(A/N: Yep. Still coughing. But it has evolved! Now, instead of coughing often, I've got a hacking cough that leaves me breathless. I can't breathe while I cough, and I can't breathe afterwards, so when I can breathe, it feels so wonderful. When I cough, it brings tears to my eyes and I both sound and look like I've been crying. Did I offend the coughing wizard with my doubt so badly that he cursed me? I dunno.
I really hate to do this, but if I don't this story will go nowhere. I'm gonna have a mini timeskip in this chapter. It's only two weeks, but it needs to happen.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.)
Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 7
That night, after spending the day reaquainting herself with Deidara's manner of expression, they headed into the kitchen for dinner. Hinata realized a moment after they entered that it would be a long meal. Itachi was already sitting at the dining table.
"Good evening, Hinata-san." He stated simply, ignoring the blonde who was standing right behind her.
"G-Good evening, Itachi-san. A-Are you h-hungry?" She questioned hesitantly, gesturing toward the table where he was sitting.
A small smirk passed across his face as he glanced over her shoulder. "Why, yes, I am. Might you be cooking tonight, Hinata-san?" Flustered to the point where she couldn't speak for a moment, Hinata mutely shook her head. "What a shame." The raven haired man shook his head in disappointment.
"I-I can if you r-really want m-me to cook." The Hyuuga heiress muttered quietly, eyes downcast. She looked over her shoulder at Deidara for confirmation.
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As much as he hated to cook (the one thing he had in common with Itachi), he hated losing to Itachi more. Although, if he told Hinata that she couldn't cook, it would look like he was desperate.
I would have to sit peacefully at the table with Itachi.
She would not be sitting near him. His mind argued back at him.
Itachi would get what he wants, though.
I wouldn't have to cook and I'd get a good meal.
The pros outweighed the cons, so he acquiesced with a nod of his head. "Go for it, yeah."
The bright grin that passed across her face made losing to Itachi worthwhile. What is she doing to me? He wondered idly.
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Why was Itachi being so nice to her all of a sudden? It didn't make any sense. When she stayed with him the week Deidara was gone, he had not been hateful, but neither had he been kind. What caused his strange behavior, then?
Maybe he misses me. As soon as the thought came into her mind, she dismissed it and shook her head.
Thinking back on her stay with the Akatsuki, she realized something.
It was strange the way she was accepted and cared for. They were kidnappers, S-class missing ninja. There was another side to them, though. A side no one else had ever seen. The few that she had met were not always cruel, nor were they emotionless. They were the ultimate ninja, hiding everything behind a powerful façade.
She mentally shook her head. There was no way she could humanize the Akatsuki if she wanted to keep her true purpose in mind. She had only allowed herself to let them close to her so that she could gain information on them. If they felt she could be trusted, then they would share things with her. She would learn of their plans and spy for her village.
She did realize, as she was cooking dinner, that there was a fine line between acting and real life.
When Deidara had shown up earlier, she had been glad that he was safe. She had forcefully broken down her shy exterior when he had agreed to train with her. In doing that, she let herself get close to him in the way he was supposed to be close to her. She was reluctant to admit, even to herself, that she had truly enjoyed the time they had spent in the courtyard.
At the rate she was going, she would care for him too much by the time a rescue party showed up.
Should I continue to try to glean information through a bond, or should I try to keep myself distant? She pondered as she rolled the spring rolls onto a plate and sat them on the table.
Looking at the men before her, she decided that there would be no way for her to back out and keep distant now. She had allowed them too close, and they would be suspicious of her if she backed off.
As she sat at her newly designated place in between Deidara and Itachi to keep them from fighting, she acknowledged the dread that was creeping into her at the thought of a rescue party.
What would she do when they got here? She had made friends here; what if they got hurt? Or what if her friends from Konoha got hurt? Would she rather stay or go?
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He glanced at the girl sitting by his side. On her face was a look of deep thought. "Hinata-san, mm?" He tried to get her attention. When she didn't respond, he tried again. Only after waving a gloved hand in front of her face did she even look at him.
"Hai, Deidara-san? What do you need?" She inquired quietly.
"What are you thinking about so deeply that you didn't even hear me, yeah?"
A slightly guarded look came into her eyes. "Just home," her voice carried longingly over the table before she even realized what she had allowed into it. "I miss it," she admitted.
His eyes softened as he leaned over to her. "Maybe, if we're lucky, when you're a full member we'll get a mission near your village so you can go visit, yeah," he said excitedly.
"If I'm a full member, I'll want to stay as far away from there as possible. I don't want to possibly betray you guys, and I know I won't be capable of fighting my friends for a long time. After I become a full member, it will be even longer before I can return." She turned slightly to her left to address Itachi. "How long did it take you to get over your friends in Konoha?"
"Not even a year. I had already been conditioned by the ANBU to stick to my missions no matter what. It was much easier for me than it would be for you, Hinata-san."
"I see. How long does conditioning take?"
"Several years of practice for the normal ninja. It took me six months. I was already half way there because of my father."
While he continued to speak for a moment, Hinata nodded her head, as though she were interested in his life. Deidara nearly snorted as he realized that she had taken a position that she used when she was bored. She must not have been as interested in Itachi's background as she was Deidara's. He smirked at the thought.
His smirk faded when he realized that she knew far more about Itachi than she did about him. That was probably why she was bored. He gave a quiet, undetectable sigh.
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She knew she couldn't stay in the balance for much longer. There was no way she could continue living with her newly found friends without making the choice of becoming a missing nin soon, she realized shortly after cleaning up dinner.
Reaching forward slightly to grasp onto Deidara's shirt sleeve, she tugged gently on the fabric. "Deidara-san, can we go straight to sleep tonight? I don't feel well," she pleaded. There was no way she could face another entertaining evening without making her decision even harder.
She truly cared for these men, but she also loved her family and friends in Konoha.
When the blonde artist agreed, she smiled and they walked to his room. She curled up by his side after he offered to protect her from Pein for the night and drifted into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.
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"Shino, Naruto, Shikamaru, what are you guys doing here?" Kiba questioned curiously when they met up near the Akatsuki hideout.
"Tsunade allowed us to take a mission out here to spy with you two and look for Hinata," Shikamaru responded. He began to relay the updates to the two new members of the now-united team.
"We've already seen her training with the blonde explosives guy. It looked like he was mocking a child's game with her. It looked similar to hide-and-seek, but battling instead of hiding. She didn't seem to have anything wrong with her except for a lack of sleep and personal hygine time." Neji stated their findings from earlier in the day as Kiba scowled.
"There's nothing we can do here. She has a guard at all times," the Inuzuka glowered.
"We should retreat and ask for permission to sneak in and rescue her," Naruto exclaimed.
Each of the boys agreed as they turned around and left, though none of them knew they had been overheard.
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He smirked as he watched the five boys hurry back to their village. "They won't come back here in one piece," he assured himself.
Making sure no one saw his return inside, he slunk through the halls until he came to the door of the leader's room. Knocking quietly, he waited.
The door swung silently inward and an angry red haired man stood in the opening. "What now? God forbid I go a week without being woken in the middle of the night!" The man said with passive anger.
"I just thought you might like to know that our hideout has been compromised. Five Konoha ninja have been spying on our new recruit today. They plan to return here to take her back in a covert mission a short while from now."
"Good work, Zetsu. When they arrive again, do with them what you will. Save one, though. He will be the test we use to prove that our new recruit can be who she needs to be. We'll keep him for a month, to let her attachment to us grow, before we give her the choice." Pein laughed, his previous anger forgotten in the joy of the possibility of a new member.
The man addressed also smirked as he turned away from his leader. There would be a large price to pay for trying to kidnap one of the Akatsuki. It didn't matter whether he liked the girl or not. Anything to incite a battle.
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"But Baa-san!" Naruto's explosive voice rose to a note so high that the Inuzuka had to plug his ears. "You have to let us go in to rescue Hinata!"
"Actually, I don't have to do anything. You are incorrect in assuming that I will do something just because you say I need to do it. She will be rescued in a timely manner. Because I am a nice person, I will put you, Neji, and Kakashi in the three man rescue team. I think you will be the most efficient. That is final."
Naruto let loose a shout of triumph, Neji's expression was smug, and Hinata's teammates were outraged. Shikamaru's passivity went unacknowledged.
"We should be allowed to go also! We're her teammates!" Kiba's argument was indignant.
"Kiba, Shino, you're much too close to the situation to think clearly if I send you on this mission. There's no way I could send you in good conscience. Kakashi and Naruto are outside the situation, and Naruto is so hardheaded that he'll go anyway, so I may as well send him. Neji is calculating enough to be able to distance himself. You will accept my reasoning," she ordered the boy. Turning back to her previously named team, she said, "I will give the mission scroll to Kakashi when he arrives. Until then, you are all dismissed."
They left, though some were reluctant to do so. Making their way down the steps of the Hokage Tower, Kiba turned on Neji. "I thought we agreed not to go without the other because of the help we've given each other in tracking the Akatsuki?"
Neji almost looked apologetic as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Kiba. My cousin takes top priority in any case, and you would have done the exact same."
Kiba, properly chastised, said no more as he watched the Hyuuga leave to prepare for his mission.
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Kakashi looked from the scroll to the two young men before him. "This is going to be a long mission, you two. We are to stake them out for at least two weeks before we can even begin formulating a plan of recovery. You are going to have to watch whatever happens to her without making the slightest noise or movement to help. Are you both prepared for that?" He inquired gravely.
Upon receiving two affirmatives, he led the way to Konoha's gate and the left, beginning the at-least-month-long mission.
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Hinata smiled as she watched the sun's rays travel across the wall as the day began to lengthen. Making sure to move as little as possible, she attempted to turn on her side without waking the blonde.
Said man was curled loosely at her back. She had the sudden urge to reach out and stroke his hair to see if it was as soft as it looked. Looking puzzled at the impulse, she shook her head and accidentally startled the blonde awake.
"Good morning, hm," he mumbled sleepily.
"Good morning," she responded with a smile and a giggle.
She felt that today would be a wonderful day. Crawling from beneath the covers, the bell around her ankle chiming, she walked into the adjoining bathroom and shed her sleep clothes. Before stepping lightly into the shower, she laid out one of the spare sets of Akatsuki robes she had been given, along with her undergarments.
Once under the steaming drizzle of water, she let her mind wander away from her problems. As the water cascaded down her body and past the drain, so did her cares. For the moment, anyway.
Turning the cool water down, she let the nearly scalding water wash her cleaner than she had felt in weeks. It wasn't often that she took advantage of almost boiling showers to wash her insecurities and troubles away, but when she did, she always felt lighter.
Wondering what had possessed her to stay away from the hot shower for so long, she spent a half hour trying to stall in the water.
Soon, however, she knew she would have to leave the warm, watery confines of the tub and face her troubles once more. Setting foot outside the shower, she reached for a towel and hurried to clothe herself.
It was awkward standing naked in a bathroom that wasn't hers. She wondered passively if she could ever feel at home in Akatsuki, the tossed the thought from her mind. She would deal with the choice when the time came.
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The Hyuuga female was taking a much longer time than usual in the shower. He wondered if he should check on her to make sure she hadn't run away, but immediately voted against that. There was no way he would be able to handle her embarrassment if she was still in there and okay.
Eventually, he resolved to wait another ten minutes, then knock. If she answered, he would leave her alone. If not, he would enter.
His thoughts were interrupted by the halting of the flow of water in the shower. She's still there. He thought, assuring himself of the fact.
As she stepped from the bathroom, he noticed that she seemed lighter, as though she had fewer things to worry about. It made him wonder if she had decided something, but he decided to leave her be for now.
"Ready for breakfast? We'd better go before Itachi gets there and takes your job away," Hinata teased airily as she proceeded him through the doorway.
Deidara sighed and agreed, wondering where her bright personality had come from. "What's got you so happy this morning, un?" He questioned, half joking, half serious.
"I had a wonderfully steaming, cleansing shower. I always feel better after one of them," she answered, glad that she even seemed happier.
Watching her closely, he led the way into the kitchen and locked the door. He didn't want Itachi to actually know that he had cooked.
Moving about the kitchen, he grabbed ingredients for a western style breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. In the midst of preparation, he bumped into Hinata, who had stood up to get a glass of milk.
He stood and stared at her for a moment before snapping back into reality and turning to the food again.
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She wondered what his expression meant as he stood and stared into her eyes. Never having seen it before, she didn't have a clue as to what it meant. Curious, she watched as he turned back to their food.
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He hadn't meant to stare at her like that. He didn't want to scare her, so he quickly turned away. The only problem was that that time wasn't the last time he got caught up in her mesmerizing eyes.
It happened again every-so-often. Before he knew it, two weeks had passed, and he had taken to observing her in the times he knew she wasn't actively watching him. It was as though he was trying to solve a mystery, and she had the clues he needed.
During training, he found himself drawn to the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and the part of her pink lips as air passed by them.
Several times, he had caught her staring back and felt his heart beat quicken. He wondered if hers did too.
The evening of the day that marked her second full month in Akatsuki, Deidara watched her sit down on the bed that she no longer used with a contemplative look on her face.
"What are you thinking about, hm?" he now felt the freedom to ask as he walked over to her. He sat down in a spot that left very little space between them and leaned over to look into her downcast face.
"Konoha. They haven't tried to rescue me yet, and I was just wondering what was wrong. When Sasuke left of his own volition, Tsunade-sama sent several rescue teams out. I haven't even seen one for me," she stated, her voice dropping into a note of sadness near the end. She tried lowering her head even more, but he caught her chin in his hand and raised her face so she would look him in the eye.
"Maybe she has sent several out, yeah. There's no way any of them could get to you with me or Itachi around you at all times, un. You're always either with one of us or inside. How could they possibly get to you, mm?" He reasoned with her, trying to cheer her up in the way he had learned after the first time they had had this conversation.
"You said that before, and as much as I know in my mind that it is true, I still feel as though I am worthless," she confided.
"Don't. You are a powerful ninja in your own right, and you're getting better, yeah. Your strength still needs work, but your endurance and stamina has improved by leaps and bounds, mm. Do you remember when I first brought you here and Itachi so rudely told me I had my work cut out for me? I think he was right, in a manner of speaking, un. Your self-confidence is far too low for my liking, but your talent is perfectly workable, yeah. You have so much potential that Konoha could never have unlocked for you, mm."
"Deidara-san, I thank you very much. I'm just in a self-depreciative mood right now. I apologize," she smiled thinly at his compliments.
Impulsively, Deidara leaned down and attempted to brush his lips lightly across her cheek, but she turned her head at the last moment, and their lips met. He froze, watching her shocked expression, before he leapt away from her awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I'm sorry, yeah. I-It was a-an accident. F-Forgive me, hm?" He stuttered nervously.
Her face turned crimson as she realized what he had done. "H-H-Hai!" she squeaked as she lifted her hands and hid her face from view once more, though this time probably from embarrassment rather than sorrow.
Deidara could have killed himself right there. He remembered a day earlier in the week when she had talked to Itachi.
"Hinata-san, may I talk to you for a minute?" Itachi politely asked. When she agreed, he led the Hyuuga heiress out into the courtyard and spoke with her for a few moments before walking away with a small smirk of triumph plastered minutely on his face.
"What did he want to talk with you about, Hinata-san?" The blonde explosives expert questioned curiously.
"He said all he wanted to tell me was that he'd be here if I ever needed to talk or if something happened," was her mystified response.
What if she goes to Itachi about this? His idly wondering mind caught onto this thought and stuck. No matter that he knew she wouldn't have the confidence to seek Itachi out, he couldn't get the worrisome thought away. "Hinata-san, I really am sorry, yeah. I promise it will not happen again, and if it makes you uncomfortable, I can distance myself from you, mm. Anything you need, un," he claimed, hoping desperately that she wouldn't ask him to push her away.
"Iie, i-it's okay, Deidara-san. Y-You just caught me off-guard." A small, uncertain smile slid onto her face. "Does that count as a kiss?"
His head tilted in thought for a moment. "I suppose so, since our lips met," he replied, also uncertain.
The smile slipped away for a small, hesistant moment before returning with more confidence. "That was my first kiss, then." A short, shocked silence later, Deidara gasped and started to apologize once more, but she interrupted him. "It was nice," she whispered as her face flushed with a burning blush.
Again, she was met with shocked silence. "I could do it again, if you'd like," he offered hesitantly. Both ninja were stepping on new, unknown grounds now.
(A/N: Muwahahahahahaha! I'm so evil… Slight cliffie, and what will Itachi have to say about their kiss? What will Kakashi's team do? Will they find out? Dun dun dunnnnnn! –dramatic music!- lol anyway. I'm hyper, and have nothing better to do than type more in my author's note. I would like to explain the reason this chapter was a week late. Last week, when I tried to post this chapter, it wouldn't let me even edit any of my stories. The site kept coming up with an error. It did that to me for several days, so I figured I'd quit trying for two or three days, come back, and see if it would work. Those several days evolved into nearly a week because of this elusive thing that I couldn't catch until now. It's called free time, and if any of you know where an abundance of this substance is, it would be greatly appreciated. XD So yeah. Site issues and a lack of posting time contributed to the lateness of this chapter, but I will do my utmost to post the next chapter of MC exactly three weeks from the 27 of March, my last deadline, instead of three weeks from today. Hope you enjoyed tonight's installment, and I look forward to typing this next [exciting!] chapter!)