We've finally reached the Land of Snow. I never thought we would ever get there, what with all the blizzards and other miscellaneous obstacles taking up our time, and time is necessary to our mission. Lucky thing we left a few days earlier than Leader-sama had requested. Otherwise our hides would be tanned by now.
Leader had assigned us to assassinate a man, named Atasuke Kamata, but we haven't been given enough information about the man to even find him. Sasori has come up with a plan to find out more information about him. We're to disguise ourselves as friendly travelers, simply looking for a friend of a 'friend' to retrieve a valuable object taken from our 'friend.'
Before Sasori and I head into the village where Leader-sama told us Kamata lived, we had to stop and disguise ourselves. I kept my hair down, wore some strange blue-green outfit that matched my eyes, and adopted the name Dayu, whilst Sasori dressed as a younger boy – since his body was smaller than mine and he looked younger – and was clad in brownish red. He picked the name Satoru. We purposefully chose those names as such so they wouldn't be difficult to remember.
Sasori made me take off my removable camera from my left eye before we entered the village. I'd forgotten to take it off; hurriedly I stashed it in our packs, smiling sheepishly at Sasori. He smiled back, blowing me away with that beautiful smile of his.
We checked each other over, making sure we weren't recognizable – which seemed to take forever, now that I think about it – before we finally entered our desired destination.
The watch at the gate stopped us. "Names and identification, please."
My stomach lurched. I didn't realize that he would have asked for identification. I glance at Sasori, and I smile at the guard.
To my great surprise, Sasori holds out two small identification cards. When did he make those? Maybe his wooden body can do more than just carry weapons.
The guard lets us pass, nodding and handing Sasori the identification cards. I heave a huge sigh of relief as I pat Sasori on the back.
"Sasori, there is more to you than meets the eye…"
At that, Sasori hit the back of my head. I wince as I remember what I'm supposed to call him.
"Sorry, Satoru. I-I forgot."
"I'm sure you did, Dayu."
We find the nearest ramen shop, seeking shelter from the cold as we walk through the icy streets. I need food and warmth, which Sasori probably can't provide, so we go through the regular drill. Stop at the food shop, order some food, and make small talk. Work into a pleasant conversation, and ask about something in particular in town – in our case, asking about Kamata.
"Good evening." The shopkeeper smiles warmly at Sasori and I as we take our seats. I respond by exchanging smiles and give her my adopted name.
"Good evening to you too, ma'am. I'm Dayu, and this is my cousin, Satoru. We're travelers who happened to be in the area, so we decided to stop by, to visit a friend of a friend, un."
"Oh, I see."
So we talked as I ate. At one point she inquired why Sasori/Satoru wasn't eating anything, and he responded with a simple, "I'm not hungry, plus I'm a vegetarian – I don't eat meat, nor do I like ramen much."
I finish my bowl of steaming ramen. I've scalded my tongue a few times, which didn't feel pleasant on my frozen tongue. Which brings me to the subject of hiding the mouths in the palms of my hands. Not easy, I'll tell you that, because if it lets out that I have a few extra mouths then my identity might be revealed.
After we've gathered as much information as we safely could from the shopkeepers, we headed out, in search of an inn to stay the night. It's not pleasant to sleep in the freezing cold – we wanted to sleep in a nice warm bed tonight.
We settle for a small place at the edge of town. We decide on just one room, since it would be suspicious if I didn't spend the night with my 'cousin.' Sasori didn't seem to have a problem with it.
I place our traveling pack on the only bed in the room. I glance at Sasori as he flops down on the bed, his arms eagle-spread across the sheets and his eyes closed.
We sit with nothing to do for what seemed like an endless amount of time. I glance at the clock, then glance outside. It's dark, but it was only five in the afternoon.
"Sasori?"
He grunts in response.
"Do you think we should go into the main room at the inn to try and gather more information, un? We need to know more about this guy. I mean, we know that he's a well-known trader, and we know that he ships goods like produce."
Sasori opens his eyes. "I think we can conclude that our target is a rival of our client… yeah, let's go into the bar and see what the locals have to offer.
"Wait. How old are you supposed to be? Seventeen?"
"No, around twenty or so. That's what I put on my identification card. I put you as twenty-seven."
"Do I really look that old?"
"No, you look your age."
"I don't believe you, un."
"Well, let's go into the bar. Take your card."
"Stop changing the subject."
"No. Let's go."
I roll my eyes at him. Sulking out of the room, I fold my arms across my chest. I follow his delicate figure down the hallway, down the steps, and into the inn diner.
We sit at the bar table. I order some sake as I take my seat, sitting next to someone on purpose. Sasori followed my lead, taking the empty seat on the other side of me. I shift around in the stool as I make myself comfortable, thinking of how to make small talk.
I notice that it's a woman I chose to sit next to. She was reading a book, as well as eating a plate of Rangoon. I clear my throat, and decide to ask her what she was reading because the cover seemed interesting.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but could you please tell me which book you're reading, un?"
She looks up, startled. Her eyes meet mine, and I smile softly at her. She checks the cover of her book, and holds it up to me.
" 'The Tale of the Hare'? Sounds interesting. What's it about?"
So we talked from there. Her name was Mae, and she wasn't to my picky tastes at all – to be more specific, I didn't like her at all. I couldn't stand her – she wasn't pretty, she had no appreciation for art, and the book she was reading seemed extremely boring. Her voice was monotone, and she didn't look at you eye-to-eye, which is very dishonest, in my opinion. Every so once in a while, Sasori would elbow me to remind me of our goal, to keep it short. I drank a little as we talked, and it soon became clear to me that she'd started to like me. As soon as I realized this, I got straight to the point.
Kamata worked in a warehouse nearby, apparently, and was related to Mae somehow. I think it was a third cousin once removed or something. She gave us his exact location, and we learned that he needed chefs or servants for hire. I glance at Sasori, and silently we nod in agreement: get a temporary job.
We head back to our room. Mae tried following me to my room, wanting to 'talk' some more. I shook her off, though, with Sasori's assistance – we told her we had only one bed, and that I was gay to begin with. Discouraged, she resumed reading her idiotic book and ignored me.
Finally rid of that woman, I close the door behind me. Sasori and I sit on the creaking bed next to each other, discussing our plans for tomorrow. We must assassinate our target within twenty days, and we had eighteen days left in our limit. We had no time to spare, so we decided that in the morning we would visit the warehouse, claiming to look for a temporary job for enough money for a trip back to our homeland.
Time slowly creeps along as we talk. We've changed the subject a long time ago – now we're talking about our preferred forms of art. He thinks that art lasts forever, like his human puppets, but I think that true art is fleeting, lasting for only a moment. Just like my clay creations. I really don't mind that he thinks differently, really. I'm just glad that he's finally opening up.
My curiosity takes the better of me. I finally ask the question that's been burning my tongue since that time we pulled over to the side of the road.
"Sasori… is it true that you can feel things now? You're not pulling my leg, un?"
He looks at me, a confused look in his glassy eyes. "Of course, Deidara-kun."
I cock my head to one side, gazing at him curiously. Experimentally, I reach out with my hand and lick the side of his cheek. "Can you feel that?"
He screws up his face. "Yes, I felt that. It was warm and wet. Kind of unpleasant, in a sense."
I smirk in satisfaction. I pinch his side, and he jumps. He definitely felt that, I know for sure.
An idea dawns on me. I chuckle throatily as I slowly approach him. I lean towards him, my fingers outstretched. Sasori leans away from me, but it's too late; I pounce on him, tickling him and making him laugh so hard that he was gasping for breath.
I continued my assault a few moments after he recovered. He was prepared this time, though. He started tickling me, and, being as ticklish as I am, I couldn't help but curl up and try to make him stop. We wrestled, we attacked, and, amidst the confusion, we fell off the bed. I found Sasori on top of me, turning as red as a beet. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as well, making me turn red as I radiated heat.
We stared into each other's eyes for several moments. I brought my hand up to his face, stroking it with my thumb. I was cautious this time to not lick him. I wanted Sasori, I realized, as I caressed his smooth cool face. He cleared his throat nervously, smiling sheepishly, obviously feeling awkward.
Just when he didn't expect it, I pushed him off and flipped him onto his back. Oh, I was ever so tempted to get on top of him and start kissing him, but I didn't want to rush things. After all, he'd never really been in a relationship before. I don't want to scare him away.
So, I decide to get back up and brush myself off. I glance at the clock. We've been talking for a long time… because we started talking around seven and it's now ten thirty. I stretch and yawn, realizing how tired I am, and flop on the bed. I realized with a pang: I need to get ready for bed, which meant undressing in front of Sasori. I can feel myself turning red again.
Normally I wouldn't be bothered by this fact. I'd done it a few times before, but that was only stripping off my shirt. We've never shared a bed before, and I tend to not sleep in anything at all. I have no clue what I'd sleep in now.
Which brings me to a new thing to wonder about. Did Sasori keep those vital parts, the things that defines a man? Or is he a puppet all the way? I want to ask him, but that's too personal and I don't want to get into his intimate life just yet.
I wait a few minutes before sitting up. I decide to just get it over with and strip down. Sasori was sitting on the floor, criss-cross, glancing at me as I remove my satin garments. I can see him turning red from the corner of my eye. I turn away, my own face turning red once more.
Down to nothing, I pull back the sheets and climb in. Damn, those sheets are cold… I start to shiver as I wait for Sasori to do something. He just sits there.
I flop onto my back. "Hey, Sasori."
"What?"
"Do you sleep at all?"
"Not very much, since I don't need it, but every so once in a while, yes, I do sleep."
"Oh."
I blow a bit of my blonde hair out of my face. I heave a sigh, wondering what to say next. I turn my head in his direction, since the lit lamp is behind him.
"When are you coming to bed, un?"
"I don't know. I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight. If you want me to, though, then I will."
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
My mind trails and I can feel blood rushing to my length. I bend my knees and sit up, trying to cover it up. It works, but not very well. I just hope Sasori doesn't get up and see before I relax.
Unfortunately, he does. He starts to undress as well, and I try my best to advert my eyes, but I can't help but wonder. My eyes wander over him, but I don't see much because he flicks the lamp off and crawls into bed.
I lay back down, my knees still bent. If anything, this is arousing me even more… Sasori's naked body next to mine… it does things to a man, you know. It almost seems like Sasori is doing this on purpose.
I shift around, laying on my side so my back is to him. His back is to me too, so I decide to experiment a little. I wiggle closer to him, trying to touch my back just a little to his. We meet, and he doesn't retaliate. I sigh, content, as I close my eyes to try to get some sleep. The last thing I hear before I'm enveloped in slumber is this:
"Good night, Deidara-kun. Sleep well."
---
"Wake up."
"Nnngh."
"Wake up, Deidara!"
"Mmmph… just five more minutes…"
"No, wake up NOW!"
Rude awakening, indeed. Sasori gives me a smack on my temple, making me shoot up in alarm and pain.
"What was that for?!"
"I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes! If you don't hurry up, we'll be late for applying for that job!"
"What time is it now, un?" I glance at the clock. Eight twenty. Realizing what time I was supposed to wake, I shoot out of bed and grab my guise. Getting ready in the mornings doesn't take as long as it normally does, since I don't have to put my hair up. I still have to brush it, though. I don't care what anyone says about my hair – I love it just the way it is.
We take naught five minutes to get ready. We rush out the door, locking it behind us after leaving a note on the door saying that we desired no entry for cleaning. After all, we left our pack in there and we don't want anyone discovering our Akatsuki cloaks.
The nipping air bites my nose as we step outside. Immediately I freeze up, forgetting exactly how icy it was outside in the Land of Snow. Sasori glances in my direction, checking if the coast is clear. He nods, giving the okay, and we head off in the direction of the warehouse.
Seventeen days. Not much time…
Not much time, though it may seem like it. Leader-sama was ever so gracious to give us such an amount of time… we usually only received ten days to do the deed. We need to get the mission done as soon as possible, as clean as possible and as undetectable as possible.
Now that I think about it, I wonder where Sasori put Hiruko. He probably put the old empty shell somewhere in the seemingly confining evergreen forest, where most people don't travel.
We move in silence for a little while, glancing at each other from time to time. I'm relaxed, confident about our current task. I'm to act as a submissive servant, under the command of Sasori. Sasori pretends to hear of Kamata needing servants, and offers his best servant to gain the favor of the infamous trader. I, in the mean time, plays the happy little part of the kind servant. Little does he know that we've planned to poison his feed, then leave without warning.
The poison that Sasori concocted is certainly one of a kind. It takes three days to take effect, and once its lethal symptoms are detected it's too late to save the victim. Brilliant solution, if I do say so myself… the perfect assassination weapon of choice.
Now we're standing outside of the warehouse. It's much larger than I had expected. Standing about thirty meters tall (or, as some prefer to say, about ninety feet) and the metallic surface reflecting the blindingly bright sunlight, we make our way towards the building. It's hard to see in all this white – the snow mirroring the sun makes it difficult enough to see.
The building is warm. Immediately color flushes to my face, that strange sensation I get whenever I come in from any cold snap. Our footsteps echo in the long decorated hallway, our eyes drinking in the embellishments with care. Clearly this man is not lacking any money, nor did he have any artistic taste in décor whatsoever. I stick my tongue out in disgust, making a small noise to illustrate my expression.
We walk a little more. I'm bored by now, and my hands are just itching to mould a small work of art and blow up the entire building. But I must stick to the plan, and stick to the plan I shall.
A long time passes as confusing activities endure. Basically, I get the job. Sasori had to talk to a few people, and I had to act all quiet and whatnot, but I got the job nonetheless. Exactly what we wanted.
