Edit: Hey guys, I have a poll up on my profile and I would be so grateful is you would stop by and give your input. Come on! This is your chance to change this story and have your say!

Let's see where this monster ends up. I've been a little busy lately so I probably won't be able to update on a perfectly set schedule. But I'll try my best to update quickly. I have to admit after all this GaaSaku angsty-ness, I'm glad I get to write a happy story for once. Let's cheer for happiness!

Fancy Footwork

Chapter 2: Kitten? Kitten.

Sakura stared at her feet. She wriggled her bare toes against the wood floor, watching her chipped green nail polish reflect light. A loud thud sounded next to her. With a start, she looked up and met Deidara's ridiculously happy grin.

"Bored, yeah?" he asked, grabbing a bottle of water. He untwisted the cap and dumped half the contents into his mouth. He wiped his mouth on his shirt and smacked his lips.

"No. Just… I feel like I shouldn't be here," Sakura admitted with a quick glance up at the other club members. She had been sitting on the floor for about an hour so she had caught snippets of conversations and names.

From what she gathered, Itachi was the president of the club. Once she had recovered from the shock of seeing him half-naked, he had pulled on a shirt, apologized for Deidara's rudeness and her inadvertent kidnapping. He had offered to give her subway fee to get home but Deidara had protested, saying that she had agreed to visit. Itachi had sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. He was so intelligent and cool that Sakura couldn't help but get a little starry-eyed in his presence. It was like taking Sasuke-kun's good looks and adding a mature sexiness that made her blush a little each time she met his gaze.

Then, there was Sasori, who had dark red hair and a constant expression of utter boredom. He had calmly walked over, rolling up a fashion magazine, and brought it down on Deidara's head without mercy. Sasori's calm appearance and his violent punishment didn't match up at all. After a few minutes of beating Deidara, he had turned to Sakura, shook her hand, and wandered off. Deidara was on a floor for a few minutes, moaning about the pain until a third club member had tackled him and caught him in a headlock.

Deidara called him "Sharkie" and "Tuna-Boy" but Sakura was sure that Itachi had called him Kisame. He towered over everyone else, which meant he was over a head taller than Sakura. He had grinned, revealing pointy teeth. His hair was dark blue, which was odd too. But Sakura had pink hair herself so she decided that she had no right to criticize him. At first, she had been terrified of Kisame. He was tall and his huge arm muscles flexed as he mock-choked Deidara. After a few seconds, he had released Deidara and began laughing loudly about Deidara's lolicon* which had sent the blond into a furious tirade of insults.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, be sure to cheer for me!" Deidara exclaimed, pulling Sakura from her thoughts. She just nodded. He was the cheerful type that said whatever he wanted, sort of like Naruto. Sasori crossed the room in two light bounds to smack Deidara in the back of the head, telling him to be quiet. Deidara snarled in pain, spitting death threats and complaints. Sakura giggled quietly, drawing Itachi's attention. He was stretching his arms over his head, getting ready for the next set. Their gazes met and Sakura felt her cheeks warm again.

Someone stopped the music and Kisame roared with laughter as he did a Nike, balancing on one hand with both legs spread in the air. Deidara tossed his water bottle aside as he scrambled to his feet to tip the taller man over. Kisame landed gracelessly on his butt and tackled the blond.

"Focus. We have to get through this next song, guys," Itachi announced, claiming everyone's attention. He looked around the room and caught Sakura's timid smile. She waved, feeling a little silly but he smiled back. He reached back to tighten his ponytail and then quickly ushered everyone else into their positions.

Sakura almost forgot to breathe when the music started. Each of the different members had a distinct style. And Uchiha Itachi, impossibly cool and charismatic was the ideal leader. They danced in perfect unison. Each step, each movement matched perfectly. At least, until they came to the last chorus and things seemed to fall apart. Deidara swore loudly as he landed on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He jumped to his feet, tore off his hat, and threw it to the floor. He seemed to immediately remember that Sakura was there and skulked off into a corner, his face bright red. Sasori ran his hands through his crimson hair, visibly frustrated. Even suave Itachi sighed, rubbing his temples. Kisame stopped the CD with a scowl.

"What the hell are we doing wrong?" Deidara demanded, turning to his companions. Kisame shrugged.

"Can I say something?" Sakura asked with a burst of sudden confidence. All four men turned to her with varying degrees of irritation on their faces and she felt the random self-assurance dwindle. But Itachi silenced Deidara's angry grumbling with a stern look and turned all his attention to her.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?" Itachi politely asked. There was no doubt that his parents had raised a gentleman. She knew that he didn't actually care what she said, but the effort to make it seem like he did was touching. Sakura tried to find the words to explain, but she struggled unsuccessfully for a full minute as the men stared at her. Frustrated, she got to her feet.

"Can you replay that part, please?" she requested as she nervously glanced up at Kisame. The big blue man continued to gape at her, his jaw hanging uselessly. With a sigh, Itachi obliged, although he had no idea what this shy high school girl could possibly show them. He pressed the green button on the stereo system and turned, crossing his arms.

"What is she doing?" Deidara muttered as the music started. Sasori elbowed him in the ribs.

Sakura took a deep breath and let the music wash over her. She closed her eyes, envisioning the dance moves that she had watched for the past hour. She could imagine her arms and legs moving in time to the pounding beat. Each note flowed like water through her limbs. Before she had even realized, her body was moving.

It was a pattern that she had almost forgotten: stepping and moving in time to the beat. She could feel the blood rushing through her, the sound of her deep breathing crashing through her ears. The strong thumping of her heart quickened, trying to match the song. And the world was spinning in wild circles, a blur of white walls and gleaming wood floors. The pounding bass and drums wrapped around her, pulling her into the dance and tethering her very core to the beat. She could feel the song drawing to the end as it started the chorus for the third time. Imagining Deidara's feet, she could suddenly see where he had gone wrong. Just a fraction of a second before he had, she threw her head back, pushed her arms out in front of her and spun on her right foot. She watched the ceiling above her before gravity yanked her downwards and she landed on all fours. The song's last note hung in the air, slowly fading away.

For a moment, Sakura was still caught in a rush of adrenaline. All she knew was that the thrill of dancing again raced through her blood. She panted, staring down at the floor and watching her sweat fall in neat little droplets. And then, gradually, she felt the eyes boring into her. She remembered that there were other people in the room with her. And then, Deidara's excited clapping shattered the stunned silence.

"That was amazing!" Deidara crowed as he fell to his knees beside her. He peered at her through her curtain of long hair with wide blue eyes.

"Ah! You're blushing! You're so cute, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed. Sakura sat back on her feet, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She looked up at the men who were crowded around her. She wanted to crawl under the floorboards and hide from their curious gazes. In particular, Itachi looked so utterly shocked that she really just wanted to disappear. Finally, Sasori plopped to the floor beside her and sighed.

"I give up. It took us two weeks to learn that routine and she learns it in less than an hour. I'm done," he announced as he fell on his back and threw his arms over his eyes. After a second, he peeked at Sakura and, for the first time since she had arrived, smiled.

"This is your chance to run away, you know," he stage-whispered. Sakura stared at him.

"You looked like you wanted to get away from here," Sasori explained as he sat up. At that, Sakura burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her stomach began to ache and she pressed her hands against her belly. Tears streamed from her eyes and she began to choke on her own laugh. As she fell over backwards, strong hands caught her.

"S-Sakura-ch-chan…. What's wrong?" Deidara asked, his eyes wide with panic. Sakura gasped to catch her breath as Itachi pulled her back into a sitting position. Someone twisted off the top of a water bottle and pushed it into her hands.

"Sasori-san, you look so serious but your attitude doesn't fit you at all," Sakura explained, still giggling. It was Deidara's turn to roar with laughter as he pointed at Sasori's startled expression. He slapped his hands against his thighs as he watched Sasori's face turn pink.

"Ah… Sakura-chan, you say the best things. Be careful or I might start to fall in love with you," Deidara chuckled, putting his arm around her. Sasori appeared like a ninja, karate-chopping Deidara in the back of the head. Kisame grabbed the blond by the arms, hauling him away where he and Sasori began ruthlessly stepping on him.

"Idiot! This is why our club has no girls! Stop sexually harassing high school girls, you damn dirty ape!" Kisame exclaimed as he squished Deidara's face under his foot. Deidara grabbed onto Kisame's foot, hanging on for dear life. Sakura watched the dramatic spectacle with her hands slapped over her burning cheeks. She started when Itachi sighed and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry you have to witness this, Sakura-san," Itachi apologized with a small smile. When he looked over at her, she couldn't help but smile too. But as she watched, Deidara and Kisame were laughing while they fought. Even Sasori didn't look really angry about the whole ordeal.

"It's alright. They look they're having fun," Sakura said and took a sip from the bottle of water that had been thrust into her hands. Itachi stared at her, his expression pensive.

"You make it sound like you've never…" he began but then he trailed off. Sakura looked up from her water bottle, catching on to his train of thought. She appreciated that he didn't finish his sentence. But that didn't make the truth any less obvious. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she smiled.

"I'm everyone's friend at school. But outside… I spent a lot of time by myself. It's not sad or anything," she quietly said, feeling her cheeks grow warm again. She was sure that someone as cool and handsome as Uchiha Itachi wouldn't understand. After all, even now, he was surrounded by such fun people. Itachi cleared his throat.

"What about my brother?"

"Eh?" Sakura's face turned an even brighter shade of red, making her hair look white in comparison.

"Sasuke told me that you two have known each other since kindergarten. Shouldn't you be close?" Itachi clarified. Sakura relaxed a little when she understood what he had meant. Her expression quickly sobered as she thought.

"Sasuke-kun and I… are very different people," she vaguely replied, looking away. The air around them grew a little awkward and they sat, neither very sure of what to say. Slowly, they both looked over and their eyes met. A giggle escaped Sakura at just how awkward it felt. Seeing her expression lighten, Itachi chuckled out of pure relief.

"Quit monopolizing Sakura-chan, you weasel! I found her first, yeah!" Deidara blurted out, breaking up their quiet exchange. Sakura's eyes popped open when she felt Itachi put his hand on top of her head.

"Actually, I met her yesterday so I found her first," Itachi corrected with an innocent expression. He paused to meet Sakura's confused gaze and smile.

"You...you… you harlot!" Deidara exclaimed. Sasori crouched on the floor next to Sakura, crunching on an orange lollipop. His half-lidded eyes and frowning mouth clashed so severely with the sweet candy that Sakura began giggling again. Sasori noticed this and sidled closer to Sakura. He popped the lollipop out of his mouth and used it to point in Deidara's expression.

"This here, Sakura-chan, is an example of when not to use the word harlot. However, it is appropriate to call Deidara a harlot," he explained in a completely solemn tone. To top it off, he extracted another lollipop from the pocket of his black sweatshirt and held it out to her. She lost it. She fell over sideways as the laughter wracked her body.

"Ah, Sasori's being laughed at again," Kisame sighed as he tried to glide over. One of his feet caught in the hem of his pants and he stumbled the last few steps, only adding to Sakura's laughter. Itachi snorted too. Kisame copied Sasori, crouching on the floor in front of her.

"Hey, you're a pretty fun kid, Sakura-chan. Why don't you come by again?" Kisame asked with a toothy-smile.

Her laughter immediately stopped as the words registered in her mind. Scrambling to understand, she sat up. She felt her eyes go wide as she realized that no one was snickering behind their hands. Kisame was being serious. He looked down at her with a grin, waiting for her answer. Sakura's eyes drifted to the other faces surrounding her. None of them seemed to protest.

"Can I… really come again?" she finally asked.

Deidara stood, stretching his arms over his head.

"Sure, Sakura-chan. Why don't you stop by tomorrow?" he suggested, shoving his hands into his pockets. Itachi frowned.

"I'm sure Sakura-san has plans too, Deidara. Don't be selfish," he chided and Deidara stuck his tongue out at him.

"I'd… I'd like to come tomorrow… if I'm not being a bother," Sakura quietly admitted. Deidara's head whipped around so fast that his neck cracked. Sakura felt a blush spread across her cheeks again when Itachi regarded her with curiosity. When she peeked up at him through her bangs, he sighed. But then he met her gaze and half-smiled.

"Well, practice is over for today. I'll send you home," Itachi offered as he got to his feet. Sakura almost accepted until she noticed the clock on the wall.

"I actually need to go grocery shopping. Thank you anyway," she replied, picking up her satchel.

"Where?" Kisame piped up, standing too.

"…The grocery store on Komura Street," she replied as she fished her cell phone out of her bag. She missed the significant looks the men threw each other.

"That's near the library, right? I have some errands to run around there. Hold on a second," Itachi quickly said before she could protest. So Sakura watched, dumbfounded, as Itachi slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and gathered a couple of things from around the room.

"Don't forget to lock up," he instructed Kisame as he tossed him a ring of keys. Itachi paused to glance over his shoulder.

"Sakura-san?" he said, motioning towards the door. Sakura jumped a little. She looked around the room and patted herself down, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Then, she turned around to face the other people in the room.

"Um… thank you for letting me stay here," she said as she bowed. When she straightened, Deidara was staring at her with extremely pink cheeks.

"Sakura-chan… you're just so cute!" he exclaimed as he pounced. Sasori stuck his foot out, knocking the blonde to the ground. His expression unchanged, he stood and calmly walked over to Sakura. Kisame hooted with laughter in the background as Sasori extracted the same lollipop from his pocket and placed it in Sakura's hand, closing her fingers around it.

"See you tomorrow," Sasori simply said as he ruffled her hair. Sakura smiled up at him. With a nod, Sasori turned around and surveyed Deidara sprawled across the floor. He made a point of stepping on the blonde's back as he made his way across the room. Sakura took one step toward the door and paused. Kisame looked up from the stereo to wave at her, the keys jingling merrily in his hand. Deidara sat up, grumbling something that sounded like 'physical assault' but then he saw Sakura and immediately beamed.

"Bye, Sakura-chan! Let's go out for lunch tomorrow, yeah!" he exclaimed before something collided with his forehead, sending the blonde toppling over backwards. Sakura giggled as she caught up with Itachi. As she exited the room, Kisame, suspiciously missing one shoe, made a shushing motion at her and winked.

They were both quiet as they climbed down the stairs and emerged back on the university's campus. Sakura took a moment to look down at the candy still cupped in her hand. She plucked off the wrapper and stuck the lollipop in her mouth. When she looked up, Itachi was standing at the entrance to the subway, waiting. Sakura hurried to catch up with him, slightly mortified that she had fallen so far behind.

"How's the candy?" Itachi asked as they climbed down the stairs.

"Good… very good," she replied with a smile.

Itachi took the same train as her and even walked her all the way to the grocery store. When she asked about it, he explained that some university students had taken to loitering in the area and hitting on girls. After she had promised to be especially careful and he had informed her that practice started at 11 the next day, Itachi went to run his errands, leaving Sakura to do her shopping in peace. She stopped for a late lunch at a local café before taking the train home. There, she did her laundry, caught up on her favorite TV shows, finished up her homework, had a simple dinner and read a few chapters of a book before falling asleep on the sofa.

The next day was slightly less traumatic than the first. The ride to KU was uneventful and she had no trouble finding the dance studio. Everyone greeted her warmly, especially Deidara, who received a fair share of blows from Sasori and Kisame. After an hour and a half of rehearsal, Kisame and Deidara had announced that they would die without food so everyone, including a flustered Sakura, went to a nearby restaurant for some Italian food. By the time they returned and finished rehearsal, it was nearly five.

"Hey, it's getting pretty dark outside," Kisame noted as they watched Itachi lock up the studio.

"Ah, I'll-" Deidara excitedly said before Kisame's foot made contact with butt, sending him stumbling.

"You're shameless," Sasori sighed as he stepped over his friend.

"I'll walk you home, Sakura-san," Itachi offered, also ignoring Deidara's complaints as he walked around him. Sakura peered out the nearest window and found that the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. Walking alone in the dark had never been one of her favorite things so she quickly agreed. After greeting everyone (and waiting for Kisame to pry a sniffling Deidara off her shoulder), Sakura and Itachi boarded a train.

"Sakura-san, there's a seat here," Itachi said, motioning to the empty spot beside him. But as Sakura made her way to him, she spotted an old woman standing by the door. Her wrinkled hand was clutching the metal railings as she swayed unsurely. In her other shaky hand was a battered cane. Sakura glanced back at Itachi, who couldn't see the elderly lady, and back to the woman.

"Excuse me, Obaa-san. There's a seat here," Sakura said as she crossed the car. She took the woman's arm, pointing to the vacant seat next to Itachi. The woman peered up into Sakura's face with a frail smile. Sakura helped her shuffle over the seat and eased her onto the hard plastic.

"Thank you, dear," the woman said with a sigh as she settled into the chair. Sakura felt equally relieved as she simply nodded. To her surprise, Itachi got to his feet and pushed her into his seat. When she looked at him, he looked away, feigning innocence.

"Thank you...Uchiha-san," she said and she saw the corners of his lips curl upwards.

The 15-minute walk back to her apartment was pleasant. Sakura would bring up a topic and Itachi would add a few words but mostly listen to her talk. Somehow, it felt different from talking to Sasuke. With Sasuke, he did the same thing, but there was the distinct impression that he really didn't care. It was essentially talking to a brick wall with a nice face. Itachi, on the other hand, Itachi was the perfect listener. His lack of input didn't indicate disinterest and somehow, that made it that much easier for her to talk. Sakura sighed as she caught herself comparing the brothers again.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked as they stopped in front of the apartment complex. Sakura shook her head and began climbing the stairs. When they reached the third floor, Sakura walked past the doors, digging in her pocket for her keychain. She stopped in front of door 3-F. When she turned around, Itachi was close.

Much closer than she had expected.

"Hold on. I heard a noise," he whispered. They stood, silent. Something clattered loudly and then there were the sounds of laughter. Sakura giggled.

"That's Fuyutsuki-san in 3-B. He hosts a lot of parties. I'm fine," Sakura said as she stuck her key in the lock and opened the door. The inside of the home was completely dark.

"Are your parents not home?" Itachi asked. Sakura reached into the mailbox and retrieved a couple envelopes.

"My dad passed away and my mom's on a business trip. Do you want something to drink?" said Sakura. Itachi sighed.

"Sakura-san, you shouldn't be so quick to let men into your home especially when your mother isn't home," he said. Sakura wrinkled her nose.

"But you're Sasuke-kun's brother."

"Still. Don't let strangers into your home, Sakura-san," he sternly said. Sakura slowly nodded and his expression lightened.

"Will you be coming tomorrow?" he asked.

"It's at 5? Um… I'm not sure. I usually stay to help out with student council on Mondays... so…" Sakura trailed off, thinking. Itachi's eyebrows rose.

"You're in the student council?" Sakura turned to him with a scowl.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" she demanded, bristling.

"No, I'm just impressed. It seemed like… you ended up picking up a lot of your friends' slack. It must be a lot of work altogether," he clarified. Sakura backed down, her forehead smoothing out. Their eyes met and they let out simultaneous sighs of understanding. Somehow, Sakura got the feeling that he did the same for Deidara.

"Anyway, I would love to come. But I don't think I'll be able to make it tomorrow. Thank you anyway, Uchiha-san," Sakura finally replied with another smile. Itachi watched her for a moment and then he inclined his head.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Good night, Sakura-san," he said, taking a step back.

"Good night, Itachi-san," Sakura echoed as she stepped into her apartment. As she shut the door, she caught a glimpse of Itachi's smile and a blush bloomed across her cheeks. He was definitely better-looking than Sasuke.

At 7:00 am, the alarm clock rang. Sakura's hand promptly shot out of the sheets and smacked it, sentencing it to silence. She then rolled over in bed, wrapped the sheets around her body, and slept for another ten minutes.

At 7:10 am, the alarm clock rang again. This time, she turned it off with a little less hatred and sat up, mussing her long hair. She did a couple of stretches before hopping out of bed and into the shower.

At 7:20, Sakura emerged from the shower, brushed her teeth, and put on her uniform: white blouse, knee-length blue skirt, white socks and red neckerchief. Then, she went to the kitchen to re-heat some rice along with the previous night's leftovers.

At 7:35, after a simple breakfast, she brushed her teeth again, dried her hair and combed it. She took time to pack herself lunch and grab a bottle of juice from the fridge to slip in her bag. After a quick session on the computer to check the weather, she slipped on black mary janes and headed off to school.

It was a twenty-minute ride on the subway plus a ten-minute walk. She listened to music the entire way, careful to watch for gropers on the train. When she arrived, she changed her shoes, greeted classmates and went to homeroom. There, Ino attacked, spilling all the details of her goukon very loudly while shooting not-too-subtle glances at Shikamaru. Shikamaru, however, either didn't care or was really sleeping in the back of the room. As usual, even though he was in another class, Naruto dropped by to beg Sakura for the homework he hadn't done for some class. Sakura refused, listening to him grovel until she finally caved and threw the notebook at him.

Classes. Lunch. More classes. Clean-up duty. Attendance (even though it was really Ino's job but she had gone off to karaoke with her new boyfriend). Student council (listening to another one of the President's lectures). Stuck in the classroom doing paperwork.

Sakura let her head fall on top of the giant stack of papers. Although this was technically the President's duty, he had somehow managed to push all the work on her. She glared at the forms, wishing they would burst into flames. But after a moment of silently complaining, she picked up her pen and continued filling out the words. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was so quiet. There was almost no one else in the building. Listening to the soft ticks of the clock, she pillowed her head in her arms and drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, kid, you know where I can find a girl named Sakura?"

Sakura vaguely recognized the voice. She kept her eyes shut. She didn't know how long she'd been sleeping but she didn't want to wake up just yet. Instead, she floated in the space between sleep and consciousness, listening.

"Hah? Haruno-chan? Er… if she hasn't gone home, I guess she would be in the classroom?" Sakura recognized the distinctly puzzled voice: Naruto. The other person sighed impatiently.

"Which classroom, yeah?" he demanded.

"2-C," Naruto replied. There were two sets of footsteps, one growing farther away. The other came closer, brisk and almost nervous. After a length, they stopped. Sakura felt herself slipping off the edge of the cliff, back into sleep, just as the door slid open. The footsteps approached and a light gust of air fanned across her face.

"Sakura-chan?" the voice breathed. He shook her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, your knight has arrived, yeah," he insisted, shaking her harder. Sakura blinked. Her eyelids felt heavy. She yawned, listening to her jaw crack. As she rubbed the tears from her eyes, she looked up and found Deidara sitting on the desk in front of her.

"Deidara-san!" she exclaimed as she bolted upright. He laughed as she tried to smooth down her hair.

"What are you doing here?" she inquired. Deidara put his foot up on the chair with a grin. He was wearing a dark grey jacket over a yellow t-shirt and jeans. There was a helmet held in the crook of his arm. She eyed the helmet with particular skepticism. Something in the pit of her stomach warned her that this wasn't a purely social visit.

"Ah. Well, last night, Uchiha calls me, yeah? And he tells me you can't come unless you have a fast ride," Deidara explained. Sakura continued to stare at the helmet.

"I… don't suppose you drive a scooter, do you?" she slowly said. Deidara blinked once. And then he burst into laughter, nearly toppling the desk over.

"You're so funny, yeah. Let's go!" he said, hopping off the desk. But Sakura didn't move as she eyed the stack of papers left. Deidara paused in the doorway and his gaze drifted to the pile.

"Oh… do you have to finish?" Deidara inquired. Sakura did a little mental calculation and then cracked her neck.

"Give me ten minutes," she simply replied. And Deidara returned to the desk in front of her and sat in the chair facing her. There was a smirk on his face, as if he was doubting her ability to do all that work in such a short frame of time.

"I'm timing you, Kitten," he simply said. Sakura looked up from the papers.

"Kitten?" she repeated. Deidara shrugged.

"Hey, Sharkie thought of it, not me," he replied with a grin. Sakura wrinkled her nose.

"Well... I guess Kitten sounds better than Forehead," she conceded as she turned back to her work.

Her pen flew over the paper, filling in words and bubbles that her eyes barely had time to read. Everything blurred together in one giant cloud of symbols and letters until all she had to do was pick out a few key words from each page. Her fingers began to cramp as the words sizzled across the lines. Black ink was bleeding into black. As she finished the strokes on one word, she flicked the paper off the desk and onto the pile on another desk. But when she went to begin another set of lines, all she saw was the smooth plastic surface.

"9 minutes and 22 seconds. Impressive, yeah," Deidara whistled with wide eyes. Sakura smiled back at him. He helped her carry all the files to the staff room and then waited for her to change back into her regular shoes.

"You know…" he began and Sakura, who had been tying her hair up in a ponytail, turned to him. He had a strange look on his face, like he was trying to imagine something else.

"You'd look good in short hair, Sakura-chan," he finally declared.

Just outside the school gates was a sleek black motorcycle. Deidara reached under the seat and handed her a helmet. Sakura eyed the object, trying to figure out what part of the strap and buckle went where. Deidara chuckled as he helped her put it on and secured the strap under her chin. He sat on the bike, reaching around to pat the space behind him. The engine roared to life and he busied himself testing all the shining parts of the bike. Sakura carefully slid onto the seat, making sure to sit on her skirt.

"Um… Deidara-san… where do I… hang on?" she asked over the loud rumble of the engine. Deidara calmly took her hands and wrapped them around his middle.

"Hold on tight, yeah!" Deidara warned and Sakura immediately clenched her fingers together. Without warning, the bike jerked forward and Sakura let out a squeal of surprise. She buried her face between his shoulder blades and all she could feel was the cool wind whipping at her hair. But after a few minutes, she managed to pry her eyes open and lift her head. She could see the city slide by in a blur of concrete and red tail lights. When she peered over Deidara's shoulder, she could see the sky beginning to fade from cerulean to a deep shade of burgundy. Deidara took a moment to flash a grin at her before he turned his attention back to the road. She was sure that with the wind and the engine and the helmet, he wouldn't hear her words so she didn't feel embarrassed saying them.

"Thank you, Deidara-san."

But he heard anyway.

And he smiled.

*Lolicon= is short for lolita-complex. In short, Kisame's calling Deidara a pedophile.

Reviews are always appreciated! And don't complain about the lack of Itachi in this chapter. The man needs time to prepare for his star performance!