Nothing But the Truth

Chapter 13: Wax Before a Fire

AN: Hey guys! It's been a while. Sorry, I've been busy with school work and other stuffs. However, I give you a pretty long chapter in return? Yeah, that make you happy, yeah?

So I'm not sure how much I love this chapter. It's kind of half-transitional-half-important-shit-that-you-nee d-to-read. It just jumps around a lot, I guess, and I hope it's not too choppy for you. I'm trying to get to the good stuff.

Enjoy.

Review. I love the long comments that really talk about what you like/don't like. If you don't send them, I can't get better. Right?!

I love you all!

Nothing but the Truth

He could not forget the touch of her arms around his neck, impatiently felt as it had been at the time; but now the recollection of her clinging defence of him, seemed to thrill him through and through,-to melt away every resolution, all power of self-control, as if it were wax before a fire.

-Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Eyes closed, senses stretched, looking for something – Aha! There he was; he had traveled quickly from the northern to the southwestern portion of the training ground, but she had not expected him to be so far from her. Silently, she slunk through the dense trees that populated the training underground. Jade eyes darted around nervously, trying to pinpoint any floating explosives that could be creeping in the trees.

How do they even get trees to grow underground anyway? She thought to herself in a moment of distraction. This was a mistake, though, as she lost her pinpoint in Deidara's exact location. Dammit. She hissed to herself as she closed her eyes and expanded her senses once again. However, she would never get the chance to find him because at that second she felt the clay bird.

Her legs reacted instinctually and in a chakra infused jump, she just managed to avoid the blast that would have been right by her left arm. She landed in a tree a few meters away and observed the damage. It had been a small blast as they had agreed to keep the sparring light and non-lethal this morning since they would be leaving for another base in a few hours.

The last thing they needed was for one of them to be hurt or out of chakra because Kisame had said the journey would be a two-day walk to the port city on the eastern border. From there, they would take a passenger barge to Whirlpool Country where the base was hidden. Overall, the journey was said to take at least a week so they couldn't afford to be injured or exhausted. At least, that's what Kisame had said when he'd ordered them to be careful this morning before Sakura and Deidara had begun their spar.

Silently breathing, Sakura concentrated. That could have just been a trap Deidara had set in order to gain her location. So she jumped from her perch in another direction so that he wouldn't find her there. Expanding her senses, she realized she could feel Deidara now at the site where the explosion had occurred. It was a trap.

Doubling back, she found him examining the site carefully, looking at the damage the blast had done. Sakura noted the sadistic gleam in his eye at the 'art' he had created and rolled her eyes. But this was her chance to attack, and she was going to take advantage of it. With bated breath, she fell to the floor with kunai in hand. Silently, she began to make her way to where Deidara was still looking for her.

All he heard was the light swoosh of her kunai – he had just enough time to duck and fling himself around towards her. Sakura was prepared for him though as his clay birds flew towards her with equal speed and ferocity that she had unleashed her kunai. Sakura didn't realize they were chakra-sensitive birds, and although she flew out of the way in time, the birds spun back and were flying at her back.