Never Forget

Tracking Deidara

Yo. Karina here.

I know I don't post many author's notes anymore (and all the ones on the old version of The Lightning Goddess were deleted when I edited it hahaha...) but I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with the story even when I'm a horrible updater. For those of you who are, well, new readers, thanks for reading this far and I'm just warning you now of my failure to update regularly.

I'm not exactly sure how many people actually will read this since I know I have a lot of ghost readers (it's okay, I'm one too) who don't comment and stuff, but if anybody would be interested in either a chapter from someone else's POV (either in the future or a chapter that's already happened) and/or a one-shot contest (at any point in time), please tell me! I don't think I have quite enough readers to actually run a contest but it sounds fun haha :)

As always, hope you enjoy! Things are moving along at a very strange pace...

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Chapter 11

'Kira, I order you to take a team out and track down the Akatsuki member named Deidara. If possible, bring him in for questioning. Understood?'

'Perfectly. I think I will be taking Kaka-baka, Sakura, and Neji. Sakura for her healing and Neji for the Byakugan. Kakashi, at the very least, will be a good distraction.'

Gaara snorted. 'You really just love Hatake, don't you?'

'Was that a joke? I'm so proud of you!'

'They're always like this,' said Tsunade, who had frequently witnessed our little disputes. I really did enjoy bullying Kakashi. 'Anyway, that team sounds fine. Go ahead.'

It was easy to track down my newfound team members, as they were all gathered at a table in the cafeteria. Kakashi was paying them little to no mind - or so it seemed (I knew better) - and they were a big, cluttered, chattering group in the middle of the large room. It smelled fragrantly of Western breakfast, the smell of something being fried predominant.

You really just love Hatake, don't you?

They're always like this.

Although Gaara's statement had been laced heavily with sarcasm, it had sent warning signs rushing through my mind. Why did it seem as though I had always been the one "hating" on Kakashi behind his back, even though we respected and cared for each other equally?

Then again, I thought, in an effort to comfort myself, Kakashi's personality wasn't really the type to make fun of others on a regular basis. It seemed that I was a bit different.

"Hey, guys," I said, approaching them, and the chattering died down a bit as I approached. I frowned; why did it feel as though I was wielding some sort of power over them? A couple of them were the same rank as me, and the rest were only one below. "Sakura, Neji, and Kakashi, I need you all to come with me. The rest of you, don't worry about it and study hard."

"Okay!" Lee exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air and beaming at me. "I'll work extra hard from now on!"

The three that I had called out quickly returned their empty plates to the bin by the counter, and followed me out of the cafeteria and into a side hallway, where nobody was around. Sakura was smiling a bit, as usual, but she was the only one. I had chosen two of the most stoic guys possible.