When The Psychotic Wolf Howls

This is a One-shot fan-fic I wrote for my friend, Amber.

In return she crafted a picture of a character in my own original story.

My goal had been ten pages but it ended up being thirty-eight.

So I've divided this into three parts.

This is part two of three.

I only posted it so my technique is displayed in case I decide to accept commission work in the future.

The main character is Amber's OC, "Yuki Ookami." She is a mentally unstable woman of 17 with many, many odd manners and issues. I worked with what she'd given me, haha.

Enjoy, y'all!

"What did you DO, Yuki?" Deidara's voice came from across the room. The sound of the door closing marked the end of the question.

Yuki hadn't even heard him enter the room.

"What are you talking about?" Yuki asked, her mind not registering what she possibly could have done to make him so suddenly distressed.

"Hidan! He's having a fit and shouting about some incident regarding an interrupted ritual. I'm guessing you had something to do with it."

Yuki titled her head. "What makes you think that?"

"The blood I'm seeing from the injury on your shoulder."

"Oh. That." Yuki thought for a moment. "HE started it!"

Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Yuki stopped by Hidan's room," Tobi informed, wanting his teammate to know what was going on.

"Hm. You better stick with me when you travel throughout the base, at least until he calms down. If he gets you alone, he'll kill you, regardless of your purpose here. By the way-"

Yuki's out-of-the-blue embrace halted his speech. "Kay!" she exclaimed happily, arms around him. Having him follow her around the base was definitely not something she was going to oppose.

Deidara continued, not seeming phased by her behavior. "Anyway, Pein wanted to speak with you now, about what you'll be doing. I'll take you to him."

Yuki nodded, her expression as joyful as a giddy school girl's. The voices, the shadows, the general insanity, caused mood shifts sometimes, which led to Yuki's unstable self being rather excitable. Deidara didn't really mind, though.

Compared to the gloomy atmosphere the other Akatsuki members emanated, Yuki was a breath of fresh air. Charming, if not a little crazy.

And cute, too.

"I'm kidnapping people?" Yuki said, wide-eyed gaze focused on the leader, who was masked for the most part by the dark shadows in the room.

"Yes. I'm sure you can handle that, with your abilities. You will bring them back here where they will be questioned. That said, once Deidara reveals the location of this base to you, you are not permitted to leave us. We will kill you if you even try."

Yuki was going to answer but her eyes locked on Deidara. Specifically, his hands. Were those...mouths?

Her eyes widened only slightly as she gazed at him, then her stare moved up to his face. He smirked, lifting his left hand to present his open palm. The mouth stuck its tongue out at her in a playful gesture.

Yuki grinned. "AWESOME!!"

Pein cleared his throat. "Then you understand?"

Yuki turned. "Uh, what?"

"Do you understand your purpose here?" Pein repeated, annoyed.

"What purpose?" she asked, tilting her head, having completely forgotten the topic at hand.

The leader sighed. "Leave my sight. Deidara, you'll accompany her on her first outing so she can comprehend what it is her job is."

Deidara only nodded and took the woman's arm to lead her out of the room.

"Yuki, you should try to pay more attention," he said, walking down the hallway with her.

She didn't seem to hear him, though, for she was staring worriedly at the blood on her arm. Some of it had dried, but she hadn't properly dressed the wound yet.

"We'll get you cleaned up, then we're leaving. I'll leave it to you to subdue our target. I'm only coming with you this once. Then you're going to be on your own, think you can handle-"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed happily, embracing his cloaked arm as they walked.

"Hm." Deidara rolled his eyes, guiding her to one of the bathrooms to tend to her injuries.

"There." Deidara had just finished bandaging the cut on the woman's arm, and she had cleaned away the blood herself. Yuki was sitting on the sink counter top much like a child would. Deidara had offered to just get her a chair, but she refused.

"Now all that's left are those clothes," he said, looking her up and down, thinking.

Yuki could feel her face redden slightly. Thoughts emerged in her mind which did not help calm her nerves. She was seventeen, after all, not seven.

"What about them?" she asked, watching him.

"Well we can't have you walking around in ripped fishnet, can we?" he reasoned.

Yuki tilted her head. "I don't know...can we?"

Deidara half smiled and shook his head. "No. Wait here, I'll get you something." He left without a sound.

Yuki obeyed and sat quietly, swinging her feet as she looked around the room. It was white for the most part, very clean looking. This surprised her, considering the only members of the Akatsuki she'd seen so far were men. "Maybe they're all just really neat," she thought aloud, then shook her head. "No, that can't be it. Maybe they're...gay." She giggled at the thought.

"Sure, that's possible. A group of men living together in some secret hide-away, no women, not even women servants. They don't look like neat-freaks to me, and people back home said that if a man was really tidy he was probably not quite straight."

With a sad thought Yuki's expression changed. "And all the good men are either married, taken, or gay. Just my luck. No wonder he's so cute...". And what was up with Hidan? Keeping his chest exposed even with that cloak. It just screamed, Look at me.

Deidara then returned, holding articles of clothing over his arm. It was the same uniform the Akatsuki all wore. Cloak, shoes, pants, all were the same, only in a smaller size. Before he could even think to set the clothes on the counter next to her, he was halted by her question.

"Deidara, are you, uh, ya know, gay...or something?" she asked.

Deidara gave her a strange look for several moments before responding. "No."

"Are you sure?" Yuki persisted.

"Hm. Yes, I'm sure. What makes you think that?"

Yuki shrugged. "You live with all men. And your bathroom is really neat. Whenever I went to a guy friend's house back home, his was always messy, like a tornado had swept through it. And I haven't seen any maids. Then there's Hidan. He seemed near insulted by the idea of a female stripper....And you're really cute, so I thought you must be-"

"We do have a female member with us. Her name is Konan, hm. She's leader's partner."

Yuki sighed. "Well are ANY of you, then? Cause I don't want to say anything to make any of you uncomfortable or-"

Deidara kissed her then, pressing his lips to hers just firm enough to get her to stop questioning him. Yuki froze, and missed her chance to react because he pulled away, just like that.

"Believe me. We're ALL straight. God, you have some weird thoughts in that head of yours." He looked amused, a smile on his face. "Think we're a satanic cult, too?"

Yuki smiled nervously. "It may have crossed my mind."

Deidara rolled his eyes and set the clothes on her lap. "Put these on. I'll wait outside. Then, we're off."

Yuki nodded, picking up the black shirt she'd be wearing under the cloak. When the door closed, she grinned happily.

"There's your target," Deidara said, crouching on the tree branch next to Yuki. "Hm, he doesn't look too strong. Think you can handle this on your own?"

Yuki nodded, a determined fire in her mismatched eyes. "Yeah." She leaped from the tree, landing in the section of the forest the other ninja was walking.

Upon her swift landing in front of him, the man stepped back in caution. "Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowed. He'd been on a scouting mission for the Waterfall Village, as was displayed by the headband wrapped around his right arm. He wore a blue vest over a gray and black shirt and gray pants, with blue open-toed shoes. The blond man looked to be in his thirties, but Yuki wasn't afraid of him.

"I'm here to pick you up," Yuki explained, drawing water from her pack. The top fell to the ground as water poured out of it and into the air, already filled with chakra. The ice bird from before appeared, and it flew gracefully toward the man.

He eyed it and the seventeen year old suspiciously. "Go away, girl, I'm on errands." He turned on his heel to walk away and resume scouting, but before he could take a step, a wall of ice solidified in front of him so quickly that he almost hit it. "What the-"

"You should just come quietly," Yuki said, twirling her index finger in a circle, causing her ice bird to move in circles around him.

The blond man scoffed, "If it's a fight you want, you got it." He retrieved a kunai from his pack and was about to strike when the ice bird dissolved into water in front of him. Its size grew, and in seconds there was a giant mass of sparkling water before him, only feet away. It surrounded him on all sides.

Yuki cupped her hands together as if to enclose air, and the water did the same. The sphere became smaller until it was suffocating her opponent, suspended in a ball of water. He struggled for a few moments, and Deidara landed beside her, watching his movements become weaker.

"Hm. You know we can't interrogate a dead man, right, Yuki?"

Yuki blinked. "Oh, yeah." She released the water around the other ninja and walked over to him. Too fatigued to move away, Yuki took advantage of his state and knocked him upside the head with her fist, succeeding in making his world go dark.

"There." She smiled and some of the water still suspended returned to her canteen, while the rest dissolved into the air. Yuki picked up the top of the bottle and put it on, then pointed to the man unconscious on the forest floor.

"You don't expect me to carry a man double my weight all the way back to your base, do you?"

Deidara smirked. "You'll be on your own after today. Find a way to get it done, hm."

Yuki stared at him for a moment, before forming a whip with water, partially ice. She wrapped it around the man's waist and began walking. Behind her dragged the body of the man destined for torture and death.

Deidara smirked. "That works."

Yuki sat in the living room of the base later that day, after delivering the captive to Pein. She'd not wished to stick around to observe the torture he was bound to receive. After all, it was that same treatment she was most likely going to get once everything was over.

Physical torture, pain...

They'll kill you slowly.

You won't have a purpose,

No place here.

Just like back home.

Your life will be meaningless.

What would Kaji think?

Oh, that's right, she doesn't know.

None of them know.

They all hate you, Yuki.

They all shun you.

Such a retched person,

Stealing your own sister's eye.

How selfish.

And look what you've amounted to.

This.

Living among criminals.

I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you.

For all I know,

They're secretly plotting against me.

Yes, that's probably what they're doing.

Plotting my demise, my death, even now.

And soon the shadows...

Oh yes, let's not forget your companions, Yuki.

The shadows will consume you completely.

And there will be nothing left.

Not for you.

Not for your clan, though they wouldn't want you now.

And especially not for Deidara-

"Shut up!!!" Yuki screamed, covering her ears with both hands in an attempt to block out her innermost thoughts. They were her thoughts, most of them rising to the surface from her subconscious, thoughts she had little control over. But they were always present.

Suddenly Deidara was in the room, standing in the doorway. "What's going on, Yuki?"

Yuki turned her head to look at him, surprised at his sudden appearance.

"What?" she replied, confused as to what he was referring to.

"You screamed," he said flatly, waiting for an answer.

"Oh." So she had. She just wanted her thoughts to be still. Just for a little while. Of course, it was hard to maintain them when a shadow was slowly eating away at your mind, your soul, your very being.

The voices.

"Just shut up!" Yuki jumped up from her spot on the couch, strangely orange in color, and bolted for her room. She hadn't paid attention to what hallway she'd gone down but with a blessing from above she managed to find her way to the right door, which she swiftly entered and locked behind her.

Deidara was left standing in the dim living room, dumbfounded. "What did I say, hm?"

Dinner was awkward that night. Not because Deidara was there, having to face Yuki after what she had so oddly exclaimed. Not because the rest of the organization was there, as Tobi was the only other person in the kitchen. And not because Yuki had threatened to assault Tobi at random via newspaper if he probed into the goings-on between her and Deidara again. No, none of that was what made things awkward.

It was Hidan.

He was somewhere in the base, fuming, seething. Yuki felt safe by Deidara's side, of course, and that was the problem.

"I can't sleep in my room," Yuki bluntly pointed out, a topic Deidara knew was coming. "He'll get me in there."

She took a bite of her Honey-O cereal and set her spoon in the half-empty bowl impatiently, chewing almost angrily. "Probably kill me in my sleep."

Deidara sighed inaudibly. "Hm. Well I don't think you should sleep in my room." He took a drink from the cup next to him on the table, though Yuki didn't know what it contained, and didn't care enough to ask.

"Then WHERE do you propose I sleep? You said yourself he's out to get me. Until he calms down, you have to protect me. Apparently he can't die, so my attacks won't do anything to him."

Tobi nearly bounced in his seat. "Yuki can sleep in Tobi's room!" he exclaimed, cheery.

Yuki's hand twitched, its own mind willing it to pick up the newspaper beside her and smack the man with it. Was he a man, though? He acted more like a child at times.

"Fine, hm. You can stay with me until he calms down. Maybe he'll take out his masochistic rage on someone else and things will settle. But you're getting the floor, that's it."

Yuki raised an eyebrow, taking another bite of cereal. She nearly choked it down in order to answer him. "You expect me to sleep on the floor? It's fucking cold, Deidara. This place feels like it's underground, or something."

Deidara shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

Yuki sighed. "Fine."

"Can Tobi join in, too?" the masked man asked. Though they couldn't see his face, Yuki would've bet he had a hopeful grin on his face.

"No," Deidara replied, taking another drink. The only reason he'd agreed to Yuki sleeping with him in the first place was to keep Tobi's paws off her.

"Oh, is it because Yuki likes Deidara and-"

Whack!!

"Shut up, Tobi!" Yuki ordered, swatting in the head the ninja beside her with the rolled-up newspaper.

Deidara smirked at this, but didn't say anything.

"That was a private conversation," Yuki whispered, angry. She glared at Tobi, at a mask she couldn't pierce, even with the strong optical ability of the Dragon Wheel, which allowed her to see chakra.

Yes, she'd briefly mentioned Deidara during her previous conversation with the masked wonder. Tobi had listened intently to her girly chatter, savoring the strawberries she'd put on the pancakes before actually digging into them. It was shortly after that she had brought up the story about the legend of her clan between the dragon and the wolf.

Yuki remembered describing the blond man as a number of things, including cute, sexy, and considerate, but never once did she give Tobi permission to disclose her thoughts.

God I must be crazy, thinking I like this guy, a criminal, a killer....

"I'll prepare a few blankets for you," Deidara announced, getting up from the table. Yuki looked up at him suddenly, as if she were not expecting him to say so. She tilted her head.

"I may be a missing-nin but I'm not heartless, regardless of your thoughts about our assumed homosexual satanic cult," he joked, walking to the door. He glanced at her only once before leaving the room, contemplation expressed on his handsome face.

Yuki smiled sheepishly at his reply, setting down the paper, and finished eating her cereal in silence.

Of course with Tobi present, it didn't last long.

"Deidara likes Yuki," Tobi stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Yuki nearly choked on her Honey-O's. "W-what?"

Tobi flailed his arms enthusiastically. "Is Yuki happy about the news? Tobi's being good so Yuki is happy!"

Yuki stared at him a moment before answering. "Uh...yeah, I am. But...how do you know that he likes me? Are you sure it isn't the friend type of like?" she asked, her heart sinking a little at the possibility.

"Tobi spoke with Deidara earlier and when Tobi asked how Yuki was doing he said he liked Yuki's spirit, and that he wanted to keep Yuki around because she is interesting!" he finished happily.

Yuki could feel a small blush on her face. "Really? Well...he's a criminal, Tobi. You all are. I'm not bound by morals but I know my clan wouldn't appreciate knowing that I'm here. If they knew I was living with and in love with someone like him, they'd-"

"Yuki said before her clan already disowned her. What would be the difference? Yuki makes Deidara smile. He tries to hide it, but Tobi knows." He nodded, seeming so full of energy that Yuki thought he was going to fall out of his chair.

Yuki finished her cereal and stood up suddenly. "I guess there isn't a difference. Not that it matters. I wouldn't have a chance with him, anyway. He could have any woman he wanted." She made her way out of the kitchen, sulking not-too-subtly in her exit.

Walking down a dim hallway, she turned a random corner, running her hand along the wall, tracing over cracks and lines with her index finger. Amidst her thoughts she sang quietly to herself, not sensing or seeing the chakra of anyone nearby.

"Along came a maiden, dressed in white. Afflicted and blind, gone half her sight. The maiden became a thief, out of envy she said. Along came a maiden, dressed in red. Beyond herself she lived, never once holding back. Along came a maiden, dressed in black-"

"A singing bird come to play?"

Yuki froze mid-step in the hallway, hand still on the cold wall. She knew that voice.

"Hi-"

A hand over her mouth muffled what she would've said. Surprise filled her face and alarms went off in her already chaotic mind.

"It's almost time for my daily prayer, bitch. You'll make a nice present for Jashin," the masochist growled into her ear, and began dragging the woman down the hall towards a candle-lit room already prepared for a special sacrifice.

Deidara walked into the kitchen not long after, only to see Tobi sharpening a knife. "Hm. Tobi, where's Yuki?"

Tobi shrugged. "Yuki was sad, and went for a walk somewhere."

Deidara's exposed eye widened a small degree. "You idiot! Why'd you let her leave, huh? She'll get herself killed!" He rushed out of the room and made his way down the same hallway Yuki had gone down, sensing a strong amount of chakra in that direction. While running he took clay into his hand and the mouth concealed within began molding it for combat.

"Ya know," Yuki said, looking around the room, "killing me won't accomplish anything."

"Shut up," Hidan spat, drawing the finishing touches on the sacrificial symbol painted in blood on the floor. It was a circle with a triangle inside, with a few spare marks here and there.

Why is there always a creepy as hell sacrificial symbol like this? And Deidara thought I was crazy for thinking these people a satanic cult? This guy's more messed up than I am. And that's saying something. Wait, who am I talking to? Me, of course. Oh, yeah. I should probably do something about my current...predicament. Yes, I really should. You think so? Of course. Unless you want to die.

Yuki's thought process was halted with what one might call logic, or extremely close to it. Consciously she had to start talking to try to persuade or even distract the man before her from the idea of her brutal death.

"Violence isn't the-"

"What did I say, bitch?" He stood up, glaring at her. "Was 'shut up' not clear enough for you?"

Yuki thought for a moment, then decided to ignore his question.

"Do you know what anger management is?"

"Are you fucking with m-"

"There's help out there, for people with...issues like yours," Yuki assured, trying to get loose from the rope that tied her to the leg of the bed in the room.

"You're annoying as hell," Hidan said, picking up his scythe. Yuki's eyes locked on it immediately.

"What?" she murmured, staring at the gleam of the silver above her.

Hidan smirked evilly, cutting the rope behind her. He nudged her back with the blades, and Yuki stood, taking a few steps forward, prolonging her life as much as possible by obeying, doing what she thought able. "Lay in that circle," he said, waiting, weapon poised.

Yuki raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Hell no. There's blood all over the floor," she complained, noticing the cut on his chest he'd gotten the liquid from.

"Do it," he growled, glaring once again. "Or I'll just kill you where you stand."

"That anger really is something you should take care of," Yuki insisted, looking almost sympathetically at him, no sense of danger invading her mind.

She swore she saw Hidan's eye twitch. "I swear to Jashin if you don't-"

"Breathe," Yuki said, exaggerating the word to a horribly large degree. "I don't want to fight you again because you can't control your little fits of rage."

With a look of pure hatred Hidan grabbed her cloak and threw her down onto the symbol made of blood. Yuki yelped from surprise and looked up, watching in what seemed like slow motion as he brought his scythe down upon her.

She shut her eyes, not wanting to see the bloodshed as she died, but a loud explosion pierced the air. The impact sent Hidan flying backwards into a wall with a painful-sounding crash, leaving a confused Yuki sitting in blood, surrounded by smoke.

Arms embraced her and lifted her off the ground, to Yuki's delight. "Who-"

"It's me," Deidara's voice replied. "Quiet, I'll get you out of here." Yuki nodded, though in the thick smoke she doubted he could see her.

"Fuck!" Hidan shouted, clearly more enraged now, if that was possible. "Deidara! Give her back!"

"Screw you, Hidan. Don't touch her again, or-"

"Or what?" Hidan challenged, emerging from near the wall to within mere feet from the blond man, a smirk on his face.

"Or I'll sick Tobi on you. He'll follow you on missions, around the base, in town, everywhere, regardless of what Pein says."

"That little mother fucker is worse than her," Hidan hissed. "Keep him the fuck away from me, Deidara. Don't you dare-"

"Then don't touch Yuki. Ever. Again. Got it?"

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Get the hell out of my god-damned room before I fucking kill you both."

Deidara saw his grip on his scythe tighten, and he swiftly left, holding a grateful Yuki in his arms.

Once in the hallway, a blushing Yuki asked, "Is Tobi really that annoying?"

Deidara chuckled. "Hidan wants to kill him whenever he's in the same room. We don't mind him as much, but as you know Hidan has a bit of a temper. Sticking Tobi with him for more than a few days would drive him completely insane, hm. Though he doesn't have far to go, anyway."

Yuki's hold on the man's cloak intensified, and she nodded in response. "Where are we going?"

Deidara turned a corner and glanced down at her as they approached a door, a little ways down the hall.

"YOU are going to get that blood off of you and I'll take the cloak off your hands so it can be cleaned. We have spares."

Yuki giggled and a small but firm voice in her head whispered, "You like him." She wasn't sure if it was the insanity talking, the shadows, or if it was her subconscious, voicing its desire to share her feelings.

But he was a murderer, part of the most wanted group of criminals in the five great lands, from what she'd heard. Of course, Yuki never heard very much, mostly because of her constantly-distracted state of mind. Though she was smart enough to understand that sometimes you were better off not knowing.

Yeah, but I'm not really sure if he likes me the same way, Yuki thought in response to the quiet voice inside her. He kills probably on a weekly basis...romance with me is the last thing that would be on his mind-

"So you want a shower buddy?" Deidara said humorously, smiling playfully.

Yuki's eyes got wide. "The...shower? You and...".

The blond man chuckled. "You're funny, hm. I meant, do you want me to stay in the room? So you don't fear an attack while you're cleaning away the blood."

Yuki shook her head, but reinforced her agreement with words. Words and hopeful eyes. Eyes communicating something the blond barely picked up on. However, what she said contradicted her expression.

"Can't you wait outside, on the other side of the door?" she asked, curiosity in her tone.

Deidara would've shrugged had he not been carrying the woman. "I could, I suppose. It wouldn't be entirely safe for you. We're the Akatsuki, Yuki. It would be a simple task to find another way into a room besides the door."

Yuki blinked, thinking. "Oh."

"So you don't mind me standing guard? I won't be looking at you, or anything," Deidara reassured. A small part of him wanted to, undoubtedly, but he liked keeping her in a good mood, as that was the state in which she was most helpful to the group. If she spotted him peeking she might just blow her top. And no one needed that.

"Fuck yeah," Yuki mumbled, watching the cracks in the dark wall pass by them.

Deidara didn't catch what she said, though he didn't really care. "Well?"

"Uh, yeah I don't mind," Yuki said, smiling nervously up at him. Deidara gave her a strange expression before they finally reached the door to the bathroom.

----------

The blood from the would've-been sacrifice had come into contact with more than the woman's cloak. It had seeped down her arms, covered her ankles and feet, and much of it was soaking her hair from when she'd been pushed down. Her hands were red, though she restrained from making any sort of joke about it.

Deidara had left the bathroom – clean, as it had been before – to get a cloak and new set of clothes, the same size as they had been. He set them on the counter and after closing the door and locking it, turned, facing the door, letting her undress and step into the shower. Mist filled the room quickly, and when he heard the shower curtain pulled closed, he took it as the "okay" to let his eyes wander the room, keeping watch for anyone that might try to start something. He thought of Zetsu, and his ability to conceal himself in objects, like trees, or even the ground, to hide expertly without a trace. And knowing him, Deidara wouldn't even be able to sense his chakra.

Yuki could see it, though. Chakra. Her partially blind left eye, a deadly solid red color scarred by black needles, gave her this ability. She wasn't fond of announcing this power to others. Not because she thought it unwise (because that would be implying she had logical thought more than half the time), but rather because no one really asked her about it. Not that such a topic could be easily introduced in a normal conversation.

"Say, look at that eye, eh? Pretty strange looking, if you ask me," the inquirer would say. "Speaking of asking, mind if I ask you a question? What in the world happened to you? Right eye green as the brightest jade, the other like blood. And those markings? What, a surgery gone wrong? Is that not disorienting?"

And how was she supposed to reply to something like that? With sarcasm, perhaps? "Yes, being half blind is a little more than disorienting. But hey, I can still function, I can still fight, so help me God. And if you call theft of your sibling's eye in exchange for power 'surgery' then yes! Yes it WAS surgery! It was pretty fucking painful but look where it's got me so far! I've landed myself in a shitty hole with murderers and when everything is all said and DONE, God knows where I'll be, or even if I'll be at all! Fuck, what a life, eh? I just love this eye. Red, the color of blood, the color of death. Now a days I only have the presence of that truth and the company of the forest animals. Except the squirrels," she would add with contempt, "they are NOT my friends, those bastards."

Yuki laughed at the thought, vividly imagining such a confrontation. She ran some kind of fruity-smelling shampoo through her ragged brown hair, the red highlights faded in with the brown due to the water. On the other side of the shower curtain, Deidara refrained from asking what it was the woman found so amusing. Because with Yuki, it could be anything. And as the young kunoichi would agree, he knew that sometimes you were better off not knowing.

"You almost done?" Deidara asked, impatient. His tone of voice did not carry through to Yuki, though. The sound of the falling water muffled it to a good degree.

"Say what?" Yuki called, rinsing the last of a conditioner through her brown hair.

"Never mind," he said, sighing. I wonder what kind of hidden flower is on the other side of that curtain – no, don't think that. A part of him replied to his thoughts with, What, too tempting, Mr. Terrorist?

Yuki finger-combed the hair that covered her left eye, then did the same to the rest of its choppy length, finally shutting off the water. She sighed, relaxed, momentarily forgetting there was a grown man on the other side of the curtain.

She reached out for the towel placed on a hook on the wall next to the shower. No sooner had she brought it to her, though, when the world before her started to dim. Her vision blurred in and out, and dark forms appeared around her on all sides. She felt like she was slowly being swallowed up in a sinister darkness.

"Deidara?" she said, calling out. Or, she thought she'd called him. Her voice was a whisper. The blond had heard her cry, though, and turned. "Yeah, what-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the woman's shadow against the shower curtain. It was only barely defined by the light in the room, but it was definitely distinguishable. It wasn't the delicate, curvy form of a lady, but a dragon. A mean one.

"What the fuck is that?" he said, muscles tensing in preparation for attack. Yuki shook her head furiously, trying to bring the light back into her world. The shadows, taking canine forms now, only lunged at her, causing her skin to feel a mixture of hot and cold. The dizziness intensified ten-fold.

So many emotions stirred within her that it was hard for her to decipher which of them she should be feeling. Sadness? Worry? Joy? Anger? Anger, yes, that felt right. But it felt dark, too.

She didn't have time to resist the impulse. She struck out against the shadows with all of her current physical strength, using the water vapor in the air and from her canteen on the floor nearby to create small daggers of ice, one after another, shooting them in all directions. Some pierced the curtain, and Deidara had to move fast to avoid them. "What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Just go away!" she screamed, though not at him. The Akatsuki member wasn't going to leave, however. He didn't plan to, even if she was having some sort of episode. He wasn't going to leave her alone like...that.

"What's wrong?" he asked, shouting. More spikes of ice collided with the wall beside him, and a few lodged themselves in the door to his right.

It only took a dozen more shooting in his direction to tear the curtain, and in what seemed like slow motion, it fell to the floor, revealing a furious woman attacking...nothing.

There appeared to be nothing there, and yet she was fighting against something, or maybe someone, that he could not see. But it was clear she could see it, whatever it was.

"What are you doing?" Deidara asked, dodging another ice dagger. She didn't have the best aim due to her current state of mind. All she felt was the need to attack with force, not accuracy.

"The shadows, these wolves, can't you see them?!" Yuki shouted, turning to him, not realizing she was naked. She hadn't had time to wrap the towel around her once the shadows had appeared. She also didn't realize the form her own shadow had taken. A fierce dragon lay on the floor, flat, unmoving. The place where its eyes were...glowed. It was faint, but it was there. It was unnatural, and more than a little creepy to the man in the room with her.

"What shadows?" Deidara asked, too busy keeping an eye out for stray ice to drink in the image before him. He wasn't too concerned, though, because the way things seemed to be going between them, he'd get her clothes off another day.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'what shadows'?! They're right-" She turned back to fend off what she thought she'd seen with peripheral vision, but in a flash they were gone. There was nothing there. The dragon had disappeared in an instant.

"They were-" Yuki took a step backward, and before she could stop it, she fainted. With his speed Deidara easily caught her before she hit the floor. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her, then grabbed the clothes she was to wear. A hint of concern could be seen on his face as he carried her out of the room and down a few hallways to his own bedroom.

He didn't see the harm in letting her sleep on the actual bed, just for a little while. Until she woke up. Then she'd be on the floor, as he'd told her before. Once on the soft covers, he set her clothes on the nightstand, and placed the cloak over her to keep her semi-warm. "Hm. What an odd woman."

He walked out of the room, only glancing back once before he shut the door quietly behind him. He made his way to the bathroom to clean up the mess she'd made, and replace the now completely torn curtain. The door would have to be replaced, too. There were several holes and dents from where her ice daggers and spikes had pierced it. It was true what they often said – anger blinded people. For Yuki that was more literal, but nonetheless true.

"Kakuzu isn't going to be too happy about this," Deidara thought aloud, realizing he was going to have to add new bathroom supplies to the list of expenses for the group. As he cleaned up, his eyes fixed on the tiled floor for a moment, remembering that dragon. It was dark, looming, haunting in its image.

Could that have been a jutsu of some kind? He doubted it. It was something...evil.

In any case, she was going to have to suck it up and recover from...what that was. She had another "pick up" tomorrow, and Deidara had made it his responsibility to make sure she did her job. If she didn't, she'd be deemed useless and killed. And regardless of how the rest of the group felt about her sudden presence, that was the last thing he wanted. Not that he was going to tell her that. Oh, no.

That would make him seem soft. Very unfitting of a strong shinobi. He was keeping watch over her simply because the leader valued her as a powerful pawn, a tool to get things done more efficiently.

Of course, tools had many uses.