The next day, Deidara and Sasori set out for a mission. Deidara was overjoyed to be going out on the road for the first time in forever, but Sasori's company was most definitely a mood killer. "Will you quit humming?" the redhead snapped from within the confines of Hiruko.
"Well excuse me for being cheerful, un," Deidara mumbled dejectedly. His happy bubble had been burst, as per usual, by Sasori.
"Did you pay any attention to what Pein told us earlier?" Sasori asked, attempting to tactfully change the subject.
"Erm, well…not really, un," the blonde sheepishly admitted.
Sasori let out an angry sigh and muttered something that sounded distinctly like, "Worthless brat." At an audible voice, he said, "Pein's given us specific instructions not to use your bombs for this assignment. My art will more than suffice for the job we've been assigned."
"Then why did Pein send both of us, un?"
"It's possible that I may need backup, but that situation isn't likely to happen. As I said before, my puppets can easily handle anything that may cause us problems, and would be more effective than you at close range combat anyway."
Deidara's stomach knotted at the words, and a lump formed in his throat. "I'm going to fly ahead, un," he murmured, hurriedly sculpting a clay bird and expanding it before Sasori could protest. He took off, and flew higher and higher until his danna was only a speck on the ground beneath him.
The blonde pulled his cloak tightly around himself, hugging his arms against his chest. He hated it when Sasori began talking about his puppets like that. Always they were flawless works of art in his eyes, and far more useful than the blonde. For every one compliment Sasori gave Deidara, he had dozens more on hand for his art. "Bastard likes those things more than me, un," Deidara bitterly said, knowing that there was no way Sasori could hear him speaking.
He looked over the side of his bird to stare down at the moving dot he knew to be Sasori. "It's not fair, un," he complained. "I always put you first in my heart. So how come I'm second best in yours?"
The sound of wind rushing around him was the only answer Deidara received.
-n-
Hidan swore as he was roughly thrown out of his room and into the hallway. "What the hell, Kakuzu?!"
"If you can't shut up, then get out of here!" the banker snapped, slamming the door shut and locking it for good measure.
"Sheesh," the Jashinist muttered. He rose to his feet, and began dusting himself off. "Don't talk, Hidan, don't turn the pages too loudly, Hidan, don't breathe so freakin' loud, Hidan!" He banged on the door angrily. "At least give me my Jashin-damned scythe, bastard!"
The door opened, and Hidan's scythe came flying through the air, promptly imbedding itself in the zealot's chest. The albino swore as the door closed again. "Son of a bitch," he growled, yanking the scythe out of his body in an agitated manner. "I can't do anything right around him."
-n-
Meanwhile, Kisame and Itachi were enjoying a day of heavy training in the woods. They'd stopped for a short break, and were currently sitting near the edge of a stream. Kisame was soaking his feet in the crisp, clear water, while Itachi reclined beneath a shade tree. "You all right, Itachi?" Kisame called out, looking over his shoulder at the Uchiha.
"Hn," the weasel nodded.
Kisame rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the brook in front of him. Of course the weasel wouldn't give him an actual answer.
The truth was, Itachi was about as far from all right as you could get. The last few nights had been spent lying awake in bed, trying to come to terms with the plan he was about to carry out. It had been a hard decision to make; even harder than carrying out the order to slaughter his clan in cold blood. But, like that instance, this was something that had to be done.
Quietly, the Uchiha rose to his feet, and slowly made his way over to where his partner was seated. He stopped just behind the shark and kneeled down, wrapping his arms around Kisame's neck in a gentle hug. "I love you, Kisame."
The shark pulled away and turned to face the weasel. "Itachi, what's-" but at that instant, his eyes locked with two blood red Sharingan pupils, and his world faded to black.
-n-
By the time Sasori caught up to Deidara, night had fallen. The blonde had built a small campfire for the duo, and sat close to the flames, staring at the dancing orange and yellow fire. "I take it you had no problems?" Sasori asked.
"Un," Deidara replied, not bothering to look up at the redhead. He heard a soft clinking noise, and seconds later the cold metal of Hiruko's scorpion tail was pressed against his cheek.
He knew that this was supposed to be a loving gesture from Sasori, asking if the blonde was all right. However, Deidara had had enough of his danna's puppets for one day, and the cool steel that still stank of whatever poison had last been used on it touching his face was more than enough to ignite his fury. With a growl he smacked the tail away. "Leave me alone, un."
Sasori didn't move, at first, but gradually retracted Hiruko's tail and curled it around himself like a cat would. Knowing that his danna probably wouldn't speak to him now, Deidara promptly lay down, turning his back on the fire and Sasori.
From his new position, he was able to see the enemy ninja just before they struck.
-n-
Itachi stared down at the form of his unconscious lover, sadness filling his coal black eyes. "It had to be done," he reasoned."When he wakes up, he'll grab Samehada and head back to base like nothing ever happened." Minus one very important thing, though.
Giving it not more than a moment's thought, Itachi bent down and kissed his lover's lips, before straightening and taking off into the forest.
-n-
Deidara swore as he backed over the coals of the Akatsuki's fire. He'd lost track of where he was stepping, and had now paid the price.
"Watch it, brat!" Sasori called out from across the battlefield.
"I wouldn't be having this problem if-"
"No bombs!" Sasori commanded as Hiruko sliced through another opponent.
Deidara growled another obscenity as an enemy kunai nearly buried itself in his chest. Most of the group was focused on defeating Hiruko, so the blonde fortunately only had to battle one person at the moment.
Realizing he needed a better spot to fight in, Deidara began backing up, and led his attacker into the woods.
Once he'd gained enough ground, the blonde extracted a shuriken knife from his bag and hurled it at the ninja. It hit him in the gut, just as expected. The man was not about to give up, though, and immediately ripped the blade away, before continuing the chase.
Cursing, Deidara ran further into the woods, relying heavily on his scope's night vision setting to guide him. As they ran along, he began to hear the sound of rushing water.
In a flash, a crazy plan formed in Deidara's head. A plan that he would never have considered under normal circumstances; hell, he might not have decided to carry it out even 24 hours ago. But now…now it sounded brilliant.
Deidara kept on running until he finally hit the stream. He stopped and hid, waiting for his assailant to catch up. When the man finally made his appearance, Deidara sprang from the shadows and immediately sliced his throat. The ninja died quietly, only making a few gurgling noises as the life left his body.
Deidara turned his head to look at the way the man had come. Sure enough, a trail of blood drops lay on the ground, leading back they way they'd come. After making sure a large puddle of blood had formed on the ground beneath them, Deidara hefted the ninja's body into the stream, watching as it sank and floated away. Everything was set.
Deidara walked onto the water, using his chakra to stay above the blue liquid. He muttered a soft, "Bye, Sasori," before taking off upstream.