The Sculptor and the Painter: Chapter 1
"Same time tomorrow, un?" the blond asked on his way out of my art gallery.
"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Dei-kun," I said with a small smile.
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My name is Naomi Ayuzawa, and I own a small art gallery in Iwa where I display my paintings. I've lived my whole life in Iwa, but have only recently met the wonderfully interesting man with mouths on his hands known as Deidara. Though, I suppose, that's not entirely true. I know him as Deidara, while the rest of the world chooses to call him "the freak of Iwa".
I close up the gallery for the day and retire to my apartment comfortably situated atop my gallery. I love my apartment because I can see the whole village from my bedroom window. I change into my comfy fleece pajamas, determined to relax a little. As I settle down on my plush brown couch with a piping hot cup of herbal tea and a strawberry muffin, my red fox, Aiko, jumps up on my lap and curls up. I stroke her absent-mindedly as I sip the tea from my favorite cup. The cup is one of those abnormally large ones and it has the words "Manga is for nerds, luckily I am one" written on it.
"I wonder what I should paint for my next piece? I know I'm doing that portrait of Deidara, but that doesn't mean I can neglect my work," I think. "Speaking of Deidara, I wonder what he's doing right now," and, as always, my thoughts drift to that blond artist who I love so much, but am too afraid to confess to. "How did I even meet him?" I muse. "Oh, yeah. Now I remember."
It was a beautiful spring day in Iwa with cherry blossoms floating on the breeze, so I had decided to take a stroll around the village. I was hoping it'd clear my head because I was having a bad case of artist's block. I was deep in thought, searching for inspiration, and wasn't paying attention to where I was going. As a consequence, I bumped into someone, causing us both to fall over.
"Ouch," I muttered, standing up.
"Watch where your going, Tobi, hmmm!"
"But, Tobi is a good boy! He was watching where he was going!"
I looked at the arguing pair with annoyance, but that quickly melted into interest when I laid eyes on the handsome blond. He had long blond hair that was tied back in a high ponytail with bangs covering his left eye. He was arguing with who I assumed was Tobi. Tobi had short, slightly spiky black hair and his face was covered by an orange swirly mask.
"Excuse me," I said.
"Shut up, Tobi! You're such an annoying idiot, un!", yelled the blond.
"Tobi is not an idiot! You're an idiot, Deidara-sempai!", Tobi retaliated.
"Excuse me!"
They both turned to look at me. Obviously they had forgotten I was even there. "My name is Naomi Ayuzawa," I said, smiling politely, which was contradicted by my eyebrow twitching in mild annoyance. "This is Deidara," Tobi said, pointing to the blond. "And, I'm Tobi. Tobi is a good boy!" "Pleased to meet you, Tobi-san, Deidara-san," I said, laughing at Tobi's childish statement.
My stroll down memory lane was interrupted by the loud, complaintive growling of my empty stomach. I trudged to the kitchen to make myself something to eat, regretting having to leave my warm, comfy spot on the couch. I yawned tiredly as I stretched to reach the cup ramen on the top shelf of my mahogany kitchen cabinet. I started heating my water. As I waited for it to heat up, I thought back to my second meeting with Deidara. It seems like only yesterday. . .
I had finally finished my painting of Iwa Park. I decided to celebrate by treating myself to a meal at my favorite restaurant, Kawahira Ramen Shop. I inhaled deeply as I walked in and my mouth immediately watered in response. "Look what the cat dragged in! I haven't seen you in awhile. Where've ya been, Naomi?", asked the manager, Kawahira. "Great to see you too, Kawahira-san. I was just working on a new painting," I replied with a smile. "Well, you know what they say about all work and no play. What can I get ya?" "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll take the usual, thanks."
I turned around to find a seat as Kawahira went off to cook my ramen and tend to other customers. The shop was pretty crowded today, leaving few seats available. As I scoured the shop for an open spot, my eyes lighted upon a vaguely familiar blond head. I smiled in recognition and made my way to the empty seat at his table.
"Hello, Dei-kun," I said as I sat down. "Why are you nicknaming me, un? We just met!", Deidara said (more like shouted). "Geez, what a hothead," I thought. "First of all, we didn't just meet, and I nickname everyone who's name is long enough to shorten," I said with a matter-of-fact tone, spiced with a cute smile and a dash of bubbly personality, just to annoy him. He was about to say something derogatory in reply (I could tell by the amount of steam pouring from his ears), when Kawahira came with my ramen.
"Here ya go, Naomi," he said, setting the ramen on the table infront of me. "Oh! Is this your boyfriend? You did pretty good," said Kawahira with a wink. Both me and Deidara blushed and protested unison, causing us to blush even more and Deidara's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. Kawahira just gave us an all-knowing look, hmmm-ed, and walked away to tend to the other customers once more. We just sat there for an awkward moment, looking at each other, when Deidara turned his head away in embarrassment."Awkward," I said, drawing the word out for effect. He just humph-ed and continued to stare off in the other direction while I ate my ramen, though I did catch him glancing at me every now and then. I let my mind wonder to more trivial things, such as what my next piece would be, what I was going to have for dinner tomorrow, that I really should get that leaky tap in my bathroom fixed (it's been keeping me up the past three nights), and-
"Ayuzawa," Deidara shouted, waving a hand infront of my face."Huh, what," I question, blinking my eyes as I emerged from my thoughts. "I said, it looks like the old man's about to close up shop." And, sure enough, when I look around I see the shop is empty and Kawahira is clearing tables and stacking chairs. I look at my watch, it's getting late. "Shoot! I better get going. Bye, Dei-kun," I say, standing up. "Don't call me Dei-kun, un! And, it's getting late, I should probably walk you home so you don't walk into anymore idiots," Deidara replies. "Huh? Sure, whatever makes you feel better, Lover-boy," I say with a wink. "What was that for, un! I'm not a lover-boy," He shouts. "Sure you aren't," I laugh.
The walk home is full of playful banter and lots of laughter. I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time. "Well, this is my stop," I sigh as we arrive at my gallery. "This place is yours, hmm," Deidara questions, his eyes wide in wonder. "Mhm. I'm a painter, and every painter needs somewhere to display their works, luckily mine came with an apartment on top," I reply pointing upward. He follows my finger, and when he looks back at me, his eyes hold something new. Maybe respect? Or, is it wonder? Or, both? I 'm not quite sure, and too tired to figure it out. "Well, I've gotta get some sleep. Good night, Dei-kun," I say with a yawn. "Good night, Naomi," I notice he doesn't yell about me calling him Dei-kun, and actually uses my first name.
My train of thought is once more interrupted, but this time the disturbance is my water finally coming to a boil. I pour the water into my cup of ramen and sit at my mahogany table. My stomach mummers approvingly in response to the delicious smell of hot ramen, which sashays forward to greet my nose. I eat hungrily, and add a little epilogue to my memories. Ever since that day, Deidara has been visiting my gallery. We talked more, and, eventually, became good friends. He became used to me calling him Dei-kun, and responds to it. I learned a lot about him, just as he learned a lot about me. I found out he's a sculptor, and he believes "Art is an Explosion". Hearing this, and being around him has helped me take my work to new levels. I'll never forget last Christmas, though.
Deidara and I were decorating the Christmas tree in my apartment while Tobi was in the kitchen baking cookies (probably eating most of them though). Suddenly, Deidara put down the ornaments and turned to me. He was serious, dead serious. It scared me because the only time I'd seen Deidara like this was when he was sculpting, but somehow this was different. "Naomi, there's something I need to tell you," He says gravely. "What is it, Deidara? You know you can tell me anything." Even so, I brace myself for the worst. He hesitates a moment before saying,"I'm a member of the Akatsuki."
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. The Akatsuki were s-ranked criminals. They killed people for a living. How was that Deidara? Sure, he had a bit of a temper, but he was very sweet once you got to know him. How was he a criminal, a murderer? I look at his hands and wonder, How many lives did those talented limbs take? So many thoughts are going through my head, it's absolute chaos in there.
"Naomi. Naomi, please say something." Something finally breaks through the fog. The urgency in Deidara's voice. He's acting so different. He cares. I can see the pain in his eyes. He doesn't want me to hate him, but he's a murderer. I look back to his face, and I know what my reply is. "Deidara, I don't care what you've done, or what you do. You have reason to hold a vendetta for this town. You're my friend, and I know you'd never hurt me." Then, he does something even more surprising than his confession. He pulls me into a tight embrace. He's being gentle as he whispers into my ear, "Thank you, Naomi-chan."
Tobi came into the room with the cookies, and was being loud, as always. Deidara quickly pulled away, and Tobi never saw a thing. We finished decorating and spent the rest of the night eating, laughing, and talking. I caught Deidara looking at me more than once.
It was at that moment I realized just how deep my feelings for Deidara ran, and still run. At that moment I realized I was hopelessly in love with this s-ranked criminal, and I didn't want it to change. I sigh, feeling just a tad bit depressed I haven't found the courage to confess to him yet. I look out the window, and notice it's already dark out. I yawn and decide to head for my soft bed, where I know dreams of Deidara await me.