The Anime Lover's Must Read: One-Shot Collection

Speak Out ~Sasori One-Shot~

Suza shook her head, blush burning her cheeks at the very thought. Even when she was with Deidara, she preferred to keep quiet. Actually, she was so anti-social and silent most people she met often thought she was mute!

"Suza, you really need to speak out. Danna might not like it if you don't talk to him!" Deidara teased and Suza's moved to the ground.

She didn't even think Sasori liked her, but she remembered those eyes he had examined her with during her first mission.

He seemed... interested somehow?

"Suza!" Deidara shouted, causing her head to snap up to see him flipping through the pages of her sketchbook. "Did you hear me, un?" She slowly shook her head, trying to snatch her artwork from the snoopy blond.

"I asked you if you drew these, un. They're pretty good."

Suza's cheeks flamed as Deidara skimmed through the pages. She nodded and made another poor attempt at seizing her book back. She finally yanked the sketchbook free of his hands, scuttling over to a drawer and stuffing it in. She slammed it shut and spun around to look at Deidara with hurt eyes.

"I didn't mean to pry!" He exclaimed, putting his hands up in defense.

She sighed, then went to sit down next to where Deidara was sprawled out on her bed. She lay down next to his feet, her feet next to his head vise versa.

"Suza... you should really tell Danna, un." Deidara whispered to her, both of them staring at the ceiling. She only shook her head again, ruffling the blue-and-green checkered sheets. He playfully nudged her cheek with his foot, causing to recoil and roll of the bed. Deidara shot up in the bed, leaning over to see Suza's surprised face as she was wrapped up in the sheets that fell with her. He cracked up at her friend's clumsy actions, promptly receiving a pillow to the face.

"That cheered you up!" He watched as she smiled widely when she got up, brushing herself off. Deidara turned his head and looked out the window, inspecting the dark sky that had settled in. "It's late. Get some sleep, okay Suza?"

She nodded and grinned when he ruffled up her hair, which was all down with ribbons removed. He stopped at the door, and looked over his shoulder with one hand on the door frame. "Oh, un?"

She peered at his one visible pale blue eye.

"Just remember: Speak out." He said to her with a smile, and with that, he left for bed. Suza stood there, holding her sea foam green nightgown in hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ="^-^"= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Suza was assigned a mission with Deidara and had left in the early morning.

Sasori was bored as usual, wandering the halls of the Akatsuki lair. Running fingers through his hair, his eyes shifted to an open bedroom door. Suza's room... He thought, pushing the door open farther, the light from the hallway pouring into the dark room. She's not due back until later tonight. She wouldn't know...

He stepped into the room and shut the door silently behind him. He flipped the light switch on and gazed around the bedroom. Everything was kept neat and orderly, unlike most of the other rooms in the base. Her sea foam green nightgown lay folded on the bed, waiting for Suza to return home for a peaceful nights' sleep. He walked around the room, searching for anything that could explain the quiet girl's personality. Just when he was about to give up and leave before he was caught by somebody, something caught his eye.

A piece of paper was poking out of a slightly ajar drawer. It looked so out of place in such a clean room that it piqued Sasori's curiosity. Striding over to it, he slowly opened the drawer to see that the page belonged to a sketchbook. Interested, he peeked at the pages. This is... Suza's? He thought, shocked at the realistic drawings in the sketchbook.

The pictures in the book were mostly of the Akatsuki, but there was one self portrait. Skimming through the pages, there was one of her and Deidara. He was leaning on top of her, an arm resting on the top of her head. She was giving an annoyed look at him, but Deidara was still grinning happily.

The last picture, however, was the most intriguing. It wasn't complete because of the lack of color, but it was still stunning.

It was him and Suza standing next to each other. Suza was looking up at him with admiring eyes, her arms folded in front of her. In the picture Sasori was staring ahead, locks of his uncolored hair falling in front of his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ="^-^"= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After awhile of looking at the sketchbook, he placed it back and left. When he reached his room, he could hear Deidara and Suza coming back from a successful mission. He heard them head into Suza's room, probably to talk. Sasori got up and left his room, standing by the somewhat open room, and listened in on the conversation.

"So, your not planning on telling Danna, un?" Came Deidara's voice. A silence followed, which Sasori guessed was Suza answering.

"But, Suza, you really need to speak out! Danna should know you like him!" Deidara had said and Sasori jerked away from the door. Heading back to his room quickly, he had only one thought in mind:

If she won't speak out... I will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ="^-^"= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Suza sat down on her checkered sheets, drawing with fine-tipped colored pencils. The current picture she working on was black and white from the outline she had finished in pencil. She was in the middle of coloring Sasori's crimson red hair with caution when a knock sounded on her door. Placing the sketchbook and the colored pencil down, she hurried to open the door.

She closed her eyes and smiled, expecting to meet her best friend, but was instead greeted by her red-head crush, Sasori of the Red Sand. She moved to the side and let him in, then settled back onto the bed, trying to hide her sketchbook with a pillow.

He sat next to her, ignoring the fact that she was trying to hide something he already saw. He stared at her, his hazel eyes peering straight into her forest green orbs.

"You..." Sasori started to say then paused, unsure on how to say it.

"Interest me." She finished for him.

Her voice was exactly how Sasori had imagined it. It was like she was breathing the words, coming out very feathery and light. It matched her personality perfectly, quiet and shy.

"Akasuna no Sasori... you interest me." Suza repeated, leaning a little closer to him. "I-I was afraid of you at first... because of what you first said to me..."

She leaned even closer, feeling a strange confidence flow through her. Sasori remained speechless, and just continued staring into the deep green eyes, transfixed by her timid beauty and soft voice. He could feel her warm breath against his unreal lips. Her face hovered only a few measly inches from his, her hands placed firmly on his upper legs, supporting her as she leaned over him. She kept her eyes glued to his boyish complexion.

"But I've found something out because of you. Do you want to know what that is?" She asked, cheeks burning as she leaned in until her lips were only about a centimeter from his lips.

"What?" Sasori asked, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. She closed what microscopic space was left between them, giving the kiss she'd been dying to place on him. Though she was shy and unexperienced, he still returned it happily.

They broke after a minute for much needed air, Suza's cheeks a much deeper color than the naturally pink that they were before.

"It's because of you..." She said and Sasori refocused on her. "That I can speak out."