Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto.

"Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you." –Marsha Norman


The quietness of the morning was almost eerie; the citizens of Konoha had yet to awaken and the stillness was unnerving. Sakura found herself unconsciously lightening her footsteps against the rasping grit beneath them. From Deidara's silence, she knew he felt it too; they were on the brink of something.

Shaking her head, she quickened her pace slightly. She just wanted to get this over with. This stupid, unplanned mission had dragged on too long and she'd begun to forget what her life was normally like.

The Hokage tower, like in all hidden villages, lay at the centre. Its looming structure that Sakura usually found protective and reassuring now seemed ominous and foreboding. As they approached the large building, two guards at the entrance became visible. Their footsteps must have alerted the guards to their presence, as they were gazing at Sakura and Deidara in confusion and unease. The younger guard especially stared at Deidara with hate and apprehension in his eyes, gripping his tall weapon with white knuckles. It was unlikely that the guard recognised Deidara as the pictures in the bingo book showed only long-distance shots of Deidara, usually with his cloak pulled high and his scope covering half of his face. No, the reason for the guard's attitude probably had more to do with the fact that Deidara practically oozed self-confidence and danger. The battle experience amassed in his blue eyes would intimidate all but the most seasoned (or stupid) shinobi. That and the fact that Deidara's unusually shaped eyes marked him out as foreign.

"We need to see the Hokage. It's very important." Sakura told them, feeling smug as they saluted her. Her position as the Hokage's apprentice, although tough, definitely had its benefits. Even though she was a woman, she was shown respect. This in itself was a novelty in Fire Country, but shinobi were exceptions to many a rule, though sexism was definitely still an issue.

"But... Him? He's neither a citizen nor shinobi of Konoha. Do you have any papers for him?" The younger guard gestured towards the blonde artist with contempt, torn between his deference towards Sakura and his poorly masked loathing for foreigners. Konoha ninja could be very discriminating to ninja of other villages, the constant threat of betrayal making them spiteful.

Sakura shook her head. Papers? She'd like to see what kind of paperwork would let Deidara into the heart of her ninja village. Shizune would have a heart attack.

"He could be a threat to both the Hokage and the village. We'll have to disarm him before he's allowed inside." The older guard silenced a protest from the other with a stern glare before motioning towards Deidara's waist, from which hung Sakura's kunai and the clay pouch.

Deidara sighed. He'd only just gotten his clay back and he already had to part with it? He shrugged off his cloak sulkily before unstrapping his makeshift clay pouch from his belt. He tossed it to the younger guard who started a little before catching it clumsily, still glaring with hatred at the artist, edging away with his hands scrunched into tight fists. The young guard didn't want Deidara where he couldn't see him, Sakura noticed, though she supposed it was entirely reasonable. The calm, yet extremely dangerous presence Deidara exuded would put most people on edge.

"Could you..." The guard with the greying hair held up some rope awkwardly, unsure of how to ask Deidara to allow himself to be tied up. "I need to put these on you..."

Sakura saw Deidara's countenance harden, his posture turn defensive. She knew he really disliked being tied up, and things were likely to turn ugly if restraints were enforced. She would rather not see Deidara hurt, though it was more likely that a large proportion of Konoha's best would be down before Deidara was subdued. The Hokage would definitely be in a bad mood. Sakura stepped towards the guard, doing her best to look authoritative.

"That won't be necessary. He's under my control. My captive. I'll take responsibility for him." She assured them firmly, one hand on her hip. She heard Deidara make a strangled coughing sound, and she smiled inwardly. If they got a chance to talk later, then she was sure he'd have something to say about that comment. For now though, it seemed, he was willing to play along.

"But sir, I don't think that's-"

"Are you questioning my skill as a ninja? Is this an insult to my honour?" The expression she wore was the one Naruto sometimes had nightmares about.

Deidara watched with mild interest, a light smile forming as he saw both guards physically recoil with fear at the sight of the angry kunoichi. Sakura really was something, both in the field and out it seemed. He hid his smile as Sakura turned to look at him, just in case her anger wasn't an act.

"Well, are you coming?" She raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the entrance before going through before him, trusting him to follow her. Still, he hesitated. Her demeanour reminded him unmistakably of the time when she had threatened to smash his brains into a wall. Noticing his dithering, she paused to look back at him, a discerning, yet somewhat light-hearted expression on her feminine features.

"What's wrong, are you chicken?" She called softly, smirking a little. He knew she was thinking about their time by the river. The short time they shared in which life had seemed playful and fun, where there had been no fear or expectations. With her prompt, he finally realised why he felt so tense. He was worried about her. If his plan was a little wide of the mark, if any aspect of it went askew, she could have the whole of Akatsuki at the door of her country, with a grudge.

Wait. This was not a usual progression of thought. He had never doubted himself before, never in his entire life. Before he met Sakura, he'd always had a lot confidence in himself and his art. Though, looking back on where this confidence had gotten him in the past, perhaps it could be considered overconfidence. He had blown himself up as a result of a mood-swing after all.

"Deidara?" She sounded concerned, her large eyes seeking his out for reassurance that he was alright.

"I'm right behind you, yeah." He smiled, though it didn't seem natural, even to him. She frowned at him, but carried on up the steep wooden stairs, her sandals clunking with every step. He couldn't help but follow.

Could he really put her and her village at risk? He knew what he would have said just one week ago. Yes. Hell yes he could. If it got him where he wanted, why should he be worrying about some little kunoichi and her friends? Hadn't his motto always been to take what he wanted, and to live with nothing to lose? Maybe that's why he'd been so overconfident. Even his own life had meant very little to him.

They reached the top of the long spiral staircase after a small, but very nervous silence. They continued along a short, wide corridor. Sakura stopped suddenly, causing him to almost bang into her, his chest coming into contact with her back.

"Is something wrong, hm?" He asked, bemused by her strange behaviour. He placed a hand on her tense shoulder and tugged her round to face him. He was surprised at the expression she was making. Her eyes were lowered, and she was biting her plump lower lip. He felt one of her hands reach up to grab the material of his shirt, pulling at it lightly. She shook her head, and released the lip she had been holding hostage with her teeth.

"Be very careful. Something's not right with Konoha at the moment." She looked up at him with trouble in her eyes, and it occurred to him that perhaps this young, seemingly naive girl had far too many burdens for someone so small. "The Hokage is the only official you can trust. If anyone else attempts to make you a deal, you should refuse it for your own safety."

With those words of warning, she soundlessly moved away from him and continued walking without looking back. Stunned, he fell in step behind him once more. So even Konoha had political problems it seemed.

Seconds later, they reached an average-looking door, upon which Sakura gave two sharp knocks.

"Enter." Came a hoarse, broken voice. Sakura pushed open the door with a small click, head bowed slightly as she entered the room.

Deidara was almost blinded by the intensity of the light assaulting his eyes, and found himself squinting at the silhouette of a woman, framed by the bright sky.

"Sakura!" He heard a chair clatter to the floor and quick footsteps on the wooden floor. He threw an arm up to shield his vision from the sun, his eyes adjusting slowly. A tall woman was embracing Sakura, her head resting upon the small medic's pink one, her eyes closed.

"Shishou!" Sakura sounded surprised, but happy all the same, as she hugged the older woman back. "I have so much to tell you."

"There are things I must tell you also, I'm afraid. I assume your story will have some explanation as to why the Akatsuki isn't wearing a chakra bind." Tsunade's slumped demeanour had tightened, and she had shifted so she was standing tensed between Deidara and her student. "If you're planning anything ..." The ferocious look in her eyes made Deidara shudder. Just a little.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Hokage-sama. That's all, yeah." He bowed his head slightly, but kept his eyes trained on Tsunade's stance. He wasn't stupid, but he could be polite if it was called for.

"I see." Her eyes were still narrowed. "Ibiki!" She called. A quick blur became the man himself, one knee touching the floor, head bowed with respect.

"What can I-" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Deidara, a deep frown forming on his scarred, wrinkled face.

"Take him to the underground cells. I want him under heavy guard." Tsunade's command rang clearly through the oppressive atmosphere. Ibiki snapped his fingers and was instantly joined by two more figures, anbu masks in place. "I don't want us to be disturbed. See to it that nobody enters the tower."

"Understood."

"You're putting me in a cell? You don't want to talk to me, hm?" Deidara looked offended.

"Don't be so impatient, brat. I want to hear it from my apprentice first." Tsunade had returned to her desk, tapping a pen against the edge of it angrily. It seemed the elation of Sakura's return had worn off, and her foul mood had returned. "Will you be good, or do I have to send someone to babysit?"

Deidara glared. Being patronised was almost as bad as being tied up.

"Hokage-sama, maybe it's best if we don't-"

"I'll behave." Deidara replied. His voice was strained with the effort it took not to swear and threaten to kill them all for underestimating him. "I trust you'll show me equal respect once you're finished here, yeah."

Sakura was surprised, to say the least. Things were going far better than she'd expected, although Tsunade's mood didn't seem to be helping matters. She hadn't known Deidara could be so... Self-possessed.

"Fine, Akatsuki, I'll hear you out, but don't expect much. Konoha doesn't make deals with criminals."

Sakura watched as he was led away, Ibiki leading and the two anbu either side.

"Now Sakura, what's this all about?"


The cell he'd been placed in was cramped but clean, and Deidara knew he'd seen far worse. There was even a small bed built into the wall, though the white sheets felt stiff and starchy. He hadn't slept in two days, but he was in far too impatient of a mood to try now.

He'd been issued with a new chakra bind, since the old one had been forgotten. This one was thankfully not pink, instead just a plain silver chain around his neck. He fiddled with it absentmindedly.

How long had he been in here and Sakura up there? He knew it couldn't be very long, as there was a bright shard of morning light shining through a crack near the ceiling. If it had been hours, then the angle of the light would have changed.

Staring up at the ceiling from his position on the bed, hands behind his head, he wondered what Sakura was doing. Were they talking about him right now? He wondered how much she'd tell the Hokage. Would she tell her about their kiss? Deidara smiled a little at the memory. Her reactions had been so innocent; the sweet tentativeness of the first few seconds, before she gave in to him and closed her eyes. He'd loved the way her breathing had stopped for a moment, so full of naive surprise. He knew she'd been affected by him, and he loved it.

Deidara was no stranger to women being affected by him, however. Being both a ninja and having all the mystique of a criminal organisation made him popular, though it probably helped that he was incredibly good looking. He had never suffered from a cold bed. In the past, whenever he'd needed a woman's touch, there had always been someone willing and eager, someone to fill in the gaps between missions. He knew they only saw the ninja, the body and his skills, but that was okay. They served each other's purposes. He'd never talked to those women. He'd never told any of them about his past, or his present for that matter. Not like Sakura. He'd not spoken a word about his past to anybody except Leader. It was a part of being a missing nin; you didn't ask and you didn't tell. Your problems were your own, even if you had temporary allies. No, Sakura was something else altogether, though he still didn't know what.

Approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and he sat up as the door was unbolted with a loud screech before swinging open to reveal the Hokage, escorted by the two anbu from earlier, but no Sakura. He felt slightly disappointed.

"You had something to say Akatsuki?"


Sakura leaned back on her soft, plush bed putting her hands behind her head and sighing. The conversation with Tsunade had gone well. Sakura had recounted all the events of the past few days - leaving out a few irrelevant details of course. Tsunade couldn't possible benefit from knowing about Sakura sharing her first kiss with him, or the dark features of his past in Iwagakure. No, some things were best left unsaid. The comfort Deidara had given her on the night of her first kill wasn't mentioned, not because Sakura was embarrassed, but somehow it felt far too private to share. She had, however, told Tsunade how Deidara had saved her, even when the chakra bind wasn't influencing him. At that, her Shishou's eyebrows had risen slightly, before returning to her perpetual frown.

Sakura supposed Deidara was being questioned by Tsunade now, and she knew she'd do a month of night-shifts just to overhear their conversation. However, Deidara was out of her hands now and evidently none of her business, so why was she still thinking about that man? Because he was a damned mystery, that's why. Why on earth had he willingly escorted them back to Konoha, when he could have turned tail and ran back to Akatsuki? He was either very stupid, or there was a larger game afoot. Sakura couldn't help but suspect the latter.

Through her shishou, she had found out that her team had still not yet returned. They were still out looking for Sasuke. Since Kakashi's last correspondence about Sakura, there had been nothing. They had three more days to return before another squad, probably including her, was sent to retrieve them. That wasn't all; the explanation for Tsunade's crushed appearance turned out to be the death of Jiraiya. While the rest of their allies were away chasing Sasuke, the great Sannin had left alone to protect Konoha from the real threat. Sakura couldn't help but resent Sasuke for this. If he hadn't left, then Jiraiya wouldn't have had to go alone to meet his death. If Naruto, Kakashi, or even Sasuke himself had been with him, then the outcome would probably been very different.

Sakura groaned and turned over violently, stuffing her face into her soft black pillows. She would not get upset. Death was part of life as a shinobi. If anyone should be upset, it wasn't her.

Poor Shishou...

Sakura rolled over, so she was once again looking over the hairline cracks in her ceiling. She felt her eyes begin to droop and her head start to nod. How could she be this tired? It was only late afternoon.

She was dreaming again. Another twisted fabrication of her own mind was pulling her in, taking her to the cliffs looking over her own village. Flames were consuming buildings, people fleeing from their homes. She could see the distant shapes of children being trampled by the masses as they tried to escape the destruction. Somehow, through all the monstrosities she could see, she knew everything was going to be okay. He'd come. He'd come to save them.

She felt a breeze at her back, though it felt hollow through the shallow construction of her mind. A bone-crushingly tight grip encased her upper arm, though she didn't care about the pain. A kunai was pressed against her neck, pressed so hard that she could feel rivulets of cold blood tickling her chest. She wasn't afraid.

"He'll come."

A sharp knocking sounded on Sakura's window, many hours after her dreaming had become dead sleep. She woke slowly, coming out of her slumber in a haze of confusion.

"I'm coming..." She stumbled towards her window, peering blearily at the figure crouched outside in the darkness. It was Naruto. She quickly opened her window, catching her finger on the metal catch.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay? Tsunade-baachan told me you went home..."

"I'm fine Naruto." She sighed in both tiredness and relief. If Naruto was uninjured, then everybody else would be. He seemed to always get the brunt of the enemies' attacks. "Come in. I take it nobody was hurt."

He nimbly leapt inside, landing on her soft carpet with barely a sound. He turned to face her, and the broken, tired expression on his boyish face made her break a little inside.

"We did it again, Sakura-chan. We were too late, twice! Itachi's dead and we missed Sasuke by minutes." He sat down on the floor, his shoulders hunched around his neck. "I wasn't strong enough to get past that guy... I'm so sorry, Sakura."

She sat down next to him, putting her thin arms around his form, which was shaking ever so slightly.

"Naruto." She stroked his hair, like a mother with her child. "I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so happy to have all the people around me that there are. I consider myself very lucky to have this many friends that I trust. If I lost a single friend as a result of searching for an old one, who betrayed us all, then I can't describe how terrible that would be, Naruto." She smiled as she felt him relax a little.

"Can I stay here tonight?" He mumbled quietly, snuffling a little into his knees like a child.

"You can have the sofa."

* * * * *

Perhaps as a result of her afternoon nap, Sakura felt unable to sleep. She lay on her side, listening to the oddly comforting sounds of Naruto's snores in the next room. Her thoughts were on Deidara. She wanted to know so badly what had transpired between him and her shishou, but was unsure of who to ask, or even if it was her business. Her bedside clock told her it was the very early hours of the morning, so she doubted the Hokage would be awake.

The same questions kept on repeating in her sore mind, denying her rest or peace. Why had he saved her? Why had he been nice? Why on earth had he volunteered to be taken prisoner? Most of all, she wanted to know his motive. His plan.

She sat up. She supposed she would have to ask him herself.

Getting past the guards had been easy. It seemed that rumours of her 'subduing' an S-Class criminal had done wonders for her reputation. They had taken one look at her bed-ruffled hair and the determined glare in her eyes, and parted hastily.

She entered the steel door quickly, closing it behind her with a metal creak. She stood still for a moment, allowing her eyes to get accustomed to the dark. She could hear deep, masculine breathing, and moved towards the sound. She could just about make out his figure, resting sat up against the wall. Deidara was asleep, which Sakura found rather anti-climactic. She smiled, wondering how he could keep on sleeping despite the noise she made coming in. Her smile vanished once his position became entirely visible.

His hands were pulled tight above him, manacled to chains attached to the wall. He wore only his trousers, the shirt she'd given him no longer there. She fumbled along the wall for a switch, and upon finding one, she pushed. When the dim flicker lit the room, she gasped.

"Deidara..." She exclaimed softly.

He had bruises on his ribs, the dark purple colour clearly indicating at least a couple of broken ribs. There were deep welts on his left cheekbone, as if his head had been banged viciously against the floor. That would explain his deep sleep.

She walked over to him, crouching before the beaten body of the vibrant man she had become so unexplainably attached to. She summoned her healing power, and began the work of fixing him up, starting with his ribs. She used her chakra to inspect the damage, before pushing his ribs into place using her hands. He shifted slightly, and she used one of her hands to hold him still at the shoulder, pushing him closer against the wall. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted, so she closed her eyes while she finished mending his broken ribs.

"You always look so pretty when you do that, yeah." His voice was hoarse, but it still managed to send shivers down her spine. She could feel his breath on the top of her head, as she listened to his heart for any irregularities.

"They were going to send another medic to heal you before the morning weren't they? So I wouldn't know." She made a noise of disgust. "That Ibiki. He's scum."

She knew that Ibiki was probably only doing what he thought was best for Konoha, but sometimes he just looked like a sadistic bastard to her.

She moved on to his face, wincing a little as she saw his good looks marred by the dirty cuts. She once again pushed her chakra into his skin, but this time, their eyes locked and she found herself unable to close them, drawn into his deep blue abyss, their vibrancy enhanced by the soft glow of her chakra. She found it impossible to look away until her chakra stopped, the healing complete.

"Why did they do this? I thought you said you'd behave." She found it hard to believe that her village would do something like this without provocation.

"They said..." Deidara swallowed. "They said that they wouldn't grant my request unless I let them perform a mind scan. A complete one."

Sakura gasped. Nobody had ever been subjected to a complete mind scan. Firstly, it wasn't even possible without the participant's complete cooperation. Secondly, it was such a personal, intimate thing that it would be considered only in the most extreme of circumstances. Considering Deidara's past, she wouldn't blame him if he'd kicked up a fuss.

"You must have had one hell of a request then." Sakura sighed and pushed herself away from him, standing up.

"You could say that, yeah." He smiled, though his eyes weren't completely in it.

She reached for the chain holding his manacled hands to the wall, and gave a chakra enhanced tug. The chain came away from the wall at once, showering Deidara with crumbling parts of the wall.

"Sorry." Sakura muttered, though she didn't quite understand the reproachful look on Deidara's face.

"I could have done that hours ago, yeah. I was just behaving." He looked at her disapprovingly.

"I see." She smiled. She'd tell them it was her when she got a chance. "Would you tell me the reason why you're going to such great lengths to be on the Hokage's good side? I can't imagine something so important that you'd let yourself be tied up."

"Well you see, I want..." He paused. "I want to become a citizen of Konoha, yeah."


A/N: My dearest, most beloved readers. I apologise for the huuuge delay. *hides* If it hadn't been for all your support, I doubt I would ever have picked up the keyboard again. Every time I would lose inspiration, another message of encouragement would pop up, and inspire me to keep writing. You are my rocket fuel! *hugs rocket fuel*

Special thanks goes out to Volleys-chan and Seraserastuff, my fellow authors whom I respect greatly.

I really hope the writer's block has gone now...