ITACHI, HELP!!! NOW!
Itachi looked down at the message and shook his head with a grin. It had been nearly a month ago that he'd received that text, but he'd saved it to his phone for the sheer hilarity the memory brought. In the passing time since then a cold wet October became a colder and above all wetter November. Itachi had received – after that first one at half four in the morning – nearly seven more panicked messages from Deidara. Most were at stupid hours in the morning, and all were about the same thing:
Deidara's psychic talents were beginning to bloom and he was seeing ghosts everywhere.
The first time it had happened – the one that had sparked the message that Itachi now used as blackmail at every opportunity – the blonde had woken to see an old man standing at his desk. The panicking artist had sent the text to his friend only to be told to ignore the guy. Three days later Deidara had walked straight through someone in a school corridor. After receiving the text, it had taken Itachi nearly an hour to locate his traumatised friend in the history block toilets and explain about Steven, a boy who had died on the school grounds back in the 60's.
Yes, it had been a difficult few weeks.
Admittedly, they had still been the best weeks Itachi had spent since returning to the UK. The gang had met regularly and he was enjoying having such a large group of people to interact with. From rather shaky beginnings Kisame especially was becoming a firm friend. And of course, Deidara was still sticking to him like glue – not that he was complaining about that. He'd grown used to having the blonde by his side nearly 24/7, and it was a new feeling to always have someone to fall back on. As much as he'd had friends in Japan, they'd never been best friends. It was a rather childish thought, but part of him couldn't help but feel warm and cosy every time he mentally referred to Deidara as his best friend.
Even so, it was drawing to the end of the first term, and college work was beginning to pile up. At least, his was. Why was it that Deidara seemed to have so little to do whilst he was slaving away with course-work? Damn it!
Which was why he had to miss a meeting and was shut up in his room reading a politics text book thicker than the Bible. It was unfair, it really was! Not to mention his parents were out for the night, so Sasuke had leapt at the chance to throw a house party. A dozen or so rowdy teens running around the house with alcohol and blaring music did not make for ideal study conditions. He groaned and rubbed his temples as there was a thump and a girlish scream outside in the hall-way. It looked like it was going to be a long night. And to cap it all off a car horn began a fanfare right outside his window.
Itachi dropped his mobile and let his head fall forward to hit his desk with an audible thump. It was official, he must have done something really bad in a past life! It was already half nine and he hadn't done a thing. And that bloody car-horn was still going at it!
Storming over to his window he pulled the curtains open to glare down at whoever the hell had the audacity to make such a bloody noise. A car sat on the road, a bright red Corsa that looked very familiar. It was dark outside of course, but he could still make out – by the yellow light of the street-lights – a large group of people around the vehicle.
Quickly locating the key, Itachi unlocked his window and opened it to lean out.
"What the hell are you lot doing here?!" He yelled down.
"Well, I sent you nine texts and three calls, so when you didn't answer we thought this was the best way to get your attention!" Deidara called back up, a wide grin plastered across his face. "It's not easy fitting seven people into a five seat car! Are you coming or what?"
"I don't follow..."
The blonde slapped his forehead. "Save us from imbeciles!" He groaned. "Let me in and I'll explain."
Itachi shut the window and ran down stairs to unlock the door. Deidara grinned, looking him up and down and chuckling at the Uchiha's appearance.
"Still working?"
"Yes, now what is it?"
The blonde's grin grew. "We're all going into town; a band is playing in Nottingham arena, interested?"
Itachi leant against the doorframe. "Deidara, I have tons of coursework to do, I can't just go into town..." But there was a reluctant tone in his voice – one that begged to be persuaded.
Deidara heard it and cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure? It's Nightwish who are playing..." He said enticingly.
"Nightwish..." Now there was definite longing in Itachi's voice. "Well, maybe I can afford to take a little time off..." It was only now that he actually registered how Deidara was dressed, and looking over the blonde's shoulder he saw that the rest of the gang were also attired in concert-going gear. "But I don't have anything to wear, not to a rock concert!"
"Oh don't be stupid, you're bound to have something!"
"No, I really don-"
But Deidara had already grabbed his friend's hand and was dragging him upstairs back into the Uchiha's bedroom.
"Deidara, what are you doing?"
"Ransacking your wardrobe." The blonde stated cheerfully. Itachi sat down heavily in the chair at his desk, not really able to help much in picking a decent outfit. It seemed Deidara had an eye for this sort of thing – considering he was an artist and all. The blonde wasn't in his usual paint-splattered jeans and old t-shirt, which was miraculous in itself – Itachi had never seen him in anything else.
"You look good in black." He stated absentmindedly.
"Huh?" Deidara flushed slightly. "Oh, thanks." He coughed and threw a pair of deep blue jeans at his friend. "Put those on, I'll find a shirt to match." He kept his back to the Uchiha as Itachi changed, and resolutely dug through the shirt racks. Nearly the entire wardrobe was black, and he'd had trouble enough finding the jeans, so gave up on a coloured top as well. As it was a flash of lightness caught his eye and he pulled out a shirt – black of course – styled like a Japanese Yutaka, with grey edging. "Here you go." He tossed it over his shoulder and heard the dull thump of material as it landed on Itachi's head. Shutting the wardrobe he waited for the go ahead.
"Okay, I'm changed."
When Deidara turned round Itachi was fiddling with the hem line of his shirt and seemed genuinely uncomfortable.
"This really isn't me." He said awkwardly.
"Sure it is!" The blonde spun his startled friend round and pulled out the band that was holding Itachi's hair up. "There we go, perfect!" He ignored the Uchiha's protestations and prodded him towards the door. "Come on then, let's go."
Itachi was bewildered enough to allow his friend to drag him back downstairs and out of the door. "But...but Sasuke-"
"He's a big boy, he'll be fine." Deidara laughed. He waved to the rest of the gang. "Got him, let's go!"
Pein looked the Uchiha up and down and nodded approvingly. "Not bad, well done Dei. He looks good." He grinned as Itachi went red. "You ever been to a rock concert before Uchiha?"
"No, never." It wasn't hard to see that Itachi was less than thrilled about this venture.
"Well, good job you've got us here then." Konan chirped, draping an arm around Itachi's shoulders. Her neckline was nearly low enough to be criminal and the Uchiha went a deeper crimson. "We've been to hundreds; you'll have a great time!" She promised.
"How did you even get tickets?" Itachi asked, disentangling himself as politely as possible.
Pein shrugged airily. "We did a big job about five months ago, so I used some of the pay check to get them. We still had Tobi and Orochimaru with us then, so you and Dei have their tickets." He held out a couple of flimsy slips of paper and the two new members accepted them. The gang leader grinned and tilted his head towards the path. "Shall we get going?"
The rest of the group began ambling down the hill, leaving Itachi and Deidara to bring up the rear as they made their way down to the bus stop on the main road.
"Why aren't we driving in?" The Uchiha asked, as up front Konan complained loudly about walking in her heels. "I mean, you've got your car here, and I've got mine, there's easily enough room."
Deidara snorted. "Yeah, but I want to have a drink or two, and I don't want to drive after having alcohol. And knowing the others, they'll insist that you have something too, so we'll both be over the limit. So no driving."
You couldn't argue with that logic.
They reached the bus stop and crowded together under the flimsy shelter. It seemed to be human nature that despite the fact that it was merely three sheets of thin plastic, everyone assumed it would be warmer underneath. It took the bus nearly fifteen minutes to turn up – despite claiming that it came every ten – and by that point Konan had shivered enough to guilt-trip Pein into lending her his coat.
The bus was nearly empty, which was normal considering it was almost ten o-clock at night, and the only other passenger left a few stops later. Itachi was rather quiet, sitting next to the window and staring aimlessly at the street lights as they flashed by. Around him the others chatted excitedly, but he was feeling too nervous and uncomfortable with where he was going. Sure, he'd never been to a rock concert before, but he knew damn well that they involved being thrown around, squashed and having other people's drinks tipped on you. It really didn't sound all that appealing, but he was also loath to pass up the chance of seeing his favourite band. Damn, talk about a conundrum! At least he'd had the foresight to continue regularly having the medication for his haemophilia – it looked like tonight would earn him a whole lot of bruises.
"Hey, are you okay?" A soft touch on his arm brought him out of the melancholy thoughts. He turned to see Kisame leaning over from the seat behind to speak to him. "You don't seem as excited as everyone else." The lifeguard tilted his head in Deidara's direction, where the blonde was swinging round on one of the green poles usually meant for unseated passengers.
Itachi shook his head at the artist's antics
"I'm looking forward to it, of course. I just don't think that I have to make such a fool of myself because of that." He said sedately.
Kisame snickered. "Okay, I'll agree with you there; I'm not one for looking like an idiot either." He glanced at Itachi out of the corner of his eye. "You seem worried, are you really okay with coming to this event?"
"I'm fine." Itachi smiled slightly at the lifeguard, touched by the concern Kisame was showing for him. "I guess it's good for me to be dragged out of the comfortable rut I've dug for myself over the past year." His smile grew a bit more genuine. "I'll survive; I just have to make sure that Deidara doesn't force me into the Mosh-pit."
Kisame slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit!" He said cheerfully. His gaze was drawn back to the hyper-active artist and he shook his head with a grin. "How the hell did someone like you ever become friends with a live-wire like him in the first place?" It was almost phrased as a rhetoric question, but Itachi answered anyway.
"We were put together for an R.E project." A fond smile lit his face. "It seems so long ago now! And you know what? Our teacher forgot about it in the end, and we never even handed the damn thing in!"
The life-guard sniggered. "Ms Strachen by any chance?" At Itachi's surprised look he laughed. "She was my tutor for three years, you kinda get used to her demanding projects and then forgetting about them."
There was a bell chime from the front of the bus, and Itachi glanced up to see that Pein had rung for the next stop. He turned his gaze back out of the window, but it really was too dark to tell where exactly in the city they were. The bus slowed and pulled over into a side street before gliding to a halt. Kisame clapped Itachi on the shoulder and stood up.
"Come on then, our stop!"
The Uchiha followed the rest of the group reluctantly. Once outside it was a little easier to identify his surroundings, and the large bulk of the Nottingham Ice Stadium loomed over his head. It was obvious enough where they needed to go, since a huge queue snaked its way around from the front doors right up along the pavement.
As it was, Pein directed them past the huge crowd of screaming people, and in through a less packed entrance that held a large sign proclaiming that it was for those who had already got their tickets. One by one the gang handed the slips of paper over and were let through the turnstile.
Inside, the building was just as busy and claustrophobic as people jostled and shoved their way around the place. Itachi had never been to the stadium before, and the sheer size of the place combined with the huge number of people made him stop dead and stare.
Thank God he had kept up the clotting supplements! Already enough bodies had pushed their way past him with enough force to leave bruises. A hand grabbed his arm and he shook himself out of the daze to see Deidara grinning widely at him.
"Come on! Let's get into the main arena!" The blonde had to shout to get himself heard, and the Uchiha just nodded in return, not bothering to attempt verbal communication. He let the artist drag him through the press of bodies to a stair-case, and then down into the actual stadium area. The skating rink had had the ice melted off so a stage could be set up at one end and already the rest of the area had filled with people. It took a lot of elbowing for the gang to bully their way over to a good spot.
Itachi wriggled his way into the centre of their group – as far away as possible from the press of strangers. He had read too many news articles on what went on in these places to let anyone he didn't know near him! Glancing around at the rest of the gang he realised two of the main members had vanished, and he tapped Hidan on the shoulder.
"What?"
"Where have Pein and Konan gone?" Itachi had to repeat himself a few times to be heard above the din.
Hidan grinned roguishly. "To get drinks of course!" He made a tipping motion with his hand and mimed downing a pint, so that although the Uchiha hadn't heard him the reply was still obvious.
Drinks, brilliant! Itachi wasn't so naive as to think that they wouldn't all start drinking - after all, he'd seen how much beer Pein got through at home - but he wasn't keen on the idea of everyone getting drunk in public. It also occurred to him that this type of thinking was very probably what his new group of friends would classify as 'prudish'.
Well that was just great!
A tap on his shoulder made him glance back to see Konan standing right behind him. Well speak of the devil...
"Here you go, a freebie to get you started. Dei said you don't drink much." She chirped, handing him a bottle of dark green glass with Strongbow emblazoned on the side. Itachi accepted it like it was a primed hand-grenade.
"Um, thanks but I don't drink at all-" He began, but Konan just waved his words away.
"It's only cider so it'll hardly get you drunk. Lighten up a bit, it's not going to kill you!" She laughed, taking a healthy gulp of her own bottle, which stated Smirnoff, triple distilled on the side.
Itachi frowned slightly. "Is that vodka?"
"Yeah, and?"
He shook his head in a little never-mind gesture and took a cautious sip from his own drink. It tasted very faintly like apple-juice, but to his teetotaller palate it basically appeared to be a bottle of flavoured antifreeze. He swallowed cautiously, and when it failed to cause him to dance stupidly or throw up he decided that it might be safe enough for him. He could just barely hear laughter over the insane racket and he turned to see Hidan smirking at him. The albino handed him a tiny shot glass of amber liquid with a go-on-try-it hand movement. Itachi didn't pay as much attention as he should have to the evil glint in Hidan's eyes as he took a sip of the new drink. He handed the glass back just before the burn hit the back of his throat and caused him to bend double coughing and retching. Hidan shrieked with laughter and clapped the prone Uchiha on the back.
"And that is a man's drink!" He crowed.
Itachi coughed again, tears burning in his eyes as the back of his throat was scorched. "What is that?" He gasped when it was possible to finally talk again.
"Brogan's Legacy Irish Single Malt." When the Uchiha looked bemused Hidan elaborated. "It's whisky."
There was more laughter and Itachi glanced over to find that the rest of them were watching him by this time. Even Deidara had cracked up, which he found rather unfair since the blonde was only drinking lager. Pein patted his shoulder sympathetically then downed a shot of the same molten fire Hidan was drinking with ease.
"You'll get used to it." He promised, although Itachi really didn't believe that he ever wanted to try the stuff again! Konan winked at the Uchiha and took another gulp of her vodka.
Itachi decided that cider was alright for him, but he doubted that he'd ever be able to down something stronger with such ease. Hidan had leant over to talk to him again, but as the albino opened his mouth to talk there was a sudden crashed chord that rang out across the audience. It was as if an electric spark had coursed through the crowd; they all turned as one body to the stage and began screaming.
If Itachi had thought it was loud before he'd had no idea! The band had stepped up onto the stage under blue flood lights with guitars in hand and they had set the whole arena screaming. There was a shriek in his ear – barely audible over the ruckus – and he glanced over his shoulder to see Konan screaming something in excitement, pointing at the group on stage. He looked back and squinted at the five figures that had got everyone so riled up. Truth be told he didn't recognise them or understand what they yelled out as a welcome that got the crowd whipped up into a frenzy, but he certainly did recognise the light scattering of chords that rung out across the arena.
Sleeping sun.....
Deidara caught Itachi's eye in the brief moment that a spotlight flew over them and grinned. And the Uchiha remembered why he'd agreed to come along to this alien place: He loved this band!
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It had been insane! Strobing lights, flashing colours and a veritable wall of sound all added to the crush of bodies as people had thrown themselves around and screamed along to the songs. Itachi had even found himself dancing and singing along like the others – a fact that surprised him, although it did seem to correlate with the warm fuzziness in his head; was cider really that alcoholic? Well, to his untrained metabolism it certainly was!
It was probably the envelope of alcohol that stopped him from protesting too much when Pein dragged them all towards a near-by bar. Deidara had been hanging off of Sasori's arm when they had made their way over to the building, but now bounded up to Itachi and forcibly pushed him inside.
The interior was very similar atmosphere-wise to the stadium they'd just left: dark, noisy and very very crowded. However, it seemed that the gang were fairly well known there, since a group of people hurriedly offered up their table. Once again Konan bounded off to get drinks – this time dragging Sasori along to help carry them back. Itachi slunk into the darkest corner of the table and stared around at the room in awe.
The decor had obviously been modelled on the romantic idea of a vampire's castle, with a little bit of medieval-torture-chamber-charm added for good luck. Black carpet, blood red walls and black high-vaulted ceiling. And those were the boring bits. Deep burgundy velvet curtains hung from alcoves, accented by flaming torches and sconces and wherever a wall looked bare an implement of torture was proudly displayed. Itachi – having been one of those kids who had researched these things in all their gory detail – recognised racks, scavenger's daughters, thumbscrews, cat-o-nine-tails and even an iron maiden stood in a corner with the spikes being used as a coat rack.
He was shaken out of the awed stupor when Deidara nudged him.
"Cool huh?" The blonde grinned, gesturing around at the gothic wonderland. "Apparently one or two of the pieces are real, how amazing is that?!"
"They certainly give the place a certain atmosphere." The Uchiha said carefully. His friend laughed.
"Yeah, it took me by surprise the first time I came here, but you get used to it. And it's the only pub in this whole damn city that plays decent music!" He waved his hand towards the skull-shaped speaker that was blaring out Paint it Black. "They only play old rock and death metal stuff here, no new crap."
Itachi nodded – in that case it probably the only place in the city that would play music he'd know. His music knowledge seemed to stop in the eighties, with minor exceptions. He jumped when a glass was placed infront of him, and he looked up to see Konan grin.
"There you go; it's a JD and coke." She said, sitting down next to him and handing Deidara a shot glass of black viscous liquid. "And a Sambuca for you Blondie, although I should warn you; the others have started on the Absinthe." Deidara looked shocked and glanced at his friend to see what the Uchiha thought of that news. Itachi was frowning at his glass.
"Itachi, what's wrong?"
The Uchiha grinned weakly. "You two are going to have to translate all those names you just said." He explained apologetically.
Konan laughed. "Of course! I keep forgetting that you haven't been with us for long, it seems like I've known you forever!" She put down her own glass of what appeared to be brown cream. "Okay, JD stands for Jack Daniels – it's a Tennessee whiskey, but since it's with coke it's not going to kill you like that whisky did earlier." She stifled a giggle at the memory. "Dei's got Sambuca, which is aniseed liquor – and a rather acquired taste. The absinthe the others are all hitting is evil! I refuse to touch the stuff!" At Itachi's questioning look she sighed and went slightly red. "I'm a bit of a lightweight." She admitted. "And absinthe is Wormwood liquor. It's the strongest drinking alcohol known to man – that one they're on is 80% proof!"
Looking at the green stuff the other members of the gang were downing one-by-one, Itachi had to agree that it looked lethal. Turning his gaze back to Konan he gestured at her drink. "And what about you?"
"Bailey's." She chirped happily. "Irish cream liquor – best drink in the world." It seemed that on top of the beers earlier she was already somewhat tipsy, since as she said it – waving the glass around – some sloshed over the rim onto her black skirt. "Oh damn!" She began to scrub ineffectively at it with her coat sleeve.
"Here." Itachi closed his eyes and held his hand out in the direction of the bar. A moment later a bunch of napkins shot into his palm as if magnetically attracted. He handed them to Konan, who merely stared at him. "What?"
"That just seems so normal to you doesn't it?" Deidara stated lazily. "You still have no idea how cool it is to just summon something over like that!"
"Well you appear to be growing used to it!"
"I know, I must be spending too much time around you." The blonde grinned and downed his shot in one.
Konan stood up between them, newly acquired napkins in hand. "I'm just going to pop to the ladies then to clean this mess up." She said, and ruffled Itachi's hair, much to the Uchiha's annoyance. "Thanks 'Tachi." She clambered out of the maze of chairs and somewhat unsteadily made her way over to the toilets.
"She's going to break her ankle in those heels if she's not careful." Itachi muttered. Deidara laughed at the comment.
"Aw bless, you're such an old woman at times!" He draped an arm affectionately around his friend's shoulders and made a wide sweeping gesture with his shot glass. "All the women here wear heels Itachi, they've probably worn them most of their lives, they know how to walk in them when drunk."
The Uchiha shrugged. "I just hope she'll be careful, although I suppose Pein will look after if he's not unconscious." Glancing at their mostly-inebriated companions he lowered his voice so that only Deidara could hear him. "Dei, can I ask you what will probably seem to be a really stupid question?"
"Of course! It's my job to tutor you in the wide and wonderful ways of the world." Deidara said with a goofy grin. "What's the problem?"
"Those women over there keep staring at me."
"Huh?!" The blonde lifted his head to scout out the people Itachi meant and sure enough there was a group of giggling girls – probably school-girls – who were constantly sneaking peaks at the Uchiha. "Yeah, so?"
Itachi looked helpless. "Why are they staring at me?"
...
"You're kidding, right?"
The Uchiha shook his head. Deidara stared at him unbelievingly. "Well...they find you attractive."
"Oh." Itachi wrinkled his nose in distaste, a rather comical expression on his usually suave features.
"Don't tell me this has never happened to you before." Deidara asked incredulously. "With your looks you can hardly be wanting for female attention!"
"I don't exactly want the attention!" Itachi seemed almost horrified at the idea. "I've seen what happens to my little brother every time he steps outside the house, I don't want that!"
"But surely you've at least tried to attract a girl you fancy, or flirted." The blonde's intuitive senses told him he was grasping at straws.
Itachi's expression turned to one of disgust. "Why would I want to consort with such vapid and idiotic creatures as them?" He gestured over at the giggling group.
"Are you saying that you don't like girls?"
"No, after all Konan's a girl and I like her. I'm just not attracted to them."
Deidara's eyes widened. "Itachi...are you gay?"
"NO!!!" Itachi looked alarmed that his friend had reached that conclusion. "I'm just not attracted to anyone, but definitely not men!"
"You now sound homophobic..." Deidara said quietly.
The Uchiha shook his head. "Not really, I just don't really understand...you know, homosexuality. My uncle was extremely homophobic and I suppose it's kind of rubbed off on me." He scratched the tip of his nose thoughtfully. "I guess I'm just not very open minded in those terms. If people want to get together with others of the same sex then I suppose it's their choice. I just find the whole idea rather...unpleasant. Icky. They freak me out. Childish of me maybe, but it's what I believe. I'm certainly not happy with the idea though. What's your view then?" He realised that there was a deep silence next to him. "...Deidara?"
The blonde had sunk right down in his chair – an almost visible black cloud over his head. Even to the socially retarded Itachi it was obvious that he'd said something very wrong. It took a few moments for him realise why his friend was suddenly so depressed.
"Dei...?" He asked softly. "Oh God, Dei, I'm so sorry, I hadn't realised."
Deidara shrugged ever-so-slightly. "Meh."
"Really, I'm so sorry." Itachi ground the palm of his hand into his forehead. "I feel like such a berk!" he groaned.
"It's not your fault." The blonde muttered – just on the threshold of hearing.
"It really kinda is."
"No, you were just brought up to have all the conversational tact and subtlety of a rampaging rhino. It's hardly your fault if some bloody stupid morals and dumb ideas were added into the mix."
The insult stung and Itachi glared at his friend, only to see Deidara's one visible eye glitter up at him with humour. It seemed that the blonde's sulk was more theatrics than true depression.
"Really, I am truly sorry, I must have offended you horribly."
Deidara pulled himself back up properly into his chair and waved a hand dismissively. "I get it all the time. It's just one of those things I've learnt to deal with." He raised a hand dramatically to his head. "Oh my life is so dreadful!"
Itachi cracked a small smile. "I feel terrible now though, I am so sor-"
"If I hear you apologise one more time I'm going to deck you one!" The blonde grinned at his friend. "Look, how's this for a compromise: You agree to be a little more open minded and accepting to new and-" he sniggered "-icky ideas. I'm not asking for a miracle, just that you don't go all creeped out around me, and that we act like this conversation never happened. And in return..." He lent forwards with a wicked smirk. "I promise not to gay-butt-rape you. Deal?" He held out his hand.
Itachi had to laugh at the way Deidara had said the whole thing with a straight face. He shook the proffered hand. "Deal."
"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Konan reappeared, now with a damp patch on her skirt where she'd washed out the spillage.
"Just me trying to introduce Itachi to the meaning of life." Deidara said with cheeky grin.
"Ah, that would be 42."
Itachi laughed. "And here I am, brain the size of a planet..." He said with dramatic woefulness. Konan giggled and Deidara looked between them cluelessly.
"I don't get it..."
The Uchiha sighed. "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, it's a comedy classic!" At the continued blank look from his friend he tried to expand. "It was a radio show, a few films...you must have heard of Douglas Adams!"
Deidara shook his head with a cheerful grin, leaning over to steal a sip from Itachi's drink. "What can I say, I'm uncultured!" He said it like it was a fact he was proud of. Konan rolled her eyes.
A bell rang at the bar, making the three of them look up, although the rest of the gang were too drunk to notice it.
"What's that mean?" Itachi asked.
"Last orders, they're closing the bar now." Konan replied. She glanced at her nearly-empty glass, the debate clear on her face as she weighed the pros and cons of getting another drink. In the end she just shrugged and downed what was left of her original one. "Come on, let's get out of here – we still need to somehow get that lot home." She indicated to the snoozing group of guys at the other end of the table.
Itachi and Deidara looked at them too, unsure at how they were to accomplish such a task. It looked like Sasori was unconscious!
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In the end it had been relatively simple; they'd shaken Kakuzu – the largest of the group – awake, since none of them would have been able to move him. Itachi had half-supported Hidan, who was singing drunkenly about a little goblin, Deidara dealt with Sasori and Konan supported her brother whilst Kakuzu staggered around in little circles with Kisame hanging off him.
It took forever to bundle the drunken group onto the bus – which was thankfully empty since it was half two in the morning – but once in the bus the five simply fell asleep again. The ride home was somewhat serene after that.
At the village Konan and Kakuzu took charge of the way-ward gang and managed to get them off the bus – with much help from the kindly driver – and waved bye to Itachi and Deidara. The two friends left at the next stop and began walking back up the hill towards Itachi's house where Deidara had abandoned his car all those hours earlier.
"Full moon tonight." The blonde stated, looking skywards.
"Well observed." Itachi was still feeling the pleasant affects of the alcohol, and giggled rather childishly.
"Yes, but isn't a full moon magical or something? That's what all the fairy-stories say!"
"You believe in fairy-stories?" The Uchiha asked with a snigger in his voice. However, when Deidara pouted at him he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine then, I do know one trick, give me your hands." He held out his own.
Deidara grinned and did as he was asked. Itachi took his hands and looked up at the full moon.
"Okay, I hope this will work, It' supposed to be done in candle-light, but moonlight should suffice." He said, somewhat distractedly. "Alright then..." He began humming quietly under his breath to get the tune right and then started to chant softly. To Deidara it just sounded rather pleasant, but it was actually ancient Latin sung in the Gregorian sect.
Then there was a spark, so brief that it appeared to be a flicker from a street lamp. Then another followed it, leaping up from their joined hands.
"Oh...." Deidara breathed in delight as a fountain of silver stars erupted between them, shining and glittering as they flowed over onto the pavement and died. He looked up at Itachi, his blue eyes silver in the light and aglow with the enchantment and the beauty. "How are you doing that?"
"It's a simple enough trick." Itachi replied with a smile. As he stopped chanting the fountain slowly dissipated and died away until only a few sparkles remained dancing on their hands. Deidara raised his hand up to his face and stared at the final glimmer on his fingers as it finally faded away.
"That is amazing!" He grinned at his friend. "You never cease to amaze me. How did you do that?"
"I don't know the technicalities, but when I do it by candle-light the fountain's gold, so it's obviously affected by the light source. I'll teach you how to do it at some-point, just remind me."
Deidara grinned and nodded enthusiastically.
They made their way on up the hill, Itachi walking with a bit more of a bounce in his step, and Deidara practically skipping. It was only when they were half-way there that something appeared to go wrong.
The blonde slowed down, a look of uncertainty crossing his face. Itachi – in his partly inebriated state – found the expression hilarious and began laughing.
"What's wrong now?" He asked with a cheerful grin. However the smile faded when Deidara turned to face him. The blonde had paled enough to rival Hidan, and it was obvious that he was now stone-cold sober.
"Can...can you hear that?" He asked quietly.
"Hear what?" Itachi looked around the deserted street, but there was nothing visible or audible. He stared at his friend again; well aware that Deidara could pick up on things that he couldn't. "What is it?"
Deidara turned his head this way and that, straining to catch the sound again. "It's like someone is screaming." He whispered. "It's getting louder too, like it's coming closer."
"I still can't hear anything."
The blonde clamped his hand over his ears. "It's like it's in my head!"
Itachi felt completely lost. "Where's it coming from?"
"I don't know, somewhere up the hill."
The Uchiha had no doubt that this was one of the cases where Deidara's unique talents were being exploited. He personally couldn't hear a thing, but his friend appeared to be nearly deafened by the phantom noise, and he knew not to ignore such a sign. "Come on then!" He grabbed Deidara's sleeve and began dragging the blonde. "See if you can pin-point the location, someone may be in trouble."
Deidara merely nodded, allowing himself to be pulled up the path as the bodiless voice continued to howl in his ears. As they drew level with the top of the hill and Itachi's street came into view he stopped dead.
"Oh God..."
"What?"
"It's coming from your house." He whispered. "Anger, fear, pain... So much pain."
Itachi felt his heart stop at Deidara's words as a memory flooded his mind: his parents were out for the night, so Sasuke had leapt at the chance to throw a house party...
Fear gripped him as he began to feel that tell-tale prickling across the back of his neck whenever he was around a strong psychic energy.
"Oh hell, Sasuke..."
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*Scratches back of head in embarrassment* Okay. So I meant to update before Christmas, I really did. But then my internet went screwy, and I had huge huge HUGE amounts of revision and......yeah.
So anyways. The second chapter is already being written and will be up within the next fortnight (really!).
And another thing – the places mentioned here do actually exist. They really do melt the ice off the rink to make the concert arena, and the bar is called the Pit and Pendulum and is AMAZING!!! (best cocktails ever)
So mucho love to you all, and big hugs go to my ever-so-darling Manu for betaing this bugger, and to my little Squid for being a hormonal, stressed-out-by-coursework-and-boyfriends little sister ^_^ (and she's now going to kill me for announcing her problems to the world...)
Xoxoxoxox