A/N – Possible SPOILERS for the manga and the ending.

Chapter 10

Absolute chaos ensued following her disruption, and Shizuku thanked her lucky stars that only two of the terrorists were physically present. Although that in itself was a noteworthy challenge not to be taken lightly, she'd had ample opportunity to analyse their abilities.

Gaara remained limp in her grasp as Shizuku charged the huge boulder they'd entered through a few hours prior, head dipping and shoulder taking the brunt of the damage as she bulldozed her huge ass through what was left of it.

There was no telling if he'd awaken and lend a hand with the useful technique that mirrored what Sasori could use. Gods, she hoped he did. Realistically, however, she knew his situation was dire. Somehow, she had to get the boy to a doctor—the strange world they were in would probably even have some wacky magical healing ability, if things wanted to change up and work in her favour. All she had to do was find a doctor or even a town who could point her in the right direction.

"You…!"

"Retrieve him."

"I don't know, man. This might be Jashin's will."

"I will deal with her."

"Sasori—"

"Stay out of this, Deidara."

Shit.

Gritting her teeth and forcing herself to shove pointless hopes and wishes from her mind, Shizuku focused hard on the chakra within her just as she was taught to. In her titan form, it was painfully difficult especially when running for their lives, but she had no other option.

Fight!

She needed to atone for what she'd done to his village.

Fight!

She refused to watch an innocent boy die.

Fight!

The surge of raw energy that washed through her was damn near impossible to control, but she refused to shut the chanting out. Rather, Shizuku embraced the inner power shared by her parents, by her family and used it as a form of encouragement; their way of telling her she was doing the right thing.

Acutely aware of the fast approaching Sasori, she spared a single glance over her shoulder, jaw setting upon noticing his heavy stare boring into her nape.

She needed distance.

So, with sharp, sloppy surges of chakra laced with the power of her family back home, Shizuku tore through the surrounding forest and out of the restraints suddenly attempting to restrict her movements. The slamming of her feet into the ground had the surrounding area quaking, the rustling and groaning of disturbed trees and the following screams of birds being disturbed threatening to mask Sasori's already impossible to sense presence further and leave her at another disadvantage.

Shizuku pursed her lips and glanced to the unconscious redhead, praying that he was in fact only unconscious as he remained unmoving in her grasp. Until proven otherwise, the best place for him while in such a fragile state was with her most vulnerable place: her nape. So, despite the brief spark of survival instincts urging her not to, Shizuku didn't hesitate to hold him there while simultaneously protecting herself.

The chakra served to enhance her speed and combining it with the ridiculously greater strides that made the earth rumble and shudder in warning, it all aided her in building up a greater distance between her and the others. Was it discreet? Hell no. But they couldn't catch up to her with her newfound speed. Luckily for her, there was none of that damned sand slowing her down either. It was all solid ground now.

She would save him.

However, it was as she reached a third clearing that Shizuku was almost thrown off her focus. For the most part, she knew what was coming and was able to sense the attacks hurtling towards her, managing to evade them relatively well. Soon enough the attacks stopped as she completely left Sasori's aim. Fleeting glances over her shoulder assured her of that, though there was no disguising her concern minutes later once she noticed Sasori was nowhere to be seen. It was entirely possibly she had outrun him, but she wouldn't take the humongous risk of slowing down even as she grew fatigued.

What Shizuku didn't account for was stumbling across four more people who appeared to be in as great of a rush as she was. They were headed straight towards her, expressions stone cold with anger and determination.

Those faces drained of colour, their fear doubling, when Shizuku burst out of the cover of the trees, the sunlight momentarily dazing her. They were seemingly used to the quaking of the ground by that point so didn't hesitate to continue their impressive sprinting until after their gazes locked. Sandalled feet dug into the ground to halt their movements with the oldest guy in the front throwing his arms out to catch the others, but it wasn't immediate. Like her, they were travelling at high speeds.

She had to be the one to avoid the collision they were all hurtling towards.

Without a second of pause, she was using her next right-footed step to push up off the ground, jaw clenching at the startled yells from the group.

Shizuku glanced downwards at the pink-haired girl who took up the rear of their formation to ensure she wouldn't be squished when she landed, meeting the wide green eyes that could only stare up at her in utter disbelief, frozen no doubt by her size.

Once certain they were all safe, Shizuku put her all into darting away, clutching the redhead closer to her nape and silently apologising for the turbulent travel.

"…Sand," she barely heard the girl whisper. And then a desperate, "It has Gaara-kun!"

They knew the boy!

They were likely her best bet, and Shizuku almost yelled out with the intensity of the relief bursting like miniature explosions in her chest. If they took Gaara out of her hands, then she could hold off Sasori long enough for them to escape out of the—

She was originally prepared to merely change direction to safely come to a halt in her frantic sprinting, but Shizuku was forced to skid to a halt, feet burying beneath the earth and body instinctively closing in on itself when a flash of someone's red aura sliced cleanly through her side.

What the hell was that?

Blood gushed out of her side, splattering to the grass in puddles, when Shizuku straightened like that could somehow aid her in reading the situation a little better.

The one who attacked tumbled in his attempt to stop on the other side of the clearing, clearly unused to his own strength as he took out a tree along the way. Unless that was the plan? Shizuku realised with a sickening dread that the rest had surrounded her during the distraction of the red auraed boy, each sporting determined expressions that unsettled Shizuku further.

Were they his friends? More enemies? What had Deidara said about the kid murdering people again—were they avengers of some kind?

"I have never seen anything like this," the oldest person on the team, a short woman with deep wrinkles, said in response to whatever the pink haired girl asked of her. Keeping track of their conversation was difficult with the humongous height difference and forced Shizuku to focus intently to hear them. "This is unlike any expansion jutsu."

"Who gives a shit?" snarled the blond boy with the red aura, visibly shaking in a way that had Shizuku strengthening her protective grasp on Gaara. "I'll kill all of them!"

Horror laced through her powerfully and it only tripled when she reminded herself that they were wasting precious time. It would only take so long before Sasori caught up to them and she sure as hell wasn't strong enough to bring him down.

Harden, she begged of herself. Stop them all from hurting him!

There was a disgusting feeling to the air that seemed to emanate from the blond boy gnashing his elongated teeth together, one that warned Shizuku to avoid him. That move… It didn't look as though he had any blade on his person, yet the steam surrounding the deep gash in her side promised that somehow, he'd sliced her.

"Why isn't it moving?" questioned the man with silver hair.

"Never mind that," hissed the young girl at his side. "How the hell do we take it down?"

Harden, Shizuku pleaded.

"I…"

The man was the one in charge, despite the overwhelming presence at the other side of the clearing stating otherwise. By far the calmest even in their situation, he assessed Shizuku critically like he had a hidden ability of finding weak spots with his eye alone—she wouldn't really say it was unrealistic by that point, because the world she was stuck in was so abnormal it left her lost.

Then he lifted the forehead protector from his left eye, and she was the one to suddenly react and lose her cool.

Shizuku took an unsteady step back at the familiar blood red eye that bore into her, her instincts screaming at her to run before the guy managed to toss her into one of Uchiha Itachi's strange illusion worlds.

"It recognises the sharingan," the girl pointed out suddenly, green eyes widening. "Does that mean…?"

"That criminal did say something odd, didn't he?" questioned the old lady.

The red eye had a bone deep chill sweeping through Shizuku and it was the brief twitching of the hand on her neck that had the man shifting imposingly, eyes widening like it all suddenly made sense to him.

"He said go for the nape," muttered the man in return, horrifying her. "This must be what he meant."

"But why?" the younger girl demanded as her head snapped around on him, disbelieving. "Uchiha Itachi's a mass-murdering psychopath, so why the hell would he try and help us?"

Shizuku could no longer hear their brainstorming session as she stood there trembling in fear.

When had they crossed paths with Itachi? Did that mean he was heading their way? Was he also sent to retrieve the boy in her grasp? Was he hoping for Shizuku to be defeated before his arrival, hence the reason for sharing her greatest weakness with them? Going off the girl's scathing words and tone, Shizuku surmised like herself they weren't the Uchiha's biggest fans, but it didn't seem like she would be winning their favours any time soon either.

"Like it matters," snarled the blond haired boy. "This thing has Gaara—like hell I'm holding back any longer."

She needed to run.

The only one who appeared to predict the abrupt slamming of Shizuku's foot was the silver-haired man. In an instant, he was up in the air and avoiding the disorientating quaking of the earth that was powerful enough to throw the others' equilibrium, but just as he shocked the hell out of her by creating a second person out of thin air, Shizuku's entire body seized up out of nowhere.

Sharp jolts of lightning snapped through her nerve endings and brought her to her knees with a resounding crash that disturbed the surrounding area far worse than her running ever could, the yell that escaped through her locked jaw raw in its pain and prompting those around her to slap hands over their ears in horror.

Gaara, Shizuku thought desperately before dropping her hand to the ground, leaving it domed over his unconscious form so that their skin wasn't in contact, the other shooting up to take its place on her nape. She couldn't tell if that surprise attack had targeted or affected him also, but at least that way, she could prevent further damage in his weakened state.

"Wait!"

But whatever the girl wanted to say was ignored by the two men who lunged at Shizuku without a moment of hesitation, and she was powerless to defend herself against them. They cut through her huge ass self with sickening ease though were immediately recreating distance when a hissing steam oozed from her open wounds, body fortunately already healing since they were not fatal wounds for that form.

"Sakura, stay back," growled the silver-haired man.

Shizuku squinted over to the girl throwing herself between them, heart stuttering as she presented her with her back to face the others. Arms spread wide and stance strong, she refused to be overlooked for even a second, even though the fear of being so close to her was evident to them all.

"Stop," she ordered, chest heaving. "Can't you see that she separated herself from Gaara-kun the second you attacked?"

"He's in there?" demanded the blond, somehow angrier at the knowledge. "You mean that thing is holding him captive?!"

But just as he crouched low to lunge for her again, the girl—Sakura, Shizuku ensured to remember—dove further back and clenched her fists tight, crouching like she was ready to interfere if he attacked. "No, stop, Naruto! She's not hurting him."

Even though that Naruto kid was struggling to understand with the rage she could sense in his heart clouding his mind, Shizuku noted that Sakura's determination had the other two straightening. They considered Shizuku with a closeness that urged her to try and communicate somehow, but like with Naruto's rage, her fear immobilised her, because even if things worked out with these guys, what about Sasori? Where was he? Why hadn't he caught up already?

Shit, she needed to try and warn them!

Sakura's shoulders rose noticeably with her deep inhale before she spun on her heel and looked Shizuku dead in the eye, their faces only ten or so feet apart after the lightning attack. Hers were filled with a fearful determination that caused her features to sharpen in a remarkable way, because vaguely, Shizuku could recall her mother once sporting a similar expression. Back when her life was in danger, and her mother had felt such a desperation to save her, no matter the cost.

Was this girl involved with the boy?

Ignoring Naruto's sudden yell to get away, Sakura strengthened her stance and demanded, "Please hand Gaara-kun over. Considering the amount of sand that was falling from you, I can only imagine that it's his sand armour. He's injured, isn't he?" How the hell was she supposed to answer that? Shizuku despaired. "I can heal him—I'm a medic."

A medic…?

Her gloves creaked in warning when she clenched her fists.

"Please, don't make me use force."

The damage sustained was healed enough now for Shizuku to clamber to her one hand and knees—albeit shakily. Staying in such a vulnerable position when she didn't know Sasori's location was suicidal, and she felt as though her nape was horrifically bare.

Suspiciously sparing a glance over her shoulder to try and spot signs of Sasori, Shizuku waited all of five seconds before slowly, hesitantly, raising her hand from the ground to only just reveal Gaara to the medic. It didn't come away entirely, the paranoia of Sasori swooping in out of nowhere too much to bear, meaning if she was to go to Gaara, she would have to do so under the cover of the hand that was considerably bigger than she was. At least three times her size.

Sakura swallowed hard at the predicament, clearly understanding her position as being undoubtedly vulnerable, but kept their gazes locked to read for ulterior motives. When Shizuku displayed none and Gaara's limp form was revealed to her, determination hardened those striking features, and she ignored whatever the silver-haired man was ordering of her. Without a second thought, she dove beneath the humongous hand and skidded to her knees at Gaara's side.

"Gaara-kun, can you hear me? It's Sakura. Don't worry, we've got you now. I'm here."

A remarkable green glow eradicated the shadows her hand created, the sight seemingly making the others tense up further. She could sense their ever watchful gazes boring into her body, watching for any sudden movements. It had her wondering if Sakura was more vulnerable when performing whatever technique that was—the thought was unpleasant and prompted her to scan the surrounding treeline for the man tracking her, even when it made Naruto antsier than ever.

"Sakura?" called out the old woman, eyes narrowing a fraction on Shizuku's head craning back to keep her shoulder well checked.

"He's breathing," she announced, but Shizuku wasn't the only the one to note it was with barely any relief. Then, more quietly and with a tone of despair, she questioned, "What the hell have they done to you?"

Shit.

Could the medic not treat him appropriately without knowing what happened? Within her titan form, Shizuku couldn't help but grimace in displeasure. Although she didn't know the extent of the technique used, she believed she knew just about enough to provide more assistance. The only issue was how vulnerable that left her. If they decided to attack suddenly or worse, Sasori appeared, then it was game over for her.

But he needed to be saved.

The titan's head dropped low, forehead touching the ground.

She had to make up for what she did to his village.

Shizuku damned her luck and forced her real body to peek out of the neck of her titan without separating herself from it, causing the others to jolt into defensive stances at the sudden revelation of an ordinary sized human. Rather than focus on that, Shizuku's eyes went straight to the covered form of the medic and Gaara and she stuttered determinedly, "B-B-Be-Beast extra-extraction."

Stronger, she demanded of herself. You've never needed your voice more than this moment!

She gritted her teeth out of fear when the oldest looking man leapt up to stand by her side, his expression giving away nothing of his intentions. She was way too vulnerable in her natural form and it had her hands shaking even as they remained trapped within the titan. "I-I-I c-couldn't… let him d-die."

"You went against the Akatsuki for someone you don't even know?"

"They s-said he's… a monster. Bad person." Inhaling deeply to try and control the stutters that threatened to silence her, Shizuku met the man's mismatched eyes earnestly all the while trying to ignore the sickening dread that red eye evoked. "B-But… not my place t-to…" She shook her head with irritation towards herself. "Judge?"

"I've got him, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura yelled out. "He's weak, but stable. We've got him."

"You sure?" yelled Naruto with wary hope. "He's really alive?"

It stunned Shizuku when Sakura appeared from beneath her hand carrying Gaara so effortlessly. There was no strain in her body language, leading her to believe there was more strength to her than initially appeared, meaning that threat of using force wasn't a bluff. Her nod was firm and comforting to the blond, and much to her utter relief, the bloody aura surrounding him seemed to dissipate with his happiness.

Now wasn't the time to start celebrating, the tingle in her nape screamed.

Gripping a tighter hold of her titan like merely submerging herself within her would save Shizuku, she looked back to the leader—Kakashi. "They're coming," she warned, chest heaving from the adrenaline searing through her. "For me. Him—Gaara."

"How many?"

"Dunno," she slurred and the frustration towards herself was visible to them all, as was her fear when the others drifted closer. "S-Sasori, one." The older woman jolted with recognition and Gods, Shizuku hoped that meant she knew how to counter his freaky techniques. "Dei…"

His name died on her tongue but for once, it wasn't because of her inability to speak. Instead, it was entirely because she didn't want him to face Gaara's people. She didn't want them to hurt him, or he them. But she had to be honest, didn't she? Maybe being honest would prompt the team to flee if they knew they would be facing more than one of them?

"De…"

Why the hell couldn't she tell them his name?

"Forget it," snapped Naruto as he whirled around into a strong stance. "Can't you feel that? They're coming."

An understandable distrust continued to linger between them, showing in their tension when Shizuku moved in preparation of returning to the form of her titan. She couldn't hold it against them, particularly not the old woman upon recognising the symbol Gaara sported on her also. They had some form of connection—she believed Deidara once said that they were the symbols of the shinobi village. That meant it was her village she'd trampled all over too.

Deidara…

The unnatural rustling of trees would have gone unnoticed if they hadn't been purposely listening for the subtle changes in their surroundings, and Shizuku glanced up ahead, jaw clenching at the unmistakable clay creature soaring towards them. Even from a distance, it was impossible to mistake Deidara's grave form surging through the distance with a remarkable speed, his hair a halo around him as it thrashed in the wind.

He was going to kick her ass, for sure. Both asses probably.

"Go," she insisted firmly, the first word that wasn't stuttered.

Just as Kakashi made to argue, she met his strange eyes that were so much like Uchiha Itachi's that it terrified her, but the flash of concern for her—a stranger's—well-being had her clinging to hopes that he was a good man. He had to be to hesitate in leaving a situation that was surely certain death if they lingered for too long.

"I'll hold them off."

Sakura started at that, and her expression was so open in its sincere concern. "You'll die—"

The smile on her lips threw them off, but she didn't offer an explanation. There was no point.

She wasn't even supposed to be in their world.

She would simply have to meet her parents in the afterlife rather than returning to her world; she hoped they would forgive her for giving up.

Without another word, without wasting another moment now that Deidara was close enough for her to make out his furious features, Shizuku inhaled deeply and willed herself to sink her upper half back into the form of her titan. It surrounded her like a protective barrier, and she was thankful for the injuries sustained being healed already. Going into battle against those two at anything less than one hundred percent would mean instant death, surely.

She had to buy them time.

Kakashi leapt from her nape the moment Shizuku started to rise to her full height, towering over the shinobi below who used her return to titan form to make their swift escape.

Even if she only lasted five minutes, that was still five minutes to put as much distance between them as possible, to get Gaara to safety. Sakura could continue treating him—

No. That was a hapless delusion, wasn't it? After all, they had torn that desert village apart without much resistance (Sasori had even said Deidara alone could do it) and in less than twenty minutes of their assault, they abducted the redhead. As though proving that going after Gaara a second time wasn't going to be an issue, Deidara gradually drew to a halt before her while staring her down, never once allowing his attention to stray.

Had they believed it would be difficult retrieving him, they would have prioritised that over taking her down. They made it obvious throughout her training that while she was improving, it was not at a fast enough rate. She was not up to a shinobi's standards.

In a show of distrust that had Deidara's eyes twitching by just the tiniest amounts, Shizuku dipped her head and shielded her nape firmly. She held onto his gaze and ensured his hands were also a focus, but surprising her, they didn't go to his clay pouches. Didn't even consider it, apparently.

That didn't offer any comfort, however.

"Even if you managed to get away now, can you say that you're okay returning to that solitude?" he questioned, and Shizuku squared her jaw at the starting of Deidara languidly circling her on what she knew from training to be a bomb. Everything he created was a bomb—that was why she found no comfort in no offensive move being made. Warily, she tightened her grip on the back of her neck. "Do you want to go back to living like an animal again?"

Just five minutes, Shizuku promised herself. Just hold out for five minutes.

Deidara gritted his teeth and had her tensing up by coming to a halt directly in front of her, level with her humongous eyes. Either their training sessions had reassured him she was no match for him in either form, or the impossible happened and he trusted her suddenly, because he left himself wide open as he remained barely six feet away, staring her down.

"Shizuku," he growled with a new type of anger she'd never witnessed on him before. All other times couldn't compare to what she was currently witnessing, and she wondered how the hell there could be so many different levels of one emotion. "Do you understand what you just did? Do you even realise how big that fucking target on your back is now, yeah?"

The responding ache that reverberated throughout her chest had the titan's shoulders slumping ever so slightly, just enough to give Deidara a semi-response that he shockingly understood the second he saw it. His blue eyes widened in disbelief before it transformed into pure outrage, twisting those beautiful features.

"You want to die?"

"That is fine by me."

The abrupt crying out of her titan was enough to cause the air to distort violently, forcing Deidara back as he was almost flung from his creation. He attempted to strengthen his stance with his arms crossed before him and wait it out, eyes remaining locked on hers no matter what, but soon enough he was glowering down at Sasori.

For the first time since catching up, his hand twitched towards his clay pouch.

"Oi—"

"I told you not to interfere," came the dark warning of Sasori, who she still couldn't see. Try as she might to see through the intense pain that dulled her senses, it was futile and eventually, Shizuku was stumbling beneath the torture, unable to understand what was causing her such pain. Whatever it was seemed to originate from her calves, though. "Leave if you are too weak to see this through—"

Deidara's head snapping to the left had his eyes instantly widening in disbelief, but then he was soaring backwards just in time for a sharp stomp into Shizuku's back—not offensively, she quickly realised as it helped her regain her balance, though that didn't mean the sensation of someone dashing up her back was pleasant either. It had her regripping at her nape, trying desperately to see if it was Sasori.

But it wasn't. It was them.

"Enough, Sasori," ordered the old woman coolly as she skidded to a halt at the other side of the clearing.

Pink flashed in her peripheral and prompted Shizuku to look to her own shoulder, eyes widening at the girl who landed expertly there.

"We couldn't leave you behind," Sakura told her determinedly, hand gripping Shizuku's hair to secure herself. "The others have Gaara-kun. He's safe thanks to you."

They…

They really were good people. Idiots, without a doubt. But good.

A brief assessment of her titan form had Sakura nodding once to herself like she needed to confirm something, before she soon informed her, "Those wounds Sasori inflicted are already healing, it seems. Can you fight?"

Shizuku looked back to the blond floating up ahead, his jaw clenched as he reassessed the situation, somehow clenching even tighter when their gazes met, and she saw a flash of betrayal entering his expression.

Then he was forced even further back as that red-auraed boy propelled himself off her other shoulder like she was nothing more than a step, with enough force to once more cause Shizuku to stumble. Instinct had her itching to intervene as he hurtled towards Deidara with a speed she could barely even comprehend, his movements nothing more than a blur to her. Luckily—she wondered if she was supposed to view it as unlucky—Deidara never missed a beat and easily manoeuvred out of the way, leaving him to plummet towards the ground with a yell of surprise.

The sight had Sakura leaning forward in concern, but Naruto proved it was pointless as he copied whatever technique Kakashi used earlier. Except, whereas the older man created only one other person, Naruto created hundreds and they slowed his descent, helping him manage the landing that surely would have killed him otherwise.

Only when certain he was safe did Sakura settle back, words quiet and calculating as she relayed the battle to Shizuku, who could barely see a thing when they scrapped at her feet. If she moved too much, she risked worsening an already fierce battle, could even shift the odds back into Sasori's favour and—

The shockwaves from the sudden explosions that chased down Naruto had Shizuku abandoning the fear and whirling around, forcing Sakura to grip a tighter hold of her hair to remain fixed there.

They were attempting to separate Gaara's people, and with the way the others had responded to Sakura healing Gaara out in the open, Shizuku made the assumption that she was not meant for battle. Strong, yes. But not dispensable when she was the healer. They likely had her stationed on her shoulder to try and keep her safe, didn't they?

Damning the predicament but mostly her own inability to lend a hand, Shizuku quickly sheltered Sakura in her spare hand before leaping back to grant herself a better view of what had become their battleground. It wasn't necessary, she soon came to realise, but it appeared the gesture was appreciated, nonetheless. She was offered a brief pat of gratitude for the consideration.

"Do you require healing? The real you?"

Prior to the question, Shizuku attempted to keep her focus on Deidara as he snapped about the area with an impressive speed, seemingly taunting Naruto who was losing his cool spectacularly. She wasn't even sure who was creating the most damage by that point, for they were equally as destructive as the other in their attempts to take them out.

"Earlier, when you came out to speak to us…" Clearly unsure of what she was even saying, the girl hesitated before asking, "Are you injured? You had concerning markings on your face."

How did she reply to that? How the hell could Sakura stand there and talk when there were such fierce battles in front of them? Unless she could see everything clearly and wasn't as lost as Shizuku was? Was that why she was so calm? Or was she just that confident in her comrades, in herself?

"You can't talk in this form," Sakura deduced after a few moments, frowning while glancing down at her titan form. "And when Uchiha Itachi said the nape, I'm guessing that's something to do with your transformation, considering an ordinary human form came out of it. It's where you're most vulnerable because that's where the true heart lies."

Smart girl, she hoped Sakura could read at the next meeting of their eyes.

The medic shifted when Kakashi was forced to assist Naruto as the blond was clipped by an explosion that hurtled him backwards, swooping in on Deidara with a ferociousness that had Shizuku's heart clenching.

"Try not to worry—we've got this," Sakura promised resolutely despite the fact they'd only just met. The smile she shot her way was fierce and confident, sharpening the focus in those startling green eyes when they found Sasori's form that Chiyo brought out of hiding. "Prepare yourself. You're not the only one who can create earthquakes and I'd rather you didn't land on me."

What?

Before she could look back to her, Sakura was vaulting from her shoulder with a harsh growl that came from deep within her chest, left fist glowing blue and drawing back in preparation. Amongst the chaos already transpiring, she was mostly unseen—mostly, because swiftly and with an ease that left Shizuku awed, the three accompanying her flashed out of view entirely just in time for her fist to slam into the hunchback of Sasori's second body. He was crushed into the ground, but it seemed that strength didn't stop there as Sakura really did cause the earth to quake—no, worse.

Deidara yelled out in surprise at the raging destruction that ensued, narrowly dodging the exploding earth and trees that were promptly uprooted. Trying to keep track of him was difficult when focusing on steadying herself, but it seemed it was contained to that single area, granting her peace of mind as Shizuku took another leap backwards, attention returning to Deidara.

It was evident from the darting of his narrowed gaze that Deidara was trying to see through the chaos Sakura so effortlessly unleashed on them all, before his eyes widened comically and he forced his creation to sharply change direction just in time for Sasori's seemingly limp, true form to soar straight by him like it was being used as a missile.

Had Sakura thrown him?

Regardless, that wasn't enough to end it for him and Shizuku clenched her jaw when Sasori managed to stick the landing with his hands and feet digging into the ruined ground to slow his speed.

She was useless, wasn't she?

No.

No, she refused to be useless!

With a sharp surge of chakra just as Sasori lunged towards Sakura, Shizuku shot forward and slammed her foot down on the space he was occupying, teeth gritting as she fought hard against the rumbling of the earth when it tried disorientating them all. It couldn't matter. None of it could. Not even…

She could see in her peripheral that Deidara had rocketed considerably higher into the sky, completely out of reach of the others now, so that he could watch her with a vaguely startled expression. But whereas he previously would have used such a moment to launch an attack, he remained stationary. Barely even glanced downwards to check on his partner.

Sakura tried yelling something to Shizuku when Deidara drifted towards her once more, but even if she wanted to, she couldn't hear her.

"You know you're no match for us, yeah." His voice was missing the previous fury, instead considerably cooler as he spoke directly to her despite all that was going on beneath them. "I bet you can't even understand half of what's going on, can you?"

Why was he trying to talk to her?

No, the more important question was: why did it relieve her to hear the attempt to make her reconsider?

Even during training, Deidara never held back and on a few occasions, genuinely almost killed her as he pushed her way beyond her limits. He'd been so adamant about never interfering with Sasori's art yet there he stood, so clearly standing on the invisible line dividing them.

So obviously holding back.

Training was harder than anything he was currently throwing out at them, and Shizuku shot a concerned glance in Sasori's direction. He instantly had that concern deepening, solidifying, as he continuously glared over at Deidara even as Sakura launched herself at him with a vengeance.

He knew Deidara was holding back.

Shit.

Then, concerning her further since he definitely already knew the predicament he was in, Deidara ordered, "Use these Konoha-nin as a distraction and get out of here while you have the chance."

Shit.

How the hell was she supposed to leave him when he was trying to protect her stupid ass?

Shizuku's left foot slid back amongst the trees as she reassessed the situation, heart pounding aggressively in her chest at the sudden, desperate plan. It was stupidly reckless and potentially embarrassing as hell if she'd misread everything between them, but…

Not knowing what that shady organisation would do for disobeying meant there wasn't a chance in hell that Shizuku was leaving him behind.

They were all distracted by the unleashing of a hundred puppets, particularly Sasori as he focused entirely on directing them, and during that moment, she lunged.

"What the—"

Ignoring Deidara's yell of outrage as the air was swatted out of him, Shizuku maintained an unyielding grip of him before clutching him to her chest and returning to the frantic sprinting from before. She sent silent apologies from over her shoulder that she hoped would reach the team who saved Gaara, who came back to save her, then focused entirely on putting as much distance as she could between them all, quickening her pace until it made her ache when she sensed someone following them.

It felt like she was never going to be able to stop running, so when Deidara informed her in a displeased grumble that the chaser had given up, she slowed her pace with palpable relief, hand gingerly coming away from the back of her neck. It took her much longer to brace herself for facing Deidara, knowing he was more than likely furious with her. He was probably going to curse at her, or yell, or attack her outright—

But it was none of that, she realised in surprise.

All he did was glower up at her disapprovingly, only one arm free of her grasp. He used it to prop his head on, body language relaxed if not a little fed up.

"You just fucked me over too, yeah."

She tried to convey her sheepish apology by gradually freeing him and bringing the blond closer, her hands cradling him like they were a protective barrier. Like she was telling him she would keep him safe.

Somehow, he understood that.

And promptly laughed in her face.

"You idiot," he shot her way, though not as nastily as before. "You have no hopes in going against anyone in the Akatsuki—you couldn't even fight off those Konoha-nin. I'd say the only way you're getting out of this mess is by encouraging Hidan's insane beliefs." Silence fell between them at the words and soon, Deidara sighed heavily and muttered, "This is worse than talking to you in your human form. Even if you are a mute, it's easier to understand where your head is at." Meeting her eye again, he ordered seriously, "Come out."

Shizuku shook her titan's head fearfully and made it a point of looking around at the darkened forest they had come to a halt in. The area had only just stopped its responding tremors to her movements, and she would rather not give away their position by pressing on. For the most part, they seemed to be alone, and if she kept still then the wildlife would return to normal soon enough.

Anyone looking for her (with Shizuku being hidden amongst the humongous trees that towered over even her) would believe she wasn't in the area—at least, if they thought she was hiding in titan form for the extra protection it brought.

Irritation laced with embarrassment had Deidara snapping with heated cheeks, "Haven't you learned already that I'll protect you if they come for us?"

That was…

Inside her form, she smiled.

"So, get out here already, will you?"

Who was she to say no to that?

Directing her titan to kneeling on the ground as carefully as possible so the area continued to be undisturbed, Deidara leapt onto its shoulders to meet Shizuku at the nape as she freed herself. His attention was immediately drawn to the markings marring her features before it swept to assess the rest of her form, though he made no move to steady her when Shizuku stumbled forward out of exertion. It seemed she had a long way to go before mastering her chakra, and she was stunned by the lightheaded sensation that required her to pause before standing properly.

"You're such a fucking idiot," he grumbled. Shizuku wasn't sure why the return of his grumpy side brought forth another smile—maybe because it was so familiar by that point that it felt homely? "They're only going to go after Sabaku no Gaara again, you know. Then what? What about the other eight beasts? That Naruto kid you seemed so pally with? You going to intervene to save him too?"

Naruto?

"What?" she demanded uneasily.

"Of course, you didn't realise," Deidara snorted.

His sweeping glance of their surroundings had Shizuku growing antsier, especially when her titan began to produce incredibly concentrated steam at her vacating it, its body decaying rapidly. There was no way it wouldn't attract attention, so she didn't argue when a hand yanked her closer before Deidara took off through the trees. The pace wasn't as intolerable as when he travelled on his creations in the skies, and it allowed her to marvel at the serenity of the forest they travelled even further into, tears pricking her eyes.

They were really…

It was Deidara's decision alone when they came to a stop, but she wasn't complaining as her back was pressed against the trunk of a humongous tree that they stopped in at least fifteen feet from the ground. The likelihood of being spotted if someone happened to pass by beneath them was highly unlikely—it was too clustered, the branches and collections of leaves connecting to each one obscuring the view entirely. Hell, Shizuku couldn't even see the ground.

"I suppose it can't be helped," he muttered and rolled his eyes, hand coming to the space above her head as he leaned on it. "I'd rather be labelled a traitor than a damsel in distress abducted by a titan, anyways."

She supposed it had looked a little like she was abducting him, what with the way she snatched him so suddenly and took off. However, if Sasori somehow managed to survive those guys, then Shizuku knew he wouldn't believe such a theory. No, he'd witnessed the change in Deidara long before she had and hadn't been afraid to call him out on it throughout their time training. He would without a doubt tell the others the truth about the changing of their dynamics.

So, that meant…

They were free.

"What now?" Shizuku questioned without hesitating, leaning further back into the tree and basking in the burst of liberty and adrenaline snapping through her veins in satisfying jolts. "Will they chase us?"

He pondered the possibilities for a moment, but then shook his head, telling her, "If they cross paths with us, then it'll be on sight. But they won't go out of their way to track us down. Not when they've just started their plans and have likely lost two members today."

Plans…

Shizuku brazenly reached out for the cloak that signified him as a part of that wretched organisation and was unable to shake the urge to tear from his body. Mostly out of hatred, though there was definitely a more predatory edge that had her attention sharpening on him, because this man had essentially turned his back on his comrades. Sure, she hardly gave him much of a choice when she snatched him away from the battlefield, but Deidara didn't exactly look like he was being held against his will.

"What now for us?"

The sentence that was spoken with the most confidence yet had his lips twitching—not negatively, she noted.

"What now…" came his almost growl, and she squealed in surprise as her wrists were pinned above her head without warning, Deidara's body pushing up against hers. "I'm going to fuck you out of my system like I said I would."

Out of his system.

Shizuku smiled widely at the expression staring down at her, since everything that had just transpired was hardly the actions of a man who merely wanted her out of his system. He was just trying to save face, wasn't he? Trying to act tough and hold onto the asshole persona.

"I just hope that bastard Zetsu isn't around to watch right now."

Eh?

But there was no time to question just what the hell that meant. She was left breathless and surprised when Deidara's lips descended to hers without restraint, body bowing into hers and releasing her wrists so he could hold her as close as he possibly could.

Reluctantly, she pulled away, asking and hoping that he would understand when her mind was so skewed by his ministrations, "Z-Zetsu close?"

"Spy," he grunted and brushed the hair from her shoulder, peppering short kisses that were somehow just as hot as when their lips clashed hungrily. They had Shizuku gripping Deidara closer, eyes growing lidded at the added pressure of his hands sweeping across her back. "He relays all events back to Leader—hence why I said you fucked me over."

"Y-You said… two members," Shizuku suddenly realised and cupped Deidara's cheek so that she could look him in the eye, frowning at the acceptance she found there. "Is Sasori dead?"

"Soon enough, yeah," came his seemingly uncaring response, but she wondered if that really was the case. For all their bickering about art and disagreements on her, Shizuku had easily read that they respected one another—knew from how firmly the blond insisted he wouldn't interfere with Sasori's that he valued the other man. "That old lady was his grandmother and that guy—the one with the sharingan—is Hatake Kakashi. Between them and that brat with the monster strength, I doubt he'll last much longer."

Monster strength… Shizuku frowned at him disapprovingly. "Sakura."

"What?"

"Her name's Sakura."

"Who cares—"

"She saved me," she asserted and pressed a hand to his chest just as Deidara tried to kiss her again. "From her own and you."

The words visibly irked him as he reeled back to glower down at her, upper lip curling. "You think you needed saving from me?"

In the moment, when adrenaline was surging through her in disorientating waves and made the already difficult to follow battle even messier, yes. Shizuku sincerely thought for a few moments back there that Deidara would take her out. Why wouldn't he? Just because they kissed once and made an agreement to take things further, to get each other out of their systems, didn't mean he owed her anything.

"Your orders," she reminded him.

"I—" Deidara cut himself off with an aggravated sigh, focus lowering to a spot just beside her on the tree. "I suppose."

She couldn't hold that against him. Although he commented on it every so often, Deidara didn't hold the fact she tried to literally eat him the first time they met against her. When mentioned it was said in jest nowadays, the hard feelings between them simmering the longer they were stuck in one another's presence.

To hold it against him for his obeying orders from an organisation he was likely a part of for a long time (while only knowing her a few weeks—a month at most) wasn't only cruel of her, but hypocritical too. Did it excuse his callousness up until that point? No—he wasn't ordered to be mean to her. However, being mean and protecting her from his partner were two very different things.

He'd saved her from becoming one of his twisted creations. Even while knowing Sasori was going to die against the Konoha-nin, he remained by her side. Allowed her to run away with him.

Although she sure as hell wasn't going to evoke that anger of his by bringing it up and bruising his ego, Shizuku knew his life was also saved by fleeing too. It was four against two, and between Naruto's shockingly untamed strength and Kakashi's relentless strikes, with Chiyo's knowledge and Sakura's healing abilities, Shizuku knew the outcome wasn't great. As impressive as the two men were, they couldn't heal themselves from fatal wounds.

Deidara really could have died.

"We should find somewhere to stay," mentioned Deidara as the silence was drawn out.

He pressed away from the tree with a huff and took several moments to listen to the area, prompting Shizuku to keep still as he stretched his senses out. It was a skill he'd been in the process of teaching her; an attempt to give her some kind of advantage on the battlefield until she improved enough to fight in both forms. That way, if she needed to separate from her titan form and hide for whatever reason, she could sense incoming threats and act accordingly.

"We should travel by foot for now. There was another team from Konoha that could be scouting out the area." The blond looked back to her once deeming it to be safe, admiring her features openly, before he ordered, "Let's go, Shizuku."

She grinned widely at the disbelieving happiness that had her feeling the lightest she'd been in months. They'd achieved the impossible and Shizuku could tell by his gentler than ever smirk when he saw the contentment that he thought so too. What's more, she wasn't alone again.

They were truly free.

A/N - This chapter was originally about 16k words, so I've had to split it up. The next chapter should be out within the next week, when I've had the chance to edit it and maybe add some more Deidara and Shizuku moments to it. If there's anything specific you guys would like to see, let me know!

After this, we'll have one more full length chapter then an epilogue. I've really fallen in love with the idea of titans in the Naruto universe, so I currently have a sequel in mind for this story, but with a different pairing.