Darkest Before Dawn

The Ace of the Explosion Corps

   It replayed in her mind over and over for the past three weeks. She couldn't save him. She wasn't strong enough. He could have lived if she was there for him.

   There was nothing you could have done.

   'You're wrong! If only I were stronger... If only I was fast enough to stop the blow...'

   Even if you were faster, the tanto would have still gotten to him.

   'No! I could have... I-I could have...'

   It wasn't your fault.

   'It was all my fault!'

  Sakura...

   'Shut up, Inner! He DIED because of me!'

   Sakura sighed and leaned against the wall of her inn room. A few days ago, she arrived in Iwagakure. The country was hot and dry and covered with rocky mountains. She drew her eyes away from the ceiling.

   They'd only be friends for nine months. Nine months. And yet... he had become such an important person to her. Sakura shook her head and stood up. She grasped the orange pendant that hung around her neck. This was the only thing she had left to remember Juugo by. As long as she had this with her, she guessed that she would be alright for a while.

   'I should go out in the city and get some fresh air. It should be cool out by now, it's eight.'

~

   'I should've stayed the hell inside!'

   It had in fact not gotten any cooler since she had arrived in the village. It was a blistering 102 degrees Fahrenheit outside despite there being no sun and it was humid. What the hell was wrong with this village?! This weather was terrible!

   "You new in town, hm?

   Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw a short-haired blonde walked up to her.

   "Yeah. How'd you know?"

   "For one, this is the first time I'm seeing someone with pink hair, un. Two, none of the locals are out at night. It's the most humid part of the day and no one wants to deal with that." he grinned. Sakura's shoulders slumped and she let out a dejected sigh.

   "And here I was hoping for nice, fresh air."

   "All you're gonna get is nasty here, un. In the summer, at least. So, you gotta name or are you just wandering around looking for one, hm?" he asked.

   "Sakura Haruno, and I'm wandering around looking for something like a training ground. What about you Mr. Iwa Nin?"

   "Deidara, un. I was just about to go training myself." he said, pointing towards the west, "There's a large sparring ground near my studio, hm. How 'bout some one on one?"

   "Sounds good. Don't cry when you lose, though." she smiled. Deidara smirked. There was no way he was going to get beat by this pipsqueak.

~

   A shadowed figure sat in a chair, absentmindedly twirling a pen in his hands. He stared at the dust that twirled in the moon light shining in the room. Ah, how badly injured he was, even after all these tiresome years. On his desk sat countless papers and pictures of one named Sakura Haruno. Years of researching... years of studying... The day was coming near.

   The day he would ruthlessly kill her and destroy Konoha.

   He already had a decent amount of followers at his back- not that they were needed when the day of the planned attack finally came. By that time, he'd have an army that had already lived their mortal lives. His current followers were sent on simple missions that included information gathering and charting down Haruno's whereabouts.

   Oh, he couldn't wait until she was dead.

~

   "HOW DID YOU AVOID MY C-2 BOMBS, UN?!"

   "I hid underground."

   "THEN HOW DID YOU KNOCK ME OFF MY CLAY DRAGON?!"

   "I waited until you were low enough for me to- hey, are you crying? I told you not to cry when you lost."

   "I'M NOT CRYING! YOU THREW ME IN A LAKE, GODDAMMIT! I'M SOAKED!"

   Sakura laughed and extended her arm to help him out of the water. Deidara grasped her hand gratefully and pulled her in the water with him. Once she resurfaced, she smacked his arm playfully.

   "What the hell, blondie?! Now I'm wet!"

   "Ha! That's what she said, un!"

   After more laughs and splashes, they went to Deidara's studio/home to dry off. There, they were seated in his living room sipping lemonade and enjoying potato chips. Their conversation ranged from simple things like colors and food all the way to heavy topics like opinions on politics and dreams of the future. At about three a.m., curiosity got the best of Sakura.

   "Hey Deidara, I was just wondering... what happened to your left eye?" she asked. The smile on his face turned into a bitter one.

   "When I was eleven, I was captured on a mission and tortured for information. First, they took off my right arm." he said. He raised his right sleeve to expose a large section of browned, dead skin. "I still didn't talk, so they stabbed my eye with a senbon seven times. A squad found me by then, but my eye is permanently blinded. I wear this range finder to help with my vision even if it doesn't do much."

   Silence settle between them. Shinobi had to sacrifice so much to protect their village because they loved it so much. And here Sakura was- she practically abandoned hers. She suddenly stood up and stared at Deidara with determination hardened eyes.

   "One day, I'm going to heal your arm and your eye!" she declared. Deidara gaped at her and waved his hands around.

   "O-Oi, you don't need to do that, hm. I've lived with this for five years, I'm pretty used-"

   "I will! I promise you that one day, you will see out of both eyes!" she proclaimed.

   "But-"

   "No buts, tinkerbell! I will do it!"

   "Who the hell are you calling 'tinkerbell', billboard brow?!"

   "Billboard brow?! Say that again! I fucking dare you!"

   And thus began their friendship.

Picture: I do not own it. It belongs to it's respective artist, whomever it may be.