A/N: I'm back again with yet another update!
For those of you who have already read the last chapter, I updated it this morning but only slightly at the end, when she thanks Deidara.
Thanks for reading so far! Keep your reviews coming and thanks to everyone who has :D
Enjoy :) x
Akira wasn't sure whether there was just a considerable lack of missions being assigned or if the Akatsuki were just on edge about leaving the base unguarded, especially after their recent unwanted guest.
Whatever the reason, she was relieved to find that she was rarely left on her own in the following few days. Zetsu crossed her mind once or twice as she wondered where he always disappeared to, but after briefly considering asking someone about it, she decided it was probably something she didn't want or need to know. She was just being nosy.
Tobi and Konan remained as her main companions, but she had picked up on the fact that more often than not the living room was now populated with at least two of the others.
They probably have nothing better to do than making sexist jokes at me while I'm cleaning, she mused as she scrubbed the rickety wooden table that the TV was precariously balanced on. Hidan was clearly thoroughly enjoying her irritation as she went over the moulding surface again.
'Hey Greeny, I think you missed a spot there,' His fuchsia eyes glinted with amusement as she shot him a glare.
'Why don't you come and give it a scrub then, Snow White!'
From the corner, Kakuzu chuckled at her dig at Hidan's white-grey hair, looking up from counting his money. 'That'd be the day…'
Hidan growled at them, annoyed that the joke had turned on him. 'Don't make me fucking come over there–'
He was cut off as the rag Akira had been cleaning with, damp and thick with dust, slapped into his open mouth. Akira burst out laughing at her perfect timing and made a dash for her room, before Hidan could recover from the shock.
'AKIRA! GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKIN' CRAZY BITCH!'
She raced down the hall and ran face-first into Deidara's chest, slightly winding him in the process.
'What the hell…' Before he could register what was going on, she took off again shouting an apology back to him. He shook his head, confused, before turning around to see Hidan charging straight at him.
Of course, they collided. Hidan didn't exactly excel in coordination at the best of times, least of all during one of his rages. Luckily for Akira, this was just enough to distract him from his previous goal of murdering her, and she dived into Tobi's room before anyone had noticed.
The teenager had been sprawled across his bed, but jumped up when his door was flung open and then slammed tightly shut.
'Akira-chan?'
'Sorry Tobi! I almost got caught in the tornado out there!'
He laughed, knowing exactly who she meant. A tornado was the best description anyone could give the grey-haired male in these cases, wild and uncontrollable.
Tobi's room was the smallest in the base, seeing as he was the last to join and therefore didn't have much choice. However, Pein had allowed him to have a small TV in his room as compensation, and also because he hadn't shut up about it since he'd arrived.
'What were you up to anyway?' Akira questioned as she flopped onto the duvet next to him and reached for the remote, flicking it on.
'Just waiting for something to happen,' Tobi sighed, clearly bored out of his mind.
'Still no missions, huh?'
'Nope. Not a single thing.'
She pursed her lips and thought for a moment before she sprung up from her seat. 'Hey, why don't you help me practice my taijutsu some more? It'll keep us busy for a while?' She grinned as Tobi agreed eagerly. They made sure to check the halls before they left just in case Hidan was still on the prowl.
When they reached the grassy training ring, they were surprised to find it already occupied.
'You hiding from Hidan too now?' Akira smirked at the blonde Akatsuki, who was mauling with a ball of clay in the corner.
'No thanks to you, yeah…' He shot back. 'I'm surprised you ventured out this soon,'
'Well I have Tobi to protect me!' The teen grinned behind his mask at his friend and nodded his confirmation.
'That's a good one… So why are you here, yeah?'
The pair took up their battle stances either side of the ring and Akira flashed him a grin. 'We're training, of course!'
With that, they leapt into action. Deidara watched amused at first, but after a few minutes he realised that Tobi hadn't actually landed a single hit on his sparring partner. He frowned and cocked his head to the side, lifting his fringe out of his left eye for a better view.
Akira kicked her leg to the side and Tobi darted away from it, just out of range. He shifted his foot backwards and pushed off the ground into the air, his palm open and filled with chakra as he landed behind her and spun on his heel. She crossed her arms across her face and blocked it neatly, jumping backwards to avoid his leg sweeping her clean off her feet.
How long have they been practicing like this? Deidara thought back to their journey to the Hidden Waterfall village. To put it plainly, she had been hopeless. But as he watched the pair as they danced on the grass, weaving in and out of step with each other at an impressive speed, he almost doubted it was the same girl.
'Time out, time out!' Akira panted, narrowly avoiding a full frontal punch from her partner.
'Oops! Sorry Akira-chan,' He skipped over to the benches at the side of the ring and tossed her a bottle of water he had brought. She glugged it greedily.
'Woah, woah, woah. Hang on a minute, yeah,'
They both looked over to the advancing blonde. He stopped in front of Akira and folded his arms. 'What the hell was that?'
She frowned. 'You might have to expand on that one, Deidara…'
'You know what I mean, yeah! Since when did you fight like that?'
'I'm not sure whether to be offended or pleased by that comment!' She beamed at him, obviously pleased.
'Tobi has been helping Akira-chan practice her taijutsu, Senpai!'
'Hmm… Apparently…' He muttered, glancing at her shoulder. 'Are you sure you should be fighting like that in your condition?'
She rolled her eyes and waved him off with her hand. 'I'm fine! Kakuzu said I'm all healed now, so I can practice as much as I want!'
The trio headed back toward into the base, figuring that Hidan would have probably calmed down by now. They were greeted by Konan, who informed them that Pein finally had a mission for Deidara and Tobi. Their eyes lit up and they scurried off towards his office, clearly excited by the news.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Konan turned to Akira. 'And he has a mission for us too!' She chuckled at her bewildered expression, which soon turned to suspicion.
'What kind of mission?'
'Don't worry, it's just gathering information,' She tucked a stray lock of lilac hair behind her ear and smiled.
'Why me? What information?'
Laughing again, Konan patted her on the head teasingly. 'Patience Akira… All shall soon be revealed!'
A/N: Thanks again, please R&R! :) x
