Things were very intense, as I thought they would be. I took several good hits from Deidara, but not once did he attack me with bombs. He attacked the others with bombs but not me. I thought that this was very odd, but, of course, there was no time to reflect on this. Naruto and Kakashi were hellbent on recovering Gaara, who was still unconscious. They weren't getting anywhere with him so I decided to take a chance while they kept the blonde engaged in battle. I discreetly created a few shadow clones and had one clone throw several large shurikens while I hid in the shadow of one (if you recall the battle vs. Zabuza as he held Kakashi captive in a water prison and Naruto had Sauske throw said weapons at Zabuza and Naruto reappeared from the shadows to attack). I followed the path of one shuriken, which was really aimed at the bird (Deidara just happened to be in the way), as the blonde Akatsuki member dodged. I emerged from the shadows and successfully recovered an unconscious Kazekage by forcefully cutting through the clay with a kunai knife. Deidara was about to come after me if it hadn't been for my clones.
"Alright!" Naruto cheered.
"Keep focused!" I yelled at him.
Kakashi and Naruto attacked their opponent while Sakura hurried towards me, successfully breaking away from the battle. I laid Gaara carefully on the ground and she began her treatment. I erected a shield made of chakra to protect the both of us. This was a technique that I had perfected in my spare time and it was coming in handy right now. I looked at the two ensuing battles between the Akatsuki and the Leaf and Sand Ninja and they seemed to heat up with each passing moment. I then turned back to the unconscious Kazekage. His face was slowly repairing itself and that was an excellent sign. He was slowly improving.
"How serious is he?" I asked of Gaara.
"Serious, but not critical." Haruno replied.
I was relieved. I thought his condition would have been far worse. Thankfully we had made it in time. I looked over at the battle between Sasori and the two older sand siblings. They were doing much better than I thought they would and holding their own quite well. The future had been altered because of my presence and because of the information that I gave to the villages involved. Of course, there will be consequences somewhere down the line, for there are consequences for every action, after all. If Kankuro didn't get poisoned by Sasori then Temari might have been as a consequence of my interference. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Sasori was clearly frustrated with the way the battle was going, but not as frustrated as Deidara. I knew he was pissed and that he would come after me at a later date. I didn't care, though. I expect him to pursue me somewhere down the line if he escaped from this battle.
"Deidara," Sasori said carefully. "We must retreat."
"WHAT?!"
"We will not win this fight if we continue."
Deidara glared at me hatefully. I returned his stare coolly and calmly, which irritated him more. He threatened that, should we meet again, he would make me suffer incredible pain and that he would enjoy my screams. I was very familiar with this threat. My father had often used this particular threat to get me do what he wanted to do (getting him more drugs in most cases) and so did his young companion if he didn't get laid for one reason or another. I did not let this bother me as much because their threats had been empty and baseless. However, this was the Akatsuki and they carried out all threats made and I could feel it in my bones. It was frightening but I did not show it. Sasori curiously observed me for a couple of minutes before Deidara set off a few bombs, allowing the two of them escape.
"Damn it!" Kankuro growled.
Temari ran over towards us girls, worried for her brother. I dropped my chakra shield, which had put some strain on me. I had mastered the technique for the most part, but I still needed more stamina to keep it up. The blonde kunoichi stayed with the youngest of the three sand siblings as Sakura continued to work on Gaara. I walked over to Naruto and Kakashi, who looked no worse for the wear. The two shinobi took some heavy damage from the one Akatsuki member but the damage wasn't something that neither one couldn't handle. We all looked at each other, no words exchanged, before we returned to Gaara and the rest of the gang.
"Ahhh..." I heard Gaara sigh.
"Gaara!"
Sakura didn't let up on healing him but once she was satisfied with her work, she sat back and relaxed-while keeping an eye on her patient. I smiled at the heartwarming sight as Gaara slowly sat up and looked at everyone around him. He looked at his hands, unstaring. I could tell that he was feeling like a failure after being defeated by Deidara, but Kankuro reminded him that he had protected the village with his own power and that was what made him an excellent leader. Naruto cheerfully agreed.
"How did you know...?" He asked quietly.
Kankuro explained the entire situation, though Kakashi kept his eye on me the entire time. He was thinking about my story and how I 'knew' that everything was going to happen beforehand. I looked at him briefly, but said nothing. Temari looked over at me, as if she remembered my presence. She walked over to me and thanked me for saving her brother's life. I merely smiled. Gaara and Kankuro both looked over at me, seeing me for the first time since the whole fiasco.
"A new teammate?" Gaara asked Naruto.
He nodded. I told them my story.
