A/N: Sorry for the last chapter being so short and blech. I had major writer's block. But in way, it had to be done. And besides, if I were to put this chapter and the previous one together, it'd be too long ; So...it all works out, I guess. I also apologize for the cliff hanger. I didn't think I would have computer access today...Apparently I do...for now. We are going to start moving in a few minutes. I just took time to post one last chapter. Again, I apologize for the spelling/grammatical errors. Beta is still not working...Anyways! On to chapter 8! Ja ne!
Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted
Chapter 8: Stir Crazy Terrorist and a Problem
Deidara sat alone in base. He flipped through records and reports and decided to keep himself busy. Pein had given him access, as well as the other members, to his archives. This was the time Deidara would need to get acquainted with the biju and the Jinchuuriki. Occupying more than half of Pein's folder, Deidara gawked. "How can he have so much files, un?!" he exclaimed as he started to pull them out, one by one.
By the time he was done pulling papers, the whole desk was covered. Time to research. The first paper Deidara came across was the Shukkaku, or Ichibi. He picked up the paper and read it carefully.
"Shukaku is a 1-tailed raccoon-dog, native to Japan and other asian countries. Shukaku has had 2 hosts before with Gaara being the most eminent. The Shukaku was merged into Gaara when he was born. It is able to manipulate the special sand within Gaara's gourd without Gaara needing to control it. The sand can block all incoming attacks that it can react to. The sand can also be controlled by Gaara to form a shell around him or to attack. Shukaku seems to want blood and demands that Gaara kill for sustenance. A side-effect of having Shukaku within him Gaara is not allowed to sleep; if he does Shukaku will take over him and reform itself out of sand around Gaara as seen during the invasion of Konoha at the end of the Chuunin exams. Much like Naruto, the citizens of the Sand Village ignore and try to avoid Gaara, mostly out of fear."
Deidara raised a brow at this. He didn't push it. He knew some things about Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna, but didn't bother to care. Continuing onward:
"Nibi is a 2-tailed cat with fire breathing powers. Nibi's original Jinchuuriki was a girl named Yugito from the Village of Cloud. She was the second strongest ninja in her village and she had the ability to transform completely into the two tailed demon cat almost at will. The demon cat can shoot fireballs from her mouth at her opponent. Showing that Yugito wasn't hated by everyone around her hinted that the demon in her isn't hated by everyone and she was viewed by others how the Hokage wanted everyone to view Naruto."
Deidara scoffed. "A fire breathing cat, un. Sounds like Itachi, yeah!" he laughed. He shook his head and continued onto the next.
"The three-tailed beast is a gigantic, turtle-like demon. The abilities of this creature, at the moment, are unknown. Sanbi is extremely large and also has great speed. What makes the Sanbi unique from the other demons, is that it does not have a host and it doesn't seem to have any sign of intelligence."
Deidara raised a brow. "Not having a host makes it weaker because it isn't intelligent enough to control its own strength, un," he said arrogantly. He wrote that down on the paper and grinned.
"Kyuubi is a demon fox. Where he came from no one knows. He came to the Konoha 12 years ago and destroyed most of it. His tail could cause earthquakes and tsunami's. His chakra is everlasting and very powerful. It was when the fourth Hokage, Yondaime, sealed the Demon Fox inside Naruto Uzumaki as a vessel and thus died."
Deidara's eyes widened. "Unlimited amounts of chakra, yeah?" he said. "Earthquakes and tsunamis, too, un," he blinked. A name stuck out at him. Yondaime. He didn't know why. But it did. He shook it from his thoughts and sighed as he finished the last piece of information. Now fully educated on the tailed beasts, Deidara sighed as he leaned backward. He was now physically exhausted. He was up early from his dream to bid farewell to Sasori. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Shaking his head, he decided to head off to bed. Hopefully he could get some sleep.
He stood up and put the papers away, filing them just as Pein left them. He stretched and was interrupted mid stretch by a crashing sound in his bedroom. His eyes widened. His vision snapped to the door when he heard footsteps. Deidara pulled a kunai from his pouch and waited.
The footsteps stopped. Deidara listened to the best of his abilities but heard nothing. He slowly walked over to the door. He leaned against the wall and quietly turned the knob. He peered out and saw an empty, dark hallway. It was unsettling. He wasn't alone and all he could think about was that the intruder could hide anywhere in the darkness. He was at a disadvantage. And he knew it. Sighing lightly, he deicded to just go with it.
He walked out of the room, clinging to the wall, his back pressed firmly against it, melting into the shadows. He made it to his bedroom door and saw it slightly ajar. This made the blond artist curious. Quickly looking around, he put his hand to his side, searching for a pouch holding his clay. When he didn't feel it, he looked down. His eyes grew wide. He had made a grave mistake. He had taken it off. It was now in his room. And currently, his room was a death trap. The intruder, though not visible, was there. He knew it. In the pit of his stomach, he knew the intruder was waiting for him to enter his bedroom to check things out.
Deidara thought his options over. He had to think. If he rushed in, he risked dying or getting captured. At the same time, all he had was shuriken and a kunai. The odds were not in his favor. He was defenseless. Deciding to go for it, Deidara steadied his breathing before rushing into his bedroom. His eyes darted around the room. To the right. No one. To the left. No one. In the shadows. No one. Loosening his tight grip on the kunai, he stepped forward cautiously. He saw his pouch laying on his bed. It was all staged. It's a trap. They want him to go for the pouch. No doubt they were waiting for him to come into view. Wherever the intruder was, they had a perfect view of him right now. At this very moment, they were watching his every move. Waiting for him to make a move for the clay. Waiting for him to slip up. Waiting for him to stand still and think over his options like he was now.
Deidara was hit with a stunning realization. This had all been staged. They had planned for him to leave the safety of Pein's office. They had planned for him to sneak down the hall. They had planned for him to barge into his room. They had planned for him to stop and weigh out his options like he was now. They had planned everything perfectly. As Deidara was hit with this realization, he was hit with something else. In the back of the head. He was knocked unconscious. As he slipped into unconsciousness, he realized he made a grave mistake. He played into the enemy's hands.
Sasori trudged on, searching for Orochimaru. What he found, however, now that he was almost a full day away from the base, was a note. He got out of Hiruko and picked up the note. He looked around. It was too quiet. He didn't like it. No one was around, yet here was a note in the middle of the forest. No footprints. Nothing. Sasori glared at the note.
"You're too late."
Sasori crumbled up the paper and slammed it on the ground. He quickly made his way back to base. He knew who was behind this. And he'd be damned if he got his hands on Deidara again while Sasori was alive. Shoving his anger aside, Sasori ran as fast as he could back to base. He prayed he wasn't too late to save Deidara. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
Deidara awoke with a splitting headache. He shook his head and tried to sit up, but found that he was bound to the bed. His eyes shot open in fear. "Not again!" he thought, yanking at the binds that held him firmly in place. His heart sped up exponentially. He tried desperately to get out of them. It was useless.
A voice came to him. "What's wrong, Dei-chan?" a mocking voice came from the darkness. His own bedroom was turned into his own hell. The man stepped from the shadows and grinned at the frantic Deidara.
Deidara's face turned into a scowl. It held nothing but loathing and hatred for the man standing in front of him. "Orochimaru," he growled, vemon dripping from the very tone of Deidara's voice.
Orochimaru smirked and laughed. The very sound made Deidara cringe. He always chose the most inopportune times to get to the blond. This was all staged. He knew Sasori would snap. It was only a matter of time. And Orochimaru just so happened to predict the precise time it would happen. "What's with the sudden pensive attitude, Deidara? It's not like you," the snake-nin said mockingly.
Deidara turned his vision to the ceiling, not even bothering to look at Orochimaru. "You knew, un," he said, barely audible. The snicker from the snake-nin was confirmation enough that he was right. "You...you knew that Sasori-danna would want to kill you! You-"
Orochimaru cut him off with a kunai to his neck. Deidara silenced himself as he glared into the man's amber eyes hatefully. A vile smirk adorned his features. "You are correct. I knew Sasori would get frustrated and go stir crazy with what I have done. I planted the information for the others. Currently, Tobi and Zetsu are following false information that I had Kabuto plant for me," he smirked. And Konoha...is at least a two day walk from here," Orochimaru added, clearly proud of himself. "Kakuzu and Hidan are currently following false information as well. You see...I planted some more information in Tea Country. Knowing full well they'd stop there. After all, that's their main source of information."
Deidara glared at him. What could he do? Sasori was too far away. There was no way he could save him. It had to be a miracle for Sasori to save him now. "All this...why is it such a big deal, un?" he asked, more like growled.
Orochimaru smirked and straddled him. He leaned down to Deidara's ear and nipped it roughly. "Because...you are mine and mine alone, Deidara," he whispered dangerously into the blond's ear.
Deidara couldn't take it anymore. "The hell I am, yeah!" he growled. He spat in the snake's face and Orochimaru stared distastefully at Deidara. Deidara wore an arrogant smirk. "I will never belong to anyone but Sasori-danna, un!" he growled defiantly.
Orochimaru found amusement in this. "You truly think he loves you?" he grinned. "He only said that to make you shut up and stop bothering him! What makes you think an object can love? He's not human," he smirked. "He has no heart. How do you know he's not just saying that to make you feel better? How do you know he means it?" he countered.
Deidara's eye grew wide. He hadn't thought about that. "No! He loves me, yeah! Sasori-danna wouldn't lie to me!" he said, desperately trying to convince himself that was true. He had no doubt it was. This was just another ploy to break him.
Orochimaru broke into laughter. "Oh, I don't think so, Deidara. Sasori says many things he doesn't mean. Think real hard. I'm sure you can remember at least one instance that he said something to one and meant and thought another," he smirked. He could literally see the wheels turning in Deidara's head as he tried to think of a time that happened.
His reaction was not what Orochimaru had expected. Deidara smiled lovingly at the thought of his danna. He looked the snake-nin straight in the face and never lost his smile. "Sasori-danna has always been truthful with me, un. He wouldn't lie to me. He would tell me straight up, yeah," he said softly. Such tenderness at the mere thought of the red headed Akasuna.
Orochimaru growled and punched Deidara roughly. "You insolent brat!" he growled. Orochimaru smirked. "Hm. No matter. I will soon make you scream for help. You know I like how audible you are," he smirked devillishly. Deidara had no reaction. He just kept his head down and showed no signs of reacting. His cheek was swollen again. His left cheek stung with the resonating punch. No doubt there would be yet another bruise there. Orochimaru took to biting Deidara's neck again. He bit hard enough to mark him, as always. Deidara didn't even give him the satisfaction of whimpering at the pain. He just laid there. There was no point. No matter what he did, no matter what he said...this would never stop. Not as long as he was alive. Not as long as Orochimaru was alive. Not as long as Orochimaru had access to him. It would never end. One nightmare after another. Deidara hadn't even noticed that Orochimaru had removed the blond's clothes, as well as his own. He was too busy thinking of Sasori one last time. No matter what happened, he would never be happy. Pain and sorrow was destined to follow the Iwa-nin. He was naiive to believe that Sasori could change that. Never again. He was too hopeful.
Sasori ran as fast as he could. It was times like these that he wished he had Pein's teleportation jutsu. He made a mental note to request to be taught it. Sasori's pace increased as he dragged Hiruko along with his chakra strings. Though big, Hiruko was rather agile and fast. But they could only go but so fast.
Sasori grit his teeth. Orochimaru. That snake. He had planned this all. Right down to Deidara being left alone. Sasori came to a realization. Deidara's dream was right. Sasori cursed himself for not paying more attention to the blond. He made a mental note to apologize and do whatever it takes to make Deidara feel better. That is...if he weren't already too late.
TBC
