Whispering Bells

The Reunion

A searing pain emanating from her shoulder and down through her left side woke her from unconscious state. She opened her eyes, but it was so dark, it was hard to see anything. The chill from the damp stone she was laying against traversed through her body. The last thing she remembered was Shikamaru bleeding and trapped underneath a tree. She remembered her arm getting hit by something. It was quick like a snap. She slowly moved her head left to scan the area.

It appeared that she was in some kind of cave. It was dark and cool, and the stone walls were only illuminated by the shadows produced from the fire that was a short distance away. Her heart stopped when she saw him. Lying near the fire, his wound had soaked through his shirt, and created a large dark spot on his blue coat. She squinted and could see the faint rise and fall of his chest.

Temari opened her mouth to call his name but no sound came out. Her lips felt dried and cracked. Her entire left side paralyzed.

"Hnn" she gasped.

Suddenly two sets of eyes were on her. She had not seen them before, but suddenly they appeared before her. Their black cloaks with red clouds gave them away. Akatsuki. Feared among the nations and having alliances to no one, they were known for being highly skilled and merciless. And now she was at their mercy. They both looked so young. The blonde man appeared to be around her age, and the red haired man even younger yet. It surprised her, but so little was known about their organization.

The appearance of the red-haired man startled her. He was the spitting image of a Shinobi from her village. Not just any shinobi – one of the deadliest and most feared Shinobi the Sand Village had ever produced. The boy who had taken down thousands of soldiers on his own.

But that was so many years ago, and the man in front of the fire looked like a young teenager. Was it possible that this boy was his son? The resemblance was uncanny.

"Senpai, it looks like she woke up" the blonde man stated. They both approached her, and sat on a rock that was in front of her.

Her heart started beating faster. What were they going to do with her? They didn't kill her – yet. Were they going to torture her?

"Who?" Temari burst out into a fit of coughing. The blonde man went over and got a canteen of water and brought it over to her.

"Here. Drink this." He held the container up to her lips.

She looked at him suspiciously.

"Na...it's fine. It's not poisoned or anything. This guy already took care of that on you yeah" Deidara prompted.

Temari's eyes went wide as she looked at the red haired man who looked at his partner irritated.

"The water's fine" he said sternly.

Temari opened her mouth, as Deidara poured the refreshing clear liquid down her raw throat. Her first swallow was painful. She opened her mouth open for a second drink, which Deidara provided. She could feel the dryness dissipate and her voice start to return.

"How're you feeling beautiful?" Deidara asked. Sasori scowled at his partner.

Deidara laughed and turned to Temari. "This guy is a miserable fuck. I'm not above of speaking nicely, I was taught some manners."

"You are clearly showing yourself to be the epitome of manners with your language," Sasori sighed.

"My partner is he ok?" Temari said, her voice still cracked. She looked past them at Shikamaru's body. He had not moved an inch since she had awoken.

Deidara leaned back at on his elbows and laughed. "That dude? I don't know, he's breathing. He doesn't really matter to us. I wanted to leave him, but this guy insisted we bring him." He side eyed Sasori. "Of course, I was the one that had to carry him."