Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Tears of the Unworthy	By : MudbloodMalfoy Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Itachi/Sakura Views: 9325 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! I am not paid to write this fic.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapter Nine
Anniversaries and Painful Memories
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Deidara opened his eyes and sighed. He didn't have to look at the calendar to know what day it was. He doubted he could ever forget. He sat up and looked over at the only picture in his room. "Happy anniversary, Mai-chan. God, I miss you." The Iwa-nin pushed himself up from the bed and went to his closet. He opened the lid of a small chest and pulled out a girl's traditional kimono, a necklace made from smooth stones and clay beads, a picture and a headband. The kimono he laid out on the bed, along with the necklace. He looked at the picture and smiled a bit, then set it on the bed, too. The headband, he swapped with the scratched one he usually wore. He pulled on his clothes, looked down at the picture one last time, and walked out of his room, unscathed headband gleaming in the morning light.
The picture fluttered a bit as a draft blew through the room. It showed two young kids, a blonde boy and a blonde girl, with their arms around each other. They had their other hands up in peace signs, showing off their bracelets. The boy's said "Deidara". His twin's...said "Mai".
The day that Deidara would never forget...was the day his sister...his twin sister...had been murdered.
Kisame looked around to make sure nobody was around. When he saw that the coast was clear, he moved into the library. He listened for movements, grinning a bit when he heard none. Tip-toeing to the back of the library, he opened a dusty book and sat down on the floor. His grin widened as he flipped through the pages. Nobody in the Akatsuki would have guessed that the shark-man was a huge fan of...romantic poetry.
Sasori heard Deidara's door open and sighed as he closed his book. He knew what today was. Deidara had told him about a few years ago when Sasori had asked Deidara why his headband was different. Deidara had told him that every year since her murder, he would swap his headband for hers, in honor of her loyalty to Iwa. Sasori sighed again. Deidara wasn't the only one with bad memories on this day. He looked over at the calendar. Two words were written in jagged red marks...Happy Birthday.
Sakura rolled over with a smile on her face. She leaned over and kissed Itachi's cheek. When he grunted, Sakura shook her head, causing pink strands to fly waywardly around her head. "Obviously not a morning person, are you?" She let out a short scream and then burst into giggles when he suddenly came to life, grabbing her and rolling her under him, his lips attacking her neck.
Itachi liked her laughter. Even after so long, it soothed his raging mind. Being the genius prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, his mind moved at a faster pace than most people. The closest anyone came to his mental pace was Shikamaru Nara, who was also a genius. When Sakura laughed, though, his mind slowed down to a more normal pace. He liked that feeling, which was why he was relentless in his attack on her. Itachi felt a smile pulling at his lips. Instead of forcing himself to retain the normally stoic mask, he let the smile curl his lips.
Sakura's eyes widened when she saw his smile. She reached up to reverently touch the corner of his lips. She frowned when the smile faltered. "I like it when you smile, Itachi. It reminds me of when we were younger. You didn't frown as much then. You seemed happier." She suddenly rolled out from under him and to the edge of the bed. Leaning over the side, she gave Itachi a nice view of her boy-cut underwear-clad bottom as she reached to grab a box. Just as Itachi's resolve not to smack her butt wavered, she exclaimed, "Got it!" Itachi looked at her expectantly as she sat back and presented the shoe-box with a smile on her face. "Open it! I made this a few days before...well...you left. I never got a chance to give it to you until now. When you look inside, keep in mind that I was about seven or eight years old when I made it. I wanted to give it to you today because this is the anniversary of the day we met."
Itachi glanced at her in surprise. He had forgotten. "Damn. I can't believe she remembered after all this time." After a few seconds, Itachi turned his attention to the pink-hearts-and-glitter decorated box in his lap. He opened the lid and couldn't help but smile a bit. Right on top was a crayon drawing of a stick-person with pink hair and green dots for eyes holding hands - which were big circles - with a stick-person with black hair and red dots for eyes. There were anemic trees around them, which had been brutally savaged by fire and kunai. Itachi was surprised at the detail. He remembered training, working on his fireball jutsu and kunai accuracy when Sakura had run into the field, yelling at him for hurting the trees. He glanced up at the blushing kunoichi. "I see you remember that day as well. I couldn't believe a tiny pink-haired kid was yelling at me. And about hurting trees, no less." He chuckled when she blushed harder.
Sakura felt her cheeks flame hotter when he chuckled. "Just look at the rest," she said. When Itachi pulled out a small notebook, she groaned. "I changed my mind! I don't think this was a good idea!"
Itachi, who had opened the notebook, grinned. "Oh, no. I think this was a very good idea. 'Mrs. Sakura Uchiha. Itachi and Sakura Uchiha. Sakura Haruno Uchiha.' Oh, and kids' names. You certainly were prepared, weren't you?" Itachi laughed a bit when Sakura threw a pillow at his head. He flipped the page and felt his heart stop. There was a photo of Sakura and himself holding hands and walking down the street at a festival. Sasuke was holding Sakura's other hand. It had been the first time the two had ever gone out in public together.
Itachi replaced the picture and reached back into the box. He pulled out a card and shook his head. "I can't believe you kept this. I still don't know how you managed to get hurt so bad. Mother yelled at Sasuke and I for a week after that. Your mother wouldn't let you visit for a month."
Sakura giggled. "How was I supposed to know that the koi fish could actually bite? And you and Sasuke were supposed to be watching me. It didn't help that both of you were nearly blue you were laughing so hard."
"'Get well soon. And sorry our fish bited you all over.' Complete with smiling fish and sad faces. I wasn't aware that neither Sasuke nor I could spell very well. Or draw." Itachi glared when Sakura laughed.
She brushed her lips across his cheek. "Keep looking through it. I'm going to go check on Mai and Shin." Itachi nodded and reached towards the box again as Sakura shut the door.
Deidara glared at Kisame. "I was here first! Let me hold her. That's not fair, Shark-face!"
Kisame glared at Deidara. "Shut up, punk. She held her arms out to me. Deal with it. Hold Shin or wait your turn."
Just at that moment, Sakura walked in and picked up Shin. Kisame guffawed while Deidara sighed and slumped onto the couch, shaking his head. Kisame cradle Mai in his large hands and grinned as she smiled up at him. As always when the baby girl smiled at him, Kisame felt his breath catch. "I think I might just like this little shrimp." Kisame's head cocked to the side and his eyes glazed over. "Hmm. Shrimp. Ah hell. Now I'm hungry." Shaking his head, Kisame handed Mai over to an eager Deidara and went in search of food, rubbing his stomach at the thought of it.
Deidara looked down at the baby in his arms, thinking about his sister. "Except for the hair, she could be my sister all over again, yeah." Deidara lowered his head and kissed Mai's forehead. The baby giggled and grabbed Deidara's hair. She yanked, causing Deidara to yelp and his eyes to bug out. Mai giggled again, her laughter pealing out across the room to her mother, who looked up at the two from feeding Shin and smiled at her daughter's antics. She had noticed Deidara's melancholy mood and was glad that it was being lifted. The four of them carried on in silence, Mai's laughter and Shin's burps the only sound in the room.
Sasori looked up from his book when someone walked into the library. After a few seconds, he buried his nose back into his book. The Inner Workings of Legendary Puppets. When a gasp and a muffled giggle reached him, Sasori looked up again. After a few seconds, he again returned to his book. When a moan and a short scream, added to a crash, interrupted him again, he stormed out the library. As he closed the door he muttered, "Can't even get a break on my birthday. Can't they find a normal place to have sex?"
Pein looked at a giggling - and naked -Konan. When he quirked an eyebrow at her, she just giggled harder. "He a-always does that. You'd think that b-by now he'd know when we'll be here!" Shaking his head, Pein lifted Konan into his arms again. The blue-haired kunoichi grinned and lowered herself onto Pein. They both groaned as the sensations swept over them.
Zetsu walked into the empty living room. He settled himself onto the couch and opened up his latest gardening magazine. When he heard a baby gurgle, he sighed and put the magazine down. When the baby gurgled again, he stood and walked over to the crib holding Shin. Shin looked up and smiled at Zetsu, baring his gums and giggling. Zetsu reached into the crib and picked the baby up. He looked around to make sure nobody was there, then ducked his head and kissed Shin's head...ending in a lick, tasting the baby. Zetsu froze and then shuddered. Placing the baby back in the crib, he thought to himself, "Yuck. I didn't know babies tasted so bad. At least adults lose that...baby taste. Tastes like...lotion and fake milk."
Leaving the room in a hurry, he didn't notice Tobi stick his head into the room.
Tobi strode into the room with more confidence than usual. Striding straight to the crib, he jerked off the mask and grabbed up Shin, startling the baby and making him start to cry. Quickly, Tobi covered the baby's mouth and muffled the cries. He looked around and left the room, then the base, as quickly as he could, leaving a note fluttering in the baby's empty crib.
%%%%%%%%%%
"BROTHER!" a shrill scream pierced the air. A fourteen-year-old blonde boy sat up in the bed, then bolted across the room to grab a kunai. Slipping his bedroom door open silently, Deidara sped down the hall to his sister's room. Another scream made his steps falter before speeding up. Hands blurred as they slid into a pouch at Deidara's waist, grabbing clay. The mouths in his hands that had appeared months ago now came into use as they chewed and infused chakra into the clay. Deidara threw the clay at his sister's door, smiling as it stuck, and made a hand sign to detonate the bomb. The door blew off its hinges as the force of the explosion and the boy rushed into the room, only to stop in horror as he took in the mutilated body of his beloved sister. The intruders had defiled the girl, then slashed her wrists and throat. His stomach revolted, and Deidara fell to his knees as he vomited. Minutes later, he stood and wiped his mouth.
A gurgling sound came the bed. Deidara gasped and rushed to his sister's side. She smiled weakly when Deidara's face appeared. He leaned down when he saw her lips moving. "They...were black...ops. Said...we...were traitors. Didn't cut...deep enough...to kill me quickly. I lo-" Mai choked on the blood in her lungs and throat. "Love you...Mudpie."
Deidara blinked back his tears and kissed Mai's cheek. "Love you, too, Mudball. I'll get them. I swear I will!" Deidara vowed to his twin. She smiled again and tried to lift her arms. Deidara rushed forward to hug her. She kissed his cheek...and exhaled, then was still. Deidara clutched his twin's body close to him as he sobbed. After his tears were spent, he grabbed a chest from the closet and packed Mai's favorite kimono, their engraved bracelets, and a picture of the twins when they were ten.
Moving to his sister's body, he gently removed her headband. "Loyal to the end, huh, Mai-chan?" After he placed the headband in the chest, he stuffed it into his clay pouch. He wrapped Mai's body in the blankets on her bed and picked her up, then jumped out of her bedroom window. He ran as fast as he could to his and Mai's secret hiding place. In the little oasis, Deidara cleaned his sister's body of blood and dirt, then wrapped her wrists and neck in pieces of his shirt. He used a jutsu to dig a hole deep into the earth and rock, then jumped down into it with his sister's body in his arms. Crying, he laid her down gently and kissed her cheek one last time. Back on high ground, he gently lowered the dirt back into the hole, then used a jutsu to cover the spot with a slab of granite. Using a kunai, he carved his sister's name, age, and dates of birth and death. At the bottom of the slab, he carved a message:
"Together in the womb. Born together. Best friends till the end. Best friends forever."
He signed his name and then stood up to leave. As he turned, he heard a whisper, then the snap of a twig. He whirled and deflected the shuriken hurtling through the air at him. Taking off into the woods, he dodged the ninja after him, then abruptly, stopped. A plan had formulated in his slightly crazed mind. He grabbed clay out of his bag and formed a bird with it. Using a new hand sign, he enlarged the bird until it was big enough to carry him. He hopped on its back and directed it to the nearest clay- filled river bed. He packed every pocket he had full of clay, and even made a hollowed out space into the clay bird, which he filled with little chakra-infused clay creations. Hopping onto the bird, Deidara flew to the city, where the black ops base was. Nearing the city, a cry went up and suddenly he was being targeted by every ninja in sight. Dropping a few fun little surprises, a devious look came over his face as he made a sign and whispered into the night, "Katsu."
Explosions sounded and screams were heard throughout the city. Deidara passed over his house and saw medical ninja escorting his parents out. The black ops shook hands with Deidara's father. Instantly, he knew that his father had sold them information in exchange for his life and his wife's. "Bastard! They killed my sister! And for what? Your measly, cowardly life? I hate you!" Deidara yelled to his parents below. Deidara's mother turned to his father with a shocked look on her face. He saw her lips moving, then she slapped the man who had betrayed her children. Jerking away from the medic holding her arm, she ran off, away from the city. "Perfect," Deidara whispered as a grin spread across his face. He dropped his largest bomb on what used to be his home, then flew some hundred yards away. Detonating the bomb, he was blown backwards from the force of the explosion. He sat up and grinned at the cloud of flames and smoke rising from the ashes of his former home.
Returning to the city, he dropped bombs and explosive creatures onto the unsuspecting ninja below. The second-largest bomb was dropped onto the black ops base, which was right next to the Kage's mansion. He got as far away from the city as possible, while still being able to safely watch the destruction. A hand sign was formed. A word was whispered. A loud boom echoed through the air, nearly knocking Deidara and the bird out of the sky. Screams gave way to silence. Smiling at his revenge, Deidara grasped his headband and yanked it from his head. Taking great pleasure in turning his back on the people who had killed his sister, he drug a kunai across the Iwa symbol, effectively declaring himself a missing-ninja. Turning the bird away from the destruction, he headed to the desert.
Two weeks later, half-starved and dehydrated, Deidara showed up in Suna. Staying to the outer edges of the city, he kept his headband covered by a hood, and his hands by gloves. He figured there couldn't be too many Iwa missing-nin with mouths in their hands. By keeping a low profile, he was able to catch tidbits of news from his former home. Half of the city had been destroyed, and the other half had been affected by the quakes caused by the bombs. The Tsuchikage was looking for him, and Deidara made himself as scarce as he could when any ninja were around. By sticking to the more unsavory part of town, Deidara was able to get little jobs as a bomber. He was paid well, and respected by the rogue ninja he worked with. Many thought him to be a genius, since he could make a more effective bomb at fourteen than most professionals could at thirty. By working for the rogues, he was able to get wind of an organization in the works by the name of Akatsuki. Word was, it was formed in Rain, and it was hard as hell to get into. Deidara was intrigued by that, and worked as hard as he could to outdo himself in the next year. By the time he turned fifteen, he was in every Bingo Book except for Konoha. He saw no reason to hurt a village who opposed Iwa. My enemy's enemy is my friend, and all that. Eventually, Deidara was contacted by an agent for Akatsuki. They asked him if he had ever heard of their organization and other such questions. Apparently what he said pleased them, because he was given instructions to a deserted town in Rain. For the next week, Deidara stocked up on as much clay he could find. (Which, honestly, wasn't as much as he would've wanted. Not much clay in the desert...) After the clay, he stocked up on ninja weapons, scrolls, ninja pills, and food. He even got a few medical kits.
After leaving Suna, he traveled for three weeks. Finally, he reached the little town outside of Rain's capital city. He took a few steps into the town and heard a whisper of sound from behind. Reacting on instinct, he jumped into the air, above the kunai that would've slammed into his back had he not moved. The next hour was spent dodging various traps as he made his way to the last building in the town, which he knew was important. When he finally reached the building, the door opened and an older teen with blood red eyes walked out, followed closely by a huge man with blue skin and gills. He grinned at Deidara, showing off his pointy teeth.
The teen spoke first. "Congratulations. You're one of the first to make it through the entire facility. Now you have to go through us. Leader is waiting in the very last bedroom in the house. If you make it to him, you might be able to join the Akatsuki. I won't go easy on you."
The blue man spoke up. "Maybe you'll be lucky and die before Itachi gets antsy. I doubt you would live long after that." He grinned as wide as he could. "Here I come!"
Deidara was instantly on guard. Kisame swung his massive sword at the blonde, who jumped backwards to dodge it. Itachi appeared by his side, causing Deidara to duck the kunai and shuriken whizzing over his head. Grinning, he felt the rush of adrenaline flow through his veins, sharpening his senses. Thrusting his hand into his clay pouch, the mouths in his hands chewed the clay and infused chakra into it to make bombs. Deidara flung the first bomb at Kisame, who was too slow to duck and ended up blown halfway across the town. Itachi appeared suddenly behind, but Deidara's sense of hearing was acute enough to hear the displaced air and ducked in time to miss the blade that was swung and would've sliced his neck in two.
Kisame groaned and sat up. "Damn. The kid can make a bomb, that's for sure. I think he broke my rib." Grinning, he stood up. He walked over to where his Samehada had been dropped and swung it a few times to see if his ribs would hurt too much to use the large sharkskin sword. Surprisingly, he wasn't hurt too bad. Grinning even more, he jumped back into the fray with a wide swinging arc that tore a chunk out of Deidara's shirt, ripping the cloth to ribbons, and shredding a bit of the skin beneath it. Grasping his arm, Deidara backed up. Kisame stalked forward and swung at him again. Deidara jumped up and over Kisame's head, kicking his butt as he landed.
Deidara laughed a bit as Kisame turned and looked at him with a bemused look on his face. "I just kicked your ass, yeah!"
Kisame guffawed at the quip. "Damn, kid. I'm trying to kill you and you joke around? You got some balls on you, punk."
Itachi appeared at Kisame's side. "And you are making small-talk with the enemy, though I have come expect no more from you. Get back to business, Hoshigake." With that, his body scattered into a flock of ravens. For a minute, Deidara couldn't tell anything was wrong. Then, the right side of his body started to tingle, then to itch and burn. He looked down, but could tell no difference. Suddenly, he lost control of his hand. It came up to circle his throat, choking Deidara. His sister's voice came from his right, He turned his head, but nothing was there. "Oh, God. No. How?" Deidara thought to himself when he realized where the voice was coming from.
Cold sweat popped out on his forehead as his sister's voice came again from the right side of Deidara's face. "How could you let them do this to me? You weren't there! I trusted you and you betrayed me!
Deidara could feel his skin starting to peel away. Freaking out, his hand went to his throat in a defensive manner. A choked sound emerged from his mouth when he felt the slash marks in the right side of his throat, almost as if...his throat had been slit. "
Mai's voice hissed at him, "Do you feel that? That's what those sick bastards did to me. It was supposed to be you! They didn't know we'd swapped rooms. If they'd known, it would be you with a slit throat! Maybe it will be you...just you wait, Deidara. You'll die soon. And I'll be waiting for you..."
For the first time, Deidara noticed the ravens flying around in tight circles around him. It seemed like him noticing the birds was their cue, because they started flying at him. Deidara jumped when one turned into a shuriken and whizzed past him, slicing into his shirt a bit as it passed. More shuriken came, and by luck and skill, Deidara managed to avoid them all. Finally, the genjutsu dispelled, leaving Deidara looking around a bit dazedly. Itachi was standing a yard away from him, looking disgruntled.
Kisame walked out of the woods. "Wow, Itachi. Seems like he's the first one ever not to get all sliced up by that. One tear in his shirt sleeve. He's good." At Itachi's glare, Kisame just grinned and slapped Deidara on the back, nearly toppling him over. "I'm just saying, that has to count for something, right? Maybe we should just go ahead and let him through. He's proved himself to me."
Itachi closed him eyes. When he opened them, the Mangekyou was swirling in them. He looked at Kisame, and for a split second, everything was completely still. The moment was broken when Kisame went down on one knee. "Dammit, Itachi. Leader said not to do that anymore. One more time and we're getting swapped. And you'll probably get the freak. Or the new kid."
Itachi glared again. Kisame hurried to look down. Sighing, he turned to Deidara. "Very well. You've proven yourself. Continue to Leader's room. I trust you remember which it is." With that, Itachi and Kisame turned and walked back into the house.
Deidara gulped. He hadn't expected it to be that easy. Grinning a bit, he took a step. As he crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him with a sharp sound. The teen walked farther into house, down a hall and to the very last door at the back of the house. Feeling a bit foolish, he raised his hand to knock. The door swung open a moment before his fist would've touched the wood, revealing a darkened room.
"Come in, young Deidara," an eerie voice called from within. Cocksure as ever, Deidara swaggered inside. A fireplace was to his left, with two wing chairs that looked inviting. "Sit down. I'm sure you must be worn out after that battle."
Deidara grinned. "Nah. It wasn't too bad. Barely a scratch on me, yeah."
The disjointed voice laughed. "You hear that, Sasori? Maybe this one might be just what we're looking for."
Another voice joined the first, this one softer, and higher than the first. "Perhaps. He could end up like the rest, in Zetsu-san's stomach."
"Now, now. Not all of them ended up eaten. Hidan caught a few of them." Rich laughter followed this statement. "I'm not sure which is worse."
A sound from his left had Deidara turning. A shadow was unfolding from one of the chairs. "I like this one. You know the procedure, Sasori. I trust you can handle it." Without showing himself, the shadowed man exited the room.
Another shadow rose from the other chair. "Come along, then. Leader gets angry when his orders aren't followed immediately and precisely. You'd do well to remember that." Walking into the light was a red-haired male who couldn't have been much older than Deidara.
"I've seen you, yeah! In Suna," Deidara trailed off as Sasori glared at him.
"Now is not the time to speak of this. Remain quiet and follow me." With that, the red-head turned and walked through a door different than the one Leader had used. They walked down a hall and turned down another. After a few minutes of turning down various halls, Deidara was utterly and completely lost, which he said aloud. Apparently, that was the point, as Sasori smirked and turned and opened a door to his left. "This is where you will be staying. There are extra clothes in the closet. Someone will come get you when it is time for supper. Do not leave this room. If you do, you will be killed instantly by the movement-triggered alarm system."
%%%%%%%%
Deidara spent the next hour rummaging through his new room. He looked through the dresser and the closet. He nosed into the cabinets on the walls. He even looked under the bed. After he had satisfied his curiosity, he plopped down onto his new bed and fell asleep. The next thing he knew, he was being held up against the wall with a black hand around his neck.
"Look what we have here. A new snack." Deidara looked up at the person who was apparently going to eat him.
"You must be Zetsu, yeah." As he said this, Deidara stared at the strange person's features. Half of his body was black, while the other half was white. His eyes were yellow and, strangest of all, he seemed to be encased within a Venus flytrap.
"You must be the new kid. Too bad. I was almost looking forward to eating you. Sadly, Leader-sama wants you kept alive. For the time being." Deidara glanced up in surprise at the change in the timbre of Zetsu's voice. Before he had a chance to ask about it, Zetsu dropped him to the ground and turned to leave the room.
"I'm sure Leader-sama will send for you soon. Better get ready, kid. You could be in for more than you could ever possibly imagine." With that piece of advice, Zetsu left the room.
An hour later, Sasori knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, he walked in. Seeing Deidara making clay sculptures wasn't really something he expected. Deidara whirled around when Sasori cleared his throat. He rubbed the back of his neck and willed his blush to go away. "I got bored, yeah. I figured I could practice making different shapes for my bombs, yeah."
Sasori looked at the various shapes and sizes of the clay figures. There were spiders and birds, even a rabbit. There was also a miniature of Deidara himself. Shaking his head, Sasori turned to Deidara. "Come with me. Leader-sama assigned us a mission. I will fill you in on the way."
Deidara jumped up and grabbed his bag. It had all of his things in it. His clay, ninja weapons and tools, a med kit, and extra clothes. Following after Sasori, he struggled not to act like a Genin on his first mission. As they left the little town, Deidara noticed that, when crossing a certain point, Sasori's ring glowed. Like a dam bursting, the questions started pouring forth. "Where are we going, yeah? Why did your ring glow? What's the mission? Are we gonna kill someone, yeah?"
Sasori bit back a groan. Of course he had to test out the kid. He was the only one without a partner. But why did he have to get such a talkative little brat? Resigning himself, he tried not to bite the poor kid's head off with his answers. "We are going to a village a few miles away. My ring glowed because we passed through the barrier around the town. And yes, we are going to kill someone. The village's headman is pulling together a militia to try and kill the Akatsuki. Leader-sama wants the headman and his group of rebels to be terminated."
Deidara repressed a flinch at the clipped sound of Sasori's voice. Well, damn. He had annoyed his almost-maybe future partner. Great. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Deidara nearly stumbled into Sasori when he suddenly stopped in front of him. When Deidara opened his mouth, a quick glare from Sasori made him shut it…quickly. Sasori grabbed Deidara's arm and pulled him into the trees and pushed him up into the canopy. From their perch above the ground, they saw the approach of two dozen armed men, plus a handful of ninja. At the very back of the makeshift army, Deidara saw the man he supposed they were after. He was the only person atop a horse, and was dressed in richly colored clothes. He wore jewelry instead of armor, and carried no weapons. Obviously he was confident his soldiers could keep the enemy away from him.
Sasori snorted in disgust. What an idiot. The stupid man must think he was invincible. 'Well,' Sasori thought with a smirk, 'he's about to learn that he's not.' Motioning to Deidara, he slipped out the trees and into the bushes a few yards ahead of the soldiers. Deidara followed, quickly making a few clay bombs. Sasori glanced at Deidara and mouthed "Now." With surprising speed, Deidara launched his bombs at the oncoming enemy, then quickly detonated them. The blast rocked them, and Sasori nearly smiled at the sound of his enemies' screams. Deidara glanced at Sasori, then quickly away. His face was twisted into an evil grimace. Shaking off his thoughts, he snatched a few kunai out of his bag and leapt into battle. Sasori followed, and the few minutes was spent killing the soldiers and ninja guarding the headman.
At last, everyone but the headman was dead. Sasori walked up to the cowering man, trembling beneath his jewels and fine clothes. "You thought you could defeat us with such a small army? You are very foolish."
The headman tried to plead for his life. "It will not happen again! I swear it!" He rose to his knees, then winced when Sasori grabbed a fistful of his hair.
Sasori nodded. "You're right. It won't happen again." In a flash, the headman's body fell to the ground, separated from his head. Sasori turned to Deidara. "Never believe what the enemy says. It is a lie, and will come back to haunt you should you believe it."
Deidara nodded, feeling slightly sick. Sasori had beheaded the man so fast, Deidara hadn't even realized it until body fell away. Now he was just holding the thing, calmly waiting for Deidara to pull himself together.
When Sasori turned and headed back the way they had come, Deidara followed quickly. 'Note to self: Do NOT get on Sasori's nerves.'
Three weeks later, Deidara had become an actual member of Akatsuki. Leader had been impressed by Deidara's skills in battle, and the former Iwa ninja was learning more every day. He had found the library, and had read every book he could find about earth style jutsu. He had even thrown in some unexpected twists, like lightning and fire jutsu. Also, he and Sasori were learning how to coordinate themselves with each other in battle. A few years after joining, Tobi came along. He was Zetsu's subordinate, but seemed to like Deidara more. Deidara tolerated him, but couldn't stand him for very long. He was like an annoying little brother. After a while, everyone came to accept Tobi as one of their own, often overlooking his mistakes and childlike behavior. They had become almost like a family. Deidara snorted. Yeah right. Like a family of rabid dogs. They were nearly always fighting with one person or another. But it was normal. And everything was great.
Until the little pink-haired kunoichi from Konoha recaptured Itachi's attention. When Deidara first noticed it, he had nearly laughed out loud. All this time, he had thought Itachi might be swinging on the other side of the fence. But to find out that, not only was he straight, but he was in love with a tiny little thing with hair the color of bubblegum! It was just too funny. For weeks after he stopped his secret tea meetings with the kunoichi, Itachi had been off balance. Slowly, he had regained his cold, emotionless façade. Until…he began to dream about her. At first, Deidara thought he was having nightmares, since the Uchiha would yell out into the night. When Itachi had yelled out Sakura's name one night, the blonde had realized that Itachi wasn't having nightmares. He was having wet dreams! Deidara couldn't look at the moody Uchiha without bursting into laughter.
Finally, Itachi had given in and sought out his pink-haired distraction. Deidara was surprised when Itachi had returned after only two days. He had thought that the Uchiha would want to leave Akatsuki. It became apparent that his brief encounter with Sakura hadn't gone well. Itachi got drunk one night, which was very unusual, and ended up admitting to Kisame that he had practically raped Sakura. Kisame had told the others, which he regretted the next day when he regained consciousness from the brutal beating Itachi had subjected him to. A few months later, Itachi's little necklace jutsu had informed them that Sakura was pregnant. Even after deciding to go to Konoha, Itachi had stayed at the base a few more weeks. Then the real nightmares started. Everyone noticed that Itachi was losing sleep, and was even more moody than before. Finally, he left for Konoha, making the rest of the men heave a sigh of relief. When Itachi returned with Sakura and the twins, everyone noticed the significant changes in the formerly emotionless man. He smiled now. He was a good father. And, most importantly, he was truly in love with the little kunoichi.
Deidara had noticed a change in Tobi, too. He seemed more secretive lately. And he was very intent on the twins. Deidara began to feel paranoid. He was sure nothing was going on. Then, he found the note in Shin's crib. He clutched it in his fist and rushed to find Sakura. He met her as she was walking into the living room.
When she saw his stricken expression, she paled. "What's wrong, Deidara?" she whispered. When he swallowed and looked down at the note in his hand, Sakura snatched it out and read it.
Hope you don't mind; I've borrowed your son. Too bad you probably won't see him again. At least you have another kid to replace him.
She gasped and paled even more, then whirled around to take it to Itachi. He burst into the room, his face darkened with fury, the Mangekyou swirling in his eyes. Deidara was up against the wall with Itachi's hand around his neck before he could blink. 'Well, I've never been in this situation before,' he thought dryly.
"What the hell happened? Where is my son?" Itachi bit the words out, punctuating the words by slamming Deidara into the wall.
"I don't know, yeah. I was coming to see Mai and I saw that Shin was gone. Then I found the note, yeah. I can't believe he took him, yeah." Deidara shook his head sadly.
Sakura had grabbed up Mai when Itachi went after Deidara. She cradled the baby to her chest as tears coursed down her cheeks. A sob broke through her silence, making Itachi glance to the side. Deidara broke his weakened hold easily, only to watch as the Uchiha strode to his lover's side. He touched his forehead to hers and wrapped his arms around her and his daughter. Deidara was the only witness to the family's grief. And he would certainly never tell of the heartrending expression on Sakura's face, or the tears falling from Itachi's eyes.
%%%%%%%%%%%
Within the hour, nearly all of the Akatsuki was searching for Tobi and Shin. Zetsu was the only one who could find the slightest trail, and even he had trouble. It seemed Tobi had kept a good many secrets. Itachi was like a demon in his pursuit of his son's kidnapper. Sakura had stayed back at the base with Konan and Mai, surrounded in a myriad of genjutsu and barriers layered around them. Itachi wasn't taking any chances on Sakura and Mai's safety. For three days, they searched for Tobi. With each passing hour, Itachi went a little crazier.
Kisame was truly worried about him. Looking over to Itachi, he could tell that his friend was nearly at the end of his rope. "C'mon, Itachi. We have to head back now." He flinched when Itachi glared at him, the Mangekyou even darker red than usual.
"No. I will find my son, and kill the one who took him. I refuse to go back without him." Itachi's voice was scratchy and gruff, his eyes red rimmed. He stopped running and pressed his head against a tree. "Fine. I need to check on Sakura and Mai. Maybe the bastard will try to ran-" Itachi's voice broke. His whole body shook with the effort not to keep searching. He would be of no use to Shin if he became exhausted. Slowly, Itachi got a grip on himself. Kisame dropped a hand on Itachi's shoulder. They turned and headed home.
Hearing a whisper of movement, Sakura woke up to Itachi entering the room. She wrapped her arms around his neck after he had climbed wearily into the bed and held him as tight as she could. For a long while, the saddened family held onto each other. Finally, Konan knocked on the door, a sad look on her face as she walked into the room. "I'm sorry, Itachi-san, Sakura-chan. Zetsu found another note. It says that the kidnapper is willing to trade Shin for Sakura." Konan's eyes began to fill with tears as she left them to deal with this latest development.
Sakura turned to Itachi. "I want to do it. I'm willing to trade my life for our son's." She smiled sadly when Itachi's eyes glinted. "Don't try to stop me. You've always said I'm too selfless. But this…this is selfish. I want my son to live and grow up to be a great man. I want that enough to sacrifice myself for him. You have to let me go, Itachi. It'll be okay. I promise."
Itachi tightened his arms around Sakura. "I can't let you go, Sakura. I can't lose you. I won't let you do this."
Sakura's hands pushed at Itachi's chest. "I have to, Itachi. I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to get him back."
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, I need rest so I can continue searching for Shin." Itachi kissed Mai's forehead, then Sakura's lips. "I love you, Blossom," he murmured, voice muffled by the kunoichi's lips.
Sakura's eyes widened at his admission. Then she smiled. "I love you, too, Itachi."
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Tears of the Unworthy