A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter. Sorry if it was too long...I just didn't deem it necessary to break it up. Besides...it fit together rather nicely. In my opinion...anyways...enjoy the next chapter. And I forgot to mention...Deidara doesn't have the scope on his left eye yet. He will in time though. Trust me

Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted

Chapter 2: Join or Not?

It was the next morning and Deidara had barely slept between the nightmares and terrifying memories plaguing him throughout the night. He heard a soft voice calling him from his slumber. It sounded so familiar, yet so foreign. The voice called him again. Deidara's eyes fluttered open. He looked around and saw Sasori hovering above him, standing by the bed, leaning over Deidara. Deidara looked up at him. "Sasori, un?" he asked sleepily. He blinked a few times until his eyes were finally adjusted to Sasori's form hovering above him. He stared down at Deidara and Deidara stared up at him. "What time is it?" he asked, still sleepy.

Sasori's expression changed to that of annoyance. "About noon. Get up. You need to eat before the fight," he said sternly. He got up himself and walked back over to the table he was messing around at last night. Deidara sat up and held his head. He had only gotten about three hours total sleep last night. Why the stupid leader had to set the fight for today, no one knew. Maybe he was about as impatient as Sasori. Who knew? All Deidara knew was that this was not going to be good. His thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages of joining Akatsuki had a part in him not sleeping too. He weighed out the options while he laid there in the darkness. Neither of the choices seemed favorable. But then again...what other choice did he have? His life would be miserable no matter what he did. So what did it matter?

Deidara dragged himself from bed and stretched, his shirt rising up a few inches. A faint odor hit his nose and he followed it to Sasori's table. It smelled sort of...odd. He walked over and looked down at a purple liquid. "Poison, yeah?" he asked. Sasori jumped a little and looked up at him with a glare. He nodded and Deidara nodded too. He stood up completely and looked around the room. "Shower?" he asked.

Sasori sighed. It was clear that he would not get any work done with the brat asking him questions like crazy. He stood up after finishing his poison and looked at Deidara. He started walking out of the room, Deidara in tow, and walking down the hall. He stopped at a door and nodded his head to the door. He looked Deidara over. Sasori rolled his eyes. "You clothes will be on the bed when you return," he said, answering the unspoken question. He started to walk off.

Deidara stumbled around a few words until he shyly spoke, stopping Sasori in his tracks. "Thank you, un," he whispered shyly. Sasori stopped at those words. No one had ever thanked him. He looked at the blond over his shoulder and stared for a moment. He nodded and continued on his way. Deidara watched the red head leave and calmly went into the bathroom. He started up the shower and took his hair down. He was still covered in mud and other unmentionable things from previous experiences. He shuddered. His hair was matted and hard. Dirt clung to it. Leaves. Twigs. Everything earth-related. It disgusted the blond artist. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He lifted his bangs a little and frowned at himself. The left side of his face held a single bruise. This was the reason he kept his hair in his face. Orochimaru had beaten him so bad. His lip was sort of busted. He hadn't realized the extensive damage the vile snake-nin had caused until now. His face still looked feminine and attractive, but it was marred with an ugly bruise. Be had a bruise on his neck from where the bastard bit his neck, claiming him, he supposed. Either way, it sickened him beyond anything else.

Once Deidara felt the steam rise from how hot the water was, he stepped in it after disrobing and locking the door. He let the scolding hot water pour down on him, loving the feeling of being clean. He would rather burn off these markings than live another day with them present. It irked him. He had been used. Nothing more but a toy. A sex toy. A disposable object he could have sworn Orochimaru would have gotten tired of. He didn't. Deidara feared he never would. The water started to burn his skin and Deidara welcomed it. Dirt started falling from his hair and twigs and leaves followed suit.

Sasori sat in his room, concocting multiple poisons. He had been at work for a few days. Concentrating. Enjoying the silence so he could work in peace. Yet, for some reason, the strange blond was occupying his thoughts. And Kami knew how possessive he was over him all of a sudden. He didn't even know the brat and yet, here he was tempted to kill Orochimaru over him. Sasori shook his head, trying to shove the thought from his mind. He needed the utmost concentration when making poisons. If he were to screw up, it would blow up in his face. Figuratively speaking. Yet, he couldn't concentrate. He wanted to know why Orochimaru took such an interest in the blond Iwa-nin. He didn't seem too different to him. He seemed quite normal. But then again, Orochimaru had done the same to-

Sasori shook his head angrily. He let out a growl and turned back to his poisons. It was pointless in involving himself in other's problems. He could care less. No doubt Deidara would lose to Itachi and be forced to join the Akatsuki, but still. It was none of his concern what went on between his former partner and the soon-to-be member of Akatsuki. He leaned back in his chair. He was thinking too much. He let out an annoyed sigh and after a few minutes, went back to work with renewed motivation. He started to perfect the poison. He smirked at how easy it was. His work was cut short, however, when he heard a knock at the door. He grumbled something along the lines of "stupid team mates won't ever get any work done" and answered the door. As soon as he opened the door, a half naked, wet, blushing Deidara greeted him shyly. Sasori's eyes widened. Thank Kami he wore a towel. The ex-Suna-nin's eyes traveled over his muscular frame and he found he was staring. He quickly stopped himself and yanked the boy inside. "Stupid brat," he mumbled almost inaudibly. Sasori led him to the bed and sat him down sort of roughly. Deidara sat on the bed and rubbed his arm gingerly. Sasori had hurt him. He also seemed rather...flustered. The red head rummaged through his closet and picked out some suitable clothes for Deidara. He threw another black tank top and fish net shirt to him with some black pants and shoes. He went back to the desk and started to occupy himself in completing the poison he originally started.

Deidara started to get dressed and noticed that the clothes fit perfectly. He looked at himself and raised an eyebrow. 'Why do these clothes suit me so well?' he asked himself as he inspected his, or rather...Sasori's, wardrobe. He nervously and quietly glanced at Sasori. The man seemed to be purposely occupying himself to avoid Deidara. Had he done something to annoy him? Deidara was about to find out. "Um...Sasori, un?" he asked quietly. Sasori cursed his luck and, with an eerie calmness, put down anything he was working on to look at Deidara. Deidara averted his glance to the side and slumped forward. "Do you...hate me, un?" he asked quietly, unsure of why he even cared.

Sasori's eyes widened a little. He was about to answer but another knock came at the door. Sasori was really loathing this day. He angrily got up and went over to the door, once again, calmly opening it. He looked up at the person standing there to find Kisame yet again. "Hey. Leader says to get your asses outside now." Sasori nodded and looked back at Deidara. Deidara sighed in defeat and grabbed his pouch with his clay. He strapped it to his waist and put his hair up again, draping it over his left eye again. He followed Sasori and Kisame out and glared at everything he passed. They stopped outside and Kisame looked back at Deidara. "We're going to a field somewhere the Leader knows of so you can fight without being bothered. Of course, we will be there too. But still," he said, taking off swiftly. Sasori looked at Deidara and earned a sigh. Deidara took off almost as fast as Kisame and Sasori followed right behind.

They arrived at a barren field and Deidara skidded to a halt right next to Kisame. Every Akatsuki member from the day before was present. Deidara saw Itachi waiting a bit away from him and Deidara glared at him. Sasori took his place with the others and the Leader signaled for them to begin. Deidara wasted no time in throwing shuriken at the Uchiha. He dodged. Of course. Deidara was expecting this. He proceeded to stick his hand in the pouch tied at his waist. His gloves have been off since the shower. He let his hand rest inside, not wishing to give away his kekkei genkai secret so easily. After a bit, he pulled out his hand. In his hand was a tiny clay bird. He threw it to Itachi and put his hands up as if praying. The bird suddenly poofed large and Itachi's eyes widened a bit. Deidara smirked. The bird started to fly around Itachi. Though this was a shadow clone, Deidara would not allow himself to be fooled. As he started to scan the surroundings for another Itachi, he quickly pinpointed the Uchiha in a tree not far from the shadow clone, hanging upside down. He quickly made some clay spiders and had them run over to where Itachi was while making the Uchiha believe he was still fooled by the shadow clone. As soon as the spiders were in range, they easily locked onto the real Itachi without him taking notice. He smirked. "Katsu!" he said, detonating the spiders. A grunt was emitted as Itachi fell from the tree and to his knees. He looked up at Deidara and glared. Deidara smirked. Everyone's jaw's dropped, save the Leader's and the plant man. "I'm not an idiot, Itachi, un," Deidara said angrily with a smirk.

Sasori watched on, trying to refrain from interfering. But at the same time, he wanted to see Deidara's abilities. Maybe he actually could beat Itachi. This thought disturbed him a little. As he watched on, he saw that Deidara was skilled in explosives. Itachi just dodged and taunted him. Deidara had a short temper, but his fighting was rather impressive. He watched intently.

Kisame looked over at Sasori and smirked. 'He has definitely taken a liking to this one. I bet he's hoping that he'll lose,' he thought, returning his sight to the battle at hand. 'Kid's not that bad,' he mused again as another hit was landed on Itachi. Kisame's jaw just about dropped when Deidara started to fight seriously. He was using less explosives and more hand-to-hand. He didn't prove effective, but he was still impressive.

Itachi kept dodging the blond's attacks. He purposely let the blond's explosives hit him just to get his ego up so he would be easier to beat. Nothing ruined a fight quicker than an overly expanded ego. Itachi dodged all the hand-to-hand punches, kicks, and kunai attacks. He leaped backward and glared at the blond. He watched as the blond watched his movements. He had no choice. He would use his Mangekyo Sharingan and put the boy in his place. He pointed a finger at the blond. "You are too arrogant," he said simply.

Deidara growled and lunged at him. He started to slash at him with his kunai until a figure grabbed him from behind, pushing him into the ground. He grunted as he bit his lip. A voice he feared for so long started to talk to him. His eyes widened. He looked over his shoulder at the person and saw Orochimaru. His eyes widened as Itachi stood a few feet away staring as if nothing were happening. Orochimaru hissed in Deidara's ear and Deidara emitted a fearful scream, kicking and starting to flail desperately. Orochimaru forced said blond to his back and started to rip at his clothes. Deidara slashed at him with the kunai and growled. He got to his knees and proceeded talk to himself. "It's not real...it's not real...he's not here...he's not here."

Everyone watched on as Deidara muttered incoherently to himself as Itachi stood there watching, motionlessly. Kisame smirked and broke into laughter. "Itachi has him caught in the Mangekyo Sharingan," he laughed. Everyone watched on and Sasori felt his blood boil. He resisted the urge to walk over to Itachi and kill him. Merely because he didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

Deidara stayed on the ground. He started rocking back and forth, holding himself so tight his nails dug into this arms, drawing blood. His visible eye was extremely large. His face was that of a demented psychopath. He seriously looked broken. A few more minutes of this and the Leader was the one to call it off. "Alright, Itachi. You win. Stop it. If not, he'll be useless to us," he ordered, sighing in frustration.

Itachi released the Mangekyo Sharingan and blinked. Deidara still laid on the ground, holding himself and whimpering. He was shaking rather violently as he laid there. Sasori, having enough, walked over to him and knelt beside him. The Leader watched on. "Sasori. He will be your partner from now on. When you finally shut him up, his things are going to be waiting in your room," the Leader said before everyone walked away, leaving the two there by themselves.

Sasori looked down at Deidara. "Hey-" Deidara suddenly backed away in fear, staring at Sasori as if he had just seen a ghost. His whimpering grew worse and Sasori just stared on, wondering what Orochimaru did to him to make him this way. He sighed and walked over to Deidara, who was backed so close up to a tree, he could be confused as Zetsu. Sasori approached him and knelt in front of him like before. "Deidara," he said sternly. Deidara looked at him fearfully. He was still mumbling something incoherently and Sasori sighed again. He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and applied pressure. This was rather frustrating. He breathed deep and looked back at Deidara who had tried to suppress his whimpers and cries to almost nothing. Sasori watched him for a moment. "It's over. Calm down," he advised. Deidara slumped against the tree, pulling his knees to his chest. Sasori then noticed cuts along his arms. He quickly grabbed his arms and looked at them. He had purposely inflicted pain upon himself. Deidara weakly complied with Sasori, not having any fight left in him. Sasori grabbed Deidara's chin and forced him to look him in the eye. "Why did you do this?" he asked calmly, gesturing to his arms.

Deidara looked at his arms. He tried to look away, but Sasori held him firmly in place. Deidara looked into Sasori's eyes and saw concern and anger. He looked to the side and his tears stopped. His face still held sadness. "I didn't want to live anymore...un," he said in a voice that could barely be heard.

Sasori's eyes widened a little and his grip on Deidara's chin tightened. Deidara looked back at Sasori and Sasori's grip loosened, seeing that he understood he wanted him to look at him. "Why?" he asked simply. It came out harsher than he intended. Deidara flinched a little and Sasori tried to redeem himself. "Why?" he asked softer.

Deidara looked Sasori straight in the eyes. "Would you want to live anymore if your whole existence revolved around you being nothing more than some sort of sex toy to another against you will?" he asked seriously. Sasori's eyes widened. He stared at Deidara's pitiful face and felt compelled to hug him. He resisted, but only by a little. He lowered his head and Deidara laughed pathetically. "You understand, yeah?" he asked.

Sasori was silent. He looked back at Deidara for a minute before grabbing Deidara's wrist and helping him up. Deidara looked at Sasori with confusion and worry. Did he do something to anger the red head? If so, what did he do? Deidara started to stress. Instead of getting a slap or beating or anything of the sorts, however, Sasori just held him to his chest gently. Deidara's eyes widened, but then he started to cry against him. Sasori held him close.

It was a couple of minutes later until Deidara calmed down. He sniffled lightly and looked up at Sasori. "Th-thanks, un," he said, smiling sadly. Sasori nodded and grabbed his wrist, leading him back to their new home, that they alone shared. Deidara looked down at his wrist and blushed. He just kept quiet and followed Sasori. "S-Sasori, un?" he called quietly as they made it half way back. Sasori stopped and looked at Deidara. "You understand what I was talking about, yeah?" he asked, looking at Sasori shyly. Sasori nodded and waited for him to continue. There had to be more. He wouldn't just stop him right then and there and ask a simple question. No. There was more Deidara wished to say. And indeed he talked. "Is it...because you went through the same thing, un?" he asked sadly.

Sasori inwardly flinched. Why did Deidara have to be so observant? Sasori let out a sigh and nodded sadly. "Yes, Deidara. Now come on. We need to get home before it rains," he sighed, pulling said blond along. Deidara walked alongside Sasori, the red head still latched onto his wrist.

It was only another couple of minutes before they were back at Deidara's and Sasori's shared home. Sasori opened the door and led Deidara inside. They walked past the living room, down the hall, and to Sasori's bedroom. Sure enough, just as the Leader had said, there was a cloak and ring on the bed. Deidara eyed it suspiciously. "Er...Sasori, un?" he asked, walking over to the bed. Sasori acknowledged the blond. "I take it...I'm in the Akatsuki now, yeah?" he asked dumbly.

Sasori snickered lightly. He walked over to Deidara. "Yes. And you are my partner," he said in his ear. The blond artist straightened visibly and Sasori resisted the urge to laugh. He was so easy to tease. Sasori went back over to his desk before deciding against sitting down as of yet. "Let me show you your room," he said, walking over to the door. Deidara followed with cloak and ring in hand. Sasori led the blond down the hall to a door that was close to Sasori's except opposite the wall. It was also closer to the bathroom. It was tidy and up-kept. As if no one has ever been there. Deidara walked in and looked around. Black comforter with red clouds, black sheets, black and red pillow cases, desk to the right, window to the left. Dresser next to the desk. Night stand next to the bed. Pretty simple. Deidara took an instant liking to it. He looked back at Sasori and saw him looking into the room also. Apparently, he had never been in here before. "Try to get some sleep. Orientation is tomorrow."

Deidara nodded and looked at Sasori. "Sasori, un?" Sasori stopped again and looked at Deidara. "Thanks...for everything," he said, flashing a genuine smile his way.

Sasori's eyes widened a little. He saw Deidara smile. And it wasn't fake like all the other ones. It was true. Sasori noticed he was staring and suddenly turned around. "No n-need to thank me," he said gruffly as he left to his room.

Deidara smiled again and looked at the clothes in his hand. He sighed before putting the cloak on the back of the chair. There was an envelope with the cloak and Deidara raised an eyebrow. He opened it and saw a ring with the sign for "blue" like the chair before said. He read the note and sighed.

"Deidara,

Wear this ring on your right index finger at all times. From now on, you will be wearing the Akatsuki cloak and ring at all times unless it is otherwise necessary. Further information will be given at the orientation I am sure Sasori told you about.

Pein

Leader"

Deidara sighed again and put the ring on his right index finger. He looked at it and smirked. He laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling until sleep finally overcame him. He drifted off into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of his captor and the mysterious red head that saved him so long ago.

Sasori sat at his desk in his room, staring blankly at the wall. He couldn't get the blond artist's smile out of his head. Sasori was somewhat certain of his sexuality. He was neither straight, nor gay. Nor was he bi. He had never really been with anyone, so it was not completely certain to him. He knew that Itachi and Kisame were together. And that Konan and Pein were together. And even heard rumors from shark boy and Uchiha that Kakuzu and Hidan were together. The red head was not certain, however, if he were gay like the others. And even if he were, they wouldn't care. After all, if they did, they'd be a bunch of hypocrites.

The point was, Sasori was rather confused for once that he did not understand what he was feeling. Why did he blush like an idiot around the blond? Why did he want to step up for the blond so easily and frequently, for that matter? Why did he feel like he had to always look after the blond? Why did he daydream about him? All these questions ate away at Sasori. These were questions he didn't know the answer to. These were questions he was scared to know the answer to.

He sat there in silence until he heard a scream from Deidara's room. He bolted out of his chair and ran to Deidara's room to see him struggling in his sleep. Another nightmare. Sasori sighed and walked over to Deidara cautiously. He sat next to the blond and rested his head in his lap, petting his hair softly. Eventually, the blond calmed down and cuddled closer to Sasori. Sasori looked out the window, wondering how he had gotten himself into this whole mess...

TBC