Chapter 6
"Finally, un!" She heard Deidara murmur as he opened the connective door to Sasori's room.
Carefully, so as not to awaken Sasori, Temari looked over her shoulder and at the male. "Hmm?" She asked him, her voice soft with the remnants of sleep.
"What happened, Temari-chan? Did you two decide to start going out, un?" Deidara happily bent down beside her on the bed, eager for gossip.
"S-sasori-sama won't appreciate you being in his rom when he wakes up, Deidara-kun." Temari ignored his question.
"That's not what I asked," the puppeteer prodded, whispering in her ear so as not to wake Sasori.
Temari exhaled in slight annoyance. "Nothing was decided," she answered his question, "He just apologized for everything, an dI told him there was nothing to apologize for. Then he brought me back here." She, too, was whispering.
"So, do you feel like putty yet, un?" He asked this with a smile on his face.
Temari nodded. "But I like the feeling. Sasori-sama, though...He seems to feel it even more than I do."
"Hmm. I bet he's never had a girlfriend before," Deidara mused.
"He's so dedicated to his work...He never had the time."
"Un," Deidara agreed softly.
Before anything else could be said, Sasori lazily rested a hand on her head, toying with her hair. "Get out of my room, brat," he commanded as he opened his mercury orbs. He had a sweet scent to his breath...Something like apple. Shivers ran down Temari's spine as his sweet breath cascaded down her neck. But she liked how her own breath was stolen from her, how her face flushed with color.
What exactly was she experiencing? She had never felt anything like it before.
"It's time for breakfast, Danna." Deidara murmured softly. "And I need help finding my way, un."
Sasori sighed in annoyance as he relinquished Temari and rolled onto his back, sitting upright. "Very well then. Temari-chan, will you be joining us?"
Temari's stomach growled audibly in response, earning her a laugh from Deidara. Blushing, she sat upright and nodded, fixing her hair.
She caught Sasori shoot Deidara a glare before climbing off the bed and retrieving her fan from Deidara's room.
The three of them left Sasori's room then, Deidara closing the door behind them. They walked through the halls in silence - one that made Temari feel awkward.
"Not much of a morning person, Danna?" Deidara asked softly.
"Hn," Sasori barely answered.
"Me neither," Temari murmured. "Morning is when the glory of night is lost to the searing power of the sun."
"You do have an artistic side, un!" Deidara shouted happily. "Told you."
Temari smiled slightly. It felt good to be identified as an artist.
After rounding a few more corners, the trio made their way to a small kitchen, one that held only small things. There was a table in the middle of the room, a circular one that currently held four other people. Sasori motioned to both blondes to sit, then moved off to a small stove.
"Who the fuck are you two?" A male with silver hair, purple eyes, and a Jashin necklace asked them. His Akatsuki cloak was open too far, in Temari's opinion; it was open to his stomach, completely revealing his chest. He bore a slashed Ame headband.
"I'm Deidara," Deidara introduced himself. "and this is Temari-chan, un."
"You new here, kid?" Another male asked. This one frightened her a little; he looked more shark than human. He had spiked blue hair, blue skin, gills, pinprick eyes, and very pointed teeth. He bore a sliced Kiri headband. Temari inwardly shuddered.
"Un," she heard Deidara agree.
"And who are you?" A third male asked. This one was hard to distinguish; he covered most of his face with a mask, the other half with a hat of sorts. Temari could, however, see that he had beautiful emerald eyes and bore a slashed Taki headband.
Temari shook her head and blinked, forcing away her transfixed-like state, before answering, "Temari, like Deidara-kun said."
"But who are you? Why are you here?" He hissed. "You are not an Akatsuki."
Temari shook her head again. "No, I'm not. Sasori-sama brought me here."
"Just what we need," the man mumbled, "an extra person to waste our finances on." He looked away.
"What is more important," a younger male with black hair, deep eye sockets, and red eyes said as Sasori set the food down and sat at the table, "is that Sasori is getting soft." His voice was emotionless; it washed icewater over her, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. He bore a slashed Konoha headband.
"Soft?" Sasori scoffed. "Explain." He bit into the dango on his plate, staring down the black-haired male in a challenging manner.
Temari blinked and tore her eyes away from the other Akatsuki, forcing her gaze on the fine dango in front of her. She forced herself to bite into one as the black-haired nin explained, "You brought a girl, from your own village, here." He answered simply. "Without reason, even."
It was then that Temari realized that Deidara sat to her left, Sasori her right.
She was protected.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," Sasori retorted in a similar tone, one he had used on her once before, "You are younger than I. The only person I listen to is the Boss."
The ex-Konoha nin closed his eyes and took a bite of his breakfast, closing the conversation.
Taking another bite of her dango, Temari allowed herself to look up fully from her plate and carefully observed the other Akatsuki.
Her eyes met those of the Jashinist, who was sitting directly across from her. He was staring at her intensely, in a way that forced a blush over her cheeks, with a cold intent to his purple eyes. Temari found herself lost in them, her breath stolen and her vocabulary gone. The sheer coldness to the man's eyes sent nervous shivers down her spine.
This man's intents were not good.
Temari looked away quickly, trying to calm her fluttering heart. She no longer desired to eat.
"You okay, Temari-chan, un?" Deidara asked softly, in her ear so the others couldn't hear.
"I have to...go to the bathroom," she murmured, forcing herself to look up at him.
"Hmm, me too. Danna, can you show us to the bathroom?"
Sasori nodded and silently wiped his mouth with a napkin, then pushed his chair back and stood.
Temari quickly - but carefully - followed after him, trying her hardest to seem cool and collected.
The three of them left the kitchen silently and moved off down the hall. When she was sure she was out of earshot, Temari tightly clung to Sasori, breathing heavily.
Sasori stopped. "Temari-chan, what's wrong? You seem frightened."
"T-that man with the purple eyes - "
"Hidan."
Temari nodded vigorously before finishing, "I don't trust him."
Gently, Sasori presed his back up against the wall and took Temari's hand, guiding her into his embrace. Temari gratefully rested her head against his chest and tried to calm her breathing. Sasori rested his left hand on her head and used his right to massage her back softly, in a comforting manner. "Calm down, Temari-chan. I'm right here."
Temari closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't want to go back there," she murmured, trying to slow her breathing to match his.
"Okay. Deidara, go back and get our food before someone else eats it," Sasori commanded. "It's the fifth door down on the right."
Deidara nodded silently and moved off.
"Kami, you're shivering," Sasori murmured as he held her tight, his lips on her scalp. "What scared you so much?"
"The look in his eyes...They were so cold..." She was in too much fright to say exactly what she wanted to.
"You think he's going to hurt you?" he has a skeptical tone to his voice now.
Temari could do nothing but nod.
"You think I would let him?" Now an offended tone warped his voice.
Temari shook her head mutely.
"Good. I won't ever let him look at you like that again. Try to avoid him - he is the troublesome type. As long as I'm with you, everything will be okay." He inhaled deeply, finished.
This brought tears to Temari's eyes as she murmured his name and buried her face in his chest.
"Here," Deidara's voice came from behind, causing Temari to look up and over her shoulder at him. She broke the comfortable embrace with Sasori and took the plate of dango from the upset-looking blonde.
"What's wrong, Deidara?" Sasori asked him.
They set off again, and Deidara answered, "Hatafuri-sama told said we're to leave on a mission tomorrow, un."
This news stopped Temari in her tracks, almost making her drop the plate. They're...leaving? Temari thought weakly, her heart skipping beats as she battled to continue breathing. Now? No, they can't leave me! Not now! Not now...with...She shuddered at the thought and decided not to end it.
"Temari-chan," Sasori called softly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"O-oro?" She asked, looking up from the dango and at him.
"It'll be okay. The mission will be easy since it's Deidara's first, so we won't be gone long. Just stay in my room as much as possible. Keep the door locked. Go outside only when you desperately need something." He gave her a small smile, trying to show her it would be okay, even with him gone.
"D-demo - "
"We'll be gone for three days, at most." Sasori interrupted her gently. "Nothing too heavy, ne?" He gave her another smile, ruffling the hair atop her head a little.
Temari studied Sasori for a long moment, then managed a small nod. "O-okay."
Sasori nodded as well, then draped an arm over her shoulders in a supportive way and led them to his room.
Translations:
Kami - God
Oro - Huh?
Demo - But
Ne - Right, is/n't it