A Sense of Abandonment: Chap 1

"Owww!!!" a small girl cried. She lie under a tree, sweat running down her slightly large forehead. Her pink hair pooled beneath her head, and her jade eyes read pain. Her tiny red and white kimono had several tears and dirt spots. Blood oozed from a gash in her left arm.

It rained.

She began to fall asleep, tears running. Suddenly, the bushes rustled. She tensed, waiting for a dangerous animal to appear. Instead, it was a boy. He had long, golden hair in a high ponytail and a large portion covering his left eye. His remaining showing eye was a slightly dark aqua color.

"What's wrong, un?" he kneeled down to be at eye level with her.

She inhaled slowly and exhaled quickly. "My leg really hurts. I can't move it!" she pointed at her leg. It was twisted at an awkward angle and was covered in bruises.

the boy examined it thoroughly. "It's only a sprain, un. Good." He scooped her from the ground. "Where do you live, hm?"

"Konoha." she replied. He nodded, and set off in the right direction.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Six." He frowned.

"Aren't you a little young to be wandering from the village, hm?"

"I wasn't. Me and mommy were going to visit daddy, but I got separated from Mommy." her frown grew. "Mommy!"

"Don't worry, un. We'll find her. But right now, it's pouring, un. Let's stop at that dango shop and take a break." They both walked inside the small shop. A middle aged woman smiled, and gave them each three skewers full of dango. Sakura happily clamped her mouth down onto a piece. The boy smirked, shaking his head.

"So how old are you?" she happily inquired.

"Ten, un."

"Wow! You're so much older than me!" she exclaimed. "Where are you from?"

"Iwa."

"That's where my daddy is!" she cried. "Maybe we can travel together!"

"Maybe, un."

Soon, the sun shone again. They headed out.

"Oh! My name is Sakura Haruno! What's yours?"

"Deidara. Just Deidara."

Sakura held out her hand to shake. He took it.

"Eh? What just licked me?" Deidara yanked his hand from hers, roughly shoving them in his pockets.

"It was my hands, un. Sorry."

"Can I see?" he shrugged, holding both hands out.

"WOW! Cool!" she shrieked as the mouths wiggled their tongues.

"You think they're...cool?" he wondered.

"Uh huh!" she giggled again as the tongues flicked at her face.

'She's...different.'

~*~

"Mommy!!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing herself in her mother's arms.

"Sakura dear! I was worried sick! Where have you been?"

"I got lost! But Dei-kun saved me!" she pointed joyfully at the empty spot where 'Dei-kun' once stood.

"Who, Sakura-chan?" her mother questioned.

"Aw! Dei-kun is gone!" she whined. "And he was from Iwa, mom!"

"Well, what did he look like, just in case we see him again?"

"He had long, pretty gold hair in a ponytail, and some was covering his eye. Oh, his eyes are a really pretty blueish! Oh, and he said he was ten. Oh, and the most important thing!"

"What, dear?"

"He had mouths on his hands!! It was amazing!"

"Mouths? You must have been imagining things."

"I have not!"

~*~

Deidara hid behind a tree, blushing madly.

'I shouldn't get so attached! She's too young!' yet he found himself drawn to her more and more each second.

"He had long, pretty gold hair in a ponytail, and some was covering his eye. Oh, his eyes are a really pretty blueish!"

His heart melted at those words.

"Oh, and he said he was ten. Oh, and the most important thing!"

'Uh oh...'

"He had mouths on his hands!! It was amazing!"

She still thought they were amazing?

Just as she and her mother were leaving, he whipped out a sketchbook. He loved to draw, or do anything involving art. He quickly jotted down her basic shape and lightly shaded. He would make a better one later. He leaped from branch to branch, making sure they got to Iwa safely.

Just as planned, they made it. A tall man with dark brown hair met the two at the gates.

'That must be her father.' His suspicions were comfirmed when Sakura threw herself in his grip.

He waited a few minutes after they entered the village. He passed through the gates.

He pulled out the sketch and stared for a good five minutes. 'Sakura...hm.'

He would definitely never forget her.

~*~

"Really, daddy, A boy helped me!"

"I see. And what did he look like?" he interrogated her playfully, handing her a piece of paper and some colored pencils.

"Like this!" she held out a chibi style drawing that, other than the fact that it was chibi, looked exactly like Deidara. The name Deidara was scrawled messily under the figure, with Dei-kun in parentheses.

"Oh, him. I've seen him around town."

"So he does exist!" her mother gasped. "Sakura said he has mouths on his hands. Is this true...?"

"Yeah, it's some special bloodline. Unfortunately, his entire family, minus him of course, died off from a mysterious illness. Now he's the only one left with the bloodline. At least that's what I've heard." he sighed.

"The poor child. Why hasn't anyone adopted him yet?"

"Well, every time they try to put him in an orphanage, he puts up on hel--HECK of a fight." he said, watching his language around his daughter.

"Hey, daddy! I never got to thank him for helping me. Do you know where he lives? Maybe we can surprise him!"

"Sure! Let's go now, sound good?" he suggested. She nodded excitedly, eager to see her Dei-kun again.

~*~

Once Deidara got home, he set his keys on the table, and was about to take off his clothes for a bath, when he heard a knock at the door. He hurried down the stairs, and casually opened the door, only to be tackled by a pink haired girl.

"Dei-kun!"

"Sakura?" he was almost scared at how she found his home.

"Sorry to bother you. She claimed you helped her when she got lost, and said she never got to thank you. Said you ran off. So I brought her here!" her father barked happily, thumbs up.

"N-no, you're no bother, un, I just never really got visitors before, yeah."

"Not even from Dei-kun's friends?" Sakura gaped.

"I don't have any friends." he mumbled.

"What!? But you're so nice, and a good person!" she exclaimed. She noticed his expression sadden, so she changed the subject. "Anyways, thank you for helping me!" she yelled, gripping him even tighter.

'Oh my god, she's hugging me... what do I do!? COMPOSE YOURSELF, DEIDARA. Just hug her back.' he happily obliged.

"Oh, Dei-kun! Look!" she pulled out the drawing she made of him. "Hold on, do you have a pencil?" she begged. He pulled one out, handing it to her. She scribbled.

"There! Much better!" she held it up again. A kerat was put before the name Deidara, and on the other side, it said 'My friend'.

Deidara nearly cried.

"I need that pencil back, I drew you too, un." he inserted with a keret 'My first friend'.

"Wow, Dei-kun! You draw really good!"

"Thanks, un."

"Well, Dei-kun, I gotta go. We'l stay friends, even if we never see each other again, right?" she whispered, on the verge of tears. He was near tears as well, but nodded.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan."

They hugged one final time, and Deidara went back inside and cried.

He had fallen in love.