Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


"I know this will not remain, but my broken wings can cross the ocean still.

How far should I go, drifting in the wind?"


Listening to his gentle, rhythmic breathing, she realised how much she worried for him, and was afraid of what the dawn would bring.


Sakura dreamed deeply that night, interrupted only by an occasional rustling of bed covers from her blond patient. Her hazed delusions took the form of her worries and fears, conjuring up illogical worst-case scenarios, involving her friends, comrades, and in nearly all cases, Deidara. It seemed that the glance of his vulnerability, despite all his fearsome strength, had placed him firmly in her list of people to be concerned about. People she cared about.

The recollections of the disturbing dreams faded as she returned to consciousness, sparing her the unpleasant memories. She woke slowly; the white cotton curtains did little to block out the morning sun, and as a result the clean, thin beams of sunlight cut boldly across the room, making her eyes adjust quickly.

Finding herself in relatively the same position she had fallen asleep in, her legs suddenly felt very cramped. The tight catlike position she had slept in had left her legs with little blood supply, and she could feel the unpleasant numbness that would surely be followed by pins and needles.

Wincing, she unfolded her legs from her chest, stretching them out in front of her before rotating her ankles. She enjoyed the satisfying pops the joints made as she flexed them. She stood up shakily before stretching with a silent yawn.

She padded her way quietly to the curtains, bare feet making small sounds on the linoleum floor. She was momentarily blinded when she parted the curtains, the morning sun penetrating the room fiercely. It had to be around seven in the morning. She looked over to the bed; it seemed that Deidara had moved around a lot in his sleep, as the sheets were tangled around his legs. She found herself relieved to see the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Sakura needed to check how his eyes had healed, but she didn't want to disturb him; it looked like he was finally resting without nightmares. She had been tired and shaken last night when she'd healed them, so she wasn't sure her job had been as thorough as she would have liked.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, the crisp cotton rustling gently as she sank into it. She leaned over the sleeping figure to assess the damage done by the mind scan. Deidara's head was resting on his bent arm, his masculine jaw in line with his elbow, and his lips slightly parted. His muscular arms looked beautifully sun kissed against the clinical white of the bed.

Focusing on her task, she gently placed her hands over his eyes and carefully released her chakra into the previously traumatised sockets. Sighing in relief, it seemed she'd done a much better job the previous night than she'd anticipated. The healing was nearly complete; she just needed to fix some slight retinal bruising, which wouldn't take more than a few minutes with her abilities. Her precise chakra actively broke down the clotted blood, returning it to its capillaries and leaving what she knew were clear, functioning eyes.

Sakura leaned back, pleased with her work. She didn't need to see his eyes to know that she'd done a good job; her chakra gave her a good view of all internal workings.

She had found slight discrepancies between the two, though nothing that would affect his sight. It appeared that the chakra pathways in his left eye were enlarged, the complete opposite of Kakashi's, and probably Itachi's too. She made a mental note to ask about it when the opportunity arose. For now, she settled with holding his long hair out of the way so she could peer curiously at the eye, touching it lightly in a vain attempt to discover a reason behind the disparity.

"You know kitten," came a confident, though slightly hoarse voice, "I think we've been over this before. It's rude to molest people in their sleep...yeah"

Retracting her hands from his face she looked down at the newly awoken man. He was grinning, and suddenly without her realising, so was she.

"How are you feeling?" She asked gently through her smile, "Can you open your eyes?"

As an answer, he cracked them open, one at a time, and focussed them on hers unwaveringly.

As their eyes met, her grin became wider, and she found herself unable to stop a giggle from bubbling up and out of her. The mixture of relief, happiness and nervousness seemed to have dissolved her self control. The perplexed look on Deidara's sleepy face didn't help the situation as she found herself unable to stop. He patiently waited for her laughter to subside before speaking.

"Is it something I said?" He asked, bemused.

"I think... I think I'm just happy to see you," Sakura replied honestly. She'd been worried that he'd never show her that infectious grin of his again.

"The feeling's mutual, believe me." Deidara gave a sigh, before sitting up; quite a feat for someone who was supposed to unconscious for another day or two. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised; he'd come round from her own anaesthetics in just a few hours. This man did not like to be unconscious.

A wince and small grunt of pain brought her attention back to the problems at hand. It was possible that there was a problem she'd missed. Medical examinations didn't always work especially well when the patient wasn't awake; they couldn't tell you where it hurt.

"I need to examine you again. I just want to make sure nothing went wrong."

"Be gentle with me, yeah."

"Sit with your back against the headboard. This might make you feel dizzy, and your head's been abused enough without you falling on it."

He obliged, shuffling back until he was seated against the hard back of the cheap bed.

From her position on the bed, she could easily reach his head, and brought her hands up into contact with his temples, probing delicately with her chakra. She didn't expect to find anything. His interaction with her seemed to be completely normal...

Well, the Deidara kind of normal.

Her first assumptions were correct, she found. Although she wasn't exactly an expert on brain anatomy, she could sense no trauma, swelling or bruising on the brain tissue. It seemed as if the only damage had been to his eyes, which was very lucky. Most patients came out of a scan with some mild brain swelling, at the very least and the less cooperative ones usually came out as vegetables. It seemed that Deidara's mind was very durable.

She withdrew her chakra slowly, trying to avoid causing him dizziness from sudden changes of the pressure in his brain. She removed her hands from his temples and found her awareness return to her own body, examination complete.

Without warning, she found his hands at her elbows, and his head resting comfortably against her shoulder. She could feel his soft warm breath on her collarbone, tickling it just a little. She felt a shiver run down her spine. His hands were hot against her cool arms and all at once, she was far too aware of his of his semi-clothed state.

"Deidara?" She inquired, her breathing a touch irregular.

"Just let me stay here for a while, hm?" He sounded tired, and it seemed like the events of the past few days were finally catching up to him.

Acceptance, she had come to realise, was not something Deidara was used to. After witnessing his lack of surprise at the hostile treatment he'd suffered since he arrived in Konoha, she knew why he seemed so arrogant and egocentric. He never gave anybody a chance to reject him, because he rejected them first.

So why was he not rejecting her?

Sakura didn't move, instead allowing herself to tentatively relax into the contact, trying to hide the nervous tremor in her hands.

"Okay," she consented softly, shakily.

She could allow him this. His past, the torturous events he had endured as a child, and the hardships he had borne over the past few years were more than enough to deserve human contact, her contact.

What she wanted to know was why was she so on edge? No, not on edge. She was full of anticipation. The kiss they had shared, far above the ground, the dark, forceful encounter in the cell, his body hard and hot against hers. The images came unbidden to her, reminding her of the diminished space between them. His honest confession; the scars he'd shown to no one else. Their very own bond.

It was then, in that room with the cheap curtains and cold floor, that she felt hope for the first time in a long time. It was so small that at first she didn't trust that it was real and not just wishful thinking. It made the pale sunlight on her back feel warm, and the worries of war, death, and loneliness seem less terrible. It was a start.

She let her arms slide up past his, resting on his firm shoulders hesitantly, her actions wavering and unsure. She chose the words carefully before she spoke;

"I think," she paused, "I think things are going to get better."

He gave a low hum of what sounded like agreement, but she couldn't be sure. She felt the warm weight of his head move off her, and then he was looking at her, his strikingly shaped eyes meeting hers in an intense gaze that was not entirely platonic.

"It might take time," she continued, "but I'm sure things will change. Konoha is a good place, and these people may surprise you, if you let them."

His hands remained on her arms, tightening fractionally as his eyebrows twitched together in a momentary frown. She sounded so convinced and earnest, so certain of a distant happiness, that it was all he could do not to get swept away by her untried optimism. Maybe he could allow himself these cautious hopes, allow himself to trust the world a little, to live life without the past obscuring his vision and the choices he made. He had always lived life with an end in clear sight; he would die young, recklessly, and beautifully. It would be a tragically artistic end to the life he had suffered through for long enough, and he would be remembered for it.

But that wasn't right. He's already had his big end. His death. He'd been meant to die, and maybe part of him had died, back in that explosion. But her face, leaning over him, fear, concern and hope all looking into his damaged soul through her pure eyes, giving him a second chance. He was only just realising what she had done for him, and what it meant.

"Sakura, I-" he began, but was cut off by a sudden intrusion, as it was made apparent that the door had no lock.

Tsunade, her raised eyebrow and a group of four faceless anbu stood at the door.

Blushing, Sakura leapt away from Deidara, stumbling over her chair as she did so, panicked that her actions would cause her mentor to reconsider any deal she was planning to offer Deidara.

"Shishou! It's not what it-"

"I don't care Sakura," Tsunade interrupted, "I have some very important and confidential matters to talk about with Deidara."

Sakura took the hint, and practically ran to the other side of the room to pick up her shoes, sparing quick glance at Deidara.

"We'll talk later," she said under her breath, and he gave a small nod, a tiny crease between his brows showing his annoyance at their interruption.

She turned to bow to her superiors and exited the room, her head held low to hide her burning cheeks. She heard the her shishou mutter to her guards to make sure the room was be secure, before the door closed, and three of the masked ninjas flickered off to do their Hokage's bidding, while the last stood outside Deidara's room.

Now Sakura was curious. She couldn't understand why Tsunade would hide matters concerning Deidara from her. She'd been the one to bring him in after all, and one of the only people in Konoha who knew of his presence in the hidden village. Perhaps her tutor was just being respectful of Deidara's confidentiality, not that she'd ever paid much attention to those sorts of rules in the past.

Although she tried to dismiss it as paranoia, Sakura had a feeling that secrets were being kept from her deliberately. The bad kind.


After being kicked out of Deidara's room, Sakura had been at a loss of what to do with herself. The hospital was already fully staffed, with only a few patients. She wasn't needed, so she'd wandered home, dawdling past the flower shop, but it seemed that Ino was elsewhere.

After a quick visit to her apartment to wash up and change, she'd decided to head down to the training grounds, after attacking her kunai viciously with a whetstone. She hadn't done a lick of physical exercise since she returned with Deidara, and she couldn't afford to let her skills slip, especially not with the rumours of war circulating around the shinobi population.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her body into her warm up stances and stretches, scanning the training grounds, trying to decide which techniques to work on. Target practice was an obvious area to improve upon, though her taijutsu needed work too. Since she had no sparring partner, she decided to try out her newly sharpened kunai on the multiple bulls-eyes planted around the training area.

Leaping into action, she propelled herself from one tree to another, kunai flying from her fingertips at frightening speeds, always hitting the target, but in some cases, not quite the bullseye. It was a drastic improvement from her genin days, now that she actually practiced, instead of only daydreaming and studying. Still, she frowned at the result. She could do better.

The next hour was spent launching kunai and shuriken at innocent trees, from the angles the poor conifers would never expect. She kept a high pace; throw, throw, throw, flick, throw, clash, collect, repeat. She found solace in the mindless exercise, her worries, suspicions and problems burned away with the strenuous activity, and she found peace in her own mind, if only for a while.

Only when sweat had soaked her outfit and plastered her hair to her forehead did she slow down. She landed nimbly, her legs bent and one hand spread on the training ground floor for balance. Sighing, she straightened up and began the task of retrieving her kunai again; the most tedious part of target practice.

"You know, it's a lot easier if you attach chakra strings to your projectiles," a friendly

voice suggested, making Sakura jump. "And if you get really good, you could even make them fly at a curve, you know; surprise the enemy."

Tenten stepped out from behind a tall pine tree, holding one of Sakura's kunai. Without warning, she launched it straight at Sakura, who slapped it between two hands, stopping it just before her surprised face. Tenten smiled kindly.

"You look like you could use a sparring partner," she finished.

"You're right," Sakura replied, "thank you."

"I hear medic-nins are good at dodging," she grinned, slipping into a fighting stance and reaching for a small scroll, "would you oblige me?"

"I'd love to," Sakura grinned back in reply, and sank into her own stance, low to the ground but light on her toes, ready to dodge or deflect whatever came at her.

Tenten launched herself into the air with a sharp battle cry, unravelling her weapon scroll with a blur. With a loud popping sound, weapons materialised and were flying towards Sakura at incredible speeds. Any normal ninja would have difficulty dodging so many projectiles at once, but Sakura was no normal ninja.

As she jumped, skidded, and twisted around the missiles, she couldn't help but be reminded of her fight against Sasori, although this time there was no Elder Chiyo helping her. Fortunately for Sakura, Tenten wasn't quite on the same level as Sasori, and there was no chance of being fatally poisoned. However, it still took a lot of effort to avoid the mass of pointy objects, tactically thrown so that if she dodged one, she'd immediately be in the path of another. Tenten was good.

At one point, Sakura could swear she actually heard the kunai fly by her ear after an unexpected tactical maneuver, and was a little shocked to see a few strands of pink floating gently to the forest floor, but she was glad Tenten wasn't going easy on her; aiming to kill during practice was considered a courtesy, as anything less would imply that they didn't consider each other competent enough. They were fighting without chakra, but on equal terms.

Finally, the two kunoichi came to a rest, Tenten having run out of weapons to hurl at Sakura, who was significantly more out of breath than her opponent due to all the darting about she'd been doing to avoid being cut to ribbons.

"Not a single scratch on you..." Tenten shook her head, twirling a kunai as she approached Sakura. "I'm impressed. You've definitely got the right moves for a short-range fighter. I have a question though; what would you do if you came up against a long range fighter? Evasive techniques can only get you so far. Haven't you learned any long distance offensive attacks?"

"It's just not something I've really considered necessary before," Sakura replied, "I've always been paired with someone who can fight long range, so I haven't had to learn."

"I see," mused Tenten. She tapped her chin with the flat side of her kunai and looked at Sakura sideways. "So you've always got someone to fight for you."

"That's not what I meant!" Sakura defended, "What I meant was, I trust them, my teammates. I don't want to... get in their way trying to do things I'm not good at. I watch their backs. I always have..." she trailed off, realising how much like her twelve year old self she sounded.

"You're worried about burdening your team?"

"I guess it wouldn't be a problem if there were some long range techniques I could use... Long range techniques usually involve training that takes years to master." Sakura sighed, defeated. "You don't happen to know any that I could pick up in a few days do you?" Sakura said lamely in a half-joking manner.

"There is one... You'd have to have insane chakra control to master it. I don't mind teaching it to you though," Tenten said brightly, "that is, if you'll teach me how to dodge like a cat."


It was well past lunchtime by the time Sakura reached her apartment, dirty but elated at her success, with chakra depleted but still smiling. It had been a long time since she'd trained so hard. She had learned a lot from Tenten, and hoped to train with her again sometime in the future.

She may as well have not bothered showering that morning, she realised; she was covered in sweat, mud, and bits of undergrowth from the training grounds. She stripped and showered quickly, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face at the thought of what she had learned. She couldn't wait to see Naruto's face when he saw the technique her and Tenten had come up with.

After her shower, she made a quick lunch consisting of a vegetable cup ramen, adding pieces of meat for protein. She hadn't realised how hungry she'd been until she had the food in front of her and the smell of the ramen wafting towards her.

Mindful of the time, she ate quickly. She'd promised to return to Deidara's room, and it had been hours since Tsunade had begun the negotiation talk with Deidara. He was probably bored, with only the stolid anbu guards for company.

As she walked hurriedly in the direction of Konoha's hospital, a delicious smell caught her attention. A dango vendor was selling hot, fresh dumplings at the side of the street. Sakura smiled, thinking of how bland hospital food was. Deidara would surely appreciate some of Konoha's finest treats instead of the food he was most likely receiving, so she bought a small bag of the steaming, syrupy skewers from the cheerful peddler.

"Haruno Sakura?" a monotonous voice questioned, nearly making her drop her paper bag. It was one of Tsunade's messengers from anbu.

"That's right," she confirmed.

"The Hokage needs to see you."

"Right now?" Sakura asked, disappointed. The dango would get cold.

The messenger nodded sharply before flickering away, presumably having other jobs to do.

Sighing, Sakura tucked the bag of dango under her arm, and altered her course to the Hokage tower.


"I have a mission for you."

"A mission? Now?" Sakura reiterated.

"Is there a problem with that, Sakura?"

"No Shishou."

"I'm sending you to Kiku Village to control an outbreak of fever. It seems to be contagious and resistant, and it has caused some deaths amongst the people. It needs to be addressed. Can you do that for me Sakura?"

"Yes shishou," Sakura confirmed. She had heard of Kiku Village; it was a small civilian town on the close border of Fire, and was frequented often by travelling shinobi. It was famous for its hot springs which were said to be amongst the best.

"You have permission to take what you need from the hospital's stock; I'll sign out whatever you take. Any questions?"

"Actually, yes," interjected Genma, who stood beside Sakura, his trademark senbon dangling precariously at the side of his mouth. "Why am I here?"

"I'm not sending anyone on lone missions anymore. It's just too dangerous for a medic to go alone, as healing drains their chakra. Konoha can't afford any more losses, so we're playing it safe." Tsunade looked menacingly over her fingers at Genma. "My apprentice is in your hands. I trust you'll look after her."

The menace in her voice was not missed by either of her subordinates, and Sakura shot him an apologetic look as soon as Tsunade returned her gaze to the papers on her desk. The blonde scribbled something on one, and stamped it viciously before rolling it up handing it over to Sakura, who accepted the scroll dutifully.

"Give this to Shinnosuke, the village head. He will assist you in your mission and give you accommodation. You'll leave this afternoon. You have two hours to prepare."

And with that, Sakura had been sent away.

She rushed home to pack quickly, taking only two spare outfits; she hoped the mission wouldn't last more than a couple of days. She packed her standard medical kit, along with her more specialised herbal kit. Although it was only a within-borders mission involving civilians, she still packed enough kunai to get her through a battle or two; she was a kunoichi after all, and letting one's guard down could be death for a shinobi.

Aware that she had very little time, she rushed to the hospital, leaving her bags at her apartment to collect on her way to the gate. Before she rushed out of the door, she saw the small paper bag sitting on the table, almost forgotten. Smiling, she grabbed it and ran, sprinting towards the hospital. She should still have time, she thought.

The receptionist barely noticed her as she came dashing into the building, trying to recall where Deidara's room had been. Remembering, she hurried towards the South wing, rushing past trolleys and nurses and patients, to come to a halt at the room where Deidara had been held.

"What's going on?" she queried the guard who stood at the door, as he refused to stand aside. "Is there a problem?"

"The patient you wish to see has been moved for further questioning. The room is being used for something else now."

"And I don't suppose you'd care to tell me where he is?" she bit out frustrated, tired of the games her shishou seemed to be playing.

"That's classified information."

"Well of course it is!" she fumed, before turning on her heel to storm away.

She paused when she felt the bag in her hand bump lightly against her leg as she strode along. Sighing, she paused, and turned around to face the anbu once more.

"Do you have a pen?"


"You're late," remarked Genma dryly, with a wink. "Picking up habits from old perverts?"

"Even if I am, that's still no reason to leer at me. Don't you know I'm young and impressionable?" She paused for effect, but couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "I might fall in love with you."

"We both know you already are," Genma grinned obliviously, before looking over her small pack and travelling cloak. "Have you got everything? Medicine? Weapons? Spare panties?"

She gave him a glare which promised a painful death, to which he had the decency to at least look mock-offended.

"Let's go," she ground out, a slight smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

The light-hearted beginning to their mission felt like a good omen, so Sakura allowed herself to enjoy the breeze making her hair fly about her head. It was good weather for travelling, and with their current speed, they would surely reach the village in just a few hours.

The cheerful banter between her and Genma seemed to dissolve the miles, and towns flew past unnoticed. It seemed like barely any time at all before they stood before the modest village, a pleasant smell of citrus prevailing over the common aromas of wood fires, smoking fish and sickness. Sakura looked around with interest, looking for the source of the fragrance.

"It's the soap they make here, for the bath houses." Genma explained, noticing her curiosity. "I'm sure we'll be able to take some back with us. Right now, we need to find the head of the village. Shinnosuke wasn't it?" he prompted.

"That's right," Sakura agreed. "We need to get unpacked before I can start my work here."

It turned out to be an easy task to locate Shinnosuke, the villagers were eager to help, due to the nature of Sakura and Genma's visit. Healers were always welcomed.

The meeting with the village was brief and pleasant. The man seemed at a loss as to why such a renowned healer, the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, had come all the way to the outskirts of Fire to cure an outbreak of flu. He told her that two deaths of elderly people as the result of the influenza virus was hardly cause for a full blown quarantine. He'd merely requested some extra workers for the children's hospital, as one of the victims had been a member of their already small nursing staff.

At that, Sakura was confused. Tsunade had made it sound a lot worse than it actually was. Sakura had been under the impression that it was a tough virus that had been killing off the villagers one by one, and was about to get a lot worse. It seemed that the Hokage was awfully anxious to get Sakura out of the village, and fast.

Instead of storming back to Konoha, demanding an explanation, Sakura calmly informed the head that there had been some confusion, and that she would do what she could to help.

That didn't mean she didn't suspect that something suspicious was going on, but it was her mission, after all, given to her by somebody she trusted implicitly. Tsunade may have been keeping things from her, but maybe - as hard as it was to face - maybe it was for her own good to be kept in the dark.

Once they had been shown to their rooms, Sakura quickly got her medical supplies organised, and began her house visits. Genma opted to stay out of her way, instead heading for the baths.

Sakura went round, house by house, examining patients for any complications the flu may have been causing, finding only one case where the patient needed any help from her to fight off the virus. She gave them a boost of her own chakra to assist their immune system, and was rewarded with a decrease in their high temperature.

Though her chakra was pretty much intact, Sakura felt her eyes drooping, as boredom from the repetitive and near-pointless activity. She was realising quickly that she was more suited to a tense and active setting, like Konoha's emergency department. She missed the adrenaline she found in bringing someone back from the edge of death, and without it, she was starting to flag.

Finally resting in her room after a long day's travelling and healing, Sakura lay wiggling her toes on her creaky but comfortable bed, still pondering Tsunade's reasoning for sending her on this mission, away from Konoha. It couldn't be, perhaps, that Tsunade had placed her away from the village so that they could do something to Deidara without her interfering?

Without warning, a nearby explosion shook the earth.


Many miles away, Deidara was pulling on his boots, and whatever was left of his shirt and cloak, each action tense and drawn out.

A few hours ago, he had received a small brown paper bag from a guard, containing cold, sticky dumplings that were far too sweet for his tastes and had the consistency of heavy marshmallows. He had eaten them anyway, though; mainly because of the note scribbled hastily on the back of the bag.

"D- I'm being sent on a mission starting today, so I won't see you for a few days.I hope things went well with the Hokage, though I'm sure I'll find out when I get back. Don't blow up any officials when I'm gone; I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of them.

Sakura.

(p.s About the dango... Hospital food isn't the nicest, so I thought you might appreciate something that wasn't grey and mushy.")

She had drawn a lopsided smiley face at the end of it, and Deidara felt a twist of guilt deep in his gut as he imagined her writing it, rushed but with a gentle smile, thinking of him. Pushing the guilt the image conjured aside, no matter how well a plan could be laid out, there would always be that which was not accounted for; an extraneous variable, and she was his.

Muttering curses he fumbled with his cloak fastening, pushing away images of Sakura glaring at him furiously for laughing at her when she had dropped her own fastening just days ago.

Was it really worth it? To let someone get inside his head- literally, this time, and completely fuck up his decision making abilities; something that could only mean bad things to a missing-nin.

His clear head when it came to hard choices had been the reason he'd survived so far. No, he amended, she was the reason he was still alive. That girl, with the cool, soft hands which had taken away his pain, made him whole again in more ways than one. What he was about to do would mean that he might never see her again. If he did, she would most likely try to kill him.

Fully dressed, he spat out the tiny piece of clay he'd stored in his extra mouths, quickly creating a small creature which he fed into the lock on the door. Instead of detonating it, he used it to manipulate the lock mechanism quietly, not alerting the guards outside his room. He pocketed the clay once more as the lock clicked open without a sound.

Based on the barely audible sound of the breathing on the other side of the door, Deidara managed to discern only one guard, and their position; at the perfect angle to slam the heavy door into, possibly knocking them out.

Wrenching the handle quickly, he jerked the door open with such force that the guard was thrown all the way down the corridor, to land in a crumpled, messy heap against the wall.

Moving quickly, he used henge to make himself look vaguely like the guard, his chakra having been restored since he had gained the village's trust. He dragged the unconscious guard into the room he'd been in, and stationed a shadow clone at the door. Despite the large amounts of chakra a clone would require, he would know as soon as anyone discovered that he had escaped. He wanted things to go smoothly.

He made his way discreetly to the Hokage's tower, having memorised the route upon entry into Konoha. The empty corridors echoed with his sure footsteps, and he met no-one as he climbed the stairs to the office, a sick feeling rising in his stomach as he grew closer to his goal. The small door swung open easily, and he entered without hesitation, the room seeming smaller without the Hokage's commanding presence.

The scroll he was taking back to Akatsuki was in the drawer of the Hokage's desk, as he was sure it would be; he had seen her putting it there that afternoon. He slipped it inside his cloak and turned to the chest in the corner of the room. His clay was in there, he was sure of it. He approached the large container, and tried it with his hands before sighing. Well of course she wouldn't make it easy for him.

Withdrawing the same piece of clay he'd used to pick the lock, he deftly sculpted another small creature, which entered the small keyhole with ease. The lock clicked open, and he yanked the case open, eager to be reunited with his primary weapon. Spying his makeshift bag, bulging at the bottom, he instantly looked inside, glad to see that his clay hadn't dried out.

He tied the bag to his belt, it's usually comforting presence doing little to alleviate the conflicting thoughts within him. He thrust his right hand into it, saturating the soft clay with his chakra. The small bombs seemed almost to make themselves, scattering around the room quickly, some descending to the lower floors of the building. He made himself a large bird, and jumped from the window to land on its back, the familiar feel of being in the air calming him slightly as he rose higher and higher above Konoha.

"Katsu," he muttered softly, two fingers pressed to his lips.

The destruction of the tower was indeed a work of art, flames billowing, parts of the huge building collapsing, people running like panicked ants to put out the fire. The roof caved in, and plumes of smoke ascended from the wreck.

And he flew away from the village which had offered him salvation.


A/N:...It's been a while... I'm really hoping I haven't lost all my readers, you lovely creatures. If it makes up for it, I think chapters will be coming along regularly now classes are over and I have time on my hands.

This is about the halfway mark for my story. End of part one, I suppose you could say. The setting of the next chapter will be quite different.

Thank you to my sweet beta The Patchwork Cat. She's a star.

Any thoughts, encouragements, criticisms? Let me know. *muses*