A/N: Please, no flames about OOC'ness. It's kinda necessary, seeing as Akatsuki members are mostly heartless bitches -_-ll
Chapter 5 – Candy Coloured Skies
After Yume-chan and I had made up, Tobi seemed a lot more at ease. He took turns—when he wasn't out on a mission with Deidara-kun—to visit us, switching every hour or so.
After telling Yume-chan that I really was trying to talk, and that I just needed a little more time, she agreed to being my translator again, and asked Kisame if he could be a little harder on me at my request. His niceness and helpfulness kept me soft, and I needed to be hard if I was ever going to be allowed out on a mission. He had agreed with a confused expression.
A few weeks after Yume-chan and I started talking again, my hands were completely healed and I was able to hit bull's eyes in every target, but I was still too slow and took too long to aim. Kisame had me do five push-ups if I took longer than five minutes to throw at all three spots on a target.
I had started managing not to go anywhere near my skin with the dual-bladed sword, and had perfect control over it regarding the fact that Kisame didn't need to block hits that aimed for my own skin anymore. He still blocked every one of my hits, however.
By this time I could make ten Water Clones at once, and walk around flawlessly on water. In celebration, Kisame gave me a silver ring that looked like there was water flowing inside it, but would not answer any questions about it. I wore it every day, on my left forefinger.
I was finally able get over my fear of talking in front of strangers for a few seconds at the dinner table, so I asked Yume-chan to pass the salt, and the whole table went quiet again.
"You're finally talking, huh?" Kisame asked, and I blushed.
"Aww, Yoku-chan, you have such a pretty voice!" Tobi said for the second time, clasping his hands under his chin affectionately.
"You guys are surprised now, but wait till she's completely used to you," Yume-chan said, "The trick is to get her to shut up."
"She can't be worse than Tobi, un," Deidara-kun said.
"You'd be surprised," Yume-chan said.
"She can't be fucking worse than you, though," Hidan said with a smirk.
"You'd be even more surprised," she replied.
"D-don't be mean," I stuttered.
"So how's your training coming along, both of you?" Konan asked. I gaped at her in surprise. She was actually interested? Obviously Yume-chan was first to answer.
"My Great Fireball set the whole room on fire!" she said gleefully, "It was so freaking awesome!"
"Don't exaggerate," Itachi said calmly.
"I'm not exaggerating," she said irritably, "You're so bloody mean. Give me a break, man."
"How about you, Yoku?" Konan asked.
"She can make ten Water Clones and walk on water," Kisame said with a smirk after I had gulped nervously, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
"Hey, man, I want to walk on water, too!" Yume-chan whined, glaring at Itachi.
"Your chakra control is terrible," he replied in a deep voice, making her blush and the rest of the table chuckle, "It'll take you years."
"I'll kick your ass one of these days," she said through gritted teeth, making several people chuckle.
"Good luck with that," Hidan said, "I can't even lay a fucking scratch on him."
"Yeah, but your scythe is a slow ass piece of metal that you must've picked up at a scrapyard," she snapped, causing Hidan to flush with anger and a few others to burst out laughing.
"I will fucking sacrifice you, woman," he growled.
"Bet Jashin-sama isn't the only one who wants me," she said confidently, winking seductively at him and causing me to chuckle in spite of myself.
"Don't be mean," I told her again, and this time they accepted my comment, and I smiled.
The following morning Deidara-kun woke us up, yet again, at dawn with a loud 'KATSU!' followed by a tiny bird exploding above our heads. I had grown somewhat used to it, but Yume-chan still swore every single time.
"G-good morning, D-Deidara-kun," I stuttered through Yume-chan's cussing.
"'Morning, un."
"I just wish you would stop that, you damned Faggot-Face!" Yume-chan yelled after her swearing, "If you want to wake me up, just open the curtains or something! And what the hell are you doing, just barging into our room?!"
"Don't be grumpy, Yume-chan," Tobi said, dragging the 'chan' out and causing her to roll her eyes.
"Get out. We'll be down in a minute," she snapped, and they exited.
As we got dressed, Yume-chan still had not stopped her grumpy muttering, and I glared at her for a moment.
"What?" she snapped.
"What's up with you?" I asked.
"I'm sick of that asshole with his 'un'ing and going 'KATSU!' for every damned thing," she said, poorly imitating Deidara's voice.
"I'll tell him to stop that," I said, "We can get an alarm clock."
"As if that'd be any better," she snapped.
I sighed and just let it go, tracing the familiar road to the room with the pool to wait for Kisame. I walked on the water, going in circles all around the pool before growing bored and making Water Clones.
I sparred with them for a long while, throwing them with kunai and shuriken and blocking their attacks until I finally defeated them, but Kisame had still not returned. I looked up lazily from where I was sitting at the edge of the pool when I heard knocks on the door, and saw Deidara-kun entering, and my heart lifted.
"Kisame-san is out on a last-minute solo mission. Sorry I could only tell you now, un," he said, and my heart fell again. I nodded and got up.
When I reached the door, he was still standing there, and looking at me oddly. I tried to brush it off by walking past him.
"Do you want to go outside for a while, un?" he asked. I turned around and stared at him, surprised. "Itachi-san is training with Naresome in the forest, and I thought you might want to go outside for a bit, un."
I smiled and nodded greedily. I missed the feel of a soft breeze and the hot sunlight on my skin; the grass tickling my bare feet and the sound of rustling willow tree leaves.
Deidara-kun took my sword and had a clay bird take it up to mine and Yume-chan's room before he led me down a few staircases until we got outside, and I felt my legs root me to the spot for a moment, savouring the moment of feeling sunlight for the first time in a long time. A faint smile tugged at his lips when he glanced back at me, and he led me to the edge of the large clearing.
"Can you run on the trees, un?" he asked. I wanted to say yes, and not seem weak, but I could vividly imagine running into a branch and the embarassment that would come with that, and I shook my head. He sighed, and I felt my stomach squirm uncomfortably. Was he going to take me inside again, telling me it was a bad idea after all?
I watched as he reached inside his pocket and gaped when he retrieved his hand and a small clay bird sat in his palm. He threw it in front of him and made a seal with his other hand, and its size amplified so that it was big enough to carry both of us.
At the thought I glanced at him, panicked. I didn't want to ride on a clay bird that looked like it didn't have anything on its body I could hold on to. Another smile tugged at his lips and he held out his hand. I was about to take it when I saw the open mouth in his palm, and fought the urge to pull a face in disgust. He rolled his eyes and the mouth closed. I hesitantly took his hand.
In a split second we were sitting on the clay bird's neck. I was sitting behind Deidara-kun, and he had wrapped my arms around his waist. Without warning, the bird took off, and I felt my heart squirm uncomfortably in my chest. I buried my face in his back and clutched tightly to his cloak.
'Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down', I kept telling myself.
"Yoku-san, look," he said over his shoulder, and I shook my head, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I won't let you fall, un."
I slowly turned my head, peeking from behind the cloth, but before I could get a proper view an unexpected gust of wind swung the bird dangerously, and I buried my face in his back again.
I heard Deidara-kun chuckle before we descended a little. "The wind won't do that anymore. Just look at the view, un."
I shook my head again, refusing, and flinched when I felt his warm hand over mine, assuring me. I felt like whining in protest, but the lump in my throat was as bad as ever. I risked another peek.
When I got over the general fear of being so high off the ground that, if I fell, I would literally break every bone in my body, I looked at the beauty of where we were.
There were mountain ranges visible just over the horizon, purple-blue in the distance. Coming from them ran a wide lake with clear blue water, shimmering in the warm sunlight, giving way to the a short-ish waterfall, and it was surrounded by willow trees. As we circled in the sky, the base came into view again, only its tip visible above the massive trees, densely packed together.
"The Village of Konoha is not far from the other side of those mountains," Deidara-kun said softly.
The bird swung dangerously, and I was pulled from my trance, burying my face in Deidara-kun's back again, and he chuckled, holding my hand tighter.
"Do you want to go to the lake, un?" he asked, and I nodded silently.
My legs were numb and trembling when I finally got back on the ground. Deidara-kun let the bird become small again before placing it inside the bag where the rest of his clay was. I was about to take a step forward when support failed me, and I fell to the ground.
My wolf ears and tail appeared as Deidara-kun caught me just before I hit the ground, and picked me up bridal style, carrying me to a willow tree on the bank of the lake and placing me in the shade.
"Maybe I overdid it a little, un," he said, sitting down beside me.
We silently stared out over the peaceful waters, where a fish or two plopped up to the surface before falling back into the water. A soft breeze blew into our faces, easing the heat of the sun. Finally my wolf ears and tail disappeared again.
"Why can't you talk to people you don't know, un?" Deidara-kun suddenly asked.
I looked sideways and up at him in surprise. I swallowed hard, trying to ease the lump in my throat, and managed to choke out, "I-it's a long s-story."
"Will I be able to hear it some time, un?" he asked, still looking out over the lake. I nodded.
More silent moments passed. They were a little strained and uncomfortable. After a few minutes a clay bird appeared, carrying a few fruits, half of which Deidara-kun handed to me with a faint smile, and we ate together in more silence.
When I finished I got up and walked onto the water. Soon I heard Deidara-kun's footsteps on the water, following me, so I turned around, swallowing hard and forcing out the words.
"I-I'm just g-going to run a-around for a w-while," I stuttered.
"Why would you do that, un?" he asked.
I cleared my throat, swallowing hard and frowning, "I-I love w-water, and I love r-running, so I-I'll run on w-water f-for the first t-time."
He looked at me oddly for a moment, and I felt a blush creep onto my face, followed by the annoying twitch of my head and tailbone signalling the appearance of the ears and tail. I turned around to hide my heated face, and started jogging, enjoying the feel of the cool breeze and the water sprinkling on my shins. Soon I heard footsteps beside me.
"I'll run with you, un," Deidara-kun said.
Thanks to Kisame, I was a lot more fit than I used to be, which meant I could run a lot longer than I used to, and it gave me time to think over everything. Finally having a clear mind, I realized I would gladly trade a family that only spoiled and pretended to love me for a day of running beside Deidara-kun.
I did miss the rest of mine and Yume-chan's group of friends, the other six who were the only people in the world who I actually talked with—I didn't talk to my family because I hated them—without stuttering and trembling.
A few hours passed in which I had only taken a few breaks, and none of them were longer than twenty minutes. The sun was setting, and the sky was starting to fill with colour, so I fell down against the trunk of one of the willow trees, watching as Deidara-kun fell down beside me.
I wiped sweat from my brow as the sky got brighter. Soon it was simply a bliss of colour. It was lit with a baby-blue and creamy white background while long, thin clouds of purple-blue seemed to be painted over it. Creamy pink danced with a sea of bright orange, stroking the horizon over the trees.
"Wow," I breathed, surprised that there was no lump in my throat and momentarily forgetting who was beside me. That is, until strong, warm fingers entwined with mine.
I felt a deep blush matching some of the colours in the sky, and my ears and tail annoyingly decided to appear again. Deidara-kun chuckled, pulling his fingers from mine and instead wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer, and we watched the sky until the last ray of light faded.
"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Hidan yelled.
Those were the first things we heard as we entered the sitting room, fingers entwined, where the Jashinist had been pacing up and down, clutching at his head, until his eyes rested on us. Itachi was sitting in his armchair, staring at the stars outside as usual, and Yume-chan sat across from him, glaring at us irrtably.
"We were at the lake, un," Deidara-kun said simply, leading me to one of the couches sideways facing the plasma screen, not letting go of my hand.
"The—the lake?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Hidan yelled, "You can't go waltzing out of the base, all lovey-dovey, without telling anyone!"
"And why is that?" Deidara-kun asked, sounding bored, "You were all out on missions, un."
"The fuck?!" the Jashinist yelled, "Because the Leader will eat your face for dinner if he finds out that you let her out of the base, that's why!"
"We're allowed out of the base if we're escorted by someone, you sacrifice-mad prick," Yume-chan said irritably, surprising me. I thought she liked Hidan.
"Did you just-"
"Let it go, Hidan," Kakuzu said from the corner, where he had been silently counting money.
"Why do you care if my face is eaten, anyway, un?" Deidara-kun asked in a drawling voice.
"Because then I won't have the fucking pleasure of sacrificing you to Jashin-sama," he replied, clutching his necklace.
"Yoku-chan!" a loud cry sounded from the hallway, but it was clearly on the other side, "Yoku-chaaaaan! Where have you gone?"
"She's in the sitting room, you blithering idiot!" Yume-chan yelled while Hidan was still silently fuming. Instantly Tobi appeared, and he fell down beside me, pulling my hand from Deidara-kun's grasp and gripping both my hands tightly.
"Are you okay, Yoku-chan?" he asked, panicked, "Are you hurt? Were you and Deidara-senpai kidnapped?"
I shook my head, assuring him I'm fine, just as Deidara-kun said in a voice plainly filled with hateful anger, "Tobi …"
"Senpai?" Tobi said, letting my hand go.
At the look of Deidara-kun's expression and the small white spider in the palm of his hand, Tobi disappeared down the hall in a blur. Before Deidara-kun could let the spider start running after the masked boy, I placed my hand over his, gently shaking my head.
"Yoku, take your boyfriend and hold your romance elsewhere," Yume-chan said irritably, "You're annoying me."
"I will blast you to hell if you say one more word, Naresome, un," Deidara-kun said.