A/n: There it is!! Finally I managed to finish this chapter. Woohooo!!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

As much as I wanted to go to his hideout, I couldn't ignore the fact that I still had unfinished business. My damaged body gave in only a few moments ago and my mind was completely off. His approach to the orb brought my thoughts back and all the gears were turning now, trying to come up with an idea how to deal with it. I can't bring it with me because he will probably report it to his leader and, eventually, they will ask about it. And in this state I can't even protect it...

"I'll head out and try to find some herbs for your wounds. It won't take long so..." Deidara turned his head, partially lost in his thoughts, as he watched the girl over his shoulder.

"I won't move, I promise." she interrupted him. Seems my sarcasm is still working. A small smirk escaped his lips and I knew that he was amused.

"I wanted to say try not to die." He laughed and the girl pouted.
"By the time I return please come up with a name."

Watching him leave, an idea popped into her head. She could bury the orb.
But the problem was, does she have the energy? It wasn't laying far from her and she could reach it, but digging right there would be pretty obvious. She would, at least, have to crawl around the tree and place it somewhere behind. It would be worth the try and even if he returned earlier she could improvise an excuse. Maybe she could tell him that she changed her mind and started to prepare her grave.

Seeing Deidara walk far enough, the girl gathered all of her strength and moved forward as fast as her injuries allowed her. Stretching one hand out, she grabbed the orb and shivered at the energy outburst that it released. The moving smoke beneath its surface tried to hypnotise her but she quickly shook it off. She placed the other free hand on her head to ease the migraine that the orb had caused and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Gaah..." she moaned in pain "Why do you always have to make it harder than it is you little sh*t...".

A soft rustle of leaves startled her from the dizziness and made her look up, but not in the direction the sound came from. She felt an unusual aura coming from a large magpie sitting on a branch, watching her intensely. Not knowing what it wanted, she turned her head and saw the blonde guy. Deidara was returning from his successful search with a stern look, holding some leaves and flowers in his hands. She cursed under her breath for being so ignorant. He was a skilled ninja and she should have expected that he would manage to find everything in a short time.

High in the trees the sneaky magpie observed the glimmering orb that the girl held loosely in her hands. It had been some time that such a pretty shiny thing made its way into the woods and the bird had its eyes fixed on it since it fell from the saddle pocket.

Deidara didn't need to think twice as he noticed what was going on.
"I'm trying to help you and expect that you trust me a little bit more. I'm a nice guy, you don't need to hide it." he said and put down everything he was holding on a stash. He hoped that she would believe him and tell something about the weird object so that he can report it to his leader.

She didn't expect to hear that from him and decided that it would be still wiser to keep her intentions for herself. She propped herself and spoke "I wasn't trying to..." but without a warning the magpie plunged from the tree and snatched the shiny crystal from her hand. Its little claws held it tightly while keeping the focus on escaping swiftly between tree stems so the humans couldn't follow.

Not longer after, it felt an unusual power and pain. Sticky black liquid crawled up its legs, engulfing every part of the birds body. Eventually the substance reached its wings and knocked it down. The poor creature tried to struggle and break free from its grip but failed miserably. Squeaky shrieks turned into low growls. It stood up and four legs appeared instead of two. The wings were torn apart, only bones were left attached. Long sharp claws scratched the ground while the mutilated body started to shake. This was no more mother nature's child.

Deidara watched the scene in horror and utter disbelief. Now it made sense why the girl warned him not to touch it. He looked over to her and saw complete calmness for which he did not know whether he expected it or not. She let out a dull sight tucking a strand of her hair behind the ear.

"So, is there anything you want to tell me?" He crossed his arms and crouched next to her, examining the wounds at the same time. She was already pale and if they remained here any much longer she would die of blood loss. Noticing a slight hesitation from her, he reached her shoulder with one arm. Another long sight escaped her lips.

"Okay, now that the orb consumed its host it will try to hide and remain in the shadows. No one except from us know about its whereabouts and it should be safe for the time being" she explained and looked him straight in the eyes. An unusual feeling went through him as he gazed in the mysterious world behind her irises. They held him captive for a moment until she broke the silence.

"I-I'm... M-My name is Aena." she stuttered a little bit embarrassed from his staring and cleared her throat enduring the pain that it had caused.

"I will tell you everything you need to know when you patch me up and give food."

"Deal." He stood up and put his hands in the pouch. Hearing munching, she tilted her head a bit trying to decipher what is going on. He pulled them out, made some hand signs and created one of his large clay birds. Aena was at first a little bit disgusted seeing mouths on his hand palms but decided to ignore it. After all, this was a silly world full of weirdos.

The inky black creature that the orb had corrupted fled further away into the woods at the sight of the white clay bird.

"Ready, un?" Deidara asked after he squashed the herbs and picked up all of the scattered items. The slender girl sat on the ground playing with some flowers. She really started losing it, I need to hurry... He came closer, placed his arms under her and picked up bridal style. She didn't even notice what was going on anymore. Quickly she was lying on the birds back, still bleeding. The ninja hopped on, the bird flew up and when if finished ascending, he started tending her wounds.

××××a small time skip brought you by a panicked Tobi××××

Cold air... Why is it so freezing? Where am I? Aena opened her eyes and saw clouds traveling above her. She guessed that they were travelling on the strange clay animal.

"Do you have a blanket?" she asked and sneezed three times in a row.

"You serious, un? Do I look like a wardrobe?" Deidara rolled his eyes.

"Well, that cloak looks cozy..." she sneezes again, five times now.

"Now you're just acting..." he turned to her and saw her shivering. Something ached in his heart and he felt sorry for the injured girl. He sighted loudly, obviously annoyed, and stood up from the bird.

The pain in her left arm weakened, but she was still curled up in a ball on the clay surface, trying to warm herself up. Out of a sudden, she felt something soft cover her skin from above. Because she was squeezing her eyes shut to protect them from the wind she didn't notice at first what was happening. She peeked a little and saw him sitting behind her with his opened cloak. She looked up surprised and was taken aback by his action.

"Maybe I should try to warm you up. It would be a little bit dumb that you freeze to death after I managed to stop the bleeding from your wounds." He gripped her on her shoulders and lifted up to a sitting position. She winced loudly but relaxed quickly after leaning back on him as he covered them both.

"I wouldn't mind... It's a beautiful sight... and you've been a good company..." and with that said, she passed out.