Deidara couldn't believe his luck. No questions asked and this Akatsuki member was willing to bring him along with him. Deciding to return the favor, he followed silently without inquiring as to the reason. Now he was glad he had chosen to take up his belongings before he faced Sasori – for some reason, he got the uncomfortable feeling that he wouldn't have been happy if Deidara had asked to go fetch his things first.
Speaking of his companion, Deidara had no idea what to make of him at all. He couldn't possibly be a very good ninja. He was really bulky and slow. Granted, he hadn't the slightest idea that he had confronted a sand clone so Sasori must be somewhat fast, but altogether, the appearance of this guy was a bit of a let down. But contrary to that, Deidara also found him to be intimidating and scary, just like he had imagined one from the Akatsuki to be. Especially since Sasori had discarded his hat, revealing a menacing face half-covered by a cloth.
That was another thing. He knew he had acted rather spontaneously and unwisely (at this thought he flushed), but Sasori had done absolutely nothing to stop him and merely got out of harms way. Not only that, but he was laughing when he exposed himself. It was as if this strange ninja was far superior to him and knew it.
Not to mention that he had called him a "brat." Deidara had long since considered himself such a thing and related the word to a small, disobedient child that had a tendency to whine. As far as he knew, he hadn't exhibited any of these traits. But he settled on not mentioning his resentment to the other and walking along in pouting silence.
Sasori, on the other hand, found his traveling companion unworthy of his time and effort. Although the fact ofDeidara willingly coming with him had aided his cause, Sasori had been traveling all day to get to this pitiful town and found himself greeted by what he deemed as a sorry excuse for a ninja, judging by what he had witnessed.
Now he had to make it home to the Akatsuki headquarters before it got too late. As usual, Kakuzu had refused to supply him with the necessary funds to secure himself a decent room at an inn should he require it and he didn't fancy kipping on the dirt. He picked up his a pace a bit – it took a lot of effort to get himself clean again after that course of action and he had much better things to do than spend hours scrubbing himself down.
Deidara noticed his older and scarier companion had begun to go faster and gotten a bit ahead of him in his inattention so he jogged a little to catch back up, earning nothing from Sasori, who seemed quite determined to ignore his very existence.
Plus, he hadn't really considered how long it would take to get wherever they were going or if they were even going to take a break at any point during the journey. Deidara already was a little low on chakra and a bit worn out from his last job in the Land of Waterfall so he would need some sort of rest before too long. It was yet another example of his inability to think things through to their ending consequences. Sighing, he reached into the satchel he had grabbed, his one and only extra possession, and took out a lump of whitish clay that he immediately began to work with his hands absentmindedly.
Aside from the light footfalls that could be made out hitting the hard ground just behind him, Sasori had no evidence the kid was even still following him. He didn't really care, though; he very much doubted Deidara would wander off after showing such zeal upon sight of his own conspicuous garb. In any case, the blonde was quiet – although the real reason for that was fatigue more than anything else. At least if he stayed behind him and kept up his silence, Sasori could enjoy the journey home and imagine that he was still alone.
He took to examining with mild interest the scenery he had failed to notice previously as a result of his earlier displeasure. Everything looked so old and untouched, just as it should. Though they wouldn't last forever, the trees and rocks in the gradually more forested landscape were the closest example of true art found in nature. With that in mind, he pushed out the last annoyed thought of his ridiculous mission and companion and instead continued to contemplate his surroundings as he plodded on.
Deidara, however, took no notice whatsoever of their backdrop as he worked on the clay. Still indecisive of what to create after an hour or two and having squished his first two ideas back into a shapeless mass, he settled on just playing with it with his hands. It gave him something to do while his mind raced as he followed the trail left behind the dragging cloak of Sasori.
Perhaps it wasn't such a grand idea to involve himself with known S-class criminals as he had willingly done. For all he knew, the laugh that Sasori had given him might have foreshadowed his fate and the moment he was in the company of other members he would be tortured and killed horrifically.
With his back turned to the blonde, Sasori missed the momentary look of horror in the bright blue eyes as the other imagined his doom. No, Deidara tried to reassure himself, no, if I was going to be killed, wouldn't this guy have already tried? His reasoning didn't help very much, so he instead redirected his thoughts to possible good outcomes.
Of course, he had been taken without question. Perhaps the slash through his headband that showed he was no longer loyal to his village made an impression on his companion. At least that way it was obvious he was at least a rogue and possibly a criminal. Either way, this is what he had been waiting for. There was a reason ninjas seldom acted alone – you only had yourself to depend on – and now he had a chance to finally work with others again. And if they needed a test, Deidara had his kekkei genkai to use to his full advantage. His palmouths hadn't failed him yet. A yawn cut through his smirk and he realized how much he needed sleep.
It was starting to get dark and he could feel his eyes begin to droop. Sasori was idly keeping track of their geographic location as he came up with ways he could make nature a bit more everlasting, vaguely aware of Deidara's presence. They must have been traveling for hours, neither of them speaking once. The blonde was contemplating just demanding they stop there and rest when Sasori halted suddenly and caused the exhausted Iwa nin to crash into him.
Sasori's bad mood returned instantly and he whipped his head around to glare at the other, the cloth over his face fluttering slightly.
"I-I'm sorry, un," Deidara stuttered as he regained his balance and put away the clay he had been holding. His voice was somewhat hoarse from the hours of misuse. "Are we…there?" In truth he didn't really know what 'there' was supposed to be, but he had hoped it was the Akatsuki headquarters. It did looked like there was something down below them but it was hard to see much in the growing gloom.
The two figures stood on a cliff overlooking an even higher rock face. Below them was a large pool of water with a small stream running out of it at the far left side to form a creek that meandered out of sight. Directly across from them and partially submerged in the water was a red archway in front of a large boulder that had a seal with the character for 'forbidden' on it.
"Hn," Sasori growled in response and leapt down to the water. Unwilling to be left behind, Deidara followed suit and the pair walked on the pool to the archway.
A few handseals from the Akatsuki member and a focus of chakra seemed to be enough for passage and the boulder moved to the side, revealing a dark hole in its place.
Suddenly nervous, the blonde edged closer to the hunched figure of his companion and with one irritated look behind him, Sasori walked into the newly created opening.
The water continued a ways into what opened up to become a vast cavern. The darkness was oppressing and at first Deidara couldn't see a thing – especially when the rock slid back into place behind them – but he could gradually make out things in the dimness. Not that there really was much to see save for two doors on the two sides of the opposite wall.
A form materialized in front of them both suddenly with a strange static-like sound, making the blonde jump backwards in surprise. Sasori, apparently quite used to this sort of thing, rolled his eyes before bowing his head. "Sir Leader, this is the man you asked me to bring to you."
His voice slightly blurred as if speaking through a telephone, the man replied in his rich voice, "Good, Sasori."
That's right, I never even got his name. So its Sasori? Deidara thought, briefly forgetting the current surroundings.
Seeming to lose interest in Sasori, the silhouette of the leader turned the unnaturally glowing grey eyes upon Deidara, startling him back out of his thoughts. "You are Deidara." It seemed more a statement than a question. Deidara nodded slightly, unsure of what was coming and wholly forgetting his weariness. "We have had many requests to eliminate the apparently elusive terrorist bomber." His voice held a soft and threatening amusement as he noticed the blonde visibly flinch as fear clouded his eyes.
Sasori looked up. This kid was a criminal? Given the previous display, he highly doubted that but…eh…whatever. Lowering his head again, he offhandedly tried to figure what Sir Leader had wanted with him. It mildly surprised him that he hadn't even thought of that before. From the sound of it, the blonde was supposed to have been disposed of – perhaps Zetsu had requested to have the target given to him instead of killing him. That seemed likely; Deidara had seemed completely useless otherwise so it could be assumed he was only meant as food.
"I was given a report of your capabilities, however, and I have temporarily decided against this." Deidara relaxed ever so slightly and the leader continued, "You shall be Sasori's partner in the Akatsuki until I can decide if you are worth my time and interest." Without another word, the hologram of Sir Leader dispersed.
Sasori looked up again sharply. What?! This fool had to be his partner? So that was why only he had been sent out to fetch him in the first place. His mood dropped through the floor and the nice quiet room he had been anticipating seemed stifling when he imagined another living in there.
Deidara heaved a sigh of relief. So he wasn't going to be killed! And that Sir Leader guy was gone – he had been really eerie and the blonde hoped he wouldn't have to deal with him too much in the future. And, it finally hit him, I'm an Akatsuki member!! He was so happy he could shout. He refrained, however, because he remembered how annoyed Sasori would be with him if he did. Oh yeah, come to think of it, they were partners now, so…
"Ne, Sasori-san, where do I sleep, un? I'm kinda," he yawned in the middle of his sentence, giving Sasori a strong urge to hit some manners into him, "tired, un."
Instead of striking the kid, Sasori turned away from him and began shuffling towards the painted door directly ahead of them in the far right hand corner. Deidara eagerly followed him, pleased that at least he didn't have to meet someone new for his partner – even if this guy was a cranky jerk.
The door opened into a lit room much more cheery looking than the "entrance hall." It opened to his right into what looked like a kitchen and ahead of him appeared to be a rather large sitting room. Yawning again, Deidara realized how little all of this mattered to him at the moment and he followed a still disgruntled Sasori up four flights of stairs to another black painted door with red paint spelling out, in neat hiragana, 'Sasori.' Sasori himself opened it and flicked on the light, revealing two beds.
"We will share this room. That," Sasori paused with an almost unnoticeable pained sound in his voice, "side will be yours, brat." He pointed to their left.
"Yay!" Deidara ignored the insult and leapt ahead of his companion, dashing to the bed and tossing off his shoes as he went. He was far to tired to notice the strangeness of the side of the room that was assigned to him or that Sasori twitched the moment Deidara stepped foot on the other side. Unconsciously, he shook off the thick layer of dust on the bed covers before slipping in, clothes and all. He fell asleep almost instantly.
Sasori sighed, suddenly regretting the mission even more deeply but with different reasons, before shuffling towards the bathroom on the right to ready himself for bed.
A/N: Sorry about the length. I couldnt stop half-way there!! Well, next time will be better, promise! And Dei-chan will meet the other members - and the secret of the strange room shall be revealed . Please review - the next part will come up that much faster.