Disclaimer: Go backwards.
Chapter 2:
"I'm faxing you the information I got on that Hiro guy now Itachi. Where'd you disappear to earlier? We waited for you at the usual spot." Hidan said before letting out a loud scream. Itachi could hear a crash on his end.
"Hidan, are you alright?" The Uchiha asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, I just spilled some coffee on myself." Hidan replied causing him to laugh. "Anyway, the information's on the way, so tell me, where were you?"
"Tala wasn't feeling well. I took him home." Itachi answered after stifling his laughter.
"That cute thing is sick?" Hidan asked sounding heartbroken. "Maybe I should make him some soup."
"Haha, very funny Hidan. Back off, I saw him first." Itachi retorted sounding plenty threatening to Hidan, even though he knew Itachi was aware that he was just joking.
"It was a joke man, calm down." He said switching to speaker so he could change his clothes.
"I know." Itachi said sighing. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me."
"Don't worry about it." Hidan chose not to take it to heart. "Seriously though, he's cute, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks so."
"What are you implying?" Itachi asked as he scanned through the papers Hidan had faxed him.
"I'm not implying anything. I just thought I'd give you a heads up that you're not the only one, who's going to be trying to get inside those pants." Hidan replied simply.
"Hn." Itachi was well aware of that all-right and he hated it. "Hold on a sec will ya? Dei's calling." He said switching to the other line. "Hey Dei, what's up?"
"Hey 'Tachi, not much, just wanted to make sure you were alright." Deidara said having been worried about his friend ever since Itachi had skipped class.
"Sorry I made you worry, Tala wasn't feeling well so I took him home. Hidan's on the other line. Hang on while I three way." Itachi said and switched lines again.
"Hidan Dei, Dei Hidan." He said once he was done.
"Hey." His friends said together.
"So Hidan, what'd you find out about that Hiro guy?" Deidara asked curiously.
"Hey I said I'd research him, I didn't say anything about it being of interest to me." Hidan replied simply.
"Okay...so what do the papers say 'Tachi?" Deidara moved to the person he knew would have to give him some answers and picked up his xbox360 controller unpausing the game he'd been playing before he called Itachi.
"Well it doesn't say much aside from his family and associated people and job." Itachi replied still looking through the information.
"What does he do?" Deidara asked.
"You know that spinning top game kids are so fond of right?" Hidan asked him.
"Yeah, beyblade. Tala plays it, and so do Garland and Brooklyn, but what does that have to do with Hiro's job?" Deidara retorted.
"He's a beyblade coach." Itachi said sounding rather unhappy.
"Hm, well that's a rather fun and noble job. He's good with children then, Tala has nice taste in friends." Deidara hadn't picked up on his friend's tone of voice because he was too distracted by his game.
"It's exactly what you're thinking Itachi." Hidan said knowingly. "That part I did bother to look at, and I did some more research on it. If you look at the next page there's a list of people he's coached on the back." He informed.
"Tala never said anything about Hiro being his coach." Itachi said chewing on the end of his pen trailing off in thought.
"Obviously you know something we don't. Spill!" Deidara snapped him out his thoughts with that.
"Tala's the leader of a beyblade team, a champion level team and Hiro has at some point in the past coached Tala's team and..." Itachi didn't want to say anything else. It wasn't his place.
"And what?" Hidan pressed.
"You two have to promise to keep this between us. I shouldn't even be telling you." Itachi said after a moment of hesitation.
"Itachi I'm your best friend, you can trust me." Deidara said easily.
"I swear to Jashin." Hidan added seriously.
"They used to be a couple. I took Tala to file a restraining order on Hiro myself earlier today." Itachi said after a sigh of defeat.
"Why would Tala have to do that?" Deidara asked pausing his game again.
"Hiro has a problem with alcohol. Although he has only drunk twice in his life, Tala felt it was necessary to break up with him." Itachi tried to keep the explanation as brief as possible, but Deidara wasn't having any of that and insisted the Uchiha tell the whole story.
"Fine, fine, but you two better not say anything, or I'll show you a whole new meaning to the word pain." He got a nice chorused exclamation of 'Spill!' after that.
"The first time Hiro drank, he beat Tala. Tala forgave him, on the condition that Hiro go to rehab. Everything was fine between them for two years after that, but last weekend, Hiro almost suffocated Tala to death the second time he drank. Tala didn't want to break up with him, but for his own safety he has." Itachi felt anger taking residence in his being as he explained, and prayed that he'd never meet Hiro, because he feared his anger would get the better of him, and he didn't want to give Tala the wrong impression.
"That's terrible!" Deidara exclaimed scared by the thought of anyone beating another being. "Tala made the right choice."
"Yes I know, and between me and you here's hoping I never meet that guy, because I might not be able to control myself if I do." Itachi said nearly cutting his palm with his nails from how hard he was digging into it.
"That's the kind of trash I'd like to kill." Hidan said in his 'I must appease Jashin' voice.
"Whoa there tiger, calm down, it's not our place to take the lives of others." Itachi reminded him, though he personally didn't give a damn this particular time, if Hidan did or didn't kill.
"Hn. That guy ain't got the right to call himself human." Hidan retorted. "Anyway guys I've gotta go, see you in the morning."
"Good night." Itachi and Deidara chorused.
"'Tachi, can I tell you something?" Deidara asked after a few minutes of silence. They were only still on the phone because Itachi could hear Deidara mashing buttons on his controller, and Deidara could hear Itachi scribbling away, which meant the Uchiha was probably doing his homework, and that was why the silence had fallen upon them.
"Huh?" Itachi asked, as he snapped out of his focus, on his math homework. "What is it Dei?" Something in his friend's voice told him this was going to be a serious conversation, and he was now concerned.
"Promise to keep it between us, I don't want anyone else to know this." Deidara said sounding like he was crying.
"I promise Dei, now tell me what's wrong." Itachi said letting his pencil hit his desk.
"I told you about how my dad wants to get married to Kushina, right?" Deidara asked getting up to go lock his bedroom door.
"Yeah. Your dad wants to pick up where he left off with his high school sweetheart if I recall right, and they had a kid together that you didn't find out about till last year right?" Itachi was curious now, because from what he knew of the situation, Deidara had no qualms with the idea of his father remarrying.
In the eyes of Deidara he was no-one to tell his father what to do. He was adjusting to the idea of Naruto the son Kushina and his father had thirteen years earlier, being his little brother rather well. Deidara had originally been furious at the idea of his father dating Kushina again, but after a while he'd lightened up considerably. Itachi pondered how Deidara could have gone from hating the idea of his father dating Kushina again, to tolerating it, being cool with it, and then all of a sudden be driven to tears at the idea of them together as a married couple. Something just wasn't adding up.
"Itachi, you know how my dad is always working right?" Deidara asked after locking himself in his bathroom.
"He's worse than my dad!" Itachi exclaimed remembering very clearly that he had only ever seen Minato six times in the entire time he and Deidara had been friends, and he and Deidara had been friends for twelve and a half years if memory served correctly.
"Yeah. Well she knows that too, and because of that she...Itachi she..." Deidara didn't get to finish as his dinner came back up, and he had to stop to hurl into his toilet.
"Are you alright? Dei!" Itachi cried out worriedly when Deidara wouldn't answer him minutes later.
"Itachi, she took my virginity away with a sex toy. She wants to use me as a play thing when he's not around once they're married." Deidara got those words out only to start having a coughing fit after. He felt sick, very sick.
"Dei, can you make it here or should I come get you? I don't want you in that house with her." Itachi got up from his desk and left his room.
"Let yourself in 'Tachi I'll leave the bathroom door unlocked. I can't even see straight anymore." Deidara said before the line went dead.
-En Route to Deidara's House-
"Stop the car." Itachi said rolling down the window.
"Tala, what are you doing out so far from home at this hour?" He asked the redhead with genuine surprise.
"I just had an urge to wander that's all. What are you doing out?" Tala countered.
"I'm going to get Deidara. Get in, I'll explain on the way." Itachi replied opening the door.
"Young master, may I ask what has brought on this need of my services at this hour?" The driver asked as he started to drive.
"It's up to Deidara if he'd like to give you the answer to that." Itachi replied closing the back of the limo off from the front half. The employed must never be spoken to unless necessary.
"So what's up with Deidara?" Tala asked deciding not to make any comments about the exchange between Itachi and his driver.
"It's personal, but I think you two have something you can bond over now. We should let him do the talking though." Itachi said taking his cellphone out and dialing Deidara's. "Come on Dei pick up." He bit out on the fourth ring.
"'Tachi, where are you?" Deidara asked picking up on the sixth ring just when Itachi was about to hang up. "I managed to pack some stuff."
"I'm on my way. I'm bringing Tala. I hope you don't mind." Itachi replied after a sigh of relief.
"I don't care, I just hope he doesn't laugh." Deidara retorted bitterly.
"Why would I laugh at you?" Tala asked taking the phone from Itachi having heard every word.
"Hi Tala. I'll explain once we're face to face, and really I hope you don't laugh." Deidara replied before another dizzy spell got to him.
"You okay?" Tala asked.
"Just dizzy. Hurry." Deidara replied ending the call.
"What's the speed limit here?" Tala asked.
"I have no idea, why?" Itachi asked.
"Hey you, driver, move over!" Itachi got his answer when Tala headed for the front of the car.
"Young master?" The driver looked at Itachi for help.
"Do you want to get to Deidara or not?" Tala asked the raven.
"Yes." Itachi replied quickly.
"Then let me drive." Tala said glaring the driver out of the seat.
"Whoa! Tala, you're going too fast!" Itachi exclaimed seconds later.
"This is nothing." Tala said easily as he sped up even more. Whatever the speed limit actually was Itachi had no doubt Tala had broken it.
"Whoa! You cut the time it should've taken to get here, into less than half." Itachi noted as he waited for everything around him to stop spinning.
"You my friend, just witnessed the reason why dad refuses to get me a car." Tala said eying the house in front of them.
"Which one of those windows leads to Deidara?" He asked.
"Haven't you ever heard of using the door?" Itachi retorted taking out the copies he had of the keys to Deidara's house.
"It's more fun my way, but fine, we'll use the door." Tala replied and followed Itachi to the front door.
"Itachi? What are you doing here at this hour? And who's this?" Itachi had to contain himself in order to avoid slapping Kushina. In all honesty he wanted to. She was having a martini behaving the same way she always did.
"Is Minato here?" He asked.
"You know Minato, he works so often that he doesn't know what's happening with his family at all." She replied. "Deidei's in his room."
"Have you been in there lately?" Itachi couldn't help that one, and headed for the stairs before his anger got the better of him, and he told too much. Lord only knew what Kushina could actually do if she found out he knew what she was doing to Deidara.
"Wait up." Tala said following him.
"Dei we're here." Itachi said opening the door to the the blond's room.
"Deidara!" Tala exclaimed spotting the blond faced down on his bed, and blood seeping all the way to the white carpeting and staining it heavily.
"Dei!" Itachi exclaimed pulling him into a sitting position.
"'Tachi, Tala...she stabbed me." Deidara whimpered as he pressed on the wound at his left side.
"Kushina did this?" Itachi growled out.
"Yeah...I don't know how much longer I can last 'Tachi." Deidara could feel his eyes going heavy.
"How did she even get in?" Itachi asked.
"Lock picking." Deidara replied before passing out.
"Shit. Dei, hang on, please! We're going to get you to a doctor." Itachi said laying him on the bed again.
"My house is closer than a hospital. We should take him there. Dad can help him." Tala said taking out his cellphone.
"Are you sure?" Itachi asked applying pressure to Deidara's wound with a towel.
"Positive." Tala said and called home. "Dad if you don't help me, I swear I'll kill you. Prepare to heal a stab victim, stat!" Not even waiting for acknowledgment that Boris had heard him Tala hung up and headed out of the room.
Itachi carried Deidara with great care, and followed him. Kushina gasped at the sight of Deidara, even grabbing the house phone to call an ambulance, and dropping her half done martini, but Itachi knew it was an act. Deidara had no reason to lie to him, and further than that it was simply not in Deidara's character to lie. Glaring at Kushina, he proceeded towards the car.
"I don't know how he ended up like that, but I hope your prints aren't on this thing." Tala said holding up a zip-lock bag with a blood covered tanto inside it.
"How did you?" Kushina's reaction was exactly what Tala wanted.
"You really thought hiding this thing in a flower-pot would be a good idea?" He asked.
"You can't prove anything." She said smirking.
"No, but the tanto can, and the fact you just said that,puts you one step closer to prison either way." He said showing her his phone.
"You!" She couldn't say much and started seething as he headed out the door.
"No lady, you did this to yourself." He said before closing it.
The drive to Tala's house passed by so quickly for Itachi. If Deidara died he would see to it that Kushina got her just desserts. Tala sat on the couch, while Itachi paced his living room. Boris was hard at work nursing Deidara back to health in the guest room on the second floor. Neither one of them changed tactic for two hours. Just when Itachi stopped pacing, and turned to ask Tala something, Boris entered the living room.
"Well?" Tala asked getting up.
"He'll be fine. He won't be in school for the rest of the week though, and it'd be best not to move him." Boris replied looking at Tala like he was surprised the boy doubted his skills.
"Can we see him?" Itachi asked.
"Yes. You go on ahead, it's the first door on the right." Boris answered and went to sit besides Tala, who knew he would want to talk, and had sat down again. Itachi had taken off towards the room almost instantly.
"Did you honestly doubt that I could save him?" He asked the redhead placing a hand on his shoulder.
"More like I doubted you would save him." Tala replied not able to acknowledge what was happening in his life at the moment.
"I told you I wanted to be your father did I not? You want to be as normal as you can. Weapon though I've made you, the blood of humans flows in you. I don't regret a thing, but maybe you're right, maybe trying things the other way around is the best thing to do." Boris sounded too sincere for Tala's liking. It was so awkward for him, this change in the evil mastermind.
"You can't erase what you've done Boris, life doesn't work like that!" Tala rose his voice clearly becoming angry.
"I'm not trying to." Boris retorted calmly. "All I'm trying to do is change. Believe it or not, I'm happy you're the way you are. You are far more perfect than I'd ever dreamed you'd become, though I still think the fact that you want love is preposterous."
"If you think it's preposterous, why are you giving me exactly what I want?" Tala asked.
"Because you're my son okay? My real son." Boris looked away from him after that.
"I don't look anything like you." Tala admonished after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"No, instead you are my eternal punishment for letting her die. I raped her. She got pregnant, and I left her at the mercy of men worse than me." Boris said bitterly. "Your mother was absolutely beautiful." He said handing something to his son.
"You weren't kidding." Tala said staring at the red haired, blue eyed woman in a black dress.
"Of course not. She was the only person I ever loved in my life Tala, and I let her die. Someone left you in front of the abbey one day with a note that it was her dying wish that I take care of you. I haven't done anything to grant her wish, except keep you alive for the past 16 years. In five years, you'll be moving on to live your own life, and my time to grant that wish will be up. For her sake, not mine, let me do this." Boris said unable to look at him.
"That's the problem dad, how can you possibly grant her wish if you don't love me?" Tala asked setting the picture down on the coffee table.
"I promised myself I'd never admit it to you, but you're wrong about that. Tala, there isn't a parent alive, mother or father, who doesn't love their child in some way." Boris still wouldn't look at him.
"Look me in the eyes, and say that dad. You owe me the truth at least." The redhead said after a few minutes.
"You think you can detect if I'm lying, just like that?" Boris asked and repeated himself as Tala had requested.
"Yes, and that's thanks to you. You're not a failure dad, and you're not lying. I won't shut you out of my life at 21, so quit your whining, and be my dad. I didn't think you were doing a half bad job to begin with, but I'm glad you told me the truth." Tala said heading for the exit of the living room.
"And thanks for saving my friend." Without bothering to wait for his father to say anything, the redhead headed for the guest room.
A/N: Here's an update. I planned on this being much longer but my friend Mandazu-chi decided to throw all of my energies for a loop today so it's short. Enjoy and please RNR!