Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ World Collision ❯ Remorse ( Chapter 38 )

This chapter's pretty long I must say; compared to others I mean. (Of course, it isn't as much as I got out yesterday but yesterday was like a makeup-day for the days I had not updated… And no, I won't always do a marathon whenever I miss a few days!)

~Liliedove

 

As her head pounded heavily, Jessica let out a soft groan as she slowly opened her eyes. Glancing from side to side, she was baffled when she found herself on floor a small, white room. Wincing slightly as she looked towards the light that streamed in through a glass-sliding door, she let out a short breath as she slowly closed her eyes again. She then frowned slightly as she felt her hair being slightly rumpled. Blinking quickly a few times before slowly turning her head to look up, she stared curiously at the man who still slept soundly behind her on his side. With the absence of the usual Akatsuki cloak and headband, the blond lay with his forehead resting against the top of her head as he slightly cupped his hand over one of hers. As she gazed sleepily at her hand that rested above his, she realized that his cloak was not on him because it was now on her backwards so it would be like a blanket. As she tried shifting herself, she found every inch in her body felt sore and at the worst parts almost lumpy. Turning her head, she looked at her other arm to see why one of these areas felt that way, but had her wish denied when she found that both of her arms were inside the cloak's baggy sleeves.

 

“Deidara-sama,” she said in a confused mumble as she looked back towards the blond. As the man softly cracked open on of his dark-rimmed eyes, he slowly propped himself up with an arm as his long blond hair separated from the girl's short mane of caramel brown.

 

“So you've woken up huh?” He asked as he placed her hand on her lap. Looking towards the door, he then blocked the brilliant light with his hand as he quickly looked away. “Don't tell me it's already past the afternoon,” he mumbled as he stood to his feet. Looking up at him, Jessica found him wearing pants that went down to his boot-like sandals, along with a black net shirt and a short black tank top that stopped a few inches before his stomach. She had rarely seen this outfit, due to the fact that he usually wore his cloak over it, but she didn't really mind since she didn't like it all that much.

 

“What happened? It, I mean everything hurts so much.” She groaned as she slowly placed her hand over her eyes and forehead.

 

“I found you in the forest last night, and you didn't look so good. You lost a lot of stuff as well, yeah.” He replied as he looked down at the young woman. “You're the one who should know the most about what happened to you; you went missing for over twelve hours! Just what happened to bang you up so much, huh?” He asked as the girl slowly forced herself to sit up.

 

Jessica paused for a minute as she tried to recall all that had happened to her the day before. She found it rather difficult now, for everything about the day before seemed like a blur in her mind. “From what I remember, after you and Tobi-san took off, these two men approached me with a threatening content in their eyes…” She trailed off as a slight expression of fear returned to her face as she brought the fresh memory back to the surface. “I tried running from them… But in the end one got me from behind and knocked me out.”

 

“Then what,” he pressured as he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest; face filled fully with seriousness.

“Later I woke up to find that it was dark and rainy again. I was bound up and leaning against a pile of firewood in a camping ground… Behind me was a large tent, and across from that were one or two other tents long with a wagon. The man who had taken me told some new man at the place to watch me so that I wouldn't do anything to try to escape… Once he left, the man told me to rest, and he then woke me later when he cut the ropes. He then told me to go in the direction of my right. After that I can't recall much except for being chased and falling down the hill side for what felt like an eternity.”

 

Silence then fell over the room as the blond frowned angrily as he looked down at the floor with frustration. “…Why didn't you scream for help?” He asked without taking his gaze from the ground.

 

“…Deidara-sama, I hollered until my lungs couldn't make another sound...” She whispered in a wavering voice as a single tear fell from her eyes. “I suppose I shouldn't have stopped following you guys… I never expected, even after all of the scary events I went through in my life, to have that one occur.”

 

Jessica then jumped slightly as the man then slammed a fist against the wall. With clenched teeth, he then started to curse at himself as he narrowed his eyes. Jessica then opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't summon anything to say to the man. Instead, she dropped her gaze down to her hands she kept folded in her lap. The tension of the room rose for what felt like hours, but was relieved when a knock sounded at the window. Quickly snapping her head to look, she found Tobi waving at her through the door before he opened it.

 

“Jessica-chan, you're finally awake! I've got your shoes!” He said merrily as he held up the mud-covered pair of wooden sandals.

 

“Tobi, get lost!” Deidara scowled as he glared at the man.

 

“Why do you want Tobi to get lost? Then you have to go find me!” He said as he put a hand on his hip. Stepping into the room he then walked over to the girl and bent down to her level. “So, how are you feeling now? Any better,” he asked as he cocked his head to the side.

 

“I don't know really,” she said as she frowned a bit. Doing so, she then put a hand on her cheek and felt another one of the lumps. “What is this thing?”

 

“That's one of the bandages Deidara-Sempai put on you last night after he found you. Well looked for you for hours! I was almost going to give up it took so long! But don't worry; I wouldn't just leave you Jessica-chan!” He replied as he stood to his feet again.

 

“If you came here to bug us, then why don't you make yourself useful?” The blond said as he stopped leaning against the wall and took a step forward.

 

“Like what,” the masked man replied as he turned to look at his partner. Deidara then looked around for a minute before landing his eyes back onto his slave. As she looked up at him innocently, he opened his mouth to speak.

 

“Jessica, do you need the cloak anymore?” He asked calmly as he gazed down at her steadily. The girl then looked down at it and thought for a minute before responding.

 

“I guess I'm fine without it now,” she stated as he looked back up at him.

 

“Tobi, go wash the bloodstains off of my cloak,” he demanded as he pointed out the door.

 

“Yee'sh, you're so harsh Sempai, making me do all the work around here.” He said as he walked over to Jessica and gently removed the black and red cloak. Skipping out the door, Tobi leapt off in another direction to do his duties.

 

“Where are we anyhow?” Jessica asked after a moment of silence.

 

“There was a village not very far from where we were yesterday.” He stated simply.

 

Looking over herself for a minute, she then looked up at her master with another question. “Then, does that mean there's a mirror in here? I'd like to see how I look with all of these bandages... My brother got beaten up pretty bad from the explosion, but I've never gotten this hurt before.”

 

Deidara then looked at her for a moment with a slight frown on his face. She'd been in an explosion before she was separated from her family? Blinking a few times as he found the girl still staring at him as if expecting something, he snapped out of his thought. “Uh, in the bathroom,” he replied as he pointed to the door that was on the wall across from them. “Would you like me to bring you there?” After seeing the girl nod her head, he bent down to her level as he gently supported her back as she stood to her feet. After deciding that it would take longer than he'd like, he lightly picked her up and walked into the room. With her trembling arms rapped around his neck for support, she gazed into the small hazy mirror that was above the sink. After a moment of looking at herself in shock, she chuckled a bit.

 

“I look rather odd don't I?” She said as she let a small smile gaze over her face. “I never would have thought that I'd get so beaten up, even after tumbling down that long hill like a fool. I should have concentrated on sneaking away rather than panicking, huh?” She asked as she looked at the young man who didn't reply. After a few seconds, she then changed her self-teasing expression to a solemn one as she stared diligently into the parts of his face she could see behind the long curtain of hair. “I don't know if you care or not… But I just wanted to let you know that none of them… Touched me,” she stated.

 

“Right,” he mumbled softly, as he looked at the mark he had placed on her that had opened once again.