Enjoy~!
Chapter 3: Frustrating Partners
Deidara led Tobi and Hitori down a series of halls. "You should really watch you mouth, un," Deidara said, looking forward.
Hitori raised an eyebrow. "I'll speak however I want, thank you."
Tobi jumped up, latching himself onto Deidara's arm. "No fighting, please! Deidara-sempai, be happy we have a new partner!" Tobi pleaded. Deidara grunted, trying to shake Tobi off his arm, in response as Hitori tried to stifle her laughter.
Deidara stopped walking as soon as he got Tobi off and looked at Hitori. "And just what are you laughing at, un?" Deidara yelled.
Hitori smiled and placed an index finger on the tip of his nose. She moved in close to his face and said, "You guys are silly."
Deidara moved away from her as a light blush spread across his cheeks. "No. Tobi's an idiot, un," Deidara replied. Hitori laughed as Tobi tried to convince Deidara that he wasn't.
Tobi immediately stood up straight. "Since Tobi has to call Deidara-sempai 'sempai,' does Hitori-chan have to, too?" Tobi asked, causing Hitori to scoff. "I don't think so. Let's stick with Deidara," she replied. Deidara shrugged in response. "I'm probably stronger than him, anyways," she added, causing Deidara's eye to twitch.
After a few more minutes of walking and Tobi being punched by Deidara, the trio reached a set of doors. "Here we are," Deidara said. He opened the doors and they all stepped inside.
Hitori was surprised by the brightness and good taste of the room. After long hallways and rock walls, it was nice to see couches, canopy beds, desks, and a radio. There were three beds and couches, one yellow, one orange, and one red of each. The walls were black, but the room was brightened by ceiling lights and candles. The floor was just a cave floor, with different items scattered all over.
Hitori walked over to the desk and saw clay all over it. She poked the sticky substance and her wrist was immediately grabbed. She looked up to see it was Deidara. "Don't touch that, un," he said. "It's highly explosive, yeah?"
Hitori cocked an eyebrow. "You're warning me about explosions? Oh, please. I'm the master of explosions."
It was Deidara's turn to raise his eyebrow. "Is that so, un? Mind proving it to me?"
"Is that a challenge?" Hitori asked, smirking. Deidara's response was a simple smirk. Hitori grabbed Deidara by the collar and pulled him closer. "Bring it on bomber-boy."
As they left the base, they headed into the woods. Hitori looked around. 'This is the perfect time to escape,' she thought. "Yes, finally Tobi can see Deidara-sempai's art!" Tobi exclaimed. Deidara rolled his eyes and reached into his pouch.
"Prepare to see true art!" Deidara said, pulling clay out. He formed it into birds with what appeared to be mouths on his hands, which flew off his hands high up into the sky before exploding. Hitori's scoff left him dumbfounded.
"That's not art," she simply stated, arms folded.
"Excuse me, un?" he choked out. She looked at him and repeated slowly, "That. Is. Not. Art." She rolled her eyes as his jaw dropped, taking a deep breath. "True art is something to behold, lasting as long as it possibly can, for everyone to admire. Art lasts a lifetime."
"You're wrong, un!" he stated, starting to get furious. "Art is a…bang!" he said, throwing more clay bombs into the air on the last word. Hitori shook her head and put her hands in front of her face, forming a sign. Instantly, the area was surrounded with different colored spiders, which were lifted into the air by Hitori's chakra, swirling and spinning in the sky in a multi-colored intricate design, a true instance of beauty.
Deidara gaped at the sight before him, but before he could say anything, the spiders exploded, first one by one in a circle, and then all of the rest in unison. Tobi was cheering in the background, trying to capture the falling sparks. Hitori smirked at Deidara's stunned face.
He turned to her and his face instantly dropped as he saw her smirking. He cleared his throat and put his hand in his pockets. "It's still not as good as my art, un," he muttered.
It was Hitori's turn to be dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"
"And what you just did was the complete opposite of what you said about art, un," he stated, arms folded. Hitori shook her head. "No, it wasn't. It was a true thing of beauty to behold, lasting as long as it possibly could." Deidara had no response to her logic.
Hitori bit her lip in thought and looked out into the woods. Deidara saw where she was looking and shook his head. "I wouldn't if I were you, un. There is no point in escaping; they'll find you no matter where you go, yeah," he said sadly.
Hitori looked at him shocked. "That wasn't what I was thinking," she said nervously. Deidara shrugged. "Sure it wasn't, un. Tobi, come on!" Deidara said, walking back towards the base. Tobi jogged to catch up with Deidara.
Deidara held up his hand over his head, waving it, back still to Hitori, walking away. "Do what you want, un. This conversation never happened, yeah?" Hitori simply stared at the two retreating bodies. Soon, they disappeared through the trees. Hitori bit her lip as she looked in the opposite direction of where Tobi and Deidara went. 'It's so easy,' she thought. She looked down, pained, then made up her mind. She looked up, eyes filled with determination, and began walking.
Deidara looked up from playing with his clay as he heard the door open. He softly smiled. "Good to see you chose us, un," he said to Hitori. She grunted in response and sat down on the canopy bed covered with red silk sheets and sheer black curtains loosely draped over it. She laid down, head spinning. 'Why didn't I run?'
