Chapter 6

Tobi's room was sparsely decorated, with just the bare essentials. She guessed that the members didn't spend that much time here, and were only here when they didn't have missions elsewhere. The halls of the place looked like they were carved out of a mountain, the walls were rock, the doors were rock, the rooms were rock, everything was rock. Granted, she had only seen what she guessed was the main hall, and the hall adjoining that and Tobi's room. However, Sakura already didn't like it here. It wasn't cozy, and felt very cold and lonely. She almost couldn't wait for them to get on the road and out of this cold place.

"Does Sakura-chan want the bed? Tobi can sleep on the floor!"

"Oh, um, sure. Thanks Tobi." Sakura smiled at him. She found that she liked Tobi, he was chivalrous and kind to her. Again, she wondered how a happy, kind young man like him could have gotten himself into an organization such as Akatsuki.

"Sakura-chan is very welcome! Tobi likes Sakura-chan very much!" Tobi bounced at her, and she assumed he had a smile on his face.

"Awh, why thank you Tobi. I like you too!"

Sakura asked where the washroom was, and Tobi pointed to a door in the wall to the side of the room. Sakura thanked him, and left for the washroom. Today had been a long day, and she wanted to clean up before she went to sleep. Sakura was sure she looked as awful as she felt. When she looked in the mirror, she of course, was right. Her hair was greasy and dirty, she had bags under her eyes, and her face was smeared with dirt. Her clothes were ripped and sweaty, and also covered in dirt and grime. Thankful she had something to change into, she jumped into the shower. Sakura almost cried out in glee from the wonderful sensation of the nice, warm soothing water over her tired, grimy self.

Getting out of the shower, she quickly put on the clothes that she was given earlier. Throwing them on, she was thankful that they were at least comfortable, and finished in the washroom and jumped over Tobi, who was already sleeping on the floor, and onto the bed. Sakura finally had some time to think, which she viewed as a bad thing. Her thoughts raced through her mind, thinking of Deidara and everything that happened today, of Naruto and Kakashi and Konoha and what would happen to her now.

Sakura drifted off to sleep, with thoughts of a certain blonde-haired individual on her mind, her hand clutching the necklace around her throat...

Deidara sighed. He was laying awake in bed, staring at the cold, stone ceiling. Well, what he could see of it. There were no windows in his room, nor in any other room in the cave. The blonde was still absorbing his very busy day. First, he met his childhood friend, the only one who ever treated him like he wasn't a freak or a tool. Then, he had an epic battle with Konoha's very own copy ninja and one of the loudest, not just in words, ninja he'd ever had the displeasure to meet. That battle had cost him his arm, which he had thankfully gotten back, and a nice, big punch across the face from the aforementioned friend. Then, he brought that friend, against her will, to his evil organizations hideout, made her his hostage; receiving a rather large and painful slap across the face for all his efforts.

What a day.

Deidara didn't know what to do next. He had only planned up until he had gotten her into the cave, and had hoped against hope that Leader would go along with his plan, and allow her to be left under his care. If the battle earlier with the Kyuubi brat meant anything, Deidara knew that he would come looking for her. His village may hold it off for a while, but he would come, and he would search for him.

Deidara knew that they would be careful with their trail, so that the Kyuubi brat wouldn't find them too quickly. He wanted as much time with her as possible, so he could get Sakura to see the real him, not just the person he seemed to be. He knew he wasn't the good guy, but he hoped that she would at least give him a chance, seeing as they were the best of friends as children. She still wore his necklace, even after bringing her here, and that had to mean something good. His own hand went to the ring-necklace that she had given him, and sighed again.

'Oh well, there's nothing I can do tonight, yeah.' And it was true. Sakura had decided to sleep in Tobi's room, which was a proverbial slap across the face. He shouldn't be surprised that she wouldn't want to be in the same room as him, but he was. And it hurt. He may be the almighty asshole Deidara, but Sakura was special. She made him feel things that he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

With that thought, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of butterflies, ponies, rainbows and, of course, a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

When Sakura woke in the morning, she felt like she had run a marathon in her sleep. Yawning and stretching out her tired and sore muscles, she went to the bathroom, which Tobi had showed her the night before, making sure not to wake the sprawled out Akatsuki on the floor, still fast asleep. Still feeling dirty from the day before, Sakura took full advantage of having a shower, because who knew what would happen next?

The leader said that Deidara would be getting his next mission. Did that mean that Sakura would be dragged along as well? 'Of course it does,' she told herself, 'wherever Deidara goes, I will have to go as well. I am his prisoner after all.' Sakura hoped that Kakashi and Tsunade had some sense in them, and make Naruto wait until they had a solid plan to rescue her. They would need one, seeing as they were facing some of the most powerful ninja in the world. She didn't want any of them to get hurt. Knowing Naruto, they wouldn't take long before they were out and looking for her. There were probably people out right now, searching for her whereabouts.

Sakura smiled as the warm water gushed out from the shower head. She was holding on to the hope that they would find her quickly. Sakura didn't find the idea of being a captive very pleasing.

However, a little voice in the back of her mind told her that she didn't mind being captive too much, as long as she was with Deidara. 'Shut up.' Sakura commanded, and shook her head, her fingers reaching up to her necklace that she still wore, despite everything. But, to her dismay, the thought would not go away. She couldn't help but feel a little squeeze in her heart when she thought about him; about how she would be spending the next little while in his company. She wanted answers, and this was her opportunity to get them.

Sakura quickly finished up in the shower and herself off with a towel she found in the bathroom. She quickly put on the clothes that she was given the previous night, once again thankful that they were clean. Looking in the mirror, she took notice of the clothes that she was given, too tired to notice the night before. Everything was a plain, dull grey; the shirt, pants, everything. Her pants were baggy everywhere but the ankles and waist, and the v-neck shirt was tight and formfitting. Under the grey shirt was a mesh webbing that almost went to her collarbone. Sakura did not receive the trademark Akatsuki cloak yet, nor the straw hat or ninja shoes.

Sighing at her reflection, Sakura found a brush and quickly brushed out the knots in her hair and tied on her hitae-aite. Walking out of the bathroom and back to Tobi's room, Sakura didn't even try exploring. She knew that the Akatsuki base was probably a maze, so as to confuse intruders, and that other members could be wandering around the halls, ones that aren't as friendly as Tobi. Sakura shivered, and quickly rushed back to the room, where a nice warm bed awaited her.

When she got to Tobi's room, she found him awake and ready, mask and cloak in place.

"Did Sakura-chan have a good sleep? Tobi hopes so." He asked excitedly, bouncing towards the kunoichi.

Sakura smiled at Tobi's antics, glad to have someone like him as her overseer.

"Yes Tobi, I had a good sleep. I'm sorry for taking your bed." Sakura wasn't lying, she was sorry, although very grateful.

"That's okay! Tobi is used to it." The masked Akatsuki said with a bounce.

Tobi left to get them breakfast, bringing back a large tray full of fruits with a plate of pancakes and various juices and syrups.

"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed. "This looks delicious!" Sakura did not expect this. She was expecting something more along the lines of gruel or stale bread with some water, something more along the lines of a typical captive breakfast.

"I didn't think the Akatsuki would treat captives this well. Hell, I didn't think the Akatsuki ate like this at all!" With that, Sakura devoured her food, starving. She hadn't eaten yesterday save fro breakfast with her team. She slowed her eating at that thought. 'That was only yesterday... It feels like a century since I last saw them.'

The rest of the morning was spent playing games with Tobi and chatting lightly. Neither mentioned the Akatsuki or life beforehand, preferring to talk about their interests. Tobi even managed to get a laugh or two out of Sakura with his silly antics.

By noon though, Sakura was feeling tense and anxious. She wanted to know what was going to happen next; where they were going, what they had to do and when.

Her questions were answered around dinnertime when Deidara burst through the door with an irritated look on his face. He stared at a slightly flustered Sakura and an excited Tobi. Sakura noticed he avoided her gaze and chose to look at Tobi instead.

"We're leaving at noon tomorrow. Be ready to leave by then, and we won't be back for quite some time." Was all he said before he disappeared out the door again.

Finally, Sakura could get out of this awful place, and according to Deidara, they'd be gone for quite some time. Good, that gives her team time to find her trail. She was disappointed deep down that Deidara hadn't stayed longer, but she knew she'd have plenty of time to question him while they were on the road.

Tobi and Sakura went to sleep some time later, Sakura on the bed and Tobi on the floor again.

Sakura woke up first again, took a shower, and by the time she got back to the room Tobi had breakfast out again. Sakura didn't have much to pack for their trip, only a brush and a few more uniforms that Tobi had given her, all in the same grey.

Tobi had also given her a cloak and straw hat, both fitting her perfectly. Tobi said they were Sasori's, because there wasn't another member her size that could give up their cloak. Sakura found this slightly morbid, having to wear the clothing of someone that she had recently murdered.

Sakura avoided wearing the hat and cloak for as long as possible, putting it off for as long as possible. Only once Deidara had come back and informed them that they were leaving did she throw on the cloak, disgusted, and put on the hat she was given. She shouldered her small pack, and followed Tobi and Deidara as they lead her through the mountain maze.

Sakura could only wonder what would happen next, but she knew it couldn't be good.

TBC

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, and I know there isn't much DeidaraSakura goodness yet, but don't worry, it will come.