Atopos - WOW, I feel very proud of this story already. I never believed it would be this popular. Then again, I also never believed I would be on this site unless someone held me at gun point. I just want you to know that I own nothing, I wish people would give as good reviews on my other stories as you give for this one, and I definitely wish people would read these things. Just to let you know, if I owned Naruto, the Akatsuke would be the main characters
The Dreaded Love Potion
Chapter 4
RECAP
"Come on, brat," Sasori took Deidara's hand and pulled on it. He didn't like the way it fit in his so perfectly.
Deidara stood up next to him. "Yes, danna."
CONT…
It felt different not having to argue with the blond. Usually it took up to an hour just to get him to leave a room back at the hideout. They left the hotel in a hurry after locking their room up for the day. Deidara seemed to be sobering up somewhat since he was trying to hide his eyes from the sun with every chance they got and he became more talkative.
"Sorry about causing you trouble, danna," Deidara muttered every couple steps. "I'll make it up to you, un. I promise."
Ideas of how Deidara could make it up to him came to mind instantly. He shook his head, firmly telling himself to stop thinking such things about his young partner. Deidara was too innocent to be taken advantage of. Sasori knew that he would be in trouble if he did anything to his partner.
"Danna!" Deidara yelled at him from behind, "How 'bout we stop for a snack?"
Sasori glanced over his shoulder at what Deidara was pointing at. Just a small restaurant that he was sure sold Dango. Deidara immediately ran in and came back out holding a stick. Sasori insisted that since he didn't eat anything, Deidara didn't need to share his treat.
"I thought you knew this village," Sasori commented dryly when he noticed Deidara glancing around quickly.
"Well, un, I did," Deidara answered with a nervous laugh. "They've changed some of it since I was last here. Oh well, un, I was a lot younger then."
Sasori's eyes lowered to the ground at his feet. He couldn't stand the thought of Deidara being any younger than he was now and committing crimes like the ones they did now. "What do you want to do? There must be something interesting in this stupid village."
The puppet master was able to find things for them to do in quite a hurry. The only problem he found was that Deidara constantly being around him. At the hideout, they could be in separate room and not see each other for days on end. Now they were stuck together.
"Sasori-danna, look at all the bears!" Deidara pulled Sasori to a stop so he could press his nose against the glass. Sasori looked in as well. He had to admit that it was nice to see such a large toy store. He could just make out the string marionettes at the back. Were the stuffed teddy bears all that Deidara wanted to look at?
"Do you want to go in?" Sasori asked somewhat politely. It had been a long time since he was last in a toy store. Was it his parents who took him in one? His grandmother? Or had he walked in on his own?
Deidara shook his head determinedly. "I'm fine, un. I just wanted to see what they had."
Before Sasori could ask anymore, Deidara skipped off down the street. It was almost like he was babysitting a child, but he didn't mind at all. Deidara was truly happy, something Sasori believed to be rare. Normally Deidara had to be working on his artwork to be happy, now Sasori was witnessing a miracle.
"Look at all the new ninjas, danna!" Deidara excitedly took hold of Sasori's cloak sleeve while some kids ran by them. "It's so cool seeing newbies, un!"
Sasori couldn't help thinking that Deidara might have only been a few years older than them. Was Deidara ever that carefree before he joined the Akatsuki? It definitely seemed possible with the fact that Deidara was cheery even now. It was sad that the boy had to ruin his innocence before he even got started in the real world.
"What's wrong, danna?" Deidara asked, his smile vanishing, "Do you wanna go back to the hotel, un?"
"No," Sasori told him strictly. "We'll keep going. Maybe we can gather information from around here."
Sasori still found it hard keeping his mind on the mission. Deidara wanted to look around and drag his partner along the streets instead of working. It didn't bother Sasori in the slightest for some reason. He liked seeing Deidara's face break into a bright smile since it made him almost happy as well. The hand holding his own made his puppet skin burn under the hot sun. Speaking of the heat, Deidara was about ready to take off his cloak and run around with his 'mostly fish-netting' outfit. It was horrible seeing those top three buttons undone, leaving the pale flesh that was Deidara's chest exposed.
Was this really the strength of that so called 'love potion'? It was rather powerful, Sasori thought to himself. Never had he ever thought of his younger partner in such a way. He had to admit now, though, that Deidara looked very attractive in almost every way possible. Did he really have feelings for Deidara that even he didn't know about?
"Danna," Deidara stopped at a small restaurant, "I'm going to get something to eat, un."
"Hold on," Sasori dug his hand into his pocket, searching for the money he was given for the mission. "I'm paying for it this time. You spend way too much money on sweets."
Deidara stuck his tongue out playfully, "You're just jealous, un. I can still taste them!"
Sasori swallowed hard. It was times like these where he was both happy and upset that he had a puppet body. On one side, the blood in his head wasn't rushing somewhere from the naughty thoughts he was thinking. On the other, he desperately wanted to try that tongue out, among other things. At least some parts of him were still human.
Finally, Sasori dragged himself inside the restaurant with Deidara behind him. There were only about five people inside eating their lunches. Why couldn't Deidara have an appetite like a normal person? He stared at the food behind the counter then decided that a bun shaped like a kitten would be the best idea for Deidara. The ones filled with chocolate over the ones with strawberry jam, perhaps.
"So," the woman behind the counter began. Her long, brightly-coloured hair made Sasori almost gag. Was that what women thought men liked? Her green eyes stared at him as if she was in a daze. "What can I get you and your cute girlfriend?"
Deidara turned away sadly with his face staring at the ground. Sasori had the feeling that Deidara had probably forgotten all about his hunger now. "Let's just leave, danna. I don't like being called a girl, un."
Instead, Sasori straightened himself upright to look regal. A few seconds ago, Deidara was thrilled, and now he was upset over someone insulting him. "He'll have one of those cat shaped buns with the chocolate sauce in them." The girl turned around to get one; bending over seductively enough that made Sasori feel both uncomfortable and angry. When she handed the wrapped up sweet to him, he paid her, gave the bun over to Deidara, and said strictly, "And he's not my girlfriend."
With that, Sasori took Deidara's other hand and pulled him away without another look back. The people there watched them with interest. Maybe they knew them from some criminal books. Maybe they thought it was weird to see two young male ninjas care for one another so much. Sasori didn't care, though, as long as Deidara was with him and happy.
"Why'd you say that, un?" Deidara asked quietly when they were walking down the street once again. He held the bun tightly in one hand. "You never usually protect me when people say that I'm a girl, danna. You usually laugh, or agree with them, or ignore me, or--"
"I get it." Sasori muttered, "I just didn't like the way she acted. It was as if you weren't even there at all."
Deidara seemed worst off than before. "I wanna go back to the hotel room now."
"Why? Because of that girl?"
"You can come back whenever you want, un. I just wanna go to bed."
Sasori barely had time to argue since Deidara was walking down the street in the opposite direction. The puppet master automatically knew what he was supposed to do. He had to go back to the hotel to comfort his partner. The only question was: how the hell would he do that? He knew nothing about comfort. He would have to wing this as he went along.
As he approached the inn, he could sense something bad going on. What was causing all their bad luck? He could see Deidara talking animatedly with the owner. Sasori picked up the pace a little so he could stand up for his younger partner.
"What's going on here?" Sasori asked the owner calmly.
Deidara answered for him. "We're being kicked out, un!"
Tbc…
