A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me!

I worked really hard on this chapter, and I'm trying to update as fast as possible.

I really hope you like this chapter! Slight fluff ahead!

:D


By the time Akira had reached Pein's office, Deidara was already standing outside the door, arms folded and tapping his foot with mock impatience. She opened her mouth to scold him but before the words arrived, a deep voice from beyond the door called for them to enter.

Pein was sat back in his desk chair, his body tilted towards Konan, who had positioned herself on the couch. The blue haired woman smiled warmly as the pair stopped before their leader, and Akira couldn't help but feel a slight sense of déjà vu.

Shuffling through some of the papers on his desk, Pein plucked out a pale yellow page with a faded photograph in the top corner. He handed the page to Deidara and eyed him cautiously.

'You may recognise this man, Deidara. He's been causing quite a stir in Iwa, claiming to have received a detailed tip-off on the Akatsuki location. We can't be sure how true his words are but I'd like to be on the safe side. Therefore, your mission is to silence him, without making a scene.' His eyes narrowed at the last part at her partner.

Akira glanced at the blonde beside her, once again confused. His brows knitted together as he glared at the sheet. She chewed on her lip before her curiosity got the better of her, but as they left the room and made their way to the exit, she could no longer resist.

'Deidara?'

'Hmm?' He tilted his head in her direction but his gaze was fixed straight ahead as they left the base and made their way into the forestry.

'What did Pein mean when he said you'd recognise the target?'

Deidara sighed. He'd known deep down that she was going to be quizzing him for the majority of the journey, but he'd clung to the hope that she'd be too nervous to think of them being on her first mission. He pondered how to word his reply, not wanting to give her his life story, he settled on a short statement. 'He's just someone I knew before Akatsuki, yeah,'

'An old friend?'

Damn. This was going to be harder than he'd thought. 'Not really. He was a neighbour,'

'So you're from Iwa? I thought I recognised your headband,' She recalled the time when she had been living in the land of Waterfalls, a group of Iwa ninja had stopped in their village to pick up some supplies. She hesitated, wondering whether or not to ask a more personal question. Shrugging internally, she figured if she was going to be his partner for a while they may as well get to know each other. 'W-why did you leave your village?'

'You sure ask a lot of questions, don't you?' He snapped.

'S-sorry,' She replied meekly, fixing her eyes on her feet as she trampled the grass trail softly.

Deidara huffed, irritated that her easy submission made him feel so guilty. He argued with himself for a few steps, until reaching the conclusion that if she didn't hear it from him, Hidan would probably end up blabbing his life's secrets in an attempt to piss him off anyway. 'I sort of had to leave. Blowing up most of the village and stealing a forbidden kinjutsu isn't exactly something they agree with in Iwa,'

Surprised by his sudden honesty, Akira risked a glance at his face. He was watching her, waiting for her reaction with an unreadable expression. 'Why did you do that?'

'Ha, you should have seen it. The sky lit up with the most beautiful, flaming colours and the fires hissed and roared. All for the art of a single moment…' Ignoring her question, his eyes lit up as he remembered the scene and his lips curled up into crooked grin.

She smiled back, admiring his passion. It had been a long time since she'd seen that sort of enthusiasm over something that, to her, seemed so trivial.

They walked in silence for a couple of hours, both lost in thought as they reminisced. Suddenly, Deidara piped up.

'I have a much quicker way of travelling, you know. Keep going at this pace and it'll take us all week, yeah,' He smirked and, reaching into his ninja pouch, began to clench and unclench his fist, rolling a small white ball of clay in his palm. Akira watched him intrigued, and she could have sworn she saw something pink slip out of his hand, just for a second.

After a few seconds he was finished, and produced a small but perfectly crafted bird. Bringing his hands together, made a quick hand sign and the bird disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, she was shocked to see an exact replica of the little model but on a much larger scale standing before them.

He grinned at her reaction and leapt up onto the bird's broad back, beckoning at her to copy him. Reluctantly, she raised an eyebrow, but complied against her better judgement.

'Is this thing safe?' She mumbled as she scanned it's surface for something to hang onto.

'Of course it's safe. So long as you don't fall off, yeah…' His smirk increased and, before she had a chance to panic, the bird was kicked into motion, wings spread and head raised, it soared into the air, quickly surpassing the height of the treetops.

She rolled backwards feeling completely unbalanced, and Deidara had to make a grab for her before she toppled over the giant creature's tail.

'What did I just say, yeah?'

'You didn't specify what to hold onto!' She yelled at him over the rush of the wind as it deafened her ears and stung her eyes. She felt herself wobble again as the bird gained altitude and had to cling onto Deidara's sleeve to stay in place.

He raised an eyebrow at her. 'Will you sit still already, yeah? It's much easier to balance when you're sitting still.'

Not letting go of his sleeve, Akira kneeled down and positioned so they were sitting back to back. She let go of the breath she had unconsciously been holding and vaguely noted that he had slowed down while she settled into place.

'See? It's not so bad,' Deidara chuckled, suddenly very aware that she was still clinging to his arm.

Despite everything, Akira had to admit she much preferred this method of transport to walking. They arrived a short distance from the Rock village just six hours later, and as the bird floated down the land, she couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment.

She hadn't actually done much thinking about the mission itself, and now that they were so close, her breath hitched in her throat and her mind began to spin. Sensing her discomfort, Deidara reassured her that he'd take care of the action and that she could just back him up.

The village hadn't changed much so it wasn't hard for him to locate the target, despite the darkness creeping up on them. However, silencing the man without creating a scene wasn't exactly his style, but he decided to give it a go. Moving his hands to his ninja pouch, he completed his short ritual of clenching his fists and released two clay spiders, not dissimilar from those of their spar. That reminds me I still need to ask him how he knew about my abilities!

A small explosion sounded from inside the building they were snooping behind, drawing her back to the real world.

'Tsk, such a waste of art…' Deidara muttered and sent his second spider in through the window.

'Is it over?' She couldn't see a thing from where she was crouched, peering into the thick-with-dust windowpane. A second explosion sounded, and Deidara stood up to leave.

'It is now, yeah.' He sulked. Rolling her eyes, she followed his retreating figure. They had just about reached the unguarded walls of Iwa when suddenly a bright circle of light lit up their presence.

'INTRUDERS!' Akira froze like a startled rabbit caught in headlights. The voice was loud and accusing, and close.

'Move, yeah!' Deidara shoved her in front of him as they ran to their escape. More infuriated voices rang out behind them and Akira momentarily shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to move faster.

'So much for discrete, yeah,' she heard Deidara tut before he snaked his arm around her waist and hauled her onto the bird he had hidden just outside the confines of the village. Within seconds, the voices had faded into the distance and she realised he was still holding her middle.

'Umm, I think I'm okay now, thanks. I'm balanced,' She promised, her cheeks tinged with pink. He let her go and relaxed his posture, and they flew home in silence.


A/N: Thanks for reading! Please R&R! :D