(A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I love each and every one of you who have supported me through this venture, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll keep it short tonight and tell you that I sincerely hope you all had a grand day!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.)

Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 20

Her eyes blinking painfully at the bright room, she wondered why she was back in bed. The last thing she remembered was going to the kitchen with Deidara to heat up her food. She frowned as her stomach growled, then froze when she heard a slight chuckle from the previously unnoticed blonde.

Now that she could see the room without pain, she realized that it was much larger than the one in which he had previously presided. A large, official-looking desk sat against the far wall of the room with two chairs lounging around it. One was occupied by a chuckling Deidara, while the other, shifted to the furthest corner from him, was taken up by Kisame.

The comforter under which she had been sleeping was an inverted Akatsuki cloak pattern: the background was crimson colored with the typical clouds sewn in black thread. The sheets underneath were a deep black, and it caused her ivory skin look far more pale than it otherwise would have.

Florescent lights silently brightened the room, and she noticed that sculptures had yet to be placed around the room; instead, they were resting in boxes that were sitting open and scattered about. She noticed the lack of shelves, and the wood lining the far wall, wondering idly whether Deidara was going to build them himself. Several more open boxes lined the walls to her left, evidence that he had done nothing to unpack in the week it had been since they had arrived.

"Are you ready to see if you can eat something, un?" Deidara asked, gesturing at the bowl of soup that was sitting on the stand by her head.

She nodded her head. Why does my throat hurt? "What happened?" She asked, surprised when her voice was rough and hoarse.

"We went to get your food, but there was a lot of smoke, and you started coughing up blood," Hinata winced when Kisame turned sharply to look at her after that statement, "and I found out that you had been pushing yourself far too harshly, hm."

"This is what brought up Itachi-san's research, then," Kisame stated, turning to Deidara after giving the young woman a look that promised a brutal speech later. His glare was nothing near the brotherly way he had look at her earlier. It was one of animosity.

"Hai. She needs to heal so that she can fully participate in any and all necessary missions," Deidara answered, standing and stretching. "I'll be back shortly with your soup, Hinata-san."

"Thank you, Deidara-san," she responded with a quiet smile. Her eyes followed him as he left, but soon returned to Kisame when he coughed slightly.

"When were you going to tell me about this issue with your heart, or that it causes you to cough up blood when you strain yourself?" He demanded.

"I know my own limits, and I've never allowed myself to try to stretch past them like this before," she demurred, blushing at her own foolishness. "At home, I had been forbidden from telling anyone about my condition by my father, and I pushed it to the back of my mind, so it's not something I think of often. I honestly didn't know that this is what would happen if I pushed too hard. Deidara-san found out about my condition by accident, as did Itachi-san."

"And I, your first partner in Akatsuki, am not worthy enough to share in that information? When, should your limit be reached during battle, both of us would pay the price? What would you do if, during battle, you reached your breaking point, and could fight no longer? Would you shout for me to help? Or would you die silently, and allow the possibility for me to be overwhelmed? You should have thought that through a bit more!" Kisame was getting progressively quieter as he spoke, belying the anger that she could hear in his voice. By the time he finished speaking, she could barely hear him, and was afraid to breathe in case she missed his words.

However, he still had an undertone of worry in his voice that Hinata would have considered frantic had this man not been an S-class missing nin. He bared his teeth, growling deep within his chest, as though reminding her of that fact.

She flinched away from his newly shark-like composure. "F-forgive me, K-Kisame-san. I-I wasn't th-thinking and I-I endangered e-everyone i-in the process. I-I'm s-sorry!" She apologized, bowing her head and falling back into her stuttering as easily as she had when she had first arrived and responsibility of her had been shifted to Itachi.

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Hearing the sound of her stutters seemed to bring him back from his fury. He blinked once, and it was like he was watching her cower. Then he turned back to the Itachi's research. "Is that why you couldn't save him? Because you couldn't afford to push yourself further?" He asked coolly, knowing that it was a low blow, but needing to impress upon her just how serious her selfishness could have become.

He heard her gasp, but cold-heartedly pressed forward. "Is it?" He demanded, louder this time.

"N-No! I-It all just happened so f-fast, and I-I," he brought his eyes back to her form and listened as her sentence broke off and she stopped speaking.

It sounded like she was struggling to breathe, and for a moment, he thought she was having a panic attack, but she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out.

"I-I would rather have d-died in h-his place," she admitted in a watery, whisper-thin voice.

"Is that so, hm?" Kisame turned to look at the blonde on the threshold. He wasn't surprised to see the blonde standing there, but the young Hyuuga woman was.

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"I-" was all she managed to get out before he quietly approached her form and placed his index finger over her mouth in a gesture to be silent.

"Just stop. I understand completely that you loved him, so there's no reason for you to make excuses, un. I knew you weren't telling me the truth when you told me you were never in love with him, yeah," he spoke, sitting the bowl of steaming, delicious smelling soup on the nightstand, and then backed away with guarded eyes.

Hinata's face fell, but she met his eyes steadily. He had a feeling she wanted to do anything but that, and appreciated that, at least. "I promise, I was never in love with him, Deidara-san. I don't know exactly what it was, but it wasn't the kind of love you think it was," a small tear rolled down her cheek. "I just felt so lost all the time, and he was always the one who gave me direction in training. I don't know what to do," the tears that had been sparkling in her eyes began to drip more quickly down her cheeks. "I feel so useless and it seems like all I do is cry! The least I could have done was die and leave a capable ninja in my place, rather than have an S-class ninja die and leave a worthless one in his place!"

He knew, then, that Hinata could tell that original statement to the Hoshigaki had hurt him, whether he put up his emotional mask or not. The explosions expert wondered why he didn't find that more worrying.

Hearing her explanation, he approached her once more and sat on his bed beside her. "He left a perfectly capable ninja behind. He obviously believed in your abilities, or he wouldn't have given you even a fraction of the attention that he did, yeah. You just tried to undertake a task much too big for one person without asking for any help, hm," the blonde comforted. "I don't think you're worthless, either," he ended with a warm, breathy whisper, leaning toward her ear to hide the statement from Kisame. I may love her, but I'm not willing for Kisame to know and exploit that yet.

He watched as the blush daintily bled into her cheeks, chuckling breathily as he sat up straight again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kisame lean back against the wall, as though he hadn't been trying to hear what was being said.

"Well, this is all fun and dandy," the blue skinned man growled, "but I was in the middle of a conversation, and you interrupted it, Deidara."

"It didn't sound like a 'conversation' to me, un!" He exclaimed, making air quotes around the offending word, despite the knowledge that he looked ridiculous. "It sounded more like you were verbally abusing her," Deidara's normally smiling façade had turned stony, and the previous warmth in his voice had turned to icy anger.

"What would you know about it, Deidara? She was endangering the organization and my life by not telling me. You have no right to defend her. She told me that she loved Itachi; your name never came up at all. And even if she did love you, what do you know about love? It's not like you had any growing up. Your parents were dead before you were even old enough for the academy. Your foster parents didn't love you because you were a ninja kid, and they only wanted civilians. You hated just about everyone around you, but did they know? No! Not until you turned on them and murdered them!

"Even as an adult, every girl you've ever wanted has been frightened away by your hands and their ability to make whatever they touch blow up! They're dangerous and disgusting. What in the world would you know about love?" Kisame ranted, picking apart the blonde's past, mocking him for his mistakes, and exposing the secret that Deidara had hidden from the woman he loved.

He felt the gasp behind him more than he heard it; his world shifted to a frightening new place similar to the one he'd experienced just moments before setting off his bomb to flatten Iwagakure. When Deidara spoke, it was with a low, seemingly amiable tone and a smirk on his face. "That was low, Kisame. Even for you, yeah. Besides, you're the one who should be worried about their past. You lived in Kirigakure, where you killed every single one of your classmates, mm.

"All you wanted was power. I, on the other hand, wanted freedom. Where were your parents, hm? And which one of the girls you wanted stuck around after finding out that your sword eats people, or seeing your teeth? How many children did you murder to be who you are today, un? How many people's trust did you shatter?" He heard a small whimper from the girl behind him.

Without turning, he began addressing the other person in the room. "I never bothered to hide anything from anyone, except the ability of my hands to infuse whatever they ingest with my chakra, and then blow that thing up. That was the only thing I ever hid from you, Hinata-san, yeah. You wouldn't have even talked to me if you had known. Now, though, I know I can trust you. I haven't even thought of hurting you, so why would I want to kill you, un?" He then turned back to the tear-stricken face of the young woman, entreating her to believe him, to forgive him.

Kisame laughed bitterly, a guttural, grating noise that was unpleasant to their ears. "She would never trust us. We're a group of S-class murderers with no values, save what will help us survive another day,"

Deidara could feel Hinata's trembling from his sitting position. He stood, thinking to comfort her, but she unintentionally flinched. It's like we've taken her back to her first week in Akatsuki. Deidara thought, mourning the reversion.

"Wh-Why? Wh-Where is a-all this coming from? What s-suddenly br-brought out all of th-this animosity?" She buried her head in her lap, curling into herself. Her ending sentence, meant to be heard only by herself, instantly caused Deidara's anger at Kisame to drain away, filling him with a protective emotion the likes of which he'd never felt before. "I want to go home, I'm so frightened," It was muffled, but he caught what she said.

He allowed himself to collapse on the bed, carefully avoiding her body, and felt her shudder. "Hoshigaki, what were you yelling about?" He asked, defeated, trying to get to the root of what had occurred while he went to get Hinata's food.

"I have nothing to explain to you," he sneered spitefully.

"Just stop, hm," the explosives artist looked back at the taller man. He was leaned against the far wall in a deceptively relaxed pose, with his muscles relaxed and his eyes closed. "Open your eyes and look what we've done."

He waited for the other man to obey, then frowned at the lack of visible concern. He did, however, hold some hope when he saw the Hoshigaki's muscles contract slightly, as though he were trying to keep himself from walking over to comfort the terrified, crying ex-Hyuuga heiress.

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Kisame sighed. "She needs to know how dangerous it is to hide ailments from her partner. I knew everything about Itachi's sickness, and he of any of mine, no matter that they would have been perceived as weaknesses. Being partners is about looking past that, and Hinata needed to quit being a spoiled Hyuuga and learn to live in the real ninja world.

"She has a breaking point, a place where she can't fight anymore or she'll die. Itachi was going blind. He wanted his brother to kill him, so that he could die with honor and pride because he knew there was no one else out there who both could and would kill him before he went blind. When he met Hinata, he realized that he could die protecting, instead of trying to kill.

"I am rarely sick, but there are things I can't do when I'm unhealthy, too," Kisame continued, addressing the crying woman. "I will tell you those when the time comes that you feel you can trust me. Until then, you have no need to know them,"

"That's the mentality that got us into this mess, un. Tell her the moment you both leave for your mission tomorrow. But for now, Hinata needs to eat, and you both need sleep, hm. It's nearly two in the morning, and you've got to leave in five hours," Deidara admonished hesitantly, seeming surprised when Kisame nodded.

"Alright, Blondie. We're not done with our discussion, but Hinata doesn't have to hear any more of it," he said, glancing at the cowering young woman. "Good night, Princess. I'll see you tomorrow for our mission,"

He felt two pairs of eyes on him as he left the room, stopping by the desk to pick up Itachi's book. He opened it to the page that had been bookmarked, and began studying it with more fervor as he left the room, now that he knew why it was so important that they learn the information.

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Hesitantly, she peeked out from under the bundle of covers with which she had surrounded herself to watch as Kisame's back retreated from view. She felt Deidara move to lay by her side before she heard the intake of breath. "I'm sorry, Hinata-san. I never should have lost my grip like that, mm." She looked toward him, but he refused to meet her eyes.

Her breath hitched. She wanted to say something, to make him look at her, to see his expression, but she was scared. She was too frightened that he would be angry with her, or bring up her painful past the way he had brought up Kisame's. She did, however, uncurl her body and stretch out in a similar position as Deidara's. She didn't allow their bodies to touch in any way.

"Please don't be scared, Hinata-san. I can deal with anger. I can deal with hatred. I can even deal with tears. But please, please, don't be scared of me," his eyes still refused to look at her, but she could see his expression now.

It broke her heart to see him like that. He loved her; she knew that. He had told her before. She had never ever seen a murderer look like he did now, though. He seemed fragile and broken, but she knew he was far stronger than she could ever hope to be.

"I-I'm scared," she admitted, then covered her mouth in shock. That wasn't what I was planning to say at all! "I'm so sorry. I-I need to know, though. What was Kisame talking about?"

Deidara sighed. "You need sleep, but I suppose this isn't something that can wait. I should have told you earlier, but there was never a good time. It's easy to make excuses about not being able to find time when you need to share something you don't want to share, yeah." He looked away from her, then slowly reached down to his gloves. He paused. "When I was young, I learned the art of explosives from my mentor. It wasn't enough for me, though. I stole a scroll of kinjutsu, and it caused three mouths to develop on my body to help me infuse substances with my chakra in order to make my explosions more powerful.

"I didn't really kill my schoolmates to become a missing nin. I did flatten the school with my bombs, but I sounded more frightening the way I told it to Akatsuki." He still wasn't meeting her eyes, not even looking at her. His eyes were trained on the ceiling, and his words were merely a history lesson.

She frowned as his hands began to move again. He was taking off his gloves! She had a feeling that she knew what was coming, based on his story, but a gasp still left her mouth when she saw the single mouth on each palm for the first time. He moved so that she could see them clearly, and turned his face fully away. It was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him.

"I-I- Why are you showing me this now?" She asked, unable to fully put her thoughts to words.

"You've been curious about them for a while now, and asking about why I don't touch you with my whole hand. I figured now was a good time to explain, since I just broke your trust in me. It's a good time to try to build it back, I guess, by answering the questions you've been asking for so long," he whispered, beginning to put his gloves back on.

"W-Wait," Hinata said, unsure of what she was going to say or do, but missing the bright, if sometimes fake, smile that Deidara usually had. She tentatively reached out her hand, putting her own below his and bringing it closer to her to observe. She bent over the palm, using her other hand to trace along the outside of it.

The palm licked its lips, then her finger, and Hinata dropped it with a squeak. She choked breathlessly, and didn't pick his hand back up.

He moved to put his gloves on once more, moving away from her to stand. "You should finish your food," he muttered, rubbing his palm and shaking his head.

Hinata sighed, feeling that she'd failed a major test of trust. It was silent as she picked up the bowl and ate, save for the clink of the spoon against the bowl.

Upon finishing, she set the bowl aside. "You mentioned three mouths?" She asked hesitantly, wondering if he would tell her after she had reacted so negatively to the two he'd shown her.

"Aa, three. The other rests over my heart," he answered quietly, still not facing her. "Finished?" He held his hand out to take the bowl, taking care that she couldn't see his palm, even though it was covered.

Hinata took a breath, then reached out and took his hand. He withdrew as though he'd been burnt. "What are you doing, yeah?"

She could feel her face turning deep read, but persisted.

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When he felt her hand on his again, he couldn't stand it anymore. He turned to face her. "You don't have to force yourself to do this, you know. I know they're repulsive; everyone I've ever shown them to has said so," he met her eyes with his, and frowned.

She was holding his hand in hers, palm to palm, and he could feel the tongue on his hand trying to lick. It was involuntary, something instinctually attuned to his fighting style. She wasn't flinching, but she did look puzzled, and her face was bright red. "There's nothing wrong with your hands, Deidara-san. Different isn't wrong," she entreated him, shaking her head. She met his eyes. "I'm not repulsed by you. I'm frightened, and I don't know what to do next to be your medic, but I'm not repulsed, Deidara-san."

He wanted to believe her, but he'd never been accepted before. He shook his head and took his hand back from her. "We can continue this another time. You need sleep, as I said earlier." He stood, offering her his arm to take her back to her room.

Hinata's head was beginning to hurt. Too much had happened in too little time, and so soon after her exhaustion that she thought he was probably right. "Okay," she whispered, "but can I stay? I-I don't want to be alone tonight. I'm not sure I'm entirely as comfortable with you as I was before, but I'm far more comfortable with you than alone with the threat of others near."

He dropped his arm, shocked. After all that, she still took comfort in him? He stood, and strode to the light switch.

Flipping the switch down, the non-existent hum of the electric lights stopped, and the only light in the room came from the small candle Hinata had had the foresight to light. "Nice thinking, Hinata-san. Thanks," he said, moving toward the spare bed in his room.

She caught his hand as he passed her, pulling him toward her. "Wait," she said.

He paused, wondering what was next.

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"Do you have an alarm, Deidara-san?" She asked, hesitant to ask for anything, but knowing she would need to be awoken for her mission.

"Don't worry about it, yeah. I don't, but I'll make sure you're up, un," he promised.

"O-Okay. I trust that you won't let me oversleep," she said, purposefully throwing the word trust into the phrase.

She was rewarded with an S-class ninja's sad grin, and it wasn't as frightening as she expected it to be after the night they'd had. It is quite charming, actually.

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"I won't let you down again," he said, still smiling sadly as he dropped her hand, lay down in the other bed, rolled to face away from her so she feels more comfortable.

He heard the covers shift behind him to adjust for sleep, and was surprised when he felt her hand brush against his back as she lifted the covers. The bed shifted, and he scooted further away to make room. Hopefully, they had made progress in rebuilding trust in one another. He smiled softly, a truer smile, then allowed himself to relax. He was going to be up early, and they all needed sleep.

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"Have you heard the rumors, Shino?" Kiba asked as he and his teammate waltzed into Ichiraku's ramen stand. "The villagers have been saying that Uchiha Sasuke was sighted in the woods off the main road into Konoha earlier this afternoon,"

Naruto immediately jumped up from his seat at the bar. "What did you say?"

"Crap," Kiba oh, so elegantly said.

"Go see Tsunade-sama before you go anywhere else," Shino ordered tonelessly, knowing exactly what was running through the Uzumaki's mind.

"Sasuke's back!" Naruto left the restaurant with a shout and a large grin, causing a man nearby who had been about to enter the ramen stand to jump back.

(A/N: Hi again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Merry Christmas, and I hope you all had a wonderful day. Enjoy your gifts, and remember the true meaning of Christmas as you play with/eat/use whatever it is that you were given. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope you had a great day! I love how faithful all of you are to my works, and I appreciate each and every person who reads, clicks on, or even so much as considers reading my works and author's notes, and especially those that review!