Cough… cough
Deidara stood against the door frame, his gaze unfocused. He didn't seem to intend walking in the room or go away. He was trapped in his reverie, his psychosomatic self seeming to drench his physical one. He'd been very quiet these days, and had even stopped working on his pottery for some time now. He didn't even respond to taunts anymore. He'd been lost in his thoughts ever since Sasori dana's death, and Tobi was now starting to feel worried for him.
Cough
Try as he might, he couldn't get his sempai to return to his cheerful self again. He had behaved like a good boy, but Deidara barely noticed. He had offered him to take a break and go for a picnic at the riverbank not so far away from the Akatsuki headquarters, but his sempai had barely shrugged at the idea. He had tried playing pranks on him, but Deidara never really responded.
"Deidara-sempai, Tobi's ever so sorry, but there seem to be soy sauce that accidently came out from Tobi's bottle and accidently onto sempai's cloack."
"Un…"
"Sempai, can sempai come tell Tobi again why sempai has tongues on his hand?"
"Un…"
"Sempai, why does sempai wear eye-liner and has long hair like a lady?"
"Un…"
Tobi really couldn't take it anymore. He wanted his sempai to consider Tobi as his new partner, but it seemed to Tobi that sempai's mind was always on sempai's old partner, and Tobi felt unloved and sad and alone. Why didn't sempai consider Tobi fit to work with sempai, like real team-mates?
Cough
And then sempai had started to stop coming for dinner with the rest of the members. This was the final straw.
Tobi stood up, abandoning his half empty bowl of rice, stomping off to sempai's and Tobi's room. He nearly slammed the door open, only to find Deidara-sempai already in bed, staring at the ceiling, ignoring his noisy entry… Tobi, determination flowing out of his very core, walked to sempai's bed and stood in front of him, arms crossed. Knowing he couldn't pretend he hadn't noticed his fellow anymore, Deidara heaved a deep sigh, slightly turning his gaze towards his direction.
Cough
"What is it, Tobi?" Deidara asked in a tired voice.
"Why hasn't sempai come to dinner tonight?" Tobi's voice was harsh and reminded Deidara of his late mother. He glared at him disapprovingly, not liking the tone of his voice one bit. Shifting himself into a sitting position and swinging his legs off the bed, the artist prepared himself for what looked like a painfully long conversation.
Cough
"What does that mean to you, un?"
"Tobi is sempai's partner, and partners look out for each other. But sempai wouldn't know that 'cause sempai doesn't care for Tobi at all. Tobi doesn't exist for sempai. Sempai only thinks about Sasori-dana and never wants to be with Tobi, whatever Tobi does."
Deidara looked like he had been thrown a bucket of ice cold water on the face. He had expected Tobi to tell him off for his lack of attention and sociability, but the fact that Tobi cared for him and realized he'd been missing Sasori came as a surprise, for he had never thought his new partner was able to work out this awkward situation all by himself. Angry with himself for having underestimated Tobi, Deidara threw a bitter comment back, without thinking.
Cough…Cough
"You can't understand what it's been like for me, Tobi. I wouldn't expect an ass like you to realize what losing a comrade feels like, because this death was all you've been waiting for, un. You don't care who gets hurt as long as there's a free place waiting for you in the Akatsuki, right? Sasori's death doesn't mean a damn to you, un. And you don't really care for me at all, do you, you filthy hypocrite?" Deidara had a mad glint in his eyes, and was panting from rage, now truly directed at Tobi. The latter had remained silent the whole time, turning gradually paler under his mask. When he spoke again, his voice was barely recognizable, cold and low, neither goofy nor annoying as it had once been.
Cough
"Tobi's leaving sempai for the night. Tobi will be sleeping outside until sempai comes back to reason."
With that, he walked straight towards the door, slowly pulling it shut. Deidara felt strange; he would've preferred him to slam it shut or to have yelled at him. Sighing again, he crept under his cover, willing to fall asleep quickly, but for some reason, guilt came from nowhere to prevent his slumber.
Cough
Tobi sat down on the side of the bridge, legs dangling over the cool water, alone at twilight.Tobi felt even sadder now that Tobi knew what sempai thought of Tobi. He pressed his forehead against the wooden banister, lost like his sempai was in thoughts. Deidara-sempai was right, Tobi has acted like a bad boy, not respecting sempai's grief and acting selfishly the whole while long. Tobi wanted to apologize, but would sempai even consider listening to him after what Tobi had done?
Tobi watched his distorted reflection in the stream. The current was strong because of a quite impressive waterfall not far away. It was a matter of minutes before another warped figure stared back at Tobi from the stream. Tobi gasped.
Cough
Standing behind him, his embarrassed sempai remained silent, first avoiding Tobi's eyes. Sempai then glimpsed several times at Tobi, waiting for him to stand up for them to talk, as equals. When Tobi finally stood up, Deidara cleared his throat and tried to focus on looking at Tobi straight in the face.
"Ehem… Tobi, you don't mind if we talk, do you, un?" Deidara's voice was unusually tense, and he was fidgeting with his hair. Tobi smiled inwardly; never had he seen his sempai look so out of control. He shook his head. "No, Tobi will talk with Deidara-sempai if sempai wants him to. Tobi is a good boy". Hope glittered in sempai's eyes.
"I wanted to…un… to say…I'm sorry for shouting at you, Tobi… You're right, as partners, we should stand up for one another. I underestimated you. I want to apologize, un." Deidara cursed himself for sounding so childish. He looked down at the bridge's wooden tiles, willing Tobi to say something fast. Those few seconds of silence were turning him insane. Tobi felt amazed by his sempai's reaction. He had expected a lecture about behaving and being a good boy.
Cough…Cough
"But Tobi shouted at his sempai!" he whined out.
"You were right to shout at me, Tobi." Deidara sighed and leaned against the banister. "You know, only the people who really care about you tells you stuff you don't want to hear, un. But in the end, you realize that they were only trying to help you." Deidara took a deap breath and mustered all the strength he had left in him. "And tonight, I realized you were trying to help me."
Tobi grinned. Unable to see his happiness behind the mask, Deidara didn't know what to expect. He waited for the slightest sign of outrage, friendliness or anger.
Without warning, Tobi threw himself on his Deidara-sempai, weeping. "Oh sempai!"
Deidara yelped in pain and alarm. He had hit the wooden banister and heard a creaking sound. This was not good. He knew that it wouldn't support the weight of both men, and wasn't surprised when it broke off completely. Deidara fell in the violent current, leaving Tobi on the bridge. He only had time to gasp for air before he was helplessly taken away it the rapid flow.
"TOBI, DO SOMETHING! QUICK, UN!!" Deidara was terrified. He wasn't such a good swimmer, and the rapids made him feel like a ragdoll. Tobi wasted no time and started sprinting on the riverbank alongside his unfortunate seimpa. "Don't worry, Deidara-sempai, Tobi will save you!"
Deidara crashed on a rock and fell unconscious. His lifeless body was almost immediately taken forward. Tobi gasped.
Deidara-sempai is heading straight for the waterfalls!
Tobi was now reaching his limit in speed, concentrating his chakra in his feet. Panting, he forced his muscles to work faster, faster still… But his sempai was already lost in the mist preceding the falls, and in next to no time, Tobi saw him drifting away, his palm plunging last, its mouth ajar and tongue drooping out.
"SEMPAI!" Tobi swiftly climbed down the rocks framing the waterfall, panicking. He ran back and forth 'round the lake, searching for the body. Suddenly, a mop of blond hair resurfaced, followed by a black cloak. Slowly, Deidara was drifting towards the bank, still out cold. Tobi hurried back to him and turned him face up. He gasped.
Deidara had blood trickling from his forehead and mouth, down to his chin. His skin was deadly pale, and his long blond locks spattered messily around his serene face. He was laying spread-eagled on his back, his Akatsuki cloak sprawled around him. Tobi couldn't help but think that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
Tobi shook him softly, whispering near his ear. "Sempai, wake up… wake up…"
He shook him a little harder, raising his voice. "Sempai, c'mon, stop sleeping, you've got to wake up! Up! Up, sempai!"
Tobi was now positively rattling his sempai, sounding more and more like a hysteric. "Sempai! SEMPAI! SNAP OUT OF IT SEMPAI! C'MON! C'MON! ...c'mon…c'mon…"
Tobi broke into tears and let himself fall onto Deidara's chest. He felt how cold it was and started to sob. He laid his ear against it, and nearly fell back in surprise when he heard a soft thump. Cautiously, he pressed his ear again over his sempai's torso and was pleasantly surprised by a quiet, slow, but still present heartbeat.
Thump… …. Thump… … Thump… … Thump… …
Tobi cradled Deidara's head in his hands, but quickly noticed something wrong.
His sempai's heart was still beating, but his mouth and nostrils remained immobile and his chest wasn't raising the slightest.
He was still alive, but wasn't breathing anymore.
Alarmed, Tobi laid Deidara-sempai flat on the ground. He pushed his mask away and opened his sempai's mouth, bringing his head back, positioning his hands upon his sempai's chest and himself behind him. He took a deep breath, brought his lips over his sempai's, and softly blew. He then pushed firmly several times on Deidara's chest, and repeated the operation. After a few minutes, his sempai's started to take short incomes of breath, his sky-blue eyes fluttering open. He glanced weakly at his menace and savior, feeling himself pulled in and out of consciousness.
"Tobi… you prat… I'm gonna… gonna…"
Cough…Cough
Tobi grinned broadly.
Deidara-sempai was able to threaten him again. All was well.
Cough
A.N.: hello there! First story published in , thanks for reading it until the end
Please read and review (I know, it sucks having to read this comment all the time, but take it as a plea for help from a young author).
N.B.: The cough sound effects refer to Deidara.