Lilacs and Cyanide, Part Trois

Disclaimer: Naruto (c) Kishimito

Miya (c) AromaticPain [deviantart

Yuka (c) Me [Takika/Manixa-chan

Yuka calculated her chances. There was the redhead there now, as well as the other chick from the tavern, and someone else approaching--although it was casual and unhurried. She was careless and irrational, she knew, but not stupid. She didn't stand a chance. Grudgingly, she let go of Tobi and stepped back, facing Sasori head on. "Perhaps you should keep your little pet on a leash. He broke into my room."

Tobi slumped to the ground, crying. "I thought it was our room, Sasori-san! It's not like she was naked or anything!" He muttered under his breath. "I would have picked my eyes out or something."

Yuka glanced back. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Tobi squeaked.

Sasori gave a small 'tch' of disapproval. However amusing that last comment of his had been, they were in no situation to express that. "Tobi, why didn't you use your key? And if you didn't have one, why didn't you wait for the clerk?" He scolded his voice and expression now seeming uncaring.
He sighed and grudgingly held out his hand to help him get up. "Next time you should be more careful kid." Yes, 'kid' and 'idiot' were his nicknames for Tobi, much like he used 'brat' for Deidara.
He glanced over at Yuka. "He won't do it again." He stated.

"Sa-Sasori?" Miya muttered, frowning. Where had she heard that name before? Well, for a person, anyway; there weren't a lot of men named 'scorpion' walking around. She knew she had heard or read the name somewhere, but where? She was just sort of standing there, her hand moving away from the pocket. "Oh um by the way;" She looked over at Yuka, trying to block out the though of where she'd heard the redhead's name. "What happened to Arisu-san? The one from the tavern?" She asked, trying not to jump to the conclusion that something was going on. "I'm a um, medical-nin. If something's wrong with her I can help."

"...I knew of a Sasori once..." Yuka said absentminded-ly then turned to Miya. "Arisu-san?" Who was that again? Oh, yeah, the barmaid. "I regret to say that it is a bit too late to help her." She paused, realizing that that sounded very incriminating. "She's not dead. I don't think. She just, uh, thinks she is eloping someone and isn't here now." As odd as that sounded, it was the only way of getting rid of Arisu without harming her. Yuka figured the genjutsu would be wearing off any time now...

Deidara approached the group. Why was the barmaid and that other person from the tavern there? He narrowed his eyes. "Danna, you were hitting on her, weren't you?" Not that it mattered any...it was just odd seeing his Danna talking to women.

Yuka glanced at Deidara. "If you call that 'flirting' there's something wrong with you." Finding that an appropriate goodbye[who said she had to be polite? she walked back into the inn.

Sasori scowled. "Of course not, brat!" He stated with a glare; a bit too unusual. "I have more to do than sit around and flirt with people I do not know. Not that it concerns you, unless you're really that jealous." His tone was still uncaring and maybe he should have thought twice about his choice for words. Oh well, what was said was said. He pulled Tobi to his feet and, without a word he found his way into the inn. He hadn't forgotten his key or room number. If the other two needed anything they could find him working on one of his most recent puppets.

Miya was not sure of what to say. Yuka had left when she had quietly asked who that Sasori she knew. She looked uncomfortably at the three men and soon after one of them left she decided it was best to do the same. "Well uhm... I guess I'll be going now..." She said nervously. "I have scrolls that took me a while to find and won't read themselves!" She said as she walked back in and past the redhead, down the hallway to look for her room.

Yuka sat in her room, counting her money. She had nothing better to do at the moment. Sleep wouldn't come. Of course, she could induce sleep...but then if she were to be attacked...Gee, why did she have to be so paranoid?

It took her no time to finish counting her money. She had 20 in Fire money, and 175 in Wind. It seemed barely enough to get anywhere while traveling. This meant she would actually have to work. Lovely. She shrugged. She shouldn't complain. She chose this for herself...which was much better than answering to someone else.
Yuka grabbed a small notebook out of her jacket pocket and began writing. It always made her sleepy...eventually.

"...One more time, Senpai!" Tobi said, snuggled under his covers in his ducky jammies.

Deidara scowled at him irritably, tossing the children's book he held aside. "No. I've already read it twice."

"But I love the Little Mermaid!" Tobi protested.

Deidara rose and glowered at Tobi. "Go to sleep now, or so help me, I'll make sure you never wake up."

Sasori sighed irritably at the two. The second time Deidara has read the Little Mermaid for Tobi he mouthed the words; Tobi had asked for that story to be read so many times in the past that knowing it by heart was, at least in his case, inevitable. He sat over his covers, sealing one of his puppets in the scroll after making sure it was working properly. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling; being... Not quite a puppet, but not human either, he didn't need much sleep. In fact, could his actions even be considered sleep at all? He didn't remember it the same way as he remembered sleeping as a child; he just felt himself slip into unconsciousness, to a location darker than black. No dreams, no nothing.
Only to wake up when he somehow knew he had to.

Miya sat on the small bed in the room with a scroll open in front of her. She seemed very interested in what she was reading, but she could feel eyelids becoming heavier and heavier as time went by, and if she attempted to do anything written in the scroll it might go wrong.
She covered her mouth when she could no longer hold back a yawn and eventually closed the scroll and put it back on her bag which was placed on the ground next to her bed. It was her only possession at the time.
After looking around the room once more, as if she'd see her friends there as well, Miya finally shut off what small amount of light she had used to aid her in her reading and curled up in the bed under the covers, falling asleep soon after.

The next morning, Yuka woke before dawn, dressed in her ninja gear, tying her Sand headband around her forehead, slightly to the side, and gathered her few belongings she carried on her, and headed to the lobby. The inn served a small continental breakfast, so she helped herself to some coffee, made the way she liked it: coffee with a little sugar, milk, and creamer. She nibbled on a piece of dry toast while she looked over the morning's newspaper. Nothing interesting seemed to be going on the world at the moment. Only thing of interest was that the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara, has announced indefinite alliance with the Leaf. Yuka had actually forgotten that Gaara was the new Kazekage. It goes to show how long it had been since she left. But that didn't matter now. She had to find her next client.

Tobi walked into the lobby sleepily, his stomach growling. He filled his bowl with lots of sugary cereal and filled it with chocolate milk. He also got two jelly-filled doughnuts and hot chocolate. It didn't matter how sleepy he was, sugar was always good. It was even better when it was complimentary.

Sasori could hear it when Tobi left the bedroom, but his eyes remained closed and he tried to relax while he had the chance. The more he stayed away from the hyper bubble (more so than he could remember Deidara ever being), the quicker he could regain some of his lost patience, which meant he'd be able to put up with Tobi a lot longer without wanting to - quite literally - rip him apart limb by limb.
It was obvious he was "awake", though. He wasn't completely still and eventually he would open his eyes the slightest bit - only to close them afterwards because of the orange light that was slowly rising in the horizon.

Miya woke up the same way she always did when she wasn't home: slowly open her eyes, and turn to the side mumbling a soft "Huh...?", looking over her shoulder as if she would see someone sitting there, telling her to wake up. Maybe she was just going a bit crazy now that her friends weren't around, but that's how she had ended up getting used to being by herself. She slowly got up and got ready. She wrapped the Konaha headband around her forehead and let her hair fall down; it went down a bit below her shoulders. She picked up the key and left the room, making sure to lock it - her belongings were still there.
She slowly made her way down the hallway and when she reached the lobby she paid no attention to the people present, busy choosing something to eat. She eventually got a cup of coffee and some food and sat down at a table, her eyelids half closed. She could almost hear her dead teammate scolding her for not being fully awake; it was almost funny.

Deidara quietly left the room, not wanting to disturb his Danna, whether he was awake or not. He walked into the lobby just in time to see Tobi stuff his face with all the rich, sugary food. He stomach churned and he suddenly felt ill. How could he eat that much sugar? No wonder he was so...well, Tobi. He strode over to Tobi after getting a cup of orange juice and cocked his head as he sipped his juice. "Honestly, Tobi, how can you eat so much junk?"

Tobi wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he stuffed his face. "It's not junk; it's sugary goodness, Senpai."

Yuka figured she'd have to leave the village pretty soon. Not much else could be done here, after all. She would have to go to a larger village, perhaps a city, with mostly non-shinobi residents, until she found someone who could actually use her talents. Until then, she could marvel the town folk by pointing out the obvious--while getting paid. She set the newspaper aside and finished her coffee.

As soon as Deidara left the room, Sasori slowly got up and took out one of his most precious scrolls; it's where he kept Hiruko. He summoned the large... Thing and sat down next to it, checking every joint and weapon in search for anything he'd have to fix before they left. Sasori would refuse to leave if something was out of place with his precious weapon.
Luckily he'd have free time while the other two enjoyed their food.

Miya took a bit of whatever it was she was eating - she hadn't even notice what it was - and took out a small list from her pocket. She looked at it for a moment, making small mental notes before putting it away once again. The list was just a reminder, nothing special.
When she could open her eyes a bit more (she was still sleepy), she noticed the same three people from yesterday. In fact, she stared at their tables. In a rather awkward fashion as well: sleepy but somewhat surprised or curious -hell, she looked stoned-, holding the cup of coffee halfway between the table and her mouth.
If only Kyo had been here to smack her on the head and snap her out if it.

Deidara noticed the other people in the room. He glanced at one of them, identifying her as the person Tobi whined about for hours because she tried to kill him. He hadn't been there to see what happened, but anyone who tried to kill Tobi must have been annoyed by him, so he probably deserved it. But to get pwned by a chick? That was utterly laughable. He had to restrain himself from laughing out loud. Otherwise, he'd choke on his juice. He glanced at the selection of foods--mostly breads and cereals. He needed food. His hands could eat all they clay they wanted, but it certainly wouldn't fill his stomach. He selected a pain au chocolate even though he had just scolded Tobi for his sugar intake and sat beside Tobi.

Yuka looked up and saw Miya staring at her. She cocked her head slightly. Being so early in the morning, she had a hard time processing why she was being stared at. After a long moment, she realized where she knew Miya from. "Sacre bleu, Yuka. You're losing it," she muttered to herself. Seriously, she was 25; she shouldn't be losing her memory so early on. Having nothing better to do, she rose and sat at Miya's table. She set her elbow on the table, holding up her head by digging her fist into her cheek. Her eyes bored into Miya's, filled with slight curiosity. She spoke casually, "Is staring at people a hobby of yours?"

Miya nearly jumped when Yuka talked to her and the coffee seemed to move inside the cup like a wave, nearly spilling over the table. If staring at the people willingly for a couple of minutes wasn't enough, she had soon ended up lost in thought and, considering she was still tired, she ended up in that state when people are there but at the same time really aren't. Daydreaming about nothing at all, you could call it.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to do that!" She quickly apologized as soon as the question processed in her mind - which really didn't take long, but even so. "I just remembered you and that masked person over there-" She made a small motion towards Tobi. "- And then I started thinking and didn't realize I was looking at you."
She noticed Yuka has her own headband on and frowned. "So you're a Kunoichi from...?"

Sasori was still busying himself with Hiruko; one of the joints on the puppet's tail seemed a bit out of place and he'd rather get it working properly before they left. He looked up at a clock on the wall; if they took too long, he'd go and check if everything was alright.

Yuka's jaw dropped slightly as she pointed to her headband. "Seriously, you call yourself a ninja but you can't recognize other shinobi villages by their symbols?" She paused, realizing as it was on her side of her head and her hair covered most of that. "Disregard that last comment." she leaned forward slightly. "I am from Sunagakure...which, according to that newspaper over there, is in alliance with your village." She nodded to Miya's headband. "Don't take that as you can trust me though. I defected my village nearly 6 years ago." She grinned slightly. "Well, I guess you could trust me, but if you tell me something important the information might get passed along to the person with the most money." Her face darkened. "I'm not a very good person, as you can see." No, she wasn't a nice person at all. Her 'niceness' died along with her parents years ago. But, she still loved to talk.

Tobi wolfed down all his food and got more. He was standing behind Yuka, grabbing donuts as she spoke to Miya. He forgot that she reddish-brunette had 'tried to kill him' the night before. He turned to her as his mouth was full of food. "Oh, are you like a spy or something?" He swallowed his food. "Leader-sama is always looking for spies, right, Deidara-senpai?"

Deidara looked up, not really knowing what Tobi was talking about. He did his best to ignore him as much as possible on principle. "What? Tobi, just shut up and eat."

Miya was going to point out that she couldn't see the symbol on her forehead protector that well, but Yuka seemed to realize that a bit too quickly for her to react.
She smirked at Yuka's little 'explanation'. She didn't expect to trust anyone on her journey with any secrets, not even the so-called allies; as far as she was concerned, nowadays no one could be trusted. Not even herself - to others, she was just as much of a threat as anyone at on her level.
In fact, she sometimes wondered if she could trust herself: she had come this far without informing Konoha of any specific locations she had visited and somehow didn't seem to want to go back home anytime soon. Maybe it was just the excitement of being "free", but maybe she was changing... Was she becoming more like her old teammates? One of them, she had left for Otogakure and the other would have most likely abandoned the village if he was alive.
"Thank you for the insight, I'll make sure to trust you as I trust everyone else I've met so far. Though, what I do know isn't of general interest so..." The smirk turned into a smile. She wouldn't push the subject any further.

She looked up at that man from the previous night, then over at the blonde one - once again, she had that feeling of déjà vu; she was sure she'd heard his name, somewhere - and then after a few seconds she looked back at the first one. Maybe... She'd better not even ask. Sighing, she resumed to drinking her coffee.