They switched between sleeping rough and taking watches, to risking creepy abandoned buildings found in the forest. It wasn't paranoia per se, more so a level of cautiousness that meant every noise was inspected so that nothing was left to chance. If Deidara was paranoid then he certainly wouldn't have allowed her to take watch every night, Shizuku knew.
Still, paranoid or not, their shoulders remained well-checked even before they reached the first village that was brimming with activity, and she felt a spark of apprehension at the thought of being amongst so many people. There was no way she could see every face out there, though Shizuku hoped that she would at least notice the distinguishable cloak if it happened to cross their paths.
Just in case others recognised his, prior to leaving the security of the forest that was their home for the past couple of weeks, Deidara made his desertion of the Akatsuki official by tossing his cloak aside carelessly. It would have gone sooner, she knew, but they'd used it as a blanket when the temperature dropped at night.
That first night so out in the open and at risk was overwhelming for several reasons, though Shizuku knew that it was partly down to her being overemotional once the adrenaline wore off and shock set in. Somehow, her biggest concern wasn't who'd died or what was in store for them as they scavenged for food and water—it was her green cloak.
Too ashamed of herself for caring about a material object when Deidara was now boasting a devastating target on his back for ditching the Akatsuki while possessing such dangerous knowledge of their plans, Shizuku tried to keep it to herself. She tried not to let her heartbreak of losing the only reminder of her parents and home be too obvious. Still, she barely slept a wink that first night even with how exhausted she was.
The plans to hide the heartbreak were swiftly demolished when said cloak settled over her shoulders on the second night just as the separation anxiety from its comfort threatened to unravel her. Deidara didn't look at her for a while after that, choosing to keep watch in a nearby tree as Shizuku curled up beneath the cloak that granted her such powerful security, crying into it quietly.
"How did you…?" Her voice trailed off as they slowed their pace to match the bustling streets of the village, allowing themselves to blend into the crowds. Without his cloak and with his forehead protector hidden, Deidara was barely spared a second glance, but Shizuku still felt vulnerable surrounded by so many. Enough so that she had to question him when nothing else—that was safe to discuss so out in the open, at least—came to mind. "My cloak was gone."
"I made it a habit to put your stuff in a storage scroll," he explained offhandedly, appearing more interested in surveying the streets. Having previously explained what storage scrolls were and how they worked, Shizuku only nodded in understanding. "I got tired of picking it all up whenever you transformed and I sure as hell wasn't carrying a rucksack that wasn't mine."
Her fingers brushed his, bringing his attention to her as she told him earnestly, "Thank you."
It took them a short while longer to familiarise themselves with the village; Deidara refused to settle down without getting an idea of what could potentially be in store for them. Although she ached to just get off the streets already and rest somewhere secure, she knew not to argue with someone who had far more experience than she did.
The inn he eventually chose was by no means luxurious, but it wasn't rundown or tacky either. It granted them a considerable space to bunker down in, including a personal use bathroom that Shizuku immediately took advantage of while Deidara set out to gather supplies for them. He worked better without the deadweight, he'd snorted before leaving. The words, while annoying, didn't upset her in the way they would have in the beginning for she was far too invested in soaking in a hot bath until her skin pruned. The brushoff only seemed to amuse him, too.
A week's worth of grime and sweat swirled the drain once Shizuku forced herself to get out of the bath when it cooled, sighing regretfully for not being able to spend more time in it. But at least she was clean now, she thought to herself with a burst of relief that overshadowed the regret. Lakes only did so much when they didn't have access to soap or hair products, and Shizuku once more leaned down to run her fingers over the smoothness of her legs, grinning to herself at the sensation.
"Eat," ordered Deidara the second she left the bathroom, causing her to pause in the doorway, halfway through tightening the towel around her chest. She hadn't even heard him return.
"Pushy," she shot back.
He smirked at that. "You haven't seen the half of it yet."
Rolling her eyes, Shizuku traipsed over to the stack of containers and bags on the small dining table. Only one container was hot—the rest were all perishables, alerting her to his train of thought. They would be travelling again soon enough, though this time with supplies to keep them going. It seemed the inn was a one-off, she thought with a pout.
"Have you eaten?" she asked of him, turning in time to watch Deidara shrugging out of his shirt. It was thrown into a careless pile she'd started with her own battered clothing, and Shizuku knew they would be discarded too, because in one of the bags on the table were more clothes. "Deidara?"
"Yeah." He pointed in the general direction of the wastebin, bringing her attention to the empty container. Apparently, her bath had lasted longer than she'd realised. "I'll be out soon."
It sounded more like a promise—one that sent a stab of heat straight through her powerful enough to colour her cheeks. Shizuku watched with a lidded gaze as her shirtless partner stalked into the bathroom, knowing now that tonight would finally be the night they gave into their urges.
Being out in the forest and anticipating attacks not only from Akatsuki, but strangers he'd wronged in the past or general beasts of the forest, meant it wasn't exactly a comforting setting. Even Shizuku was unable to relax entirely despite feeling home, in a sense, so they didn't bring it up again. Rather, they kept pushing forward with the hopes that soon enough, they would find somewhere safe enough to lower their guards.
It couldn't have come sooner, she thought with a sulky pout. Between the forced militant cleaning whenever they passed big enough bodies of water, staying close to protect one another should they be attacked during such a vulnerable moment, and those moments of suffocating tension when words failed them, Shizuku sincerely believed it was only a matter of time before they damned the consequences. The yearning she was experiencing increased by the day, and she knew it wasn't any different for him.
To try and distract herself from the animalistic urges trying to take over her, Shizuku ate as she was instructed to and pondered what their goals would be from that day forward.
They couldn't run and live in fear for the rest of their lives. Partly down to the fact it would be physically and mentally draining, but also because she simply couldn't see Deidara allowing himself to live in such a manner. Although he appeared more laidback now that he was separated from Sasori and the Akatsuki, there was still that grumpy streak within that Shizuku strongly suspected came part and parcel with—
A slight, gradual rumbling of the ground that forced her to steady the piles of bags before they could topple over had her blinking in surprise then turning in her seat to see Deidara leave the bathroom. Soaked from his bath with a towel loose on his hips, he tried to ensnare her with his allure, but Shizuku was too paranoid to allow it to take total control of her.
"An attack?" she asked, forgetting her food and standing.
Blue eyes narrowed as he approached the window and assessed the world outside. The village they were in was busy and continued to be even with the mild earthquake. Nobody seemed overly panicked or concerned when Shizuku joined him to peer outside too, prompting her to frown unsurely. They seemed used to it, almost.
"Not here," he answered and dropped the curtain back into place. "Probably a few miles away, yeah."
That was relieving. The thought of giving up on their first relaxed night in over two weeks—hell, longer if they took her training and being attacked by Uchiha Itachi into consideration—was unpleasant. To prove she was no longer worried, Shizuku returned to her food and instantly dug into what was left, sighing happily.
"That's it?" Deidara snorted.
She looked up at him with a mouthful of food she tried to talk around, shrugging, "Shinobi are abnormal."
"We're abnormal?" he demanded with genuine, disbelieving laughter. He came to join her at the table though didn't sit down, merely stood at the other side and leaned forward to rest his elbows atop the backrest of the other chair. "You transform into a fourteen metre titan, you pig."
Wishing to live up to the name that was more of a term of endearment after all the meals she'd stolen when he wasn't looking, she stuck her food covered tongue out at him impolitely, snickering to herself at his predictable grimace. It was easy getting a rise out of Deidara with little things like that, and Shizuku ensured to hold his eye while filling her mouth with more food than necessary. The threat of revealing more had him grumbling under his breath about returning to his bath before something else happened and stole the opportunity, and Shizuku found herself slouching more in her seat, sighing contentedly.
She was half tempted to eat some of the perishables also, considering how long it'd been since their last decent meal. Although the one she scarfed down was delicious it disappointingly didn't fill her entirely, and she soon found herself eyeing the bags filled with the food for their travels.
Where was the harm in taking just one of the meals?
"Shizuku."
When the hell had she started to move? Startled, Shizuku froze and glanced in the direction of the bathroom, brows furrowing at the door left ajar that allowed her to hear Deidara's drawl clearly. Steam from the hot water drifted out of it though dissipated fairly soon after touching the considerably cooler air of the bedroom.
"Hm?"
"Don't even think about it, yeah."
Worrying he could see her through the wall somehow, Shizuku slowly brought her hand back to herself and frowned. "I wasn't doing anything."
His laugh was more of a single chuckle, sounding lazy as he relaxed. "Don't try bullshitting me. You're insatiable as hell."
Oh?
She narrowed her eyes daringly and straightened up, very much aware that she'd chosen to remain in her towel seeing as she'd prioritised eating over dressing. Instincts were a powerful thing and they urged her to enter the bathroom, to show him just how insatiable she truly was. All that was holding her back was the knowledge of Deidara potentially needing his privacy, his responses to whenever she bathed or changed stilling her; always turning his back, never trying to peek—any moment when she was notably vulnerable, he steered clear. It'd been weeks since noticing that part of his personality and Shizuku still couldn't decide whether she was supposed to offer the same consideration.
"Oi," he called out, sounding suspicious. "I mean it, you glutton. Don't touch the food."
A spark of inspiration shot through Shizuku and she spun on her heel, purposely being loud while darting about to intrigue Deidara further. If all went to plan, then he would soon leave the hot bath to check on what she was doing. So, she tossed her towel over towards the bag of food, grinning victoriously at the rustling that only continued as it slowly slipped to the ground afterwards. It was shortly followed by an aggravated growl and the sound of sloshing water, then wet feet padding along the tiles.
By the time Deidara left the bathroom, she was fully naked and reclined back on the bed, smirking deviously at his stunned silence and rapidly reddening cheeks.
"What—"
"I'm insatiable," she repeated playfully.
The sight of his eyes darkening with their lustful intentions had Shizuku shifting on the bed, the cool cotton a relief to her heated skin. "You were forward during training, but I never would have expected this."
She cocked her head to the side in a mock innocent move, soon sitting up to ensure he saw every part of her.
"…Fuck."
She grinned wickedly, approvingly.
"Don't you want me?" Shizuku questioned with feigned naivety, pouting slightly when he hesitated in joining her. "Why won't you come?"
The fiery stare pierced through her in the most pleasant way, its heavy stare intense enough to flood Shizuku's stomach with a warmth that travelled south without hesitation. Then that warmth transformed into a shocking throbbing sensation when Deidara responded with equal forwardness, his towel falling to the ground without another moment of hesitation.
"Do I look like I don't want you?"
Finally!
"Then come here."
She rose to her knees in time to meet him at the foot of the bed, hands eagerly exploring his skin only to swiftly be replaced by hungry kisses that had his head falling back. A hand wound itself through her hair, pulling on her scalp when it twisted and tugged, and Shizuku responded in kind to the roughness by nipping at Deidara's shoulder, then his neck, smirking at the gasps.
Instincts were a remarkable thing. Despite her mind being so insistent on there being no recollection of a sexual history (or any history at all), it was like her body knew exactly what to do. It moved with an ease that Deidara mirrored, like this wasn't about to be their first time, and it wasn't soon enough that her back was pressing down into the mattress with his heat immediately blanketing over her. The only time it moved away was to pay attention to her breasts, the flicking of his tongue and passionate kisses worsening the throbbing between her legs until it became maddening to her.
Thighs shifting further up his body, chest heaving and stomach muscles clenching, Shizuku begged that he saw the deep level of need she displayed. But if he did, he denied her of what she craved most, instead choosing to shower her breasts with his undivided, intoxicating attention. It was amazing—truly, it was—but they had all the time in the world to explore one another. In that moment, she needed more. So, so much more. Her desire for him had been skyrocketing for weeks now and shit, he was going to drive her insane.
A second tremor of their surroundings broke them apart briefly, though they never moved too far from one another, gazes clashing hungrily to share a silent conversation regarding the issue. It soon ended with Deidara growling under his breath and returning to her body, lavishing it with hot, open mouthed kisses that travelled downwards, gracing both hips with their talent and nips until she was writhing beneath him.
Then in the same moment as he buried his face between her thighs, one of those usually intimidating hands came to her breasts, almost as ardent as his own mouth in their attempts to break her. It didn't even occur to Shizuku that she felt no fear in response to that deadly hand on her, instead a perversion to see what else it could do to her other than blow her to pieces again.
Both hands moved downwards to guide her knees to her chest, allowing easier access that Deidara took full advantage of. Her own hands swung to his hair, holding him against her heated flesh even as her hips bucked tellingly, thighs quivering so badly he was forced to pin them down.
Everything felt so suffocatingly hot, so intense that she felt she was going to explode.
"M-More," she moaned needily, already in the process of dragging him up. Her thighs welcomed him in their unyielding embrace, bringing their hips together roughly. "I need more."
They were near frantic in their rush to join as one, and Shizuku threw her head back at the sudden intrusion and the brutal hands on her hips that held her in place, allowing them both to savour the way he throbbed warningly deep inside of her. She gripped him with equal strength, listening and caving to her body's demands of not leaving an inch of space between their shaking forms, angling her hips onto his with her toes digging into the mattress.
A curse was groaned into her shoulder before she was stunned to feel his teeth digging into her, hands rough while yanking her hips to meet his halfway, though they soon had her knees meeting the mattress at either side of her. The deeper thrusts had Shizuku crying out with abandon, a part of her wondering if this was why Deidara held back whenever she made her advances, or why they didn't pursue their attraction further out in the forest.
Did he anticipate losing control so epically? Did he know that they would be far from gentle with one another? Whatever the reason, she didn't care to ponder it further. Couldn't when he suddenly changed their positions with a satisfied grunt.
Breaths coming in unsteady pants as she was lifted from the mattress, Shizuku clung desperately at Deidara's slick body, nails leaving harsh red welts that only spurred him on. He responded by shoving her roughly into the headboard, hips snapping up into hers with a harshness that immediately had her legs quivering during their attempts to lock high around his body, forcing Deidara to slip his arms beneath her knees to stretch them over his shoulders before resuming the brutal, urgent pace.
All the lingering stares. The suffocating tension that grew exponentially when it was just the two of them. It was worth the wait. Holy fuck, it was so worth the wait.
Even better was knowing it was without ulterior motives. That she could sincerely enjoy the moment and all the ones that followed.
It was no longer about saving her own life.
Their foreheads came together, lips clashing in a demanding kiss just as Deidara's hips stuttered in warning—a warning that for reasons unbeknownst to her, triggered her own devastating orgasm. All she could do once that ferocious bomb imploded from within was clutch at him with a vengeance, moaning into their kiss, eyes rolling back at the sudden hot spurts that shot within her, his throbbing deep inside her intensifying when Deidara pushed as far as he could go with a guttural moan, creating a dull ache that only intensified her orgasm.
They couldn't move for the longest time. They remained willingly frozen in their desperate embrace, eyes locked and heavy from their sated lust, savouring those last bursts of orgasm that drained them of their very essence.
"W-Worth…" She quivered in his grasp and they both gasped at their oversensitivity, hot breaths mingling pleasurably. "So worth the wait."
He snorted at that, refusing to reply until he managed to catch his breath. Only then did he mutter sinfully, "Told you. You're insatiable."
"You are too," she shot back.
Blue eyes stunned Shizuku by warming, bringing a powerful burst to her chest as he murmured fondly, "Aa."
It was the threat of leg cramps looming over them that forced the pair to eventually separate, and she groaned in disappointment as Deidara pulled out. To try and sate the part of her that longed to stay connected, she swung her thigh over his hips once he settled down in the bed with an arm beneath his head, seating herself over him with a grin that grew cocky at the hand that rested on her hip possessively.
If only they could live in that moment forever, or at least until everything calmed down enough for them to wander without fear of being targeted. There was a pleasant tingle trickling down her spine in waves that only intensified when Deidara's hand swept along her skin, his expression the most serene she'd ever seen as he admired her body so openly.
Hell, even before crossing paths with them for the first time, Shizuku had never felt such a level of… Gods, she wasn't sure what the word she needed was. Comfort? Peace? A sense of belonging? Whatever it was, nothing that came to mind could compare, not even when she was out in the forest and the worst it ever got for her was being chased by a bear.
Shizuku sighed and took advantage of the peaceful moment to admire the lithe form beneath her, appreciating it in the way she couldn't earlier when they were both urgent in their need to finally have the other. Fingers trailing the muscles usually hidden beneath his clothing, she lowered herself until she was curling up against his side, a part of her in awe of how things turned out for them.
He was supposed to be her enemy—between him and Sasori, Deidara was the one who itched to end her existence the most. To end up tangled with him in such an intimate moment and without it being because of some botched plan to use him and leave, was bewildering. It made her head spin with a pleasant buzz that she hoped Deidara was experiencing also, for that sense of being so unburdened was indescribably liberating.
"You're different," she pointed out after more time passed without a word. Shizuku stretched out her back before snuggling closer, cheek nuzzling into his chest at the increasing pressure of the arm around her. "I like it."
"Oh?"
Hearing the amusement in his hum, she tipped her head back just enough to get a read on his expression. As always, when Deidara wasn't angry, it was difficult to understand what emotion was in his expression but Shizuku liked to think he was content.
"You were always angry with me," she said without sounding upset about it.
Blue eyes rolled at that. "No, I wasn't."
"Were," came her snickered argument.
"I wasn't," he insisted in a quieter tone she'd never heard from him before now. Intrigued, she greedily assessed the handsome features fully on display thanks to his hair being off his face, hoping that he would wear how he was feeling for her to better understand. "I was angry at the shitty situations I kept winding up in."
Had she read his connection with Sasori all wrong after all? To her, they seemed to possess a level of respect or at least understanding for one another, and she continued to believe it was only when she was the focal point of their arguments that they seemed serious. Every other time, Deidara always smirked like he enjoyed the verbal sparring and there was no suffocating tension in the air that wore down on her like there was an all too real noose around her neck.
"You didn't like Akatsuki?"
Deidara scoffed and shot her a look that screamed, are you stupid? "I was only there because of that bastard Uchiha Itachi, yeah."
Between her, those Konoha-nin and Deidara, it seemed his fan club was ever expanding. She wondered what it was about the guy that seemed to unsettle so many people, or in Deidara's case, pissed him off. For her personally, it wasn't so much that she hated him, but that she feared him. Although he'd shown remorse of his choice to put her down, Itachi hadn't hesitated to try anyway.
"If I had my way, I never would have joined them," he continued unprompted and rolled his eyes.
"What else would you do?" she asked, fascinated by the openness they'd only shared a few times up until that point.
She couldn't see there being much to do for someone like Deidara, who enjoyed the art he found in his explosions. Living without a purpose just wasn't him yet anything too extreme would surely give his position away and he would be hunted down easily.
"Before Akatsuki I suppose you could say I offered my services—for a price."
Oh, she'd forgotten that they needed money for the luxuries that were clothes and food she didn't hunt down herself. It seemed there was still so much she had to learn about the world, and now that there wasn't a time limit on her life, Shizuku found herself excited to learn all there was to know.
"Maybe I can do that too," she said, then smiled wryly at herself and added, "After learning to talk."
"You're doing fine," Deidara surprisingly assured her, huffing.
Propping herself up onto an elbow that was braced on his chest, she looked down at him with a disbelieving expression. "It annoyed you."
There was a quiet hum before he rolled his eyes to meet her curious stare, quirking an eyebrow. "Not as much as your tendency to steal my food, yeah."
Shizuku grinned at that.
In the same moment as Deidara lay his head back with his eyes sliding shut, the hand on her waist tugged her down against him.
"Rest while you can," he warned languidly, contradicting the words by reaching down to hook her thigh over his hips. "We'll be back on the road sooner than you realise."
They spent longer than they should have at the inn, unable to get over how intense the connection was between them now that it was being accepted. By the time they decided they had to leave, Deidara had chosen to walk several steps behind her for the first half an hour or so, laughing at the slight limp she featured after their final time mere minutes before leaving.
"Too cocky," she shot his way, though without any anger or upset. "It'll heal soon enough."
She'd known all about his abrasive personality—had expected some of that aggression to follow them into the bedroom when the time came. But nothing could have prepared Shizuku for that and any time she found herself thinking about Deidara's sculpted body and how determined it'd been in pleasing hers, that arousal came flooding back in maddening waves.
"Who said I'll let it?"
What's more, it seemed he couldn't get enough either.
The squeak of being grabbed suddenly was silenced by a hungry mouth that devoured her own, and Shizuku was all too eager to let him have his way when her back thudded against a tree, despite their previous reservations. Legs knocking into hers encouraged them to spread wider to accommodate him and fingers deftly unbuckled her shorts, soon causing her to gasp hotly into their passionate kiss when a hand slid beneath the waistband of her underwear. First, fingers brushed along her flesh, probing, exploring, appreciating, but then they slid further down, and her head fell back to the trunk with a thud and a sharp gasp when a tongue swept across her—
The intimate moment abruptly ended at the violent tremors that suddenly wracked the earth and Deidara pressed her further into the tree to steady them both, extracting his hand from her shorts. There was no time to mourn the loss of contact, for the vibrations intensified to the extent of trees creaking and groaning in warning, the ground cracking in several spots.
Then out of nowhere, they were targeted by a powerful shockwave that flung them backwards tens of metres. Even Deidara struggled to stop his tumbling when a second shockwave slammed into them mercilessly, and Shizuku hissed when her head smashed into the ground, face grazed and stinging.
What the hell was that?
When it proved it wasn't dying down, she felt she had no other choice but to bite down harshly on her hand, body growing taut for all of two seconds before her titan form was exploding out of her just in time for Shizuku to catch Deidara in her huge self's hands. Humongous knees and toes dug into the ground to fight against the blasts of air, body angling and curling in on itself once she had Deidara tucked into her chest.
That was when she felt it.
A disgusting foreboding crept along the base of her spine, worsening whenever another powerful shockwave forced her to strengthen her position before it blasted them away again. It was all she could do for the time being—bide her time, waiting for that brief reprieve.
The second it arrived, Shizuku lunged to her feet and ran in the opposite direction of the blasts, refusing to ignore the horrendous churning of her gut even as Deidara yelled for her to answer him. Soon enough he had enough of her ignorance, using small explosions to free himself of her grip, but rather than dropping to the ground entirely, she felt feet planting firmly to her body, the warmth of Deidara's chakra alerting her to his attempts to climb up her.
She saved him the effort by plucking him from her chest and placing him atop her shoulder, waiting until Deidara had a firm grasp of her hair. Only then did she put her all in dashing through the forest towards a cliff they'd passed a few days prior.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" Deidara demanded snappily, pulling on her hair to get her attention. "Why are you freaking out?"
It was getting worse, she sensed just as the cliff came into view. The intensity of the dread curling in her belly had her titan stumbling, a hand shooting out to try and catch herself.
"Shizuku!"
She knew she had Deidara well and truly spooked when her spare hand instantly shot up to cover her nape, eyes wide and paranoid while darting through the darkening forest.
"Oi, answer me!"
Something was out there.
The rock cliff seemed sturdy enough, but just when she was determined to try and scale it in her titan form, Deidara finally obtained her attention in full by targeting her legs without remorse. The reappearance of his rougher side showed when Shizuku dropped to her knees, titan forehead slamming into the cliffside with an unforgiving bang that left her dazed.
Another blast directed at her face had her falling backwards without putting up a fight—she was too grateful for the interference that knocked sense back into her. The sickening sense of dread raking its way up her spine hadn't lessened in the slightest, but she was now able to compose herself if only a little.
Her titan turned barely enough to expose its nape just in time for Shizuku to free herself from its confinement with a strangled gasp, visibly struggling. Strong hands instantly had a hold of her, however, yanking her out of it and severing the remainder of ties connecting her to it. For some odd reason, she found her legs wouldn't fully respond to her, but Deidara's strong presence let Shizuku know that that was okay.
"What do you need?"
"C-Cliff—"
The blond spared a glance upwards, eyes narrowing in a question he fortunately didn't ask, for she wasn't sure she could use her voice. That crushing dread was choking her determinedly and it took everything within her not to respond to the instinctual urgency to return to titan form.
To lessen the time spent climbing to the top, Deidara created one of his birds that could carry them both and Shizuku stood on far steadier legs by the time they stood atop the cliff. Having used the time to get herself under control for a second time, she straightened and scoured the sea of trees for oddities that captured her attention, but there were none. Nothing that stood out to her, anyway.
Not until something fiery in her peripheral had Shizuku's gaze darting upwards.
"Meteors?"
That was…
"No," she choked.
Horror and a disgusting sense of familiarity urged Shizuku to clench her fists and grow more defensive in her stance, because without a doubt, they were…
"Titans."
Deidara looked to her sharply and demanded, "More like you?"
The shaking of her head had him cursing loudly and shifting his glare to the skies, the hairs on their bodies standing on end when the crashes were shortly followed by cracks of lightning that they knew all too well. The dread threatened to immobilise her for a third time as she soon began to sense she was not alone, bringing her to the suspicion that the numbers were far greater than they could see in that moment.
It certainly explained all those earthquakes.
Shit, the world she was occupying was going to be ripped apart—there would undoubtedly be a repeat of what happened to her own the first time titans came to existence. Although the shinobi were remarkably powerful and would undoubtedly fight back, they needed to know exactly where to strike to end it properly. Only a select few knew how to do so.
"Shizuku—"
"I'll be lumped with the rest of them," she realised aloud, saying what they were both thinking.
The ones who had no shred of humanity within, whose sole purpose was to terrorise and devour people. They were currently being unleashed on the unsuspecting shinobi world in droves, literally falling from the sky just as Hidan joked they would and they weren't going to stop until mankind was wiped out, or close to. Just as they had in her own world once upon a time.
Mankind was about to be wiped out.
"If there are shifters like me…" Looking back to Deidara, she warned quietly, "They'll come for me too."
"Let them try." The sharpness in that single blue eye that met hers brought her a level of comfort that allowed some of the weight on her shoulders to ease up, slipping away as Deidara shared the burden. "You don't have to be up to the level of shinobi. They won't get passed me."
The next crack of lightning was considerably closer that time, alerting them that those currently landing weren't the first in Deidara's world—they'd already suspected as much, however.
Their hair blew back at the force of the transformation, debris threatening to blind them or worse, take them out entirely, but they couldn't worry about that when a titan gradually dragged itself to its feet in front of them. It was tall enough for the top of its head to peer just over the cliff they stood atop, its vacant gaze darkening with intent, grin borderline lecherous at the sight of its next meal.
Deidara's hands shot to his clay pouches, but Shizuku beat him to the punch by putting herself between him and the titan, biting down on her hand until she drew blood.
"Leave it to me," she ordered and shot forward before he could argue, leaping from the cliff just as the lightning struck her powerfully and her titan awoke.
She wouldn't let them get away with terrorising another world.
The intense chanting returned at full force and Shizuku welcomed it with open arms, allowed it to guide her as she wrapped her shorter titan around the brainless one still reaching for Deidara. She intervened swiftly by contorting her body until her foot planted firmly to the cliffside and she pushed, sending the taller titan toppling to the ground.
Fight!
Shizuku's chest heaved within her titan as adrenaline scorched through her, emboldened by the fierce chanting that prompted her to straddling the back of the struggling titan. Hands coming to its snapping jaws, she gritted her teeth and pulled with all her might until its jaw was breaking, skin and muscle tearing. It was easy ignoring the blood splattering across her own titan's features as Shizuku snapped to her feet before slamming one down on its neck at an angle just to be sure.
A flash of off-white shot across her vision abruptly and prompted Shizuku to shield her vulnerability just in time for the bomb to crash into another titan that was peeking through the trees, attracted by the commotion. It didn't stand a chance against Deidara's explosions, but like he wanted to solidify that point to them all, more rained down on the oddly proportioned titan until it was nothing more than a headless, limbless torso.
The area sizzled with the steam that surged from the two deceased titans, winding through the dense foliage ominously and she made sure not to let her guard down. One hand remaining firm on the nape of her neck while the other raised in front of herself, Shizuku listened carefully for sudden movements.
For the most part, an unsettling stillness was all to be heard or seen, before Deidara brought himself to her eye level with the aid of a clay bird. He didn't look at her, his focus on their surroundings as they waited for a sign—anything to signify that they weren't alone, just as that tingling in the base of her spine screamed that they weren't.
"You feel that?" came his hushed question, gaze sweeping to cover their backs. "We're being watched."
Yeah, she could feel that too.
Being in the forest as they were left them at a disadvantage, Shizuku noted uncomfortably. There were too many hiding spots. Too many opportunities. She couldn't—
Three of them lunged unexpectedly, hurtling themselves straight into Deidara.
"Shit—"
A powerful yell burst from deep within at the threat to the blond, one that shook the forest and forced her to yank him to her once more. That time, she stored Deidara against the nape of her neck, much to his extremely vocal disapproval, but Shizuku refused to take notice. She didn't fear him as she once had—didn't fear him at all.
No, what she feared more than anything, she realised in that horrifying moment of being surrounded, was losing him.
She couldn't lose him.
When the mindless titans stumbled closer with unsteady gaits, wavering under the weight of her shaky authority, Shizuku recalled the ability Uchiha Itachi mentioned of being able to control the others. They hadn't given it a second thought due to believing it to be unnecessary, but now she wished she'd at least considered it.
What the hell was she supposed to do—
Fight!
The yell had Shizuku jolting with its power before it seemed to take an ounce of control from her—not that she fought it. No, she allowed the chants to guide her body into crouching defensively, used it to enhance her legs and feet with blasts of chakra. Then, just when the three titans lunged once more as they sensed Deidara's furious presence cradled against her nape, Shizuku kicked out without hesitation. Her foot with the first and skinniest one's bony head without remorse, steam spitting out furiously at the decapitation that brought it to its knees lifelessly.
A startled shout came from her titan when the one that was barely even seven metres flung itself at her without hesitation, its nails like claws that sliced through Shizuku without resistance. It opened her up to the third one—the biggest one—that descended on her with a sickening grin, its big goofy teeth coming down on her shoulder.
Too close, she screamed internally and attempted to swat the titan away, soon gripping at him with her free hand when it tried biting her fingers next.
"Shizuku, let me out!"
No!
"I can deal with these things!"
Save him!
Terrified at the blood seeping through what was left of her fingers, nauseated when the tiny titan joined the other and tore chunks from Shizuku's bicep, she shook under the strain of trying to desperately fight them off. She wished she could drag Deidara within the safety of her titan's body to protect him, and felt tears filling her eyes at the arm that was ripped away entirely. It fell to the ground at her side with a sickening thud, one that echoed in her mind as she realised with a sinking gut that the other would shortly follow and with it, Deidara would be exposed.
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
And then she felt it.
A surge so powerful she almost felt cold. Moving the hand that continued to keep its death grip on her nape (and Deidara) suddenly became impossible, and she sensed the shattering of teeth when the titan bit down on the new material that shot across the backs of her fingers.
Holy shit, she really did it!
The hardening technique!
Hope restored and determined on ending it before more titans sought them out, Shizuku struggled against the two titans that continued to try and cut her down until she squeezed a foot between her body and the ground. Whether it was because she was one of the nine or they were still adjusting to the new world, she managed to overpower them both long enough to push upwards, whipping around with a powerful roundhouse kick that decapitated the big one that ate her shoulder and fingers.
The small one lunged for her again, but Shizuku found renewed confidence in herself now that the hardening ability had awakened within.
A second later and the third and final titan was dead.
The moment it fell to the ground and added to the thick steam that compromised visibility, Shizuku turned tail and ran. She commanded her chakra to increase the speed of her running when she heard suspicious sounds around them, all the while ignoring the blows she was receiving to the back of her neck—it wasn't anything that could disturb her concentration or put them at risk, so Shizuku allowed Deidara to continue with his lashing out.
They burst through the treeline, and she almost tumbled straight into the lake that greeted them sharply. There was no warning for how close it was, and Shizuku knew she was partly at fault for taking such huge strides.
But now wasn't the time.
They were finally alone, Shizuku noticed after scouring the area for the fourth time. That dreadful tingling in her spine was gone and in its absence, she was able to relax bit by bit, although it did take her several more minutes to feel comfortable enough to release her hardening technique.
In an instant, her recently healed hand was blasted into bloodied chunks that rained down on the surrounding area and her titan's hair was used as some form of rope that allowed Deidara to swing around to her front. One foot planting on her cheek before chakra seeped to the soles of his feet, allowing him to remain there without risk of falling, allowing him to glower at her furiously.
"You…!"
The tears of relief that spilled down her cheeks had Deidara faltering in yelling at her, his anger cracking.
"You…"
He was safe.
At his quiet insistence, Shizuku eventually managed to release herself from the titan form, body succumbing to the exertion of fighting for their lives. The tiredness seemed to run bone deep as though it was her human body that withstood all those attacks, and she knew she took Deidara by surprise at her staggering. He was forced to catch her when Shizuku's legs finally buckled, darkness creeping over her vision.
But he was safe.
She stubbornly held onto consciousness to get a look at Deidara's startled features, basking in the warmth of his touch as he dragged her closer to the lake to splash her with the cold water. The blood of her titan had evaporated, leaving him clean faced once more and she sighed, glad.
"Oi, get a hold of yourself," he ordered. "We don't have time to rest."
No, she supposed they didn't.
It was the end of the world, after all.