Hello, this is the second chapter I promised. I'm sorry if things seem slow but poor Erica and Sam are kinda pathetic in the fighting department, well, physically at least. That will change, I promise but till then...Please let me know what you think about the story. All reviews are welcome, even the flames.

Right, for the disclaimer I thought I would try to get one of my wonderful characters to do it...Sam? Erica? Take the stage.

... *crickets chirping*...

Right, I forgot. One is on the way to Konoha and the other...well, you'll see. Fine, I don't own any of the Naruto characters, just the ones I created.

An Akatsuki and a lie.

I opened my eyes to find myself sitting in what could have been a warehouse or something. There were weeds growing in the cracked wooden floor and a large part of the roof was missing. I felt better for the impromptu rest but my body was stiff. I was also tied up with my hands bound in front of me. The ropes weren't uncomfortably tight but at the same time, I couldn't wiggle them off.

'No use trying to get out of those, un. They're chakra coated.'

I looked up to see Deidara sitting comfortably on an exposed beam, his face partially in shadow.

'Uh, ok.' I replied. I shook my head. Surely, surely this wasn't actually happening. I had lied to Sam when I had said that I had liked Naruto in High School. I was in my second year of college and I was still obsessed with the show. I kept it a secret though, sure that none of my friends would understand why I thought anime characters were hotter than the guys I dated. As such, I was very familiar with the clichéd Mary Sue meets the Akatsuki stories. I groaned. My god, I was a freaking Mary Sue.

All the while the man had been watching me have a mental wrestling match. When he decided that I wasn't coming back to reality soon he jumped down and put his face right up in front of mine.

'You done being crazy yet?'

Psycho bomber say what? I thought crazily but replied yes with a simple nod. His face was inches from mine and he looked every bit as nuts as when he fought the Kazekage in Shippuuden. That got me wondering if that had happened as yet. I glanced at his arm and noticed a fine trace of stitching slightly below the shoulder. Okay, so he had fought Kakashi already, Go mangekyo!

He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

'Sorry .'I said meekly, 'You said something?'

Idly he took out a kunai and began to spin it on his finger. I saw the light catch and glint off the blade. He had my full attention, just as he intended. I realised, then, just how quiet the place was. I could hear the wind rushing through the brush and the whizzing kind of sound the blade made but all else was quiet. Well, except for my breathing which seemed very fast and loud to my ears.

'I asked you, how you knew what my name was, yeah.'

'Oh right,' Okay brain, it's time to do what you do so well, 'I heard about you from a friend. You're supposed to be dead by the way.'

He frowned. 'What's this friends name and how does he know about me, un?'

'He's a ninja. He heard about your fight that guy from Konoha, his name starts with a K, or something. Anyway, it was supposed to be a hell of a fight but you died so I wasn't sure it was you but I guess it is.'

'What's your friend's name, un?' He was suddenly up close with the kunai pointing very to the tip of my nose. He had moved so quickly, I hadn't even seen it. My heart was practically humming in my chest. That couldn't be healthy.

'Jiraiya, the sannin. He passes into the shop every so often and I get good stories from him.

'Liar.' He said quietly. I felt a sudden burning on my cheek and felt something hot and wet slide down my chin and fall unto my chest. 'Tell me again, un. Where did you hear about me?'

The cut had started to burn badly and I was disgusted to find that I could taste blood in my mouth. Ick.

'I told you I heard it from the sannin. Tall, really tall, white haired guy. He has strange red teardrop things under his eyes and a mole on his face. Oh and he wears really stupid looking sandals.'

'I know for a fact that you have not been working for Higachi for long, yeah. So tell me, are you a spy for the Leaf Village?'

The kunai which was coated in my blood was held loosely in his right hand. I gulped loudly.

'I'm not a ninja.'

'I know that, yeah but you do have chakra and you know far too much to be a civilian. So tell me where you know me from,un.'

'I have chakra? That is so cool. I wonder why no one told me before. Wow, I could totally be a ninja now.' For a moment, I simply forgot everything except being happy that I was special.

He let me be an idiot for a few seconds before smacking me on the same cheek he had cut. That sonovabitch, was all I could think.

'Geez, sorry. I didn't know that. Forgive a girl for getting excited.' I said when I could finally speak again.

'Hn. Just talk before I kill you, yeah.'

I looked up at him as he stood up and stepped back. Wow, I thought to myself, he was really bad at interrogation. Shouldn't I more terrified by now? My cheek hurt and yeah, him getting all up in my face wasn't very nice but he just wasn't intimidating. Maybe he needed his bombs to be scary. Whatever the reason, I wasn't really afraid of him.

'I'm sorry Deidara san, that I lied but I'm not a spy. I do know the sannin though. We're,' I looked away as though embarrassed (I should totally get an academy award for this) 'friends. I'm usually not in any one place for too long. Sam, the guy I was with, likes to travel. When we cross paths, I like to talk to him. He usually has stuff to send back to Konoha and if we're going that way, we drop it off. Well Sam drops it off, anyway. He doesn't like ninjas and he seems to think I have a thing for them, you know.'

Deidara looked mildly grossed out by the whole me and Jiraiya 'friends thing' but decided not to comment on that. Instead,

'So, how does Jiraiya know about the Akatsuki? And how does he know I'm supposed to be dead un? That happened less than a month ago.'

'Idk man. Uh, I mean, I don't know. He must have heard it in the village or something. Konoha is only a couple of days from here after all.'

'You're lying again.' I felt my other cheek burn and I yelped and pulled back. There was now a torrent of blood in my mouth and I turned to the side to spit it out. It hurt terribly. I tried to talk but it hurt so much that I closed my eyes against the tears. It was like the feeling of biting your cheek times a million. He seemed to realise that what he had done was counter-productive. The next thing I knew he was smearing a thick, stinging lotion over my cheeks. I can't explain the sensation except to say that it felt as though the cream was seaming my flesh together.

'Thanks.' I said moving my slightly numb mouth.

If I had had any doubt before, I was sure now. Torture and interrogation were things that Deidara was not good at. If it was a class in school, he would be failing it because I was pretty sure that healing your torturee would be against the rules. It did make me think better of him though. It made me want to tell him the truth...ok maybe he wouldn't be failing the class after all.

He sighed and tugged his fingers through his hair then pulled out the ponytail elastic that held his hair up. I almost drooled. I finally understood why he put his hair up. With it down he was even more mouth watering but more girly looking too. The hair softened his jaw line and hid the masculinity of his cheekbones making his face softer and rounder. Wow. He caught me staring and smirked.

'What? Like what you see, un?'

'You have gorgeous hair. I wish my hair would stay all silky and straight like that. Do you flatiron it?'

'What?'

'Never mind.'

He stooped down across from me, farther away than before and shook out his hair massaging his scalp. I could see the muscles in his chest flex and contract. Darn, the bastard was doing this on purpose. I began to recite in my head: This man just hurt you, he's a murderer and crazy and this is a ploy to get you to talk. Do not give in to his delicious smexyness.

'Listen kid (kid?), I don't really care how you know, yeah? I really just have to kill you and problem solved. I'll let you in on a secret, yeah. I don't give a shit about the Akatsuki. They could rot for all I care. I do, however care about defeating a certain someone so until that time comes...'

'You'll just amuse yourself by blowing shit up?'

'Uh, yeah. But now you gotta die.'

He was suddenly up close to me again. He had me on my feet with my back pressed to the wall and my shoulder pressed hard by his right hand. In his left hand I beheld The Kunai. I was squirming furiously but I wasn't getting anywhere. I tried to kick him but he was too close. Holy shit, I thought to myself. I was going to die.

'I'll make this quick un. It's a shame you couldn't have gone out in a bang. That would have been much quicker and more exciting, yeah?'

'Please, please don't kill me. I...I know stuff that could help you with your revenge.'

I hadn't really been thinking all that clearly but I could see that I had his attention.

'You're right, I am a spy. Not a spy really, just an informant. My friend and I do travel a lot. We work in different towns and collect stories and gossip and stuff. Sam doesn't know I do this but if I hear something particularly valuable, I send word via pigeon to Konoha or if I have the slightest clue where Jiraiya is, I send it to him.' I could see him getting bored. 'Anyway, one time I was meeting with Jiraiya for some drinks when this raven or crow maybe, came up to him at the bar. He stared at the bird for a while and then excused himself saying that he had to use the restroom. I don't know why I did it but I followed him. He travelled out to the edge of the forest and there he met with someone who I would never have dreamed of seeing.'

'Get to the point, yeah.' He said sounding more interested than he wanted to appear.

'The point? Haven't you ever wondered how Konoha is so well informed about the Akatsuki? How they seem to know more about you than they should?'

'Hn.'

'Its because they have a spy, Deidara, a spy who reports from within the Akatsuki organisation itself.'

'Who?'

'Itachi Uchiha.'

Please review, if you don't review I won't know what I'm doing right or wrong. Byee!