Author Note: Just a warning. This chapter is a bit…dark. And from this point on, nothing is going to be happy or fluffy o.o;;;. Read on plz ^_^

~Week NO. 3 Part III~

Lunch had started and Lee was sitting by himself.

No Gaara. He wouldn't see him until later…

Lee felt transparent, like every eye on him was aimed right at his chest pocket. Right where his knife was. He motioned his hand over the weapon, glazing its outline with his fingers, a gentle touch. He was afraid that if he pressed too hard or let his hand linger too long, he'd end up pushing the knife right into his flesh, through the bone, into his heart… What a quick solution to ending all his miseries. He'd been depressed for some time now, but Gai had saved him once again.

Son…you do whatever it takes to get home to us.

Lee clenched the knife through the orange cloth of his jumper and nearly broke down. It took every ounce of willpower not to let the tears fall. He managed a quiet prayer before lifting his fork lifelessly to his lasagna. But before he could stab it, a slick motion blurred him; he was yanked away by the side of his neck, a choke hold of a sort, and in an instant, he found himself a scoot away from his entrée. Hot breath pecked his cheek and blond hair fell on his shoulder. Someone… Lee wiped his head around to find one gorgeous midnight eye staring down into his personal bubble. A milky smooth face…a finely pointed nose and plush lips sat situated in front of him. This individual's hair was an electric gold color with high shine. A sweet smile graced those pink lips, and the eye became a small squint. It was laughing.

A girl was in this prison? Lee found his eyes stuck on the girl. He had the sense to snap out of his dreamy state, but she did not fade. No, she was real. Very real. Her light weight on his shoulder, her breath on his face, her thigh touching his thigh… Yes, she was here, and he was not insane. Not yet anyway. But that's when he noticed the girl's chest. It was rather…absent. Nothing was there to be exact. She was flat, flat like the tile the prisoners spat on.

This was no woman.

Lee blinked a few times, all of the information his eyes were gathering at one time seemed like a heavy overload for his fragile system, and that bright orange suit was giving him a storm of a headache…

Orange?

Sun-orange clothes.

Lee jumped away, the mysterious inmate's hand fell freely from his neck in the process. Lee looked into that dangerously attractive face and found that this was the same person he saw being tackled to the ground by two officers while he was escorted to the visitor's area. This individual was a young boy, just like himself. Lee imagined what it would feel like to claw at the floor and taste the grit with his face squished against that rusty tile. Was this the new inmate? The one the warden warned Lee about?

"Well sweetheart, you don't have to be so mean…" The boy huffed, backing out of Lee's space.

This person was definitely a man. Lee could tell by the timbre in his voice. It had a sweet, but queer ring to it. A male's voice that tried to sound female. Lee felt numb immediately. Everyone here was so weird, he didn't even know he could still be shocked after everything he'd been through, but apparently there were still a few heart stopping moments to be had, this being one of them. Lee was brought out of his thoughts when a warm hand swept across his own.

"I didn't think there'd be another teenager here." The pretty boy looked about the eatery and grimaced. Men around the glass doors had a hard look in their eyes. Their mannerisms and ways of speech told a story of a really rough life. The pretty boy looked to Lee again, a warm smile on his lips, "Glad I'm not the only one." Lee jerked his hand back defensively. He didn't mean to act jumpy, but he couldn't help that his mind was influenced by impulse and body trauma…

A deep indigo eye narrowed worrisomely at him. Pale smooth fingers brushed Lee's long bangs out of his eyes.

"You don't look so good. You okay?" Lee couldn't voice a sound. Expressions spoke for him. His face, he knew, was wide with embarrassment and surprise. Despite the stranger's kindness (and touchy-feelingess) Lee was unnerved. This guy was too calm for someone who'd just been thrown in prison. His nonchalant demeanor was almost…intimidating.

Lee gripped at the knife in his shirt unconsciously, as if for support. He took a breath to help steady his wandering thoughts. He needed to say something, anything.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked. Lee was surprised at the sound of his own voice. It was strong and casual...nearly normal. He guessed the quaky quiver in his mousy tone had disappeared after speaking with the warden. The male smiled big and stood up quickly.

"No. Show me the line?" Lee pointed toward the gruel station where three prisoners manned the trays. The grim frown gracing the golden boy's lips told Lee that he wasn't satisfied with just directions. "Escort me?"He inquired, giving off his most suggestive glance. Lee could feel trouble creeping up on him… He stood up slowly, mapping out the area of inmates as he did so. Despite Gaara's protection and markings, Lee was still aware of roaming eyes from the other inmates. He knew that cellmates casted him looks that suggested activities beyond the realms of wet dreaming, but when Gaara would appear at Lee's side, the men would shoot their eyes away, grumbling. What if they thought he was with this golden boy? Would they jump at the chance to be with him? And if they did, would this boy be man enough to fend them off? Lee glanced at the blond again and immediately doubted his last statement. The boy was thin like a girl and attractive like one too. Good looks are an advantage in outside society, but inside prison walls they were a curse. Lee thought of Haku suddenly, but he couldn't compare the new guy and his friend. Even without Zabuza at his back, Haku could hold his own weight. This guy…he looked as though he'd need a Zabuza or a Gaara.

Wait. Was that why the blond was beside him now? For protection? Lee clenched the organ rapidly beating in his chest, but ended up with a cloth covered knife groped between his panicked fingers. He couldn't be this boy's protector. He couldn't be a Gaara or a Zabuza to him. He couldn't even protect himself. If the inmates ganged on them, Lee would escape the chaos if there was an immediate opportunity, and if the golden boy lagged behind, Lee wouldn't go back in to save him. He'd leave the kid for the mass of inmates to take as their own pet. Survival was everything here, and if this boy didn't get with the program soon, there was nothing Lee could do for him. Lee shuddered at his own dark thoughts.

"Are you cold?" the boy reached out a perfect hand to Lee. Upon glazing a shoulder with his fingers, Lee swatted the hand away unconsciously. It was reflex now.

"Yes…I mean no." Lee shook his head clear and glanced back at the boy, confident now. "Let's go through the line." As they made their way through the crowd, Lee could feel eyes following them. He almost panicked at the attention they were receiving, but the boy next to him grabbed his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"I forgot to tell you my name."He said, grabbing a tray from one of the inmates manning the lunch line. The inmate hopelessly flirted with the boy, but the boy shook his head, laughing at the gruff mans pout. Lee couldn't help but think that this kid was fitting in a little too well in this vulgar atmosphere. After the boy chose his palate of beef tips and macaroni and cheese, he turned to Lee and said, "My name's Deidara, but I'm more interested in what yours is." He stared at Deidara, and after a time mumbled a small, "Lee."

Since Deidaras hands were preoccupied with his tray, he jabbed Lee in the arm with an elbow. "Lighten up! It's not like I'm going to hurt you or anything." Lee narrowed his eyes at Deidara suspiciously.

"If you did not hurt anybody, then why are you in maximum security prison?"Lee's voice must have sounded loud because it almost seemed like the whole cafeteria stilled, just for a split second. Lee then concluded that the pause in activity was all in his head, seeing how the conversation rose around them again. Deidara's smile didn't at all falter, in fact, it grew wider.

"I could ask you the same thing now, hm?" A golden swoop bounced as he chuckled at Lees flinch. His laughing was sweet and honest, but to Lee it was maddening, almost disturbing. Lee hasn't laughed at all since he got to prison. He has smiled on rare occasions, but did his smiles really count? He didn't smile out of happiness, more so out of reflex… What was wrong with this Deidara guy? Was prison a joke to him?

Deidara finally stopped laughing when they reached Lee's table. Lee gave up on his meal since it was no longer room temperature. He sipped on the juice box that he received from one of the cafeteria inmate's manning the lunch line. The cafeteria guy was always giving him extra helpings...Lee peaked at Deidara's tray and noticed that his serving of smothered beef tips looked fresh. Beef tips were never fresh when he got them. They were usually dry and chewy. In thinking this, Lee decided that his meal of lasagna wasn't so bad since the amount he had was bigger than that of most inmates. He decided that he would enjoy his meal. Besides, with Deidara in the picture now, Lee probably wouldn't be getting such a hardy helping after today. He knew he wasn't the cafeteria inmate's favorite anymore…

Deidara slowly ate his meal, smile still in place. Lee couldn't help but feel vexed. What was there to smile about? Lee had a feeling that this kid knew something the rest of the world didn't because whatever he thought was funny, Lee wanted to know too. Apparently, Deidara didn't want to share the joke.

After a small time, Deidara was wiping his mouth clean with the back of his hand, satisfied. Lee looked into the face of the boy's tray and found that not even leftover sauce escaped Deidara's appetite. Pearl-indigo eyes bore into Lee's, they almost seemed to be glowing with…mischief?

Deidara's grin was a smug one.

"Tell you what. Let's make a deal."

Lee's juice was halfway up the straw when his breath failed him. The juice splashed back into box, his mouth dry all of a sudden. Deidara took the stunned reaction as a sign to continue.

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours. See? Secret for a secret. Fair enough, hm?" Deidara had his arms up, as if shrugging, but his casual attitude made the gesture seem like a sarcastic one. Lee resumed in drinking his juice. Deidara's smile was no longer honest. It was dark…

He pushed his tray away and faced Lee, "Someone stole an important item from me. I went to steal it back from them, but in the process of sneaking around…I couldn't help but leave them a treat." Deidara's smile grew shallow, almost mysterious.

"I bombed their hideout," Deidara gave an over exaggerated sigh, "Too bad the bastard wasn't there. It was a really pretty explosion too…hues of copper-orange and mustard-yellow blending together into the sky." His face had a dream-like demeanor, but faded into confusion as he added, "Who would have thought that an ugly warehouse could make such a beautiful fire?" He looked to Lee for understanding, but received a dubious expression instead. Deidara paused, smiled, and then laughed half-heartedly to chase off the discomfort in the air.

Lee wasn't stunned at the news. Rather, he was surprised at it. He's heard of people starting fires just for the hell of it, but here he was face-to-face with one of the lunatics. A real-life arsonist. Who would have thought? He vaguely wondered if they were all as awkward and bubbly as Deidara. Maybe crazy just came in different forms? Lee concluded that arsonists made fires because they were obsessed with flames. Now this kid was another case. Deidara made fires because he thought they were pretty. With that definition in mind, Deidara's personality fit perfectly in Suna.

Lee couldn't help but ask the obvious, "So, what exactly was stolen from you?" Deidara wagged his finger. Tisk-tisk-tisk.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Secret for a secret, remember?"

Lee frowned, but complied. Recalling the events in his head was traumatizing enough, but to actually have to put the crime into words? That was a whole other kind of torture.

"Well-I-you see…"Lee took a breath, but it didn't help calm him down. "There was this man who broke into my house through my cousin's window and-he-well-", Lee felt himself being overrun by a painful kind of guilt but he pressed on with his story. His voice was going back into its mousy shell. "It was the middle of the night…I was scared for my family and I had the bat, I mean, I was not trying to hurt him, I just, he ducked and…I just…he should not have broken into my house. My nerves were shaken and…he reached into his pocket-but he did not have…a gun…"Lee paused for a long time. His juice box was being crushed by his vexed grip. He felt so low, so filthy.

"I killed him." Lee looked to Deidara. The boy was shocked, completely gape-mouthed. The next moment, Lee found himself explaining his actions in a jumbled manner, "He ducked and I did not see…his body was in the grass…the blood on his ear began to cake…" Lee knitted his brows together, completely disoriented in thought. "I am not a killer. It was an accident..." His voice cracked in the middle of his explanation, and with that, he gave up trying to talk in general. His voice refused to crawl out of his throat, and so, Lee folded into himself, much like his boxed juice. That man's blood could never be washed from Lee's hands… Even if it was an accident, the accident cost a hefty price. Lee knew that even when his three-month sentence was up; he would not go back to normal. There was no normalcy to go back to. He was beyond scathed. Lee was going to be warped for life. Mind jumbled and paranoid. Weary and disturbed. Depressed and nonchalant.

All kinds of fucked up.

A soothing sensation ran up his shoulder, and then to his wrist, and then to his shoulder again.

"You don't have to cry." Deidara cooed. Lee angrily swiped at his tears with an arm. What the hell was he crying about? There was nothing to cry about! It happened. He killed a man. The end. Why couldn't he just accept it for what it was? He murdered someone. That was all he had to say, and Deidara would have left the subject alone. It only took a minute for Deidara to begin commenting.

"And here I thought my story was interesting!" Lee could tell from the chirpy tone in Deidara's voice that his smile was back.

"The moment I saw you from across the cafeteria, I knew I had to talk to you. All I see is an innocent kid, and here he is, in prison with the rest of God's failures." Deidara shook his head, laughing grimly, "If God didn't spare you, no one's safe." That comment made Lee feel so much worse. His tears just wouldn't stop coming…

For a time it was silent between the two. Only Lee's momentary sniffles and hiccups filled the space around them.

Deidara continued to rub Lee's arm. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I'll tell you another secret, but don't worry about having to pay for it with one of your own. Consider it a gift."If it weren't for the hint of humor in his words, Deidara would have sounded accommodating.

"That kid you bunk with? He's got some really ugly rumors flying over his head. If anyone asks you about this information, you didn't hear it from me." Lee's tears began to soften in quantity. At those words Lee's chest contracted with curiosity, but dread tangled around it. Did he even want to know? Lee knew he would not benefit from hearing the tale, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Deidara to stop. He invited the information, and not for good or worse. He already knew the news was devastating... Why pretend it wasn't? Deidara continued his story matter-of-factly.

"He went into the system when he was ten." Lee searched Deidara's face, praying that he was joking. A really cruel and humorless joke.

No such indication befell his perfect features.

"He tricked his cousin into sneaking out of the house to some local railway crossing. Some kind of way he tied him to the tracks and left him for dead. The train that crosses those rails runs at five a.m. every day." Deidara shook his head slowly, sad…almost crossed. "That kid was found in pieces the next morning. If his head hadn't been completely severed from the wheels, they wouldn't have been able to identify him."

Lee couldn't process the news. It was so unreal…so inhumane. The little four-year he saw on the warden's desk was in no way capable of taking someone's life. Especially a child's, and in that fashion… It was all so sick! Why the hell is he just now hearing about this case? Deidara must have read the betrayal on Lee's face because his grin curled into a smug smirk. "You've probably never heard about it since the story ran on one news channel and lasted five minutes, but after that one showing, it never aired again. The case has been all hush-hush ever since his old man bought the local authorities silence."

Lee couldn't breathe…he couldn't talk. The air slid down his throat like poison. Deidara's voice was a black hole, sucking up all of Lee's beliefs, whirling them around into a warped and tangled mass of illusions. Lee's entire reality was flipped upside down.

Lee heard himself say, "How do you know all of this?"

Deidara smiled grimly, and the words that left him were hollow and distant, "His cousin was my closest friend."

Lee's system was breaking up like windshield glass, shifting and scratching the edges of his mind. He knew what was coming. Deidara didn't want protection. He didn't want a friend. He didn't need a Zabuza…

"Stop…" Lee brought his hands up over his face, as if to shield the oncoming words, but Deidara's fingers snatched Lee's wrist's and yanked them apart. He leaned into Lee's ear tauntingly.

"I hope you haven't fucked him yet. If you have, it'll only make the parting that much harder." The smile in his voice was gone.

The sirens wailed, and all activity rose, clattering from the tables, ear-pounding laughter, trays clicked together, and yet, despite all these disruptions, Lee was deaf. All he could see was Deidara rise, smile in place, eyes bleeding black shadows, his skin a sheet of white. He filed out of the cafeteria with his hands deep in his jumper pockets, whistling a tune. Lee could see it now. He could see it all now. Deidara was in Suna, not as an arsonist. No, Deidara was too clever to get caught for starting some stupid fire. He knew the thief wasn't at the warehouse… He planned his captivity, and now he was in Suna for a reason. At that moment, Lee sprang to his feet and raced out the glass doors. He bashed into shoulders, tripped over feet, and endured shoves that could have sent him face planting into the floor, but he kept on running. He needed to find Gaara before Deidara did. He didn't want to lose him. Forget what the warden said, he was already screwed for life. Hell, he might as well spend the rest of it with someone who understands him. But now that person was going to be taken from him.

Deidara was in Suna, not as an arsonist. No.

He was in Suna as his friend's dagger of revenge.

~o0o~

Thank God the guards hadn't sent the prisoners to The Yard. The inmates had been escorted to their cells instead. Apparently, today was their day off. The prisoners in the cafeteria named the break Sweet Nothing. It was what they cherished every month, but Lee could care less. He was at the top of his line, glad that he would be released to his cell next. The sound of tile being scrapped by heavy feet excited him. He had company in the cell. Never has he felt so relieved… Gaara was back from The Hole at last.

When the line was directly in front of Lee's cell, he ran out of the formation and pressed himself against the cool steel bars. His body was practically merging with the cell gate. It felt like years since he last saw the redhead. The pale smooth skin he remembered him possessing was now flushed red, his face was dry, and his nose was peeling skin. His ruby hair was curled from sweat…the black rims around his eyes had a smudgy look to them… Gaara was exhausted. The officer behind Lee warned him to back out of the bars so that he could shift the pad lock open. Lee obeyed, not once breaking his attention from Gaara's ocean eyes. They were sunken black abyss's…

The cell began to contract into the wall, but before it was halfway sucked up, Lee squeezed through an opening big enough for him to fit, and threw his arms out to Gaara. Instead of a hug, fingers gripped at Lee's shoulders and shoved them away. Lee's chest fell at the action. Gaara turned his head to face a scratched up wall, crossed.

What was wrong?

"Gaara…let me hold yo-"

"Lee."

"…?"

"I'm tired. Let me rest for a while."

"But-"

Gaara gave Lee a dark look, shutting Lee off abruptly, and proceeded to make his way to his own bunk. The squeak of the mattress finalized Gaara's retirement. He was going to sleep away the day? Just sleep? He knew Gaara had it hard for the last three days, but…didn't he want to talk about it? Didn't he want to hear what Lee had to say? Didn't he want to know that his life was in danger? Did he even know that his father wanted him dead? Lee was impassioned with confused rage. This was why he couldn't be Gaara's slave. Gaara wasn't providing him with any substance, no lingering connection other than loneliness. Was Gaara tired of him now? Did he want some other kid?

His fingers slipped into his chest pocket…

The knife. If he could just explain the situation at hand, then Gaara would be more than awake, they'd plan a way to survive Deidara's hands and his father's threats. Lee was glad Gaara was facing away from him when he pulled out the short blade. He tapped Gaara's shoulder. Nothing. He tapped Gaara again, but received no response. Finally, he shoved Gaara's arm hard, knocking it away from his side. An angry grunt followed the action. The redhead whipped his head around, but quickly brought his face into his hands, as if he was undergoing a really bad migraine. Lee wanted nothing more than to take away Gaara's aliments of burn and dizziness, but he needed to talk to him first. Before Lee could manage his first syllable, Gaara's eyes found the blade in Lee's nervous grip, and winced. The words in Lee's throat were trapped behind a killer grip of tough fingers. Ruby curls befell Gaara's face, his eyes wild with malicious intent. The moods shifting among those ocean eyes were quick and choppy, complex and crossed… Lee tried to mouth an explanation, but the only thing that escaped him was a strangled gag.

Gaara was choking him.

"You trying to kill me?" nails pressed themselves into the sides of Lee's neck, the palm shoving his adam's apple inward… Tears were streaming down Lee's cheeks, he couldn't breathe. His face was glowing blue. He couldn't believe his predicament.

He managed to shake his head dizzily. Lee caught himself before his eyes threatened to roll back into their sockets from lack of blood flow.

With that, the grip on his neck was no more. Lee would have dropped to his knees if it weren't for Gaara's palm supporting his chest. He swallowed great masses of air, choking on the sweetness of it. Gaara tried to kill him. Gaara just tried to kill him!

"Where'd you get the knife." Gaara's tone was sharp and impatient. Lee knew that if he said the wrong thing, the redhead was going to choke him up against the wall again. He forced himself to talk with a scratchy voice, "Your father…gave it…to me." Lee coughed up some spit that nestled in his throat when he was being suffocated. He hated this…what was happening?

Gaara was silent for a long time. His eyes were estranged and indifferent. He was contemplating theories. "Did he give you a choice?" The question was hollow but concentrated, and Lee knew that no matter what he said, Gaara would give him no mercy. Lee hesitated in answering, "He said-"

"Yes or no, Lee." Gaara was glaring at him now. Lee couldn't help but quiver, his voice was cracking, and he really wanted Gaara to stop making him answer these questions…he could feel the corners of his eyes beginning to sting.

"Yes…"Lee's voice trembled, and his eyes shook. "Gaara-"

The redhead turned his face away from Lee, sickened. Lee reached out for Gaara, trying desperately to explain, but Gaara's quick glare silenced him. Gaara's face was a knife, and was thrown into Lee's chest. Lee felt the stab and clutched at his heart, his lip crumbling.

"Lee…"Gaara held the knife up to his eyes, examining the sleek steel apathetically. His voice was low…so low that it could have reached the core of the Earth and the plates would have shook from fear alone. His eyes diluted into a fine midnight blue…

"The deal is off." The redhead stuck the knife in his big leg pocket and gave a defeated sigh. "Find someone else to take care of you." Gaara turned away from Lee and returned to his own bunk. The squeak finalized everything. It was all over…

The reality of things grabbed Lee and shook him. It was like receiving a hug from an earthquake, or being spun by a tornado…

Lee broke. He shook with bitter sobs. Lee would have preferred if Gaara had killed him than to have been shot down so cruelly. Gaara hated him… Lee hated himself for being hated. It wasn't his fault. None of this was his fault, yet here he was drowning under all the blame. He was a murderer and now he was a backstabber.

That night he didn't sleep a wink. The clicking of the small switch blade kept him up until morning.

~o0o~

Deidara settled into his own cell, and apparently, had a roommate.

Another teenager like himself.

He gave the boy a friendly smile and waved, "Hey." The boy on the other bed glared at Deidara. But the glare died quickly. He dropped his head and balled his fists on his lap. Tears began to spot the filthy tile flooring beneath him. Deidara sat up abruptly at the boy's distress. As soon as Deidara took one step toward him, the boy whipped his face back up, loose black locks fluttered about his cheeks and forehead. He was vexed and crossed. He glowered at Deidara, freezing him still.

"Touch me and I'll kill you."The boy's voice was a low hiss, but Deidara laughed at his violent demeanor.

"Don't worry kid, I won't." Deidara fell back into his bunk crookedly, his smile widening.

Deidara loved to mess with people. Deidara could get anyone to do as he wanted. Like a puppet, he tweaked their emotions. He could raise their brows and lips, let their arms dangle and legs sprawl open. Yes. He knew exactly what to say to get his way. And right now, he wanted to break this little boy. And he knew just the words to make it happen.

"Isn't it sad how they replace cellmates? It's tragic, I know. From what I heard, your buddy was a real bad ass." Deidara smacked his lips noisily, as if disappointed, "Sucks that he's been in The Hole. I mean, right when they release him, he'll be given his final sentence."

The boy twitched violently. This reaction pleased Deidara. He let out the words he knew would send the kid over the edge.

"Say, when's his execution?"

A pause.

After a time, the boy let his forehead drop and let it rest upon his knees. Bringing his arms up around his body like a steel fence, he shook with anguish. Low wails bounced around their cell walls. It was music to Deidara's ears. He himself has cried the very same tune, but that was nearly seven years ago… He clenched his fist and brought his brows down in angered focus.

He'd avenge Sasori soon enough.

He cuddled into his sheets. There was nothing wrong in claiming the bed as his own now. That Zabuza guy was going to be out of the picture tomorrow night. With one less problem to worry about, he could commence his plan as early as daybreak. First though, he'd have to gain Haku's trust. How he planned to do that, well, he'd figure something out when he was released into The Yard tomorrow. Before he slipped into sleep, he pulled out a ruby ring from his chest pocket and kissed it sweetly. He slipped the token back into his jumper and let Haku's sobs lull him to sleep.

He had a big day ahead of him.

Author Note: This chapter came out to be really hardcore o.o. Sorry about the mean Gaara, the depressed Lee, the…weird Deidara ^^;. Oh well, chapter 9 is finished! *Whoot* Let me know what you think!