Automatically a smile flared up onto Mina’s face with Pein's words.
Though she had done all she could with her fight against Deidara, and personally, she thought she’d done pretty well, she hadn’t known what Pein's opinion had been. But to have him come up to her like this and tell her she could stay—to tell her that what she’d been hoping for from the start could finally come true—for a moment there wasn’t anything she could say in response. All Mina had been concentrating on was getting to Sasori; convincing everyone that she deserved to stay and could remain with him. She had almost been so focused on those parts that she had forgotten about the possibility of it actually turning out this way. Wondering just what she should say in response, not quite sure how to reply, Mina eventually nodded, still smirking softly as she gazed up into Pein's eyes.
Glad she had finally responded, beginning to ponder if she was alright with all that had happened, Pein nodded in return, unable to stop a slight smirk from flashing across his own face. Mina carried something utterly alike to Sasori's features, it was true, revealing nothing of what she might be feeling on the inside with that same porcelain apathetic visage. Yet at the same time there was an innocence about her that Sasori couldn’t replicate. With her big brown eyes and soft features, she seemed vulnerable sometimes—though Pein had seen only a moment ago that that wasn’t entirely true, if at all—and as if she needed someone there to look after and protect her. And though Pein knew Mina was more than capable of taking care of herself, a part of him couldn’t help but feel she did need someone there; it was why she had approached Sasori right from the beginning.
Though how Sasori had been willing to take up that job, Pein wasn’t so certain.
Shaking that thought off for the moment, he stepped past Mina and into the hideout, continuing on down the corridor and towards his room, leaving her behind to watch as the others finally caught up. Turning round, Mina was instantly swept inside by the rest of the Akatsuki, along the hallway and then into the living room, where they finally let her go and stepped back to properly face her. After all, she had arrived out of nowhere and had instantly disappeared to Sasori's room. They hadn’t seen her the entire time, and when she had come out, it had been taken up by battle and discussion over whether she would be allowed to stay. Now that she was staying, however, they were more than free to get introduced to one another. So taking his cue, Deidara stepped forward, offering a hand with a smirk as he greeted,
“I’m Deidara—as you probably already heard from before. I’m Sasori-danna’s partner, un.”
Taking his hand, nodding in return to his greeting and glad she wouldn’t have to deal with any bad feelings from the fight earlier, Mina responded,
“Yeah, it was said. Your fighting styles differ, though—do you get on?”
Though with that question, Deidara immediately paused, unsure quite how to answer it. They weren’t exactly mortal enemies and always at each others throats like Hidan and Kakuzu were, but then again…Smirking at his reaction, gathering there was a slight shred of animosity between them, Mina didn’t get a chance to say anything more, as Deidara was shepherded onwards to allow everyone else to get their turn with introducing themselves. She glanced over at him, but doubting she’d get another moment to ask, Mina shook her head and focused on the next Akatsuki member. She’d simply question Sasori later when she had the time.
After all—she would be spending most of hers around him.
It was with this thought, however, that Mina automatically settled into a strange sense of calm, chatting casually to all who introduced themselves and spoke to her without showing a hint of irritation at all. Though she wanted to talk to Sasori, it was true, the thoughts and ideas whirling about her head kept the irritation at bay, meaning she was completely tranquil when Deidara finally led her off and showed her to her room, pointing out the rest of the hideout on the way. Mina hadn’t been sure how this would all turn out when she arrived at the hideout, but she could say for certain now that things had gone so much better than she ever could have hoped.
This thought remained as Deidara left her in her room alone and she sat on the edge of her bed, lost in her trance. Mina was definitely looking forward to this. The work would be better, the atmosphere…but most of all, Sasori. Because when it came down to it, even back in Sunagakure she had only spent six months with him, regardless of how well they knew each other. Now was a time to catch up and finally spend some more time together. To fulfil the promises they had made back then but never had the chance to keep when everything had gone wrong. Just thinking about it brought a sheen of happiness to settle over her, and it seemed only now Mina was realising just how much she’d missed Sasori when they’d been apart.
But thinking about Sasori, Mina knew she could nip that feeling in the bud, standing swiftly and heading out her door, passing a quick glance over her room as she shut the door softly behind her. It was better than she had expected to be, but then so much about this organization had been. Keeping that in mind, Mina set off down the corridor, already knowing where Sasori's room was considering it was the first room she had been to in the hideout—plus, from the looks of things, he was still in there if her sensing abilities were anything to go by.
Glad she wouldn’t have to try and lure him away from one of the communal rooms, Mina went over and knocked quietly but firmly on the door, waiting for a few moments afterwards. But once she knew he would be ready, she opened the door and went inside, seeing him facing the door, his mouth open and ready to give confirmation for whoever was outside. Obviously not needing it now, Mina simply closed the door, bowing quickly, and sat in the space she had occupied when she had come in before; nearest to his chair and the desk where he had been working. Sasori couldn’t back a smirk as she did all of this, however, eventually shaking his head slightly and turning back round, glancing up to state matter-of-factly,
“You always knew when I was going to let someone in, Mina; you never even needed to wait for me to say anything,” then thinking of something, he added abruptly, “Then again, considering how long we knew each other…”
Suddenly remembering what she had been thinking of only a few minutes earlier, Mina cut in quietly,
“Well, we didn’t actually know each other that long, Sasori-sama, though we spent a lot of time together.”
Glancing back at her with another smirk of amusement at how she was never one to forget any details, however small, Sasori considered it, but pushed it aside after only a moment. Mina had resolved the problem—if it could be called a ‘problem’ in the first place—in her sentence to begin with; they’d spent so much time together it had made up for the lack of overall time they had known each other.
“True, Mina—but it’s not like that matters now, does it? You’re working with me again; and it’s not going to be as short as before. We’ve both grown since Sunagakure. Nothing will cut it short this time; I’ll make sure of it.”
It was exactly what Mina wanted to hear.
