Sketchbook [Deidara]

Sketch #5

Sketchbook

Sketch #5

-

Deidara stared at the floral dressed female orphan for a long minute. There was something so familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger to it. He was sitting a few seats away from her and just kept staring, trying to figure out what that something was.

"Deidara-nii, are you in love?" Kurotsuchi gave the blonde a sly smirk as she leaned her chin on her palm. She had witnessed everything that went on that evening, from the meeting of the orphanage inhabitants to the long staring. If it wasn't love, what was it?

"No, un!" Deidara frowned at the granddaughter.

"Oh...poo." She pouted. By the look of the blonde, it definitely wasn't it. He didn't even blush, not even a stutter! "What a letdown..." She muttered with a sigh.

Dei rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the orphan female, who was staring back at him with her golden coloured eyes. She seemed to have an impassive expression, as if she was expecting something.

Feeling slightly unnerved by her staring, Dei recalled another time when he felt unnerved. Suddenly it clicked in his mind, "AH! You're Rina, yeah?!" He pointed at her with a shocked expression.

The whole table went silent. The Tsuchikage sighed through his nose and stared at Deidara with a 'what-are-you-doing-now' expression; Kurotsuchi's brows were up and she was surprised by his sudden outburst; Mother blinked a few times in wonder before grinning; the other orphanage kids stared at Deidara for a long moment, before bombarding him with questions about how he knew their sister.

Once he had answered all the questions (though some of them were reluctant), everybody got the full picture.

"So you were meeting her secretly in the forest..." Kurotsuchi mused, "So they were dates after all," She cooed, "Deidara-nii's in love!"

"No they weren't, un! AND NO I'M NOT, YEAH!" Deidara snapped. He calmed himself down with a deep breath. He huffed, turning to Rina, "Why do you look so different? I couldn't even recognise you, yeah."

"I got cleaned and dressed...?" Rina tilted her head in confusion. It wasn't as if she looked that different, was it?

"I didn't know you were an orphan, yeah." Deidara changed the topic and scarfed down some food when it arrived. The others were busy talking amongst themselves so the blonde and brunette talked across the table.

"No, you didn't. I didn't tell you..." Rina mused, placing a few bits of meat into her bowl.

It was awkwardly silent as they ate, listening in on other people's conversations. The two kept stealing glances at each other, wondering what the other was doing, finding it strange that they were in a different setting than in the forest. Others who observed the two thought that they were somewhat akin to a new couple.

Kurotsuchi pouted and crossed her arms, chewing. She had been watching Deidara and Rina the whole time, wanting to find something to tease them about. She couldn't think of anything to say. In the end, she just kept shoving food into her mouth.

"I would like to meet with the kids again," The Tsuchikage started. The orphans looked up at the old man with shocked faces. They thought it was just a one-time occurrence.

"To see their skills?" Mother inquired with a twitch of her brow. Her fingers were intertwined and her elbows were on the table.

"Yes." The red nosed man looked to each and every one of the orphans' faces, committing them to memory. His eyes settled on Rina, then to Deidara, and finally back to Mother. "I will send a messenger to advise you the date, meeting place and time."

"Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama." Mother smiled.

"Looks like you'll see her again." Kurotsuchi grinned and punched Dei's arm playfully. He sent her a look of irritation, but ignored her since they both already knew the answer.

-

On the planned day, Deidara and Kurotsuchi both showed up even though they didn't need to.

"What are you here for, un?" Dei side-glanced at the female.

"Just chilling." She jumped down from the tree and strode to where her grandfather was. Dei shrugged and did the same.

Just as he reached the old man did the kids of the orphanage come. Mother nodded her head in greeting and ushered the children up to the field, where they were scheduled to meet.

Onoki was content with seeing them and began to explain what he wanted them to do. Even though it confused some of the children, they still followed the old man's orders.

I can recognise her today, yeah. Dei thought, eyes fixated on the brunette. Rina was standing next to Mother and had a blank look on her face, much like the time that she was with Deidara.

As they started with simple activities such as throwing shuriken, many of them failed to hit the target attached to the trees, resulting in a mental sigh from the old man. The only one who hadn't thrown anything was Rina, who just stared at the shuriken with an incredibly straight face.

"Does she not know how to throw a shuriken?" The Tsuchikage muttered.

"She was paying attention when we taught them..." Kurotsuchi mumbled back.

Deidara, who was forced to help one of the orphan kids, noticed that his mentor and Kurotsuchi were observing Rina rather oddly, and quite obviously too.

Geez, what are they up to now, hm? Dei made his way over to them and followed their gaze. He made a 'what-the-hell' face when he saw that she hadn't even started the activity. What's up with her, un?

Rina stared at the shuriken for a long time, remembering how Deidara and Kurotsuchi threw it. She thought for a moment, remembering her dreams. She had seen people throwing shuriken, but the technique they used was different, even if just a little bit.

What would be the most comfortable? The golden eyed girl changed her grip on the shuriken several times before finding the right spot. She went into a stance and threw it at the target.

Deidara nearly hit the ground when the shuriken went completely off course and into the tree that another orphan used.

Kurotsuchi, having watched the way the shuriken went, was quite surprised. Her brows jumped up and a small smirk appeared on her face. Interesting...

"Deidara-nii, if you don't get up I'll kick your butt!" Kurotsuchi pulled her leg back, kicking it forward.

Knowing exactly what the troublesome female was doing, the blonde rolled over and the kick narrowly missed him. He glared at her with a small frown, sitting up and brushing himself off. He glanced at Rina, who was trying again and again with the shuriken, but they all went off course and into other trees.

"What the hell, un..." Deidara rubbed his temples, "How can someone be so uncoordinated, hm?!"

The Tsuchikage's eyes glinted with amusement as he stroked his beard. His lips were pulled upwards. "Deidara, why don't you look closer."

"Hah? At what, hm?"

"Look at where the shuriken goes."

Deidara raised one brow sceptically but nonetheless followed his mentor's suggestion. He watched as Rina threw the shuriken, tracking it down. His expression shifted to one of surprise when he found that the shuriken that she threw not only curved, but also hit the targets of the other orphans.

Dei was speechless, "Right in the bullseye too, un...all of them."