Deidara's Love ~ The Soft Side of the Akatsuki (Deidara x OC)

Chapter 1: Takedown

[f]

Yukari pushed chakra into her legs and feet, launching up and forward. Twisting backwards in the air, she reached into the pocket on her left thigh and pulled out three kunai knives. Swiftly, she twirled and flung the knives, aiming at the three targets thirty feet below her.

She landed gracefully without hesitation, her long, amber hair swirling around her with her every move. She looked up with deep brown eyes, a brilliant glimmer skipping across her irises. Triple bullseyes.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened, satisfied with her training. Rolling her shoulders, she started back to her home, but stopped when something in the air changed.

She'd been living in this place her entire life; she could tell immediately when something was off.

In a flash, Yukari whipped around and grabbed a kunai. The disturbance came from the forest... behind the targets. She froze. Was she being watched?

"Who's there?!" she called out. No answer came.

Then slowly, a man wearing a black cloak dotted with red clouds slunk from the shadows, barely lit by the moon. He was short and round—a hunchback, and a mask covered his lower face. Even from far away, Yukari saw the emptiness in his eyes.

Behind him, another person stepped out from the shadows. He was wearing the same cloak as the man from before. Flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed, staring at Yukari intensely.

"Are you... Yukari?" the hunchback drawled in a deep, raspy voice.

"No," Yukari lied. "What do you want?"

"Sasori no Danna, why did you even bother asking?" the blonde man smirked. "She fits the description perfectly, un. It's really her."

Yukari's eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the kunai.

"Didn't you guys hear me?" she called to the duo. "I said, what do you want?"

"Come with us," the blonde replied.

Something ached at the back of Yukari's mind; somewhere, deep within, she could tell that these men were dangerous. She took a step back. "Who are you?"

"We are the Akatsuki."

Yukari's eyebrows rose. She'd heard a plethora of gossip about a rogue organization when she visited town to get food or supplies. They were a mysterious terrorist organization with deadly S-rank rogue-nin.

"I'm guessing you're Sasori," Yukari motioned to the hunchback, who'd been rather silent. Then she pointed back to the other Akatsuki ninja. "So who're you?"

"Hmph. My name is Deidara. You'd do well to remember that, yeah."

"Deidara...?" Yukari rolled his name across her tongue. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

He didn't answer. Whether it was because he didn't want to, or because he didn't care to, she couldn't tell.

"Either you come willingly or we will force you," Sasori finally spoke. "It's up to you."

Yukari considered her options. These were S-rank criminals involved in a rogue organization. In the matter that they resorted to battle, did she stand a chance of winning?

A ring that sat on her left ring finger began to feel a little warmer than usual—something that had never happened before. Perhaps this was an omen.

"Yo!" Deidara called, "Hurry up and decide! Sasori no Danna doesn't like to be kept waiting, un!"

"...I'm not going without a fight." Yukari finally answered.

Deidara smirked. He nodded and started to reach for a pouch on his waist.

"Deidara," Sasori said slowly, his dark, beady eyes flashing. "Let me take care of this one."

"What?! It's my turn!" Deidara argued. "You just want another opportunity to show off your fake art; yeah! Let me do some real stuff!"

As the two continued to bicker, Yukari could feel every muscle in her body tense. Reaching to the sheath on her back, she pulled out a long sword. Its name was Althalos. It glowed, reflecting the moonlight. Yukari gripped the hilt, smoothing her palm over the grooves in the ribbon. This was her ultimate treasure, her only memory of who she was.

"Fine!" Deidara cried in defeat. "But if we ever get another chance, you better stay away, yeah. Or else I'll use it on you."

As they concluded their discussion, Yukari channeled her chakra into her sword, creating a purple aura that surrounded the pearly blade.

Yukari's brown hair and eyes slowly morphed until they became a brilliant red. In the distance, she spotted Deidara's mouth drop open in shock, his eyes widening. She smirked, hoping to have caught them off guard. They knew nothing about her, but their abilities were everywhere in the bounty books. She intended to use this to her advantage.

Yukari charged the hunchback, preparing to strike. She slashed at Sasori's body, attempting to weaken him before killing him... if it was possible. Out of nowhere, a long, swift structure parried her strike. The ricochet was so strong it flung her backwards, but she twisted into a flip to catch her footing, sliding back on the dirt.

A long tail protruded from underneath Sasori's cloak. Even from far away, she spotted something strange about the it.

A thick purple liquid dropped from its tip. Poison, perhaps?

Once again, Yukari charged at Sasori. She ran head-on and he blocked her attack again. But this time time, she stood her ground. Her face twisted into a grimace as her sword struggled to hold against the sheer force of Sasori's tail. From up close, it looked nearly indestructible.

Yukari jumped back again, and from the trees, Deidara cried, "Danna! I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting!"

Sasori didn't answer. Instead, from beneath his cloak, a wave of shining needles suddenly pelted Yukari. Agilely, she made minuscule movements to avoid the needles—clearly doused in purple poison. It wasn't the easiest task, but Yukari didn't have a hard time.

But in order to win, she needed something more than brute strength. She had to analyze the situation and find a way to defeat him with cleverness, or else she would never find victory. She very well may die right there.

Contemplating her observations, she picked out a few styles of his fighting. Sasori was clearly a long-distance fighter, seeing as how he was trying to keep Yukari at bay with long-ranged attacks. In addition to that, his poison posed a huge threat. The main method of attack was the use of his tail—but he used it defensively as well.

Perhaps it was time for a little experiment.

While quickly running parallel to Sasori, Yukari grabbed shurikens and threw them, aiming for Sasori's face. In a flash, the tail blocked them and they bounced off of it harmlessly.

Not even a scratch...

Quickly sheathing Althalos, Yukari formed a few hand signs and yelled,

"Kaze no Yaiba: Blade of Wind!" A gust of wind formed around Yukari. She whipped her arm and a blade of wind sped toward Sasori. Once again, he blocked it with his tail with ease. But something was off.

He turned his tail around to find the blade of wind had created a huge gash in the material.

"All right!" Yukari cheered. "Let's keep going! I haven't had this much fun in so long!"

This time, Sasori made an offensive move. Although he was round and bulky, he was strikingly fast. Yukari almost couldn't keep up with him.

Almost.

Within an instant, Yukari pulled out Althalos and parried Sasori's tail. It hovered right about her heart, trembling.

She shoved his tail away and rolled to the side, striking again.

"Wrong move." Sasori finally spoke in his gruff voice, and Yukari froze.

She glanced down to find a kunai lodged into her chest.

~~~~~

\(^.^)/

xx Rin