Summary: He just couldn't stay away from her. She was such a mystery to him; rebellious, defiant and yet so kind. And even though she teased him and her punk of a boyfriend nearly killed him, he couldn't resist giving her his book.

Author's Note: Okay so this is a little oneshot I thought of after watching one too many Kpop music videos. So I hope you like it!

Things to Know

Uwabaki: a pair of shoes worn inside the classrooms of a Japanese school. It's believed
that outside shoes should not be worn
inside the classroom. I loved wearing them back when I went to school because they were
so comfortable.

Knee length vs. Ankle length: Most schools have skirts knee-length or longer. My
school had the long, ankle-length/shin-length
skirts. I liked them because I didn't have to worry about the cold weather and wear
leggings beneath.

Juku: an after-school class many students take to help them with exams and college prep. As weird as it sounds, most of us take Juku and actually love it.

You're an Idiot

He didn't understand why things were so boring, or why he had to learn about the environment. He didn't care much about it, and if he had to hear his sensei say the word "environment" one more time, he was sure he was going to explode.

Sometimes, he wished that something interesting would happen. Even if just for a day; he was tired of the everyday routine. Kakashi-sensei would arrive late, talk about the environment, then they'd break for lunch. He just wanted something to happen, anything.

A soft knock caught their attention, and everyone sucked in a breath fearing the headmistress had decided to arrive for a surprise visit. But instead of a 5'7" woman with blonde hair and large breasts behind the door, there was a small girl with short pink hair in a ponytail dressed in the school uniform. It was a traditional military style—dark, navy blue long sleeved shirt with a white and navy ascot around the neck, with a knee-length pleated navy skirt rather than an ankle-length, navy knee-high socks and a pair of uwabaki.

Deidara's bright blue eyes went wide for a second as she took his breath away. She looked very annoyed, actually, as if she didn't want to be there. Not that he blamed her, but still.

Kakashi smiled at her from behind his illness-mask and bowed to her in greeting. He asked her to write her name on the board, and on the inside, Deidara was excited to learn her name. On the outside, however, he was as indifferent as possible. He watched as she snatched a piece of chalk from the chalk-catch and quickly scratched the katakana of her name across the board in big, sloppy letters.

Sakura, her name was Sakura.

Kakashi-sensei pointed to the seat beside Deidara. It was the only open seat since his best friend Sasori had been moved as they talked too much. As she met his eyes, he felt his heart quicken within his chest to the point it felt as if it would burst. But he still refused to show his excitement. Exasperatedly, she plopped into the seat beside him without acknowledging him then rested her head against her hand boredly.

He glanced at her, preparing to say something, but thought better of it and continued watching Kakashi's presentation on the environment and whatnot. A soft clatter made him look towards his new seatmate only to see her opening a bento. Stunned, he watched as she began eating without a care in the world.

What's wrong with her, he wondered, didn't she care about getting caught un?

He was no saint. He'd been in trouble with many of the sensei plenty of times. But he was never so bold as to do something to get in trouble in the middle of class and act as if it were nothing. He'd done things like forget his book and talk out of turn, but never eat in class.

She glanced at him with an expression that clearly asked him "what are you looking at" but didn't stop eating. He shook his head and turned away.

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He laughed at the face Sasori pulled when Itachi mentioned the way Kisame earned detention. The large kendo club student had accidentally lifted a girl's skirt when she was walking by and instead kept his eyes on the view rather than apologize and stop. Sasori pulled an odd facial expression that was totally unnatural for the stoic boy, so he couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up within his belly.

Deidara stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed, eyes rolled upwards at the dark blue sky as the trio walked towards the train station from juku. It was autumn, and the maple leaves had turned deep maroon, fall around them in splashes of red, brown and gold. Crowds of people walked around them, ignoring them as they always did.

He heard loud laughter, and glanced towards the right, doing a double-take when he saw the new girl, Sakura, talking with some boys in front of an arcade. His walk slowed a bit, making his friends stop to ask him what was wrong, when Sakura waved at him.

"Deidara," She called with a small trace of a smile. Slowly, he waved back. The boys she was with looked at him oddly, and he looked back. They looked like yanki, delinquents with leather jackets and wild hair. One had dark hair spiked in the back, and he recognized him as Itachi's younger brother who had dropped out of school and moved out. The others were a boy with whitish-blue hair, a boy with spiky orange hair, and a pair of twins with gray hair.

Itachi's brother, Sasuke, just smirked at him and Itachi, making some comment he couldn't quite hear from across the street. Sakura laughed at it and waved her hand in dismissal. "See you later, Deidara." She said. Sasuke and the other boys mimicked her smile and wave, but in a teasing way.

Rolling his eyes, he went on walking with his friends, ignoring the way his heart plummeted into his stomach.

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He was late for class again. Kakashi-sensei just smiled at him, but he knew he'd have chalk-board duty after classes were over. So he just sighed and sat in his seat and pulled out his notebook, pencil and book.

"I'm checking for your books now," Kakashi-sensei said, tapping his yardstick against his palm almost threateningly. He slowly passed stepped through the rows, pausing to tell certain students to write their name on the board for forgetting their books. That would mean detention for them.

Curiously, his eyes drifted towards the right to glance at his seatmate's desk. It was empty. She was asleep. Asleep for Kami sake. Over the past few weeks, he had gotten use to seeing her asleep at her desk, and he'd gotten use to the bandages on her cheek even though he still wondered why she had them. And it surprised him that she had never been caught. He was sure if it were him asleep in class, he'd be sent to the headmistress's office.

As Kakashi grew closer, he quickly reached out for her, hesitating for just a second before shaking her awake. Her eyes—those beautiful bright green eyes—shot open immediately and she sat up.

"Your book," he whispered to her. But she made no move to reach for it from her red bag. When their sensei arrived at their desk, he stood up, discretely sliding his book onto her desk, and headed to the chalkboard.

Bewildered, she watched as he spelled out his name on the list. He stood at the front with the other four students, ignoring the stunned gaze of the pinkette while Kakashi finished rounding the classroom.

"You all will spend detention after school today, cleaning erasers from mine and Yuhi-sensei's rooms," Kakashi informed. "You will have two days, Deidara for being late today."

From her desk, Sakura smiled and looked down at the book he had offered her. Then slowly, she laid her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

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The bakudan slipped down his throat pleasantly. He could feel the explosion of flavor as it touched his tongue, and he closed his eyes to savor it. Sasori sat atop the desk beside him with a bento of rice and yakiniku in hand, telling him about something his Obaasan had said the night before.

He loved the stories of Chiyo because the woman was so energetic and embarrassingly funny for an old woman in her seventies. She always made him laugh when he'd come over and Sasori always had funny stories, even if the redhead himself didn't particularly find them funny.

"Sakura!"

The two boys and many other students turned to face the secondary entrance in the back of the room, surprised by the loud shout of the girl's name. Two girls stood at the door with annoyed expressions on their faces and hands on their hips. He knew those girls as Yamanaka Ino and Uzamaki Karin and was curious to know what they, of all people, wanted with the pinkette and what she possibly could've done to anger them. They were well known for bullying the younger girls and starting painful rumors. They were the school gossips and usually only acted towards older or same-classed students when provoked.

But of course, she was asleep at her desk.

She would be the only one asleep during lunch, Deidara thought with an internal chuckle. She was always asleep. That or eating her lunch. Is she even passing her classes, he wondered as he watched the girls surround Sakura's desk.

Karin set a hand against Sakura's head and gave it a light shove, instantly waking the girl while Ino pushed her shoulder up into a sitting position. Her eyes were dazed, tired with soft gray bags rimming the bottoms.

Doesn't she get enough sleep un?

"Hey wake up," Karin said, lightly slapping Sakura's cheek. She forced her to look at her. "Come on let's go bitch. We need to talk."

Sakura licked her bottom lip with an annoyed expression on her face as she shrugged their hands away from her. She pushed her desk away from her and stood abruptly. All eyes went wide as she spun on her heel and slapped Karin with a lazy, opened hand then kicked her stomach in a leisurely way.

Deidara and Sasori's eyes widened and soon people were trying to push towards the window they sat at, trying to watch the fight about to happen.

"Don't call me that," Sakura yelled, putting a fist out. Defiant fire burned within those glassy orbs, and the usually calm, teasing and smiling face was obscured by an angry, hurt expression than had his heart wrenching slightly. "I dare you to say it again!"

"Stay away from Sasuke-kun," Ino yelled back.

Sakura fisted the girl's uniform shirt and glared at her.

He didn't understand why his heart was beating so fast.

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"And then the little shit had the nerve to call me out."

Deidara snorted and shook his head. "Where have all the good underclassmen gone un?" Hidan shrugged his shoulders and went on about some underclassman that had attempted starting a fight with him. But he couldn't concentrate on the rather interesting story very well. His thoughts were plagued by the girl standing down the hall, staring out the windows with a distant look.

She looks sad. She always looks so distant. I wonder why un.

She was so mysterious, so quiet and distant from everyone. But at the same time she wasn't. It was like she talked just enough just by smirking at you, like her viridian eyes were mocking you. And when she spoke, her voice was so strong and confident. In a way, she reminded him of their headmistress. He had so many questions about her, and it seemed like every day only offered a new question.

When they reached her, he stopped. Hidan paused as well with a confused expression on his face and watched as the girl slowly turned to look at him. Sakura eyed him suspiciously, asking with her eyes what he wanted. And when he opened his mouth to speak, he found that no words could come out.

This happened a lot. He didn't understand why. But his mouth would suddenly dry up and his heart would thump loudly in his chest. He would feel butterflies fluttering around his stomach and his skin would tingle. He didn't understand it and it made him uncomfortable because it was so unlike himself.

Her eyes landed on the strawberry ramuné in his hand. When he noticed, he set it on the window ledge in front of her and offered it politely. Instead, her brows furrowed, almost as if she were offended, and she walked away.

He blinked, confused while Hidan laughed at him.

What did I do wrong?

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The class bowed as Kakashi-sensei entered the room. He was late, again, and Sakura took the opportunity to sleep as per usual. Deidara himself was beginning to doze off when the silver-haired man had walked in.

The class stood and bowed with a tired "Ohayou gozaimasu" like they did every day then sat. All with the exception of Sakura who just sat up straighter.

"I will check your books," Kakashi announced as he began heading towards the front of the row.

Quickly, Deidara stood up, sliding his book to Sakura's desk like he always did, and marched to the front of the class with an indifferent expression on his boyish face.

Again, Sakura watched with stunned fascination as he wrote his name on the board and waited patiently as Kakashi began lecturing him.

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After school, he rushed towards the train station. His eyes were sore and so were his arms. He just wanted to go home and rest. It was already getting dark and he was hungry. When he reached the street corner, he was surprised to see Sakura leaning against the building.

She was waiting for him.

He stopped walking as she stood in front of him with her head tilted to the side and a guarded expression on her pretty face. He kept up the stoic attitude even though his heart was racing again. He brushed his golden bangs away from his face casually while she eyed him.

"Why are you always being so nice to me?"

He arched a brow and shoved his hands in his pockets then began walking past her. "I don't know what you're talking about un."

She followed him until she was in front of him, obscuring his path once again. But now she had a smirk on her face. "Sure you don't. Come on." She wrapped her hand around his arm and pulled him with her towards the stores across the street.

She led him all over the place; dragged him from venue to venue with a small grin. They talked and joked and stopped at small food booths for free samples every chance they could. She even began teasing him about his hair.

And oddly, he didn't really mind.

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"I'm going to check your books now."

He nearly sighed. Deidara glanced towards his right to see Sakura boredly doodling in her notebook. Slowly, she looked up at him with an odd glint in her eye. She glanced over at Kakashi as he slowly inched closer and closer towards them with his yardstick tapping against his hand menacingly.

Deidara's eyes fell onto her desk. Empty.

She gave him a look, silently asking him "well?"

He sighed softly and dropped his head, his bangs curtaining him from the rest of the world. Slowly, he pushed the book towards her and prepared to stand, only to feel a sudden gust of wind against his hand. His eyes shot up only to see an identical book resting beside his. His surprised cobalt eyes snapped up towards her.

Her face was as indifferent as the first time he saw her.

He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.

And unbeknownst to him, neither could she.

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"This is good un," Deidara whispered, looking at her. Sakura smiled and dipped her head behind her up-propped books to take another mouthful of food from her bento. Deidara picked up his chopsticks and dug them into his bento which hid behind his books and boy in front of him, and dipped his head lowly to place the rice in his mouth.

"Can I try," Sakura asked quietly. Deidara nodded and watched as she took a bit of noodles and rice onto her chopsticks, then both dipped their heads low to avoid Kakashi's stare and finish up the rice, accidentally bumping their heads together.

The two swallowed their snickers and hid their faces.

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Sakura stared at him. They were laying their heads on her desk like she did thousands of times before. Except this time, Deidara was the one asleep. She stared at him with a soft expression.

Her eyes traced every curve of his boyish face. They traced over his perfectly curved nose, his long, dark lashes, his soft lips…She just stared at him for a long time. She was seeing him so vulnerable, without his cocky smirk or his indifferent façade for the first time.

She blinked and a genuine smile came upon her face.

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A laugh escaped his lips as he watched her going down the canary yellow slide. She hopped up and took his wrist in her hand to lead him towards the swings, and the two sat there, talking. They were dressed casually for once. It was the first time he'd ever seen her in anything other than her uniform. She wore a black off-the-shoulder sweater with a short red plaid skirt and black tight-legged jeans beneath, and knee-length boots. And she looked so incredibly stunning.

He'd never felt his heart become so warm before.

"I've got you something un," he told her. Nervously, he searched his bag for the tiny box he'd packed, and when he found it, he bowed his head and held it out for her. Blushing, she took the box, heart fluttering when their fingers brushed against one another, and she held it in her hands. "I would appreciate it if," He hesitated, anxious to see her reaction. He fiddled with his hair, watching his breaths come out in soft tuffs of white. "…if you'd open it now un."

Gently, Sakura brushed her hair away from her face and tugged on the red ribbon that crossed over the stark-white box. When the ribbon came undone, the opened the box and let out a shocked gasp.

He wasn't sure what she thought of it, and felt like a nervous wreck. Though his expression was a cool, bored one, he was beginning to panic internally. He could feel his hands beginning to dampen and his heart rate increased tenfold.

"I love it," She finally said with a soft tenor. She held the clay bird close to her heart, her blush increasing slightly. "Thank you."

He leaned forward and brushed the fresh snow from her hair. "You're welcome."

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"You look better with your hair down un," He said softly as he pulled the rubber band from her hair.

She smiled at him, her bright emerald eyes lit aflame with a strange fire he'd never noticed before. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for everything," She said, then entered her home.

He smiled softly when he was sure she was inside, then left. The winter air bit at his skin, feeling more like needles pricking at his body. He set his hand against his cheek, pausing mid-step, then continued on with a larger smile in place.

He heard the snow crunching around him, and he turned his head curiously. His eyes then hardened and he pretended to ignore Sasuke and Suigetsu as they flanked his sides. They began bantering him, teasing him, asking him what he was doing with Sakura.

He continued ignoring them, finding it pointless to talk to them. Sasuke looked unhappy as it was, and he'd heard rumors of what had happened to him after leaving his family behind.

"What's wrong, Dei-kun," Sasuke sneered, moving to walk backwards and face him. He gave the blonde's shoulder a shove, and Deidara continued ignoring it. He couldn't risk getting in trouble again.

He'd repented, turned his life around.

"Aren't you going to tell us about your date with Sakura-chan," Suigetsu taunted, tugging on the blonde's hair. "Did you have fun?"

"I did actually," He finally replied with a monotone tenor. Sasuke's brows furrowed when he shoved past him, and he dug his fingers into Deidara's jacket.

Next thing he knew, he was kicked to the ground. They were kicking him, spitting at him, yelling at him. He tried to fight back but more yanki showed up, laughing and taunting. He could hold his own against one or two, but not six. They stomped on his stomach, they pulled at his hair.

But still, he felt so incredibly warm.

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He paused in front of the door to adjust his shoes. He winced slightly at the sharp pain in his sides, but didn't wait much longer. He readjusted his bag then stepped inside the classroom, bowing slightly to Kakashi-sensei as an apology for interrupting.

When he looked up, his heart drummed like a hummingbird when he saw the unusually cheery smile on the pinkette's face. He just lowered his head so his bangs curtained his face and trekked into the classroom.

When he looked up again, his chest clenched when he saw the shocked expression on Sakura's face. Sasori had also looked stunned when he noticed the bruise on his cheek and the cuts on his lip and eyebrow.

He sat down beside her, and she immediately touched his cheek, asking what happened to him. He just shrugged it off and gave his usually cocky smirk. "Nothing I couldn't handle un." Then he returned to his indifferent face, "Don't worry about me."

She reluctantly released his face and looked away.

What happened to him…?

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He heard her laugh before he saw her. He stumbled a bit when she shoved his shoulder and he turned to face her with a taunt about her inelegance when they heard the familiar voice calling his name. Slowly, his smirk dropped when he saw Sasuke and his friends behind them.

He could feel his heart drop into his stomach, and his jaw clenched upon seeing the feigned worry on his face.

"What happened," Sasuke asked in mock curiosity. He set a finger against his cheek and turned Deidara's head to view the damage.

Deidara shrugged him off, not noticing the way Sakura's facial expression changed into one of surprise. When Sasuke refused to relent, Sakura slapped him. "Fuck off," She snapped with a glare, then she angrily took Deidara's hand and dragged him away.

Sasuke set a hand against his cheek with an amused expression.

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She poked his cheek teasingly, laughing when he hissed and slapped her hand away. Beside them, Sasori snorted.

"I can't believe Itachi's brother had to get so many friends to beat you up," He sneered. He ruffled the blonde's hair, ignoring the annoyed order to stop from said person.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "That's why I dumped him and why I like you. Despite that girlish hair, you're manlier than him."

"Hey," Deidara whined, "I'm universally manly un."

Tingles spread over his body when she laughed at him and wrapped her arm around his.

"Sure you are Deidara-kun."

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Sakura giggled quietly beside Deidara as she watched him doodle a picture of Sasori with a bird atop his head. He only smirked and looked directly at Sasori who felt the stare and turned with a glare that clearly said I know you're talking about me.

The door opened, and his body stiffened when he saw the younger Uchiha standing at the doorway with Suigetsu and Juugo.

"Excuse us sensei," He started, eyes focused on Sakura. "But we need to pull Haruno Sakura out. Family emergency."

His look clearly told her to go, and when Deidara opened his mouth to object, she stood up. His hand shot out to wrap around her arm, and he moved to stand up. Sasori did the same when he saw, and so did their friend Pein who sat in the back. Suigetsu immediately stood in front of Sasori with his chest out and a smug smirk in place.

But Sakura pried Deidara's hand off and smirked at him. Nostalgia washed over him as he remembered the smirk she gave him when they first met. That same indifferent, defiant smirk that made his heart flutter and steal his breath away. Silently, she walked towards them, setting a hand on Sasori to make him sit, then bowed to Kakashi before being harshly pulled out of the room with the boys.

After a moment of contemplation and questioning glances from his two friends, he darted out the door after them, Sasori and Pein following.

By the time they ran out, the group was gone.

His heart plummeted into his stomach once again.

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He searched for her all over the place. He checked every food stand and tiny shop. He checked the boardwalk they'd walked, the park they'd visited—everywhere.

Sasori was out of breath from all the running and so was Pein. But Deidara didn't care. His eyes suddenly lit up in realization when he thought back to the arcade he'd first seen her at all those months ago. They bussed over there then waited outside, peeking through the glass.

She was sitting quietly on a chair, face turned away from Sasuke as he and his friends talked and played air hockey. He felt so sick when he saw the way Sasuke pushed her around, and realized those band aids she once wore on her face had come from him.

This was Sasuke's territory.

After sharing a glance, the three walked in and marched straight towards her. Sasuke stepped in front of them, a cocky smirk in place and asked what he was doing out of school.

"Oh that's funny because…" Deidara didn't finish; instead he punched Sasuke in the face hard enough to send him stumbling into the air hockey table. Hearing the sound, Sakura's head whirled around and she found herself being pulled out by Pein. She looked back at Sasori and Deidara who were struggling to fend off the seven or so boys in the room.

She gasped and stepped back when Sakon blindsided Pein, and spun on her heel to look for the other two. An arm wrapped around her, Sasori's arm, and he continued pulling her outside. Before they could reach it, Sakura was yanked out of his arms and into Sasuke's.

When Sasori moved to rip her away, Sasuke kicked him in the stomach, knocking him backwards into the corner of a game and knocking the air out of him. He coughed and wheezed and keeled over, only for Suigetsu to run towards him and knee him in the face.

Sasuke's nails dug painfully into her arm, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Deidara who came behind Sasuke and punched him.

He'd never felt such an adrenaline rush in his life.

"Run!"

They split up once they were outside, and Deidara hid with Sakura in an alley way. Once the coast was clear, he stepped out and asked if she were okay.

In response, she slapped him hard across the face and yelled at him. "You're an idiot! What the hell were you thinking?"

Watching her walk away killed him.

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Everyone stared at her but she kept her eyes downcast. She could hear their whispers, could see their disapproving looks.

But she kept her eyes down.

She didn't want to look at anybody. She didn't to see him. She passed Kisame and ignored his wave. Tobi jumped in front of her but she shoved him away. Hidan and Kakuzu flanked her sides with the former giving her, her daily taunt but she ignored him.

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Deidara's eyes were downcast the entire time. His fingers traced the cool wood of his desk and his eyes slid over towards her desk.

She didn't show up today.

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He was completely surrounded. There were at least a dozen of them. He looked back and forth, searching for a way out, for a friend, but he saw none.

He heard Sasuke snort somewhere in the crowd of leather jacket-clad yanki. His heart raced and the adrenaline pumped within his veins, and his fingers twitched in prospect of the fight beginning to brew.

But he didn't have the heart to fight.

He took the beating while Sasuke sat atop a slab of concrete with a pleased smirk marring his features.

They left him, bleeding and broken.

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Sakura entered the classroom, head tilted downwards. Kakashi introduced her again, explaining to the class the reasoning for her absence. She quietly bowed and let her eyes wander towards her desk.

Deidara wasn't there.

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She never felt to empty before in her life. Her chest hurt, her head hurt, her eyes hurt…everything hurt. She walked aimlessly though the courtyard and towards the fence. She brushed off the concerned Sasori and kept walking home.

She thought she was going home.

Instead, she found herself at the park she and Deidara had gone to for Christmas. She stopped walking, eyes trained on her feet. But she knew he was there. She could smell him; that unmistakable scent that was just Deidara. The scent of clay and rain-drenched redwood…

She looked up to see him in front of her. His lip was split off center, his face swollen with bruises and his eye a gross yellow color. He just stood there, staring at her blankly. She remembered that look from when they first met.

When he was blowing her off as worthless.

Her heart ached oh so terribly, and slowly she approached him. She topped just a foot or two away from him and stared up into his beautiful blue eyes.

When had she become so close, he wondered, when did she become so…human? When did she stop smirking at me and ignoring me?

"Are you…are you okay," She finally asked, her eyes near tears.

His eyes went wide when he saw the way they watered. Sakura did not cry. She never cried. She was tough, strong…what had happened to make her change so much? What happened to her?

He met her eyes firmly, wondering if his eyes betrayed his answer. "I'm fine un."

She looked up at him and gave a sad smile. "Sure you are Deidara-kun." Silence washed over them, but they didn't care. They just stared into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but nothing came out.

I remember that feeling, Deidara thought. When I saw you, I could never find the words to say. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. I couldn't calm my beating heart. I couldn't stop thinking about you.

She let out a gasping laugh and looked down at the ground. "I'm so stupid," She whispered. Her eyes met his again. "Whatever happens, Deidara-kun, don't come looking for me."

His chest clenched at her statement. He wanted to reach out for her, to tell her he wouldn't do it. But his hand wouldn't move.

She continued, "Please don't come looking for me. And if you find me, don't go to me."

His eyes were burning. He could feel his lip tremble. He heartbeat slowed painfully and he felt the air leave his lungs all in one swoop as if he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Please…" She leaned forward and set a gentle kiss upon his lips.

"Sakura…"

"Please stop caring about me."

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The music from the Para Para game was loud and annoying, adding to her headache. She strode in with her head held high, her hips swayed with each step and her hair bounced with her movements.

"Sasuke-kun," She called. The Uchiha looked up and smirked devilishly when he saw her. She moved closer, stopping halfway while he traveled the rest. He pressed a palm against her cheek and took a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"Your hair is down," He mused, "You look cute."

She glared defiantly at him. She hated him. She hated his stare, his smirk, his eyes…she hated everything about him.

"What's wrong?"

She spat in his face. Sasuke took a step back in surprise to wipe his face and Sakura took it as her chance to reveal the large wrench in her hand. She swung it wildly, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Come on," She shouted to the boys in the arcade. She met Suigetsu's gaze, she glared into Sakon's eyes, her emerald gems clashed with Kidomaro's chocolate ones. They ducked away from her wild swings, and Ukon was quick to blindside her, knocking her into an arcade console.

Blood dripped from her lips, but she kept swinging at them.

Another hit slammed her against another game. Sasuke hit her harshly in the side of her head, and she fell against the air hockey table. He grabbed her hair and began slapping her over and over again while he pinned her body down.

They were yelling, cheering.

She closed her eyes and let him continue, and her thoughts floated around.

Deidara, please love me from afar…

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Sasuke turned away from her nearly unconscious body. He'd spotted them the moment they entered the room and watched as the pathetic blonde helped Sakura sit up. She was barely lucid and only stared at him with a dull, distant look in her eyes. When Sasori and Konan had a hold of her, Deidara turned towards Sasuke.

The younger boy gripped the collar of his shirt. "Why do you keep coming back? Why don't you just leave her alone," Sasuke snapped. "We'll just keep kicking your ass!"

Deidara smirked despite the glare that focused solely on Sasuke. "I don't care. Do whatever you want to me un. But never touch Sakura!"

Sakura and Sasori watched cautiously. She couldn't believe it. He had come back for her. He was there for her. He had brought reinforcement. All of them—Pein, Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Tobi and Sasori…they came to help her…

Deidara continued, "If you keep coming back for her…I'll personally off you myself! But I'm not alone. This entire time you forgot who I am, who I'm friends with. I held back before because I didn't want to include Itachi." Sasuke's eyes drifted towards his older brother who had an extremely upset expression on his usually stoic face. "So just get the fuck out!"

Silence filled the room. The tension was thick. Everyone was tense and ready to move if need be.

"You heard him," Hidan snarled, plucking a random teen by the collar of his shirt. "Get the fuck out!"

Slowly, Sasuke released Deidara. He fixed his jacket then snorted. "You can have her. Come on." Slowly, his group left the room, leaving on the Akatsuki and a bloodied Sakura. Deidara swallowed a deep breath of air and leaned against the air hockey table beside her.

Their eyes met and he felt the strange butterflies again. "Are you okay un?"

She nodded, "I'm fine."

"Sure you are un," He grunted. She cracked a smile, and slowly that transformed into a laugh.

"You're an idiot," She said while ruffling his hair. He chuckled and ducked away from her, ignoring the looks he received from his friends.

"So I've been told."

She intertwined her fingers with his.

This time, he swore he felt his heart leap out of his chest.

Author's Note

And that's the end of this oneshot. So, as always, tell me what you think of it. Thank you!