Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Sakura stiffened as she felt the ninja enter the building. "They're here."
"Stop playing with my kunai and get dressed. We're going to run." She hurried to stuff her things into her pack, throwing on her cloak. While Deidara was pulling on his new clothes, she edged towards the door and performed the hand seals for a nifty trick Tsunade had taught her. She used her chakra to enhance her hearing and pressed her ear against the wood.
"Yes, long blonde hair, dangerous looking." Said a frustrated male voice. "We've been looking for this guy for years. We've got men in all the villages looking for him. Caused a big explosion nearby."
"Goodness is that so?" The innkeeper's voice replied. "I'm usually very careful about customer privacy, but since the Iwa officials are involved... I think they're in room one-oh-nine, in the block of rooms across the courtyard. Good luck."
But that wasn't their room. In fact, that room was at the opposite side of the large inn. Was the innkeeper on their side? It seemed that the innkeeper must have guessed that she was escorting him to Konoha. She stopped her jutsu as she sensed Deidara was ready.
"Let's go, yeah." Said Deidara, now dressed in black with a pale cloak similar to hers. They were going to have to be stealthy. The windows were not the type that opened, and breaking them would cause a disturbance, alerting the hunter-nin of their location. They would have to use the front door.
The hunters' chakra had moved from the building they were in, so they moved at a normal pace to the lobby, not too fast as to be suspicious, in case there were any extra skilled chakra experts in the group. Sakura had wanted to thank the innkeeper anyway, so she was partly glad they couldn't use the window. She had done them a huge favour.
They descended the stairs together slowly, keeping their eyes keen for any movement. The innkeeper was smiling at the desk, looking extremely cheerful.
"I'm very grateful for your help. How did you know?" Sakura asked rushing over, bemused as the kind woman handed her a bag of what looked like travelling supplies.
"I can always tell with young love." The innkeeper smiled at them. "It warms my heart to see two young lovers on an adventure." Deidara chuckled and Sakura blushed, but she decided not to correct her. If it made her happy, and helped them get away, then she wouldn't complain. She put down a good sum of money for their stay, before muttering more thanks. The woman smiled and spoke once again "The man said that they have men ready to ambush, but only on the direct routes. You should be safe if you stick to heavily wooded areas." Sakura nodded and turned to leave with Deidara at her side, still sniggering a little.
They were out of the door and into the forest, leaping from one branch to the next with the agility only ninjas possessed. Fleeing from the enemy wasn't Sakura's style, but if what the man in the inn had said was true, then things would be difficult if they confronted them head on. Even with this avoidance tactic they would still face problems. They wouldn't be able to stop at any of the villages for miles and miles, and what's more, they would have to take the long way round. This meant that their journey would take at least four days now instead of the original two if they had been able to cut through the populated areas.
They travelled at a medium pace through the towering trees, sticking to the higher branches to avoid leaving a trail as much as possible. They couldn't travel as fast as she would have liked, as Deidara couldn't access his chakra and seemed to be sticking to this pace, and she wasn't going to take off the bind anytime soon. She knew he was stronger than her with her chakra, even without his clay; she couldn't afford to risk it.
She definitely couldn't let him fall into Iwa's hands. Legally, she should hand him over, as Iwa had more right to him than Konoha. Morally however, she wanted to bring him home. He was a means by which she could return Team Seven to its former glory. She was certain that Iwa wouldn't share information with Konoha. She wasn't even sure if they'd bother to interrogate him; they may just kill him straight off if they got hold of him. Also, Konoha needed the information Deidara had. With it, they may be able to protect Naruto from them, and maybe even bring Sasuke back.
Deidara began to speed up noticeably, making Sakura look at him sideways. He had a slightly confused expression on his face as he seemed to notice how fast he was going.
"Is something wrong?" She called over, using her chakra to keep pace with him.
She was surprised he could go this fast, she was having trouble keeping up, even though she was using her chakra. Although at a strategic advantage, long distance fighters were normally weak concerning the more physical demands of being a ninja, such as taijutsu and travelling. From what Kakashi had told her, Deidara's style especially involved the least physical activity of any other fighting style she had seen or heard of.
"No. I just thought of something, yeah." He slowed down a little, with a smile on his face. Sakura blanched. Why did he look so happy? Here they were, fleeing the enemy in an undignified manner and he was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
They continued travelling, sticking to the forests where it would be harder to track them. Their pace began to slow after around four hours of solid travelling in silence.
The sun was setting as Sakura finally signalled a break, setting down their packs in a small clearing. Deidara sighed and slumped against a tall oak tree looking tired. It seemed he wasn't used to travelling long distances on foot after all. She did the same, enjoying the feeling of her muscles resting as she sat down on the forest floor, her back pressed against firm wood. She pulled a water canteen out of her pack and took a long drink from it, enjoying the coolness. She tried to pass it to Deidara, who appeared to be in the middle of a Shikamaru-style daydream, staring at the sky with a slight smile on his face.
"Deidara." She poked him out of his daydream, almost laughing out loud when he jumped, looking around at her with surprised eyes.
"What is it kitten, hm?"
Her eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but she decided not to give him the satisfaction of reacting.
"Water. You should drink." She passed it to him again, and watched as he gulped some down, the muscles on his neck moving as he drank. He passed it back to her when her had finished, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I need to ask you something, yeah." He looked straight at her, leaning in a little closer than she was comfortable with. "Did you do something weird to me back then, when you found me?"
Her eyes widened. He knew she fell asleep on him? She was sure he'd passed out before her. The fact that he knew about one of the times was bad enough.
"Why does it matter? I healed you didn't I?" She turned away from him so he couldn't see her blush at the prospect of being further humiliated.
"You did heal me didn't you hm? I haven't felt this good in at least four years. I should be more specific. Did you do something to my chest?" His intense gaze hadn't wavered for a second. As his eyes caught hers, and held them like a snake ensnaring a rabbit. "There was something there before that isn't there now. What happened?"
He seemed deadly serious. Sakura didn't see any point in not telling him if it would make him angry and difficult to deal with. Now that he was fully healed he could easily overpower her, and she wasn't sure the threat of death by bracelet was very effective. He did blow himself up after all.
"You had a hole in your chest shaped as if a very large round tumour or something of similar nature had been there, and suddenly disappeared, or shot out of your chest." She frowned before she continued. "It seemed like it had caused your left lung to collapse, and your heart to be smaller and in the wrong place. I made everything like it should be."
"So, my body is normal now? My chest will work?" He seemed as if he doubted what she was saying.
"Yes. There's nothing wrong with it." Sakura had been itching to ask him about what had caused the strange hollow in his chest, but she was a little hesitant to ask. She still found it very strange talking to him. He was Akatsuki. He was part of the group that was trying to kill Naruto and others like him. The group was the biggest threat to Konoha at the moment.
But he was so human. He spilled tea on himself for Christ's sake, twice! She bit her lip. Keeping this image in her mind, she gave an inner "Shannaro!" and took a deep breath.
"How did you get that wound?" She nodded towards where the hole had been.
"What will you give me if I tell you, hmm?" He smirked, knowing she was dying to know, and exploiting it just because he could. "Will you let me go?"
"You know I won't" She replied, trying to stare him down.
"In that case," He leaned towards her ear. "How about you give me your body?" She felt the words against her neck, and they made her shiver, before she realised just how lecherous he was being. She shoved him backwards with bright pink cheeks, muttering furiously, before she realised he was laughing at her. He had been playing with her, testing her reactions, which seemed to amuse him plenty.
"You bastard." She growled out, a vein popping in her forehead when her insult just made him laugh harder. "Are you trying to pick a fight?"
"Is than an invitation, hmm?" He stood up, looking at her with challenge in his eyes. "I'd like to try some taijutsu now you've sorted my chest out, yeah."
Sakura was never one to back out of a challenge, and stood up to meet it, looking up at him with determination, trying not to feel intimidated by his much taller stature. He smiled at her, and she was surprised at how genuine the smile was. She fought the urge to smile back, and put on her efficient face. She really wanted to know.
"If I win you'll tell me how you got that wound. What do you get if you win?" It was only fair since it was a wager, she thought.
"I want a hair tie." He told her with a straight face. She couldn't hold her smile back any longer and actually burst out laughing as she imagined him doing his hair. He raised an eyebrow at her antics. "And I want you to put my hair up. It's annoying me, un." She stopped laughing. He wanted her to do his hair.
But that was just...
"Chicken?" He provoked, smirking at her from behind his long, loose hair.
Sakura was not a chicken. She was the Hokage's apprentice, and she could pack a really, really good punch. She slipped into her graceful fighting stance. Fine, then she just wouldn't lose. She had been humiliated enough on his account; being found with him by her team, being licked, falling unconscious on him again and finally, being thought of as his girlfriend?! She would avenge her dignity.
"The first one to get pinned loses. Just taijutsu." Sakura clenched her fists in anticipation; it had been a while since she had used just taijutsu. She grinned at the thought of smashing his arrogant face into the dirt, payback for the humiliating events of the past twenty-four hours.
He nodded, before dashing towards her suddenly, his leg sweeping under hers to knock it from under her. He was faster than she had anticipated. She jumped backwards, barely dodging the attack. His low attack was quickly followed by a high one, and she crossed her arms over her head in a block. When it connected she grabbed his leg and twisted, meaning to throw his balance off, but his body didn't resist her movements, instead following them in an elegant cartwheel. The way he fought reminded her of Sasuke; very agile and catlike with a sense of mocking superiority.
She dodged a punch before giving him one of her own, only to have it blocked by his strong arms. She saw the kick too late, and it connected with her left shoulder, making her stumble to the side ungracefully. The corners of his mouth curled up with amusement.
Not to be discouraged by his landing the first hit, she charged at him with her fists ready. She feinted to the left, and attacked his right ferociously, landing a sharp blow on his lower jaw, his block coming up too slow. He didn't stop to nurse his wound though, he grabbed the arm that was still retreating from the punch, and used it to flip her onto her back. She gasped as she was pinned beneath him in one swift motion, his hair tickling her neck as he leaned over her, her hands pinned above her head with one of his larger ones.
"I win, yeah." He informed her, seemingly unaffected by the position they were in. Sakura, however, was very aware. She panicked a little as she tried to scoot out from under him, but only succeeded in wriggling and squeezing his waist with her thighs. Why had Kakashi never taught her to get out of this kind of hold before? The old pervert was probably worried about his "reputation".
"Let me go!" She wriggled some more, though that only seemed to amuse him further.
"Say please." He teased, seeming to relish the power he had over her.
Sakura would definitely would not say please. She reached up with her neck, and grasped a thick strand of his long pretty hair in her mouth, ready to bite it off.
"Lut mwe go." She muffled, looking deadly serious as she glared death at him.
Deidara had never seen anyone do that before, and looked at her bemused for a second, before rolling off her in fits of laughter. She had actually threatened to... No it was too weird.
She sat up, lamenting her dignity once again. She straightened her red shirt crossly, the way a cat washes itself when it has just fallen off something with people watching. They should set up camp soon, it was getting dark quickly.
"Let me look at your jaw." She instructed, shuffling closer to him. She had knocked him pretty hard. He leaned towards her, allowing her easy access to the bruising area. She summoned healing chakra and put her right hand on his cheek. Using her chakra to see the damage, she found some bad bruising, but no fractures. She used her chakra to sooth away the injury. His skin was very smooth, she noticed, as her chakra faded away. She could feel a little stubble, but it was very nice skin. Soft, she mused.
"Ahem." Deidara coughed slightly. "I know I'm pretty, but I'm getting hungry... yeah."
Furious with herself, not meeting his eyes, she pulled away and turned around, beginning to unpack the supplies the innkeeper had given them. She was being ridiculous. She knew she was just zoning out because she was tired, but he was making her feel like she was perving on him!
There were rice balls, some dried fish, and some pickled vegetables. They wouldn't last long, they would need to get supplies from a village sometime in the next couple of days. They needed to be extremely cautious with the Iwa hunter-nin skulking around.
She shoved some food in Deidara's direction, still refusing to look at him. She felt him take it, and began to eat her own share. The innkeeper was a very good cook; the rice was the perfect texture, and the filling was delicious. She smiled happily as she munched, her embarrassment forgotten.
Once they had finished eating, Sakura laid four chakra seals in each direction, about fifty feet from where they were camping. This way, if any enemies came near, they would activate and wake her. This way they could both get some sleep.
Deidara was already hunched up against the tree when she returned, almost asleep by the looks of it. He really wasn't used to long-distance travelling, she decided. His eyes opened as slits as he looked at her suspiciously.
"It's you." He said sleepily, before his eyes slipped shut again. "You promised to do my hair, kitten." He mumbled.
She couldn't help but smile a little. She always enjoyed it when people were sleepy. On previous missions, she had often heard Neji mumble things along the lines of: "No, stop it Lee, it looks better on you..." or "That tickles Gai-sensei..."
She curled up on the soft grass, her pack as her pillow and her cloak over her. She looked up at the stars, and was reminded of a time when she used to do this with her old team. When she was naive and happy. When they had Sasuke...
"Sakura..." a croaking voice called out in the dark. "Sakura-chan, it hurts..." That voice... It was Naruto.
"Naruto! Where are you?" She called into the blackness. She couldn't even see her own hand as she reached forward to find her way.
"Sakura-chan, help me..." His voice sounded close. She moved forward faster, and bumped into something wet, warm and sticky.
Suddenly, she could see, and instantly wished she couldn't. Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto were all disembowelled. Naruto had been trying to limp towards her, from what she could tell. Some of his intestines were dragging along the floor, making a sloppy sound as she tried not to scream. Naruto collapsed with a wet slop, slipping in his own blood. Sakura couldn't hold back her screams any more.
"Sakura..."
"Sakura!" A familiar voice interrupted her nightmare. She felt a hand on her mouth, and struggled wildly, still screaming. Deidara's face loomed over her, concerned eyes pleading with hers.
"Sakura, stop screaming, yeah." She stopped, and felt the hand removed from her mouth. She realised where she was, and that it had just been a nightmare.
Without thinking, she thrust herself face-first at his chest, sobbing wildly, not caring who he was or if he didn't particularly want a sobbing girl on him. She gripped the material of his cloak tightly, pulling on it, needing to anchor herself to something to prove that the nightmare was gone.
Deidara had never been confronted with a situation like this before. He never had much to do with girls, period, let alone crying, hysterical ones. He patted her back awkwardly. She stiffened, seeming to realise fully what she was doing, and who with. She pulled away, wiping at her face, her eyes all puffy.
"I'm sorry." She said quickly, instantly composed, just a small wobbling of her lower lip giving her away. "I didn't mean to..." She wasn't sure what she'd been doing, but she knew that once again he had seen her at one of her lows. She pushed herself away from him, sitting back on her ankles.
"Thank you for waking me up." She said, not sure what else to say. She didn't know why he had woken her up, but she was definitely grateful.
He looked a little taken aback. Perhaps he was unused to thanks. "You were making a lot of noise, yeah." He said quietly. The moon was behind him, so she couldn't see his expression, just a silvery outline of his body.
"Oh." She had also endangered their safety. There were hunter-nins looking for them, and she nearly got them caught because of a bad dream? She sighed, a little disgusted at her own weakness. "In that case, I'm going to keep watch. I might have let the hunters know our location if there are any nearby." She doubted she would have been able to sleep anyway, not after that. "Get some sleep; we have a long day tomorrow." She told him, still feeling uneasy that he had seen her like that.
"Hn." He replied, returning to his previous position by the tree and lying back down with a sigh.
She stared up at the sky, the first signs of dawn tinting the clouds behind the leaves above her pink. No, she definitely wouldn't sleep tonight.
