Return Of The Madness

Chapter 7

Nothing.

Yuma had nothing.

Half an hour of sitting alone in her ruined room, digging through her mind, and the only thing she'd accomplished was achieving a great headache.

The only thing she could remember before her time with the Akatsuki was a lifetime of torture, pain, and gore. From her home village, who'd attempted to sacrifice her only to meet their own gruesome demise at her hands, to her time in Konaha, fuzzy memories of imprisonment, agony, and hatred. Fearsome looks and harsh whispers have followed Yuma for as long as she can remember.

She knew she had heard the name Gaara before, and seen the boy with the painted face, but when ever she tried to remember greater details, her head throbbed with pain and she was forced to take a moment. She was able to recover something including sand- not surprising considering their current location- anger, betrayal- but that was no different from everything in her life.

So, in a nutshell, she hasn't discovered shit.

The chanting had long since ceased, so Yuma decided to go and see the others. In the short time she'd been away, she'd begun to feel homesick, and even if she was angry with Sasori and Deidara, that didn't mean she couldn't greet the others. She wanted to tell Kisame all about her activities with Reaper, the unique blade he'd gifted her. She wanted to talk to Itachi, surely he could brighten her spirits.

Now excited to see the others, she threw open her door just as an explosion shook the base, nearly throwing her off balance and sending her heart plummeting into her stomach.

She took off down the hall, breaking into the large area to see light flooding the room. Several figures stood before Deidara and Sasori, but no other member of the Akatsuki was present. One of the figures yelled, rushing at her friends, and Yuma flickered from view, reappearing In front of her friend protectively as another figure held back the first.

A beat of silence swept through the room. Then an explosion of noise.

Her name was shouted by the two behind her, as well as the figures she'd yet to get a good look at. Her arm was seized in a painfully tight grasp as Sasori wrenched her around to face him.

"Go back to your room, NOW!" He snarled, making her eyes widened.

Before she could question the seemingly livid puppet, a yell came above the rest, drawing her attention and making her turn, despite Deidara's pleas for her to leave.

A man stumbled forward, hesitating slightly as a lone, onyx eye searched hers. His silvery hair stood up and to the side slightly. Most of his face was concealed by a mask, but she could see the awe and anguish he felt.

This man took place in most of her worst nightmares. A name formed in her mind, but she was too stunned by his appearance to say it.

"Yuma," he said again, reaching out for her as silence filled the air once again. "What?"

His movement made her cringe back. "Don't touch me!" She snapped, delirious and irrational, making the man flinch.

"Deidara!" Sasori snapped, throwing her to the blonde young man, who caught her in one arm as his other hand molded their getaway ride.

"Yuma wait!" Two teens cried out as the silver haired man stood frozen, staring at her. A blonde haired boy with sky blue eyes, a pink haired girl with jade green eyes, both pleading for her to stop, to come with them, their words coming together to form a jumble of sounds that only worsened Yuma's growing migraine.

It felt like her head was splitting in two, fuzzy memories shattered, meshing with clearer, brighter ones of the same place. She didn't know what to believe. Were the people before her the ones to cause her the worst pain she could remember, or the ones to save her from her inner demons?

But before she should say anything, Deidara swept her into his arms, hopping atop the back of the giant clay bird he'd created, before the creation picked up a limp body Yuma hadn't noticed but assumed to be their target. They took off, followed by the anguished cries of the people currently sending Yuma's mind into a whirlwind of confusion and woe.

"Deidara! Why are they here?!" She cried out, looking up to the man holding her as he looked down at her with an expression of sorrow.

"To take you away..." He murmured soberly, tightening his hold on her. He could hear the kyuubi taking off after them.

"My... My head..." Yuma grunted, her hands rising to her temples and pressing down tightly. "Everything is changing, it hurts, what's- what's going on?"

His sky blue eyes looked down, seeing her pained expression, and suddenly he was fighting with his own thoughts. Itachi's handiwork was breaking. Her real memories were fighting  with her fabricated ones. What if Leader-sama decided it was too risky to keep her alive? She knew too much, and her true loyalties lied with the very village they aimed to destroy...

Hand her over to the enemy and loose her forever?

Or take her home after all of this mess and risk being the reason she died?

He snarled a curse, feeling his eyes sting, but biting it back. He had to think of something else, anything else...

Back at the base, the battle was drawing to an end. Sakura and Lady Chiyo were exhausted, and the Akatsuki member Sasori was ensnared and helpless before them. His dull, chocolate brown eyes bore into them as they spoke, but his mind was elsewhere.

He'd been bested, defeated, and it was only moments before that brat Deidara followed suit, what with the Copy Cat Nin and Nine Tails after him. That would leave Yuma with the people she'd been stolen from and turned against.

But... They would protect her.

"Shut up," he growled, and the pink haired one who'd been interrogating him fell silent as Chiyo stared in awe at the pure emotion in the wooden man's voice. "I'll give you the information you want, on one condition."

With a huff, the pink haired Konoichi planted her hands on her hips. "And what might that be?"

"It's only a matter of time before your teammates best that brat and take back Yuma," the criminal before them began, his eyes staring intensely into the pink haired girl, who bristled at the mention of her friend. "Our leader is a ruthless man who tolerates no weakness. When we took her, we altered her memories to keep her from seeking you out, to turn her against you," as he spoke, her expression grew darker, and her fist clenched, but he didn't hesitate to continue. "But something's went wrong. Her memories are returning. The rest of the Akatsuki will be ordered to go after her, to end her. She's been trained to kill even more mercilessly, and Leader is worried she knows too much."

Her fists slackened, and awe filled her jade irises as she stared at the concerned criminal in awe.

"Protect her," he ordered. "Keep her safe, and tell her I'm sorry."

This was his request? To pass on his apology?

Sullenly, Sakura nodded.