Chapter 41 "How could it have come to this..."

"Do you need me to help you?" you asked kindly. After all, Deidara looked like he was about to collapse at any moment. But Deidara seemed to misunderstand your concern and took it as mockery. Honestly, you didn't mean to mock him. If you really wanted to mock him, you wouldn't have been so gentle.

"I'm not that weak! Hmm!" He was eager to declare that he wasn't that weak.

You pursed your lips, patted his cheek, and said, "Can't you even tell the difference between concern and sarcasm?"

Deidara then realized that you seemed to have genuinely cared about him, but what could you do? He'd already said it, and it was too late to take it back. His gaze darted around, looking at the sky and the ground but not at you, which made you find it even funnier. You poked his forehead. "You've misunderstood me so much, haven't you even said a word of apology? Hmm?"

Here we go again. When you tease him, you deliberately mimic his verbal tic, so much so that now he knows you're teasing him as soon as he hears your mimicked verbal tic. He said, "I'm sorry..." in a slightly weak voice. I guess he's never properly apologized to anyone before.

So you remind him, "When you apologize, you should look the other person in the eye, otherwise it won't be sincere at all."

Deidara frowned. His eyebrows were very delicate, and not just his eyebrows, but his facial features were also very refined and delicate. You parted his left eye, which was covered, and looked into his eyes. Speaking of which, he always covered his eyes with his hair on one side. Doesn't that cause strabismus or make his two eyes different degrees?

But when you think about the fact that the other person is a ninja, and a rogue ninja at that, you immediately realize that you are overthinking it. It is rare to see nearsighted people among ninjas. Of course, it is also possible that they usually train in the wild, so the possibility of them being nearsighted is very low.

Moreover, the physical condition of ninjas is incomparable to that of ordinary people.

Your fingers rest on his forehead, and you can feel it. He's almost holding his breath, barely daring to breathe. Is he really that nervous? So nervous that he can't even breathe? You observe Deidara with curiosity, as if you were examining a golden puppy. His skin is so good, smooth and delicate. It's really strange. How can his skin still be so good when he's out in the wind and sun all day?

Is this also a kind of extraordinary talent?

My fingertips touched the skin of his cheek; it was soft and delicate, like touching the face of a doll.

But a doll could never convey such a complex expression. You say, "Now—apologize to me again."

Deidara's voice was strained and dry as he said, "I'm sorry."

He regretted it as soon as he said it. Why? Why did he listen to you so much?

"What's so great about you?" Deidara thought resentfully. But your hand was still holding his cheek, making him unable to move. You must have done something to him, you cunning person. Otherwise, how could he be so powerless to resist?

"Alright, let's go. Or do you want to go back to the banquet hall? There's nothing fun there, is there? It's full of boring people, don't you think?" you said.

He didn't care at all. He was just here to see you on the side. That's right, just on the side. There was no other reason, and it was definitely not because he liked you that he came. Deidara hid his thoughts very well, so that you wouldn't guess his true thoughts and show that knowing look on your face.

Although you are very knowledgeable about many things and have everything under control, you cannot control his mood.

“I want to go with you,” Deidara said, then took your hand. His lips, which had been tightly closed, involuntarily licked your palm, leaving it wet. You said, “Is this something you can’t control?”

"No, of course I can control it!" Deidara hurriedly explained.

"Never mind, I'll just wash my hands later anyway."

Deidara, whether out of shyness or annoyance, blushed again. He heard you say, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Let's grab some late-night snacks, I'm a little hungry."

Upon hearing you say that, Deidara, as if his tsundere side had kicked in, said, "Then I'll reluctantly have a late-night snack with you, hmm!"

You said with a smile, "The more arrogant a person is, the more curious I am about what they would look like if they lost control."

Deidara blinked, puzzled. He was very confident and said, "I absolutely will not lose control, hmm!"

He wasn't like this when you shot him down from the sky with a tranquilizer dart. But you still admire his confidence. It's not too arrogant, but within your acceptable range, which only makes him more endearing.

The late-night snack was wontons, this time with added seaweed and dried shrimp, making the broth even more delicious. The chopped celery added a touch of freshness to the soup. You'd only eaten half of it when Deidara had already devoured the whole bowl. You said, "You really are hungry, aren't you? Want something else?"

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment and gestured to you what he ate when you imprisoned him in the Land of Earth. It took you a while to understand that he wanted to eat small sesame cakes. You nodded and asked Bai to go to the kitchen again.

“I have completed all the tasks you assigned me,” Deidara said.

That's wonderful! You knew those rogue ninjas were so efficient; they're practically born to be useful tools. You said, "Really? That's great!"

"Don't you have anything else to say?" Deidara rested his chin on his hand. He had just used your hair clip to hold back one side of his bangs so he could eat wontons more easily. It was a hair clip adorned with diamonds, and to be honest, it actually looked quite good on him. Your eyes were drawn to the hair clip on his head. After a few seconds, you said, "What do you want? Money or something else?"

"I don't want money."

Wow, you can actually say that with such confidence. You've never been this confident in your past life. But then again, the ninjas you've met don't seem to be very interested in money. What's going on? Don't they know that money can solve most problems? One by one, when you talk to them about money, they think it's vulgar.

So you didn't make them work for free; it was their own choice.

You said, "Really? Then what do you want?"

“I want…you—” he pointed a finger at the back of your hand, “your liking.”

Oh, so you're love-struck. That makes sense. You said, "Sure, I really like Deidara right now."

Is it so easy to say "I like you"? Deidara has no experience in this area. After all, before meeting you, he never thought he could like anyone else. He said he liked a specific person, not a vague or hazy concept.

"Why... are you able to say it so readily? Shouldn't liking someone be..." He paused involuntarily as he spoke. What should liking someone be like? For a moment, his mind went blank. He didn't know how to answer this question, but surely liking someone could be compared to art?

After all, liking someone is so elusive, even indescribable, and can only be grasped through one's intuition. But you seem to know it very well, and are quite adept at it. He couldn't help but ask, "Have you liked many people? Who were they?"

"Aren't you being a bit too nosy?" you retorted.

"I have a thorough understanding of the enemy's situation."

His earnest answer elicited a burst of laughter from you. You said, "You make it sound like you're going to hunt them down the moment I give you an answer. But frankly, you probably can't beat them right now."

That was so direct that Deidara's expression turned quite unpleasant.

"But one day I will become very powerful." Powerful enough to take care of those rivals in love, hmm!

Haku brought the extra food to the table and said to Deidara, "Is that so? But you don't seem to have much inner strength."

Despite his mild-mannered personality, Bai Ping could infuriate anyone with a single word if he wanted to, especially someone as hot-tempered as Deidara. Sure enough, Deidara fell into the trap and said, "It's not your place to judge me here."

"Please be polite to my assistant," you said casually. Deidara turned to look at you, his eyes even showing a hint of grievance.

Hmm, no, what's he complaining about now? You tilted your head and said, "Aren't you still hungry? Eat it while it's hot."

Deidara had lost his appetite, but knowing that you don't like people wasting food, he quietly and patiently finished the small pancake before leaving.

He wasn't really leaving; he just stood up and asked, "Where am I staying tonight?"

"He still wants to stay here?" Bai thought coldly to himself. "But judging from your words, even if he's allowed to stay overnight, it'll just be in another guest room."

Based on his understanding of you, he can make a fairly accurate guess.

Sure enough, the next second you said, "The next room, I hope you won't disturb me."

Deidara said "Oh," not expecting anything else. Staying in the guest room next door was fine, he comforted himself. Then he added, "By the way, the Akatsuki has started to capture Jinchuriki."

Hmm... Is he reporting his itinerary to you? The key point is that you didn't seem to ask, so he's proactively reporting it to you?

You asked, slightly puzzled, "So? How should I react?"

"That Jinchuriki of Konoha will also become a target of the Akatsuki. I see you seem to care about Konoha quite a bit, so I'm just letting you know."

This already counts as a leak, right? It seems the Akatsuki members don't have a strong sense of secrecy, which makes it easy for secrets to be leaked.

See? It's happened now.

You said, "Is it really okay for me to tell you something like this? You're working for the Akatsuki, aren't you?"

Deidara replied, "I know you won't tell anyone, and with your intelligence network, gathering this kind of information would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it? I'm just skipping a few steps for you."

You do have an intelligence network, but it's not nearly as powerful as Deidara claims. At most, it's just collecting some business intelligence; it hasn't reached that level yet.

After saying this, Deidara walked to the door, but he still didn't intend to leave. He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to sleep."

You said, "Okay, okay," and Deidara opened his eyes wide and repeated, "I really have to go to sleep."

So he goes to sleep, is it really that big of a deal? So you repeat, "I understand."

Seeing that no matter how he hinted, Deidara didn't react, he had no choice but to speak his mind in frustration. He said, "Can't you give me a goodnight kiss before I go to sleep?"

Oh, so that's what he's been hinting at all along? Honestly, why can't he just be direct? Why does he have to go through all this roundabout ways? You could have just said, "You can say it directly next time."

Deidara snorted and said, "I thought you would understand." But he hinted at it several times and you still didn't get it.

I was starting to suspect you were doing this on purpose when he said, "So, can you give me one?"

What's wrong with that? You walk up to him and find that he's starting to get nervous again, his hands clutching the hem of his clothes at his sides. You quickly, like a dragonfly skimming the water, kiss his forehead.

The result was that Deidara left, dizzy and clutching his forehead, while you stood at the door and asked him, "Are you sure you don't need me to help you?"

Deidara was still being stubborn, saying, "Not at all, um!"

Watching Deidara close the door, you turned around to see Haku clearing the table. "Are the Akatsuki members, Orochimaru's men, and Konoha people all gathered here? Is it really okay?"

You walk up to Bai and say, "Well, you don't know this, do you? Generally speaking, if two opposing forces come together, they will definitely fight. But if many forces meet, then there's nothing to worry about." This is because different forces will check and balance each other, which is the beauty of the art of checks and balances.

And as you said, when different forces come together, there are many things to consider.

That evening, Shikamaru, who was writing a summary of his mission, bumped into his teacher Asuma, who was going out to the balcony for some fresh air. Asuma said, "Are you feeling a lot of pressure? I just saw her take you to the lounge next door. She must have said something very serious to you, otherwise you wouldn't have that expression."

Ah…was he being too obvious? Shikamaru put down his pen and said, “I still don’t quite understand what she wants.”

“The human heart is unpredictable, so my advice is that you can test her stance, but there’s no need to understand her inner world too well.” Asma vaguely sensed that his student seemed to be getting stuck on a rut. Out of goodwill, and also out of a sense of responsibility as a teacher, he wanted to keep the other person away from the dangerous quagmire as much as possible.

"If you continue like this, you'll only sink deeper into trouble."

Shikamaru said, "But knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle."

Upon hearing this, Asuma couldn't help but chuckle. Was that really what he thought? Didn't he know what his student was thinking? He said, "Is that so? Is that really all you think?"

When asked this question by the teacher, Shikamaru remained silent for a long time. His reason told him that it was not just that, but, "If a puzzle were placed in front of you, could you really resist the urge to solve it?"

Asma said, "I will consider many factors before that."

“I’ve already considered all those factors,” Shikamaru said, but Asuma found it hard to believe. He said, “Okay, but remember not to forget your own mission.”

Of course, he hadn't forgotten his mission, but when he finished his work for the day and lay flat on his bed, the image of you appeared in his mind the moment he closed his eyes.

This is terrible, and these memories are uncontrollable and unstoppable. The memories of you in his mind are becoming clearer and clearer. Shikamaru has never hated his good memory as much as he does now. He even remembered that when he was in the Ninja Academy, he first met you at the opening ceremony. You, as a family member of Uchiha Sasuke, also attended his opening ceremony.

The moment you appeared, you attracted everyone's attention.

"Look, that's Sasuke Uchiha's older sister! She's so beautiful, even prettier than the people on TV!"

Is it really that exaggerated?

Shikamaru didn't really believe what those people were saying, thinking they were exaggerating. But when he turned around and saw you standing next to Uchiha Sasuke, he suddenly realized that there really were people who could become the focus of attention just by standing there.

He couldn't take his eyes off you; he stared at you for a long time, which made Uchiha Sasuke frown and glare at him with great displeasure.

"How stingy. He only glanced at it, and it wasn't his fault," Shikamaru thought to himself. Then he saw you lower your head and say something to Uchiha Sasuke, whose expression softened.

What? So those Uchiha with bad tempers are actually so easy to coax?

The descriptions of the Uchiha clan he heard from his father described them as having unpredictable personalities and fluctuating emotions.

But more than his surprise at Sasuke's transformation, he was curious about how Sasuke had managed to make the Uchiha follow his orders.

It's like taming a feline with an unpredictable temperament. What's amazing about you is that you not only tamed them, but you tamed more than one. I heard that you have a good reputation in the Uchiha clan. Even though you are an outsider, you have lived in the Uchiha clan for so long that the clan members have come to regard you as one of their own.

Not only that, but everyone except the Uchiha clan praises you. Can such a perfect person really exist in the world? Shikamaru thinks it doesn't. You must have your own flaws, something he's always been curious about. He wants to know what your flaws are, to see through your true nature.

Irritable.

He was so preoccupied with too many thoughts that he couldn't fall asleep. He simply gave up and let his thoughts drift with the endless night to the past, to his childhood, to his time at the ninja academy.

Uchiha Sasuke doesn't really like people calling you his older sister. Every time someone does, he'll seriously correct them, saying, "Aki is Aki, Aki isn't my older sister."

He was simply refuting others' definition of his relationship with you as siblings. At that time, he didn't know why he did it; he just felt that it shouldn't be like that.

Shikamaru hadn't had much contact with Sasuke Uchiha. The Uchiha clan had always been a prominent clan within Konoha, but "prominent" here doesn't mean anything good. Rather, it meant that their situation within Konoha had become increasingly awkward year by year. Shikamaru could vaguely sense that something was wrong when he overheard his father, Nara Shikaku, talking about work at the dinner table.

However, Sasuke Uchiha was completely unaware of this; he was still studying hard, striving to become number one, and trying to gain his family's approval.

So at that time, Shikamaru always had a strangely complicated feeling towards Sasuke Uchiha. Perhaps he didn't know what his future would be like?

While Sasuke Uchiha was still immersed in happiness, Shikamaru watched the story unfold as if it were a tale destined for an imperfect ending.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Shikamaru was indeed quite envious of Uchiha Sasuke. This envy lasted until he graduated from the Ninja Academy. You even came to attend his graduation ceremony. Shikamaru looked at you from afar, watching you bend down and hug that kid, whispering something in his ear. Then Uchiha Sasuke laughed. The next second, he remembered that he had to maintain his cool image, so he straightened his lips again.

The conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha became increasingly apparent and heavy. During that time, his father often talked about work at the dinner table, and his mother did not stop him. Before this, his mother disliked discussing work at the dinner table because she felt it would affect her appetite.

But she didn't stop them; she just listened quietly, occasionally frowning and muttering, "How did it get to this point?"

As if infected by the somber atmosphere, Shikamaru lost his appetite for dinner. He thought to himself, "My mother was right. These things shouldn't be discussed at the dinner table."

But in the very end, the dark cloud hanging over the Uchiha clan suddenly disappeared, so abruptly that even his father didn't expect it. Shikamaru only found out much later that it was you who did it. If you hadn't written to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, asking them to interfere in Konoha's affairs, the Uchiha would never have escaped this calamity so easily.

So you can do this much?

So the power behind you has grown to such a great extent?

Shikamaru suddenly realized that he didn't really know you very well either. His observations of you were all superficial. But today was different. He seemed to see through the surface and see a corner of your heart. Although it was just the tip of the iceberg, it was enough for him to analyze for a long time and enough to reawaken his curiosity about you.

After an unknown amount of time, Shikamaru finally fell asleep from exhaustion.