Shades of Grey

Chapter 15

Deidara looked in the mirror above his sink. Once again, after almost a whole week he felt a rush of anger flood through him. That stupid pink haired bitch was going to pay. First, she had killed Sasori, and while they were not the closest of friends, he was as close as he had. Now he was stuck with Tobi and she was to blame. Then she had the audacity to cut his hair. What the hell could have possibly possessed her to do that? She had not even bothered to cut it straight. After a week of being as sick as a dog he had been force to even it out himself. Now he looked like a blonde version of the stupid Uchiha's little brother. That is right, Deidara's hair now greatly resembled a chicken's ass.

He had always had a crappy life, but it sure got worse when the pink haired demon entered it. Sure, he liked his women with a little spunk, but she was a completely insane hellcat. Who the hell cuts someone's hair? He knew that she was Uchiha's to bring in, but he did not care. He never got along with that prick anyways and could care less what kind of trouble he got into for failing. As far as Akatsuki's goals, he really did not give a damn. World peace was nothing but a delusional man's delusional dream; it would never be reached. Pein be damned, he was going to make her pay. Then when he was done, he would destroy her.

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Sakura was not only lonely, but now she was bored. She had wisely decided to lay low for a few weeks after leaving Sand. Gaara would no doubt send some of his ANBU to track her, and she could not afford to forget about Akatsuki.

With all that in mind she had quickly crossed back into River and found a cave to use as a temporary abode. She had continued her training with Kurama and was making great progress. But it just was not enough. She missed her home and her friends so much that it almost physically hurt. She wanted to at least get back into the world. As she tossed her things into her pack, she decided that she was going to do just that. That is right Sakura Haruno was done hiding. Well aware that any country with a hidden village would be far too dangerous she decided to catch a ferry to Tea. She remembered crossing through it on a mission once and she had loved it. When she was there, she resolved that she would find something that would make her feel alive again.

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Itachi Uchiha was annoyed, and that was a rare occurrence. There were very few people in the world who could make him feel annoyed; well actually who could make him feel anything. Apparently the pink haired kunoichi was one of those people. He had told the girl that she would find a haven in Wind at least for a few months, but he recently learned she had not listened. Instead she chose to flee the Hidden Sand in the middle of the night. The Kazekage had sent his ANBU to try to find the jinchuriki to no avail. That part had not surprised him. The girl had perfect chakra control if she did not want them to find her, they would not. However, it was a shock that he could not locate her.

He just had to think like the girl he reasoned. He knew that she was intelligent, she would avoid the other hidden villages. He recalled the loneliness though that had been laying in those radiant green eyes. She wanted to be around people, and she would find a way to do so. With those thoughts in mind Itachi changed the direction of his search. Itachi felt a wave of relief he was unable to understand; he would find her. He was not ready for her to fall into Akatsuki hands, and he had noticed a dangerous gleam in Deidara's eyes of late. Itachi was determined that he would find his jinchuriki before the mad artist had a chance to do so.