bags at his hip for some clay. The rain would stint its effectiveness, but it should still have the desired effect. The two shinobi appeared to have stopped for provisions for the moment, so this was an ideal opportunity. He looked down at his palms as they coughed up a pair of identical white spiders. His lips cracked into a wide grin and his eyes narrowed as he set them both on the ground, watching as they scuttled away into the rain towards the shinobi.

Deidara pulled himself up into the boughs of a tree close to the pair, careful not to slip on the wet branches. Here he sat still to watch the events unfold. The blob-like white shapes moved closer to the shinobi, but diverged at the last moment, instead scuttling up the trunk of the tree closest to the larger of the pair.

They were still talking animatedly with one another, and due to the rain and the poor visibility did not notice the spiders as they crawled out along the branch above the larger one. Deidara was only able to see what was going on because of the scope on his eye. He kept one hand above it to stop raindrops getting onto the delicate lens, smoothing his sopping fringe with the other hand so it was out of the way.

There was a swish, and a wet sounding thud.

"What the hell? There's something on my face! Get it off!" Burst out the larger shinobi, surging to his feet and pawing in vain at the spider that had clamped its legs around his face.

The man yelled as the other spider also dropped from its branch and hit him, also wrapping itself around his head. He staggered, flailing his eyes desperately, shouting all sorts of profanities at the top of his voice. His partner seemed too stunned to move.

"Help me! Get these monsters off me dammit!" He continued, his voice cracking.

Deidara frowned and his eyes narrowed as his brought his hands up to his face and formed a hand sign.

"How dare you. Monsters? They are true art, philistine! Just let me show you! KATSU!" Deidara yelled.

Before the shinobi could react, there was a blinding flash of light that lit up the twilit forest, penetrating every shadow of darkness despite the rain. There was a blast that shook the tree in which Deidara sat to the point he ad to grab the branch above in order to stop himself falling. There was less heat and fire than usual, but clouds of smoke billowed from the point of detonation as the shock wave shook the area.

Deidara grinned maniacally, despite the fact that his face and the trees in the immediate area were all spattered with crimson blood that stood out even in the raining grey of the rainstorm. He leapt down from his tree and strode over to the cloud of smoke that was now disappearing from the site of the explosion.

The corpse of the unfortunate shinobi at which the blast had been centred was crumpled backwards over a fallen log. Most of it below the chest was more of less intact, but other than that it wasn't a pretty site. Deidara guessed he might have overdone the chakra level, but that was probably down to the fact he wasn't in a good mood.

The rain mingled with the crimson of the blood staining the surroundings until pink drips ran down the bark of the trees in the area, forming scarlet puddles on the muddy ground. Patches of Deidara's golden hair were dyed ruby, the colour running in tracks down his face as well. A small lake of blood had collected in the crater formed by the explosion from the corpse.

Deidara stopped surveying the destruction when he heard a sound from behind him. The clink of metal reached his ears through the downpour just in time for him to spin around as quick as a whip to intercept the incoming blow. Deidara's kunai clashed against the smaller shinobi's, the piercing sound ringing through the air.

"Oh yes, I had forgotten about you, hmm?" Deidara said with a sinister smile.

"DIE, AKATSUKI!" roared the shinobi in a voice that was shaking with a mixture of grief and anger over the brutal death of his comrade.

Deidara could see that the man had also been injured by the explosion. There were burns on his arms and face and blood ran down his face, but his head-band was intact.

"Konoha, huh?" Deidara said.

The shinobi ignored him and swung his kunai in a wild arc at Deidara. The criminal dodged easily, countering with a strong blow to his opponent's solar plexus. His anger was making the Leaf ninja slow and careless. As he stumbled backwards from Deidara's hit, the blonde in question spun and landed a powerful kick to the man's stomach that sent him flying. He hit the tree behind him hard and slid down to the blood soaked mud, groaning.

With a wide grin, Deidara flung the kunai in his had at the man. It his shoulder squarely and the shinobi yelled in pain as it pinned him to the tree.

He then walked imperiously forward, standing above the Leaf shinobi as the rain poured down all around him. His long wet hair was blowing around freely in the strengthening wind as he crouched, gripping the enemy's throat and shoving his head against the tree at his back.

"And now Konoha ninja, you are going to tell me if you've seen a friend of mine." Deidara murmured.