Longer this time maybe?

Six: Departure

Dawn crept over the training grounds and the four observers took to the center of the clearing. They were undoubtedly impressed by the chakra masking skills they'd "seen", but they were disappointed that neither combatant had shown themself.

"Naruto. Sasuke," Tsunade said, turning her head as if to scan the nearby tress. "Come out now. Your fight is over." There was a pause. No movement, no chakra signatures, nothing.

"We would be wise to assemble a second search party." Gaara said, seemingly staring off into some random area of the training ground. "I can't sense a masking technique."

"That doesn't make sense," Temari cut in. "We've been watching the entire time. There's no way either one of them could've run away."

Gaara shook his head. Minutes after, a small eye appeared out of a bush nearby, floating toward the Kazekage before falling into a pile of sand. "I thought I'd sensed two other chakras, but I figured they were just a pair of Konoha nin looking for an open training ground—they disappeared shortly after arriving." Tsunade shook her head angrily. Had a tree been nearby her fist undoubtedly would've been through it.

"Would you like us to inform the others?" Kankurou asked cautiously.

"No, we'll all go together." She answered, fuming. Gaara, however, nodded to his siblings. Probably something of a "we'll catch up". They nodded back, then disappeared.

"Do you think Sasuke plans to kill Naruto?" He asked, taking a wary step toward the Hokage.

"No, he doesn't want to stoop that low," she said, turning toward her adversary. "He's using Naruto as bait."

When Sakura woke that morning she found herself in quite the awkward situation. She didn't have to sit up to know there was another presence in the room the steady breathing was a dead give-away. Also the fact that a blonde clump of hair had found its way onto the bed next to her served as a clue. Apparently Deidara had fallen asleep with his back against the side of her bed the previous night. Asking how he got there would've been pointless, she knew full well how.

"Deidara?"

"Hm?" He stood over a chair where minutes ago he'd dropped his Akatsuki robe. He'd exposed the typical wear of an off-duty Akatsuki—a short-sleeved black shirt over a three-quarter sleeved fishnet top, black pants, tall white socks and a pair of black sandals.

Sakura thought over her question long and hard. She finally came to the conclusion that her previous question wasn't a wise one and figured it'd be best to ask something trivial. "You're from Iwagakure, right?"

"Yes." The blonde hesitantly moved to the side of the bed and sat on the floor facing the pink-haired kunoichi. Sasori had long since retired to his room, so Deidara's natural defiance toward reason had calmed respectably.

"So, do you live near there?"

"Yes."

Sakura nodded. "The best hiding place is directly under the opponent's nose…"

Deidara laughed wildly. "You truly are a clever one, Sakura-chan!" He laughed again, but calmer. "Very clever. Un."

The room calmed for a moment before Sakura pressed on. "Where do you live, then?"

Deidara wasted no time in answering. He was obviously comfortable with Sakura's presence. "I live in the dead center of a forest. It's near Cloud, but is between Cloud and Stone. Un."

"So you do live near Stone then?" Sakura asked, slightly confused.

"Only because those countries are at war." Sakura was now more confused than ever. Deliberately putting himself in the center of a war? He noticed the confusion in her eyes and chose to explain. "I live between to small villages. One is from Cloud and one is from Stone,"

"So you live on the border?"

Deidara nodded slightly, but continued. "Because the countries are at war, I can enter either village without worry. In fact, I could control either if I so wished it. Because apprehending me would cause a fluctuation in either army—one or two men wouldn't be enough to hold me in," this point made him laugh. "Neither village will turn me in. They're too set on winning the war to weaken their army over an Akatsuki. Un."

The room fell silent for a moment, the two staring silently at each other. Eventually the awkwardness became too tense and Deidara faked a cough, using the opportunity to look away. Sakura didn't enjoy the silence, though. "Can I see your left eye?"

Deidara seemed taken aback. "Why would you ask that?"

"There must be a reason you've always got it covered up." Deidara was hesitant. Sakura felt a pang of guilt, but it wavered as Deidara moved his long blonde bang and gripped at the scope, holding his finger over the edge tenderly before pulling the metal from his skin.

Shock overwhelmed Sakura when the scope was completely removed. Unlike the right eye, Deidara's left eye was a dark shade of gold. There didn't appear to be any shine to it, though that was to be understood—the eye itself was foggy, but it had also been shaded by Deidara's hair. The eye seemed stationary and hesitant toward motion.

Sakura's voice choked out before she realized what was happening. "Can you see?"

Deidara smiled, although weakly. "Of course. Just not as well. That's why I have the scope. Un."

Sakura nodded understandingly, though still in awe. She leaned forward and reached out, tracing her finger along the faintly tanned outline of where the scope had been. She opened her mouth to ask how this had happened, but no words escaped. Finally she withdrew, using her arm to support her on her side. Deidara, however, followed her hand, turning his back against the side of the bed. They both sighed in unison, closing their eyes as they did so.

"Goodnight, Deidara."

There was a pause.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

She stared for another moment at the gold hair, fighting the urge to reach out and feel it. Deidara seemed to care for his hair more than anyone. Aside from herself, obviously. But whatever the case, it looked magnificently soft. She held her hand back, not realizing it was in mid-air mere inches from the long blonde locks.

"Goodmorning, Sakura-chan."

Her hand retracted quickly. "Goodmorning, Deidara."

"I apologize," he pushed himself forward, standing and brushing himself off. "I didn't mean to fall asleep in here. Un." He smiled at her before moving toward the chair his cloak occupied.

Sakura sat upright. "I…I didn't mind." She returned the smile, though she wasn't sure if he saw it. She lifted the covers and turned her legs from the bed, letting her feet adjust to the carpet before standing. She could still feel Deidara's warmth soaked into the thick maroon fabric beneath her toes and wished she could leave her feet there longer. She stretched, scratched her messed hair, then made her way to the closet.

"We're leaving today," Deidara said. Sakura stopped mid-step. "Leader-sama says good morning, too. Un."

Sakura figured it might be best not to ask but didn't rule anything out.

Deidara didn't skip a beat. "Telepathy," he responded to Sakura's blatant confusion. She nodded, still not completely understanding.

She grabbed some clothes out of the closet and moved toward the bathroom. "When should I be ready?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Anytime, un," was her answer.

She turned her back on the blonde completely as she entered the bathroom. They seemed to think of her as trustworthy. A risky conclusion to jump to.

It wasn't long before Naruto came to. He had help; there was an incessant drop of ice-cold water landing on the side of his face. As he opened his eyes he saw a dark, moldy wall a ways away, a few pairs of broken and rusted shackles, and bones. Lots of bones. He pushed himself up and looked around. There were three solid walls to his front and sides, but when he turned around he saw tall iron bars. Realizing he had no bindings on his legs he stood, moving cautiously to the bars and peering out.

"Oh-ho! You're awake!" Naruto recognized the voice. It was shortly followed by that annoying slurping sound you only hear when there's nothing left in the cup, but the holder insists upon sucking air through the straw. Naruto's eyes shot around the hallway through the bars, but he didn't see anyone. It was then that he realized the drip was gone. He spun on his heels to see a large iridescent pool of water. For one thing, water usually wasn't multiple colors. For another, it didn't usually grow a head.

"What in hell…?"

The head began laughing. "My name is Suigetsu. It's nice to finally meet you, Naruto." He grew taller until the entirety of the puddle was gone. "Well, meet you without hiding behind Sasuke."

Naruto muttered, "Bastard."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Suigetsu started to laugh, only to be interrupted. "Shut up you lazy ass." It was a woman's voice this time. Another recognizable voice.

"I woke him up, didn't I?" Suigetsu said defensively.

"Oh, such a hard worker." The woman appeared, standing in front of the iron bars and oh-so-subtly flaunting herself. Upon seeing Naruto she grinned. "Hello." Naruto said nothing. She, apparently, didn't like this. However she didn't make an effort to change it—she offered no introduction or any other form of small talk.

Instead she waved her hand and, to Naruto's surprise, a well-hidden door in the wall to his left opened and a frighteningly large man entered. He stood silently for a moment, staring at Naruto. After a while Suigetsu apparently became stir crazy and the tall man took hold of Naruto's hands, tying them behind his back. The blonde saw no reason to struggle, he was obviously out ranked in power and in numbers. He just followed the large man out of the cell where he was then pushed past the other two.

He stopped and looked at the woman who grinned, obviously expecting him to lead. When he went no where she motioned with her hand again and the tall man took a hold of the bindings and pushed Naruto rather roughly down the hallway.

The woman spoke again. "You don't talk much, do you?"

He laughed. "No, not to people who knock me out and lock me up."

"It's understandable." She said, giggling. Naruto didn't even know her and he could figure that was out of her character.

They walked for a while longer, Naruto hunched over from the large man gripping his bound arms, the woman walking deliberately to his right, and Suigetsu mumbling about needing something to drink. They seemed to walk forever past rows and rows of cages much like the one he'd just been locked in before Naruto could make out a pair of doors just ahead. Asking where they were going would've been stupid. The chakra signature radiating through the doors was unmistakable. How he'd confused that with the puny one of Suigetsu he'd never know.

As they passed through the doors anger overwhelmed the blonde. "Hello, Naruto."

"Hello, Bastard." He spat back. On any other terms he would've been at least a little civil toward his old friend, but after the stunt they'd all pulled he didn't think it was deserved.

Sasuke turned from the tapestry he was examining on the other end of the room so he could more properly face his rival. "Such a way to speak to an old teammate." Naruto said nothing to this. Just growled. This earned him a shove from the large man, reducing his stance to a crouched position on his knees.

"So are we leaving today, Sasuke-kun?" The woman asked.

Sasuke paid her no response.

The room was silent for a moment. Sasuke's cold black eyes locked with Naruto's bright blue eyes and they remained there, unmoving. Finally, Naruto spoke. Or, spat, rather. The lump of saliva and mucus landed mere feet in front of the rogue nin. However, Sasuke didn't move once to even glance at it. "What's wrong with you? What did Konoha ever do to make you hate us so much?"

Sasuke laughed lightly. "Konoha is weak. It always has been. I needed power and they couldn't give it to me."

"So you betrayed us and went to that snake?"

"I killed him."

Being his naturally dense self, Naruto had not heard of this. He stared in shock at the raven-haired boy before him, slightly confused. "You'd kill so ruthlessly, just to gain power?" Sasuke had no response. "So, do you plan to kill me?" Still nothing. No physical response, either. "You'll get the Mangekyou, right? The one thing you need to kill Itachi?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak.

"Spare me," Naruto said with a laugh. "'I don't want to stoop to his level'. That's what you're gonna say, right?" Sasuke seemed slightly angered, but he masked that quickly. "If you ask me, you're no better than him."

Sasuke's lips pressed into a thin line. "I should kill you now." Naruto saw the pale hand of his adversary move slightly, tracing the engravings on the hilt of his katana. It paused at the end, contemplating killing the loud-mouthed Konoha nin, but moved slowly to Sasuke's side as the rogue-nin moved closer to his rival. He knelt onto one knee, matching eye level with the blonde. "But I still need you."

SpeedDemon315: Um…maybe. Kekekekeke.

A.D.Grey: Yeah I kinda made you wait, ne? Sorry. I'm working with Dobe-chan The Crazy on fixing some of her stories, so I'm kinda sidetracked.

Dokami-San: Uh…yeah. Let's go with that. Kekekekekeke.