-1Through My Skin

Chapter 3: Blood on my Hands

Sakura looked over at the little napkin sitting on the bedside table. It had been nearly two days since he last meeting with Daisuke. Her hotel smelled slightly of mothballs and paper, but even with the slightly dismal living conditions she was currently under, she was smiling. She was starting to like this whole idea of moving a lot more. She had been given a call back and will be starting the hospital soon and she found herself an interest looking artist that found her attractive enough to make art out of her.

She also had a little voice in the back of her head, telling her to be careful. She was all giddy when she found herself with Neji and then he turned out to be a demon. She closed her eyes and fell back onto the bed, letting the dust from the day flutter past and her and land over her form.

"Fuck it." she said after a moment. "If I sit in fear for terrible boyfriends, then I'll die alone. I've worked to hard for that." She picked up the phone on the table and dialed the number next to her portrait.

Deidara was messing with a small mound of clay on his desk. He was clad in nothing more then exercise pants. The window in his room was open, allowing a gentle breeze to drift through the room. His favorite part about this assignment was the lack of communication from Tobi. Everything was quiet, and ready to be taken under control.

He was surprised she hadn't called him back the next day, but that was mostly due to Deidara's lack of date and women knowledge. He still figured he'd have to talk to her father before being able to take her out. The mound of clay was slowly forming into a large orb, with little dents where he planned to put facial features. He nearly jumped when the phone rang. "That's obnoxious." He said before sliding out of his chair and padding towards the phone. He picked it up with little enthusiasm.

"Moshi moshi."

"Daisuke?"

He almost said no. "Yes, who is this?"

"Sakura." Her voice sounded pleasant. He pushed that thought to the side.

"Oh, how are you?"

"I'm doing good. I was curious…still want to sculpt me?"

"Yeah, I would definitely like that." He tried to seem cheery, to give her hope and make her want to show up faster. Faster…he wondered if she could make it tonight. Then he could get a hold of Tobi and see what is next. "Would you be able to make it out tonight? I can…cook dinner and then you can relax while I work." He almost winced. That sounded too much like something he wasn't truly wanting to do.

He heard her let off a soft laugh. "Sure, that's fine."

He gave her his address and they said their farewells. Deidara walked to his desk and pulled out a scroll, scribbled a few things on it then said a little word. The scroll went up in smoke, and hopefully Tobi got it before it landed in the wrong hands.

Sakura pulled out multiple outfits from her bags, throwing random articles of clothing on the bed. She was grumbling, a lot. She was sad she didn't pack anything nice. All she had were work clothes and things for exercising. Then again, she was sure she did not expect to meet anyone while here, let alone so soon.

She settled on her usual gear, finding nothing to appease her. She had a sudden idea. Her head snapped towards the clock. She still had a little under two hours to meet him. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the hotel, looking for the nearest clothing store. The store did not hold a lot of pretty items, but it did have a pleasant looking black sun dress that was decorated with a simple red flower crawling up the side. She bought that and a simple pair of flip flops and asked to change in the bathroom. The cashier thought her request strange but let her change. She was pleased with the outfit, more so than her earlier choice. She thanked the cashier and headed out, hoping she would not be late to meet Daisuke.

"I didn't know you were a cook, Deidara- Sempai." Tobi said from the barstool. He had brought a few things that the Clan wanted him to have. A few gifts and orders. He never thought he'd ever receive a teddy bear for a mission. Ever. He looked over at Tobi and grumbled.

"Of course you don't, the group likes to order out a bunch of crap, un." Deidara said looking over the noodles on the stove. He had prepared something easy, something he looked up literally moments before cooking. Alfredo. He found it in a dating book, said Italian food was more romantic then most other foods. He didn't understand. It was just pasta with a cheese sauce. A little bread, supposedly this was all it took to cook a nice meal. He silently wished he had tried for something a little more complex.

"Maybe if you suggested, Sempai, we'd have you cook." Tobi said, wiggling his feet from the barstool.

Deidara rolled his eyes. "And cook for the unthankful lot of them? Nah, un." He said and turned the pasta on low. He looked over to the clock on the wall in the kitchen. "Get your ass out of here, she should be here soon."

Tobi did something that reminded Deidara of a squeak and he hoped out of the back window. Deidara sighed and moved to his room to put on some clothes. He pulled a pair of dark blue jeans on and black dress shirt that he thought was boring, but Tobi brought him it, and he didn't really have anything else to wear. He smirked. "I'm hot enough to wear nothing, un. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." He smiled a bit and returned to the kitchen. After a moment or two of arguing with himself and the meal he was preparing he heard a knock on the door. He cracked his neck and turned, trying to brace himself for a night full of lies and deceit.

"Hey Sakura, you look nice." He said with his faux smile in place when he answered the door. Her cheeks flushed lightly.

"Thanks, it was just something I had laying around. I was lucky to find it." She said. Deidara stepped aside and she walked in the minimally styled apartment. "This is pretty nice. Definetly compared to the hotel I'm still in."

Deidara shut the door and moved back to the little kitchen area. "Really? Still in a hotel? Haven't you been here almost a week?"

Sakura nodded sadly and followed him. "Yeah, but I was waiting to get the job at the hospital before I found a permanent place." She took a seat at the barstool, facing the open kitchen. "I got the job so I can look now."

"That's good. I hope you like pasta, it was all I could think of without having to be in the kitchen for hours on end." Deidara wanted to smash his head into the window. Sure, she was pretty, but small talk was not one of his favorite things to do.

"All is fine, I like anything that's food really." She smiled and gave off a small laugh. He chuckled in return and served the food. Dinner moved fast, mostly just the two of them getting to know each other, or…well, Sakura getting to half know Deidara and half know Daisuke. He got the full down low on her, but he was already aware of most of these facts of her life, thanks to the Akatsuki's connections.

After he threw the dishes in the sink, wondering if he could get Tobi to come back and do them, he took her to the little room next to his that he used as a bigger studio. When stuck in your hometown with nothing to do, waiting for a girl to arrive, you had to find something to do. For Deidara that was art. He even picked up painting, which he never thought he'd do.

The room had an easel in the corner with a still-life half finished on it. There was also a small kiln in the corner that was currently on, baking his last little piece. Few objects laid around the room, waiting to be glazed and put aside until he could get somewhere safe to blow it up. He noticed her eyes go wide as she wandered the room. There was a small couch he placed in the room for her, along with the mold he was working on earlier that day. "This is so cool." She said, turning to look at him with a smile.

"I suppose you don't see many art studios then? This is rather small.." He said taking a seat in front of the mold, but off to the side just enough to see the couch. He motioned for her to sit. She followed the simple direction. "Could you tilt your head just slightly to the left like you're looking at something?" She obeyed with simple ease. Her face was set in a pleasant expression, with a half smile that she wasn't aware was there. His hands were face as he worked over the details on the bust, getting into his work fast.

After about half an hour of silence he broke away from the bust, wringing his hands with a little hiss of pain. "Done, for the most part" She walked over and looked at the image of herself in clay and felt her jaw drop.

"You did that so fast." She noticed him messing with his wrists. "Want me to help?"

"How can you-" he knew full on how she could help, but before the rest of his word fell out of his mouth she put her warm hands over his and emitted a light dose of chakra. He closed his eyes and let out a little sigh. "Okay, that worked. I didn't know you were a ninja."

She smiled. "Yeah, and by the little pulses I'm feeling you are too."

"A lazy one." He lied with a small smile. "I'd rather be working on my art, but the little boosts being a ninja puts in my speed helps." Lies, lies, lies.

She nodded and stood, looking around the room again.

He furrowed his brows when he wasn't looking. He had to think of something to do to make her want to come back. "Can…I walk you back to the hotel?" He asked, looking off to the side so he seemed bashful at the question. Her eyes fell on him and a smile crossed her features.

"That would be lovely."

He smiled and the two of them locked up the apartment and started towards the hotel. Somewhere in the fifteen minute walk he found he laced his arms with her, 'trial and error' he thought as he did it, but her arm did not back down. He almost smirked. 'This is far too easy'.

When they reached the door Sakura dug in her bag and pulled out the key. She looked over to Deidara and gave a shy smile. "Thanks for everything, it was a very interesting night."

"No, thank you for the beautiful work of art." He felt his pulse race, he had to do this to seal the night and get her coming back. He leaned forward slowly and her eyes met his, her cheeks flushed. A moment later their lips touched in a tender kiss. It lasted only a few moments, but when they pulled apart both had millions of thoughts running through their heads.

"W-will I hear from you again?" She asked, nervously looking down to her feet. He smiled.

"Of course." He bent down and gave her another kiss, this time on her cheek. "Good night, Sakura."

"Good night, Daisuke."

When he turned he frowned. It should be Deidara.

Sorry it took so long, I'll be updating more. Thank you for the reviews.