Deidara avoided me for the rest of the week, and the week after that. That first week I avoided him as well, but after that I started to feel horrible and couldn't take the silence anymore. When I tried to talk to him he mostly ignored me— if I asked a question he just shrugged lazily or nodded or muttered something I had to strain to hear. I couldn't decide if this half-way talking was better than the cold shoulder or not. Either way I hated it.
When my attempts at conversation failed I finally broke down and apologized, but he just muttered or shrugged again, saying he wasn't mad. Of course I didn't believe that for a second. As I sat awake at night panic tortured me. I had really screwed up!
I started to cry anytime I was by myself. I felt like I was going to die or go insane. Sick of it, I decided to make a last attempt at apologizing; I would put everything I had into it and hope he forgave me. I stumbled into his room during my search for him, but he wasn't there. (By the way, I mostly spent my nights in the library because I no longer felt very welcome staying in his room, so I never really went inside anymore.) I should have left, that would have been the right thing to do. Instead I felt my curiosity take over when I spotted his sketchbook on the messy desk, so I snooped a little. I missed seeing his creations— they were always so amazing! Curiosity turned to longing as I sat down on the bed with it and pulled back the cover. I flipped through the ones I had seen before, pausing a moment to admire each one. Then I came to one I had never seen, and I really wished I'd never seen it.
It wasn't the kind of drawing he usually did; it was a confusing jumble of a bunch of different pictures. When I looked closer I saw my face in it a few times, the Leaf village symbol, even a quick little doodle of Naruto. In one of the corners was a heavily shadowed face with bright tears trickling down. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and moved on to the next. This one was similar to the one before it. I kept going, though I don't know why.
I let out a little squeak of astonishment and nearly bolted out of the room in tears as I came to a particularly disturbing one. This one wasn't a confusing jumble, just one very clear picture.
There we were in the center of the page, me lying with my eyes closed and him hugging me. I appeared to be dead.
A horrible rush of panic gripped me. I placed the sketchbook back on the desk and ran as fast as I could, tears streaming down my face. I ran until I was outside surrounded by the cloudy afternoon. I ran through a thick forest and a grassy clearing, but still I did not stop.
Eventually I did stop, my lungs screaming at me for air. I sat down shakily on the cool moss under a tree and tried to calm my rapidly beating heart, breathing in controlled breaths of the moist forest air. When I was calm I didn't know what to do, so I just started to sing quietly to myself. Song after song passed my lips until the sun was ready to set. Deep purple and red streaks of light stained the sky like blood and threw long shadows across the forest floor.
Suddenly I was aware of what sounded like a cart coming towards me along the path, its frame creaking and wheels crunching dirt beneath them, horse hooves plopping closer. It stopped in front of me and someone hopped out of the driver's box for the horses.
"Hello there, miss," came a man's voice.
"H-hello." I strained to see his features in the diminishing light of the evening; he sounded and appeared to be a man in his early thirties, with wild dark hair that hung around his face and a strong build. I noted the kunai holster on his right thigh. So he was a ninja, it seemed.
"It's getting late. You shouldn't be sitting out here all by yourself like that, miss."
"Uh, right. I guess I'll just go..." I stood up and brushed off my clothes, avoiding his gaze. I could feel his eyes straining to see me too. I was thankful I wasn't wearing the akatsuki uniform, but instead a loose sky blue T-shirt, a knee-length emerald skirt decorated with pretty gentle swirls and my blue ninja sandals. Unfortunately though, I was unarmed.
I started to feel a little afraid— he was just standing there watching me!
"Well, um, nice meeting you, sir." I bowed slightly and walked as fast as I dared in the direction he had come from, away from the base. I jumped back as a kunai landed where my foot would have been and looked at him. He was just a silhouette against the almost nonexistent rays of sunlight.
"You're a ninja," he said.
"Why do you say that?"
"I can tell." There was a long pause, and then, "You're coming with me."
I gritted my teeth— I was absolutely not going to be kidnapped again! I turned and dashed through the trees, the slight worry of tripping in the darkness a mild tickling at the back of my mind.
"Come back here!"
And the chase was on.
I had no idea where I was; I had turned many circles and had gone every which way until nothing was familiar. I gasped when I heard his footsteps directly behind me. I leapt sideways to avoid the strike of some kunai and did a quick hand sign, but was interrupted.
"I'm the only one who will be using jutsu here, miss."
I shivered at the word 'miss'.
"Earth style: dust storm!" I heard him yell. I felt a slight tugging, then a stronger one at my feet and looked down. The dirt around me was beginning to swirl and rise into the air like a mini tornado, and I was in the middle of it.
I tried to jump out, but it rose up swiftly and soon it was as tall as the tallest trees in the forest and was a mass of swirling earth. The dust got it my eyes and coated my throat and every inch of me. I coughed as I inhaled it. I tried desperately to cover my face and struggled for a breath of clean air, but the dust was everywhere and did not lighten up. My hair and clothes whipped around me painfully in the violent swirling air, as did debris that had been sucked in from the surroundings.
I did a hand sign and called, "Wind style: gust!"
A strong blast of wind forced the tornado and its creator away, taking the choking dust with it. I bent over, coughing and gasping for breath and wiping the dust from my face. I opened my eyes and saw his shadow blocking out the moon above me. I spun, and in one swift movement I disarmed him and stabbed the kunai through his chest, causing blood to spatter the area between us.
He remained standing, shaking with the effort, and pulled out a shuriken. He threw it; I blocked it, then threw a few of my own at him and watched them lodge in his chest and stomach. He fell forward, dead.
My legs gave out and I sank back against a tree, finally feeling the exhaustion of the day's events. Everything was deathly silent and still as I sat there with no clue how to get back to the base. I decided to wait until morning to try to figure it out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akatsuki Base
Pein was furious.
"Where is she?! Where is Mori?!"
No one could answer. No one had seen her at all during the day.
Pein closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Search for her, and do not come back until she is found."
Everyone nodded and raced off to look for the possible traitor. Pein did a quick hand sign and called out with his mind. "Mori!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mori's P.O.V.
I jumped as Leader-sama's voice sounded in my head, angry and harsh. I frantically did a hand sign and closed my eyes to concentrate.
"H-hai?" I responded nervously.
"Where the heck are you?!"
I winced. "I'm not really sure, sir."
"How can you not know where you are?"
"I just started running, but I still knew where I was. Then this guy attacked me, and I lost track."
There was silence, then an agitated sigh. "Can you please describe your surroundings?"
"Uh...well, I'm in a forest, and that's all I know. There's no path, but you might be able to find it from overhead because all the trees are heavily damaged and there's dust everywhere."
"I'll get Deidara on it."
He broke the jutsu. I buried my face in my knees as a wave of dread washed over me— I would have to deal with Deidara when he found me. I sighed and waited.
About an hour later I heard the flap of his clay bird's wings as it descended towards me. I looked up nervously. Deidara leapt off the bird and knelt in front of me, worry and relief covering his face.
"Are you alright, un?"
I nodded and could feel tears prickling at my eyes. He helped me up and onto the bird, and we made our way back to base. I held on tightly to him and watched the surroundings below.
"I'm sorry," I whispered loud enough for him to hear.
"Hmm? For what?"
"For what happened in the library."
He was quiet for a moment then said, "I forgive you Mori, and I'm sorry too."
I smiled and hugged him tighter. "Thank you!" I heard and felt him laugh in response. I looked back down again, and the smile on my face vanished. I hadn't realized I'd run all the way to the Grass village, my home village.
I suddenly felt uneasy and wanted badly to be back at the base. I did not want to see this place at all. Old memories washed over me involuntarily. I didn't even notice my grip on Deidara loosening or my body going limp as I slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing I was aware of was Deidara calling to me as I fell.
