A/N: I'm sorry for the slower-than-usual update! I entered a writing competition for another fandom (snk) and at first I needed to submit the (jeanarmin) fanfic by mid-July, but then it got postponed. -_- So here I am, with a long-overdue update! Also I named this chapter the first thing that came to mind when I thought about Halloween, 'cause I'm lame...
SWEET LIKE CINNAMON
Chapter 11: This is Halloween
By Kirschstein
"Are you angry with me?"
Deidara cringed. He'd been wholly dreading this conversation, but he knew with a best friend like Itachi Uchiha, it was inescapable. He leaned his head against the passenger window and kept looking at the road, refusing to make even the slightest eye contact.
"Nah." He uttered quietly, though he wasn't entirely sure if he was being truthful. Deidara had no time to sort out his feelings, since the whole time he was at Yahiko's he had to deal with all his friends sitting so fucking far on Sai's dick.
But apparently, and not surprisingly, the sharp Uchiha could see through his little masquerade.
"You know you're not a very good liar." He remarked, one hand leaving the steering wheel to take hold of the thermos that sat in the cupholder. There was green tea inside, Deidara knew because he'd prepared a pot the day before. Itachi had reached out to offer him some, but Deidara refused, occupying himself with staring out of the window instead.
"…Is this about me inviting Sai to Yahiko's?" Itachi asked softly. The faint wariness in his question somehow put Deidara's mind at ease, and he relaxed the clench in his shoulders a bit.
"I… had a feeling Sasori would bring him along even if I hadn't. I was trying to do the courteous thing, I suppose." He brought his thermos to his lips and idly rested his chin on the rim, breathing in. "But I still upset you. I'm sorry." Only for an instant did his eyes move away from the road to look at Deidara, but it was still more than enough to disarm the blonde.
"Hm…" Deidara sighed to himself, giving a roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You really can be soppy sometimes, Uchiha. And melodramatic. I wasn't even really mad about that. Hm."
Itachi said nothing. He only shrugged, but Deidara was certain he was affected by the words. It made him smirk, 'cause he knew there weren't many people Itachi allowed to see that side of himself. It felt as if he'd won something virtually unobtainable, and it made the blonde feel rather smug.
When they pulled up to a red light Itachi took a sip of his tea, then ran his tongue over his upper lip. "I still felt inclined to apologize, since you were being so moody." He tapped long fingers to the side of the thermos. "What happened at Yahiko's while I was gone?"
Deidara sighed. He'd finally decided to return the eye contact; though only briefly before he lifted his hips and fished into his back pocket for an inconspicuous Rilakkuma baggie.
"Nothing worth telling. Everyone just sucked his dick the entire time." He grabbed his lighter, along with one of the roll-ups Konan had prepared for him before he left. "Sai, I mean. It was upsetting because it seemed like everyone was purposely trying to gang up on me. But Sasori thinks I'm just being dramatic. Hm."
Deidara was aware that he shouldn't have been doing this while they traveled through such a populated area, but being close to the Uchiha clan had lessened his fear of the law considerably. He gradually grew to not give a damn when it came to misdemeanor crimes, such as smoking pot in the passenger side of Itachi's BMW.
"Sai's an alright artist, I won't lie. But alright is all he is." Itachi cracked Deidara's window to allow some air into the car. "You're far more talented. I'm sure you know that already."
"The others seem to feel differently." Deidara said through a snort, holding the joint between his middle and index finger. "But then again, they're all fools with no appreciation for true art. Lord knows why I allowed myself to get so worked up. Hm."
Itachi smirked lightly. He secured his thermos back into the cupholder and turned the corner onto the narrow street that led to their apartment complex. "Do you know when Sai is going back to Suna?"
"After Sasori's birthday, or so they said." Deidara leaned back. He couldn't wait until that time came; he was practically counting the days. "November eighth. That's his birthday. Hm." Deidara said, turning some so he could exhale the smoke toward the open window. He really did enjoy Hidan's presence, but in that moment he was glad the third member of their party had opted to go home with Ino rather than with them. Serious conversations were nearly impossible with him around. That, and he knew he'd be all over his weed.
"His birthday is in a few weeks. We should start making plans if we're going to do something." The Uchiha said, nodding to himself as he pulled into their apartment's parking lot. "We are doing something, aren't we?"
Deidara found himself grinning as he thought of all the possibilities of things they could do for the boy. Really, he wanted to do all of them, 'cause his baby definitely deserved the best.
"Of course. We should coax Auntie Miko into baking him a cake. Hm."
Itachi pulled his car into a space near the front entrance. "I doubt she really needs much coaxing. You know my mother loves to bake."
Deidara thought back to all the instances he'd be hanging in Itachi's room, and Mikoto just randomly showed up with trays of cookies, brownies or whatever else she'd been baking that day. He also very distinctly remembered the allergic reaction he had when they ate her peanut butter cupcakes, and Itachi stabbing him with an EpiPen.
"Remember the gig is a week before Sasori's birthday." Itachi reminded as he shut off the engine. The parking lot was dark and void of any people, so Deidara didn't bother lowering his joint as he unclipped his seatbelt and climbed out of the car.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm planning on practicing a bit when we get in. Hm." Deidara shut his eyes against the cold air and took a long drag, desperately trying to warm himself up. Simply going out in a wool blazer had been a bad decision. "Wanna jam?"
"Sure." Itachi gave a short reply as the two men strolled up to their building's entrance.
Sasori harbored great animosity for Halloween, and everything that went along with it. But the costume aspect definitely aggravated the boy the most. He'd been rigid when his band mates tried to get him to dress up for the Hidden Mist show, not even agreeing to put on the simple Jack-O-Lantern tee Hidan had borrowed from Ino's closet. Instead Sasori opted to go as what he naturally looked like – a porcelain doll. It required no effort, and his everyday appearance was far more appealing than some absurd costume anyway.
Now, he, along with the others, was standing at the service entrance of the lounge, unloading the equipment from Kisame's van. Sasori was leaning against the brick wall and picking at his nails whilst the rest of them did the work, glancing up only when he saw a pair of bare feet on the ground in front of him.
"Hidan…" He blinked. "Are you… a caveman?" Raising a single brow, Sasori looked up at Hidan, lazy eyes scrutinizing the man's attire. He was clad in nothing but his bare chest, a taupe-colored loin wrap and a necklace crafted of plastic bones. Somehow Sasori wasn't surprised at his choice of costume.
The man had a rather pleased grin on his face as he struck a pose, muscled arm bent behind his head with his hip jutted out. Sasori wouldn't deny the subtle attraction he sometimes felt towards Hidan, but those sentiments were instantly squashed when he was reminded of how utterly stupid he was.
Like right now.
"I'm Tarzan, Little Red." He declared proudly, "Ino would be Jane if she was here, but sadly she ain't."
"Pfft, you just wanted an excuse to not wear a shirt." Said Kisame, who was dressed in – no surprise – a shark bodysuit. He sounded slightly winded, as he was currently lugging Hidan's drum set onto the concrete ground.
Hidan gave a boisterous laugh as his hand clapped onto the taller man's shoulder. "Ya know me well."
Sasori rolled his eyes and started to return his attention to his nails, but then he spied Deidara emerging from the passenger's side of the vehicle. The blonde was dressed in a leather jacket with a popped collar, a white t-shirt tucked into rolled-up skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors. Pushed to his hairline was a pair of aviator shades. Sasori resisted the urge to look away in disgust as he advanced closer.
"Aye Kenickie, where's Danny?" Hidan smirked.
Deidara grinned and pointed long fingers towards the van, then stalked up to stand in front of Sasori. He placed a hand on the wall next to his head and leaned in, hot breath fanning over the boy's mouth when he chuckled.
"You could've been Rizzo, but you playin'."
Sasori rolled his eyes for the second time that night and looked up at him through his lashes. "She is the best character in that film, but no." He lightly pushed at the blonde's chest to make him back up a little. "You all know I'm against Halloween costumes."
"Fuck, Red," Murmured Hidan. He grabbed the amp with one hand and brought it onto the ground beside the drum set. "You and Yahiko are a real pair of wet blankets."
Sasori ignored the comment. His gaze drifted and he noted Itachi had exited the van some moments after Deidara. Akin to the blonde, he was clothed in a popped leather jacket, but his was instead thrown over a dark muscle tee. The fitted fabric allotted Sasori a fine view of the sculpted muscles beneath, and he suddenly felt the need to swallow his breath. He could see the blonde bristling out of the corner of his eye.
"Stare a little quieter, why don't you?" Deidara did something with his lips that painfully resembled a pout, his brows growing narrow.
A small plume of cold air expelled from Sasori's mouth when he sighed. "Shut up, baka." He ducked from beneath Deidara's arm and strode towards the entrance, hands resting on his hips.
"It's cold. I'm going inside."
"Yahiko's likely backstage with Kabuto." Itachi said, pulling his jacket a little tighter over his lean torso. "Look for them or Zabuza if you need direction."
Sasori gave a slight nod and grabbed the handle, opening the service door with a sharp tug. He was immediately greeted with the muffled sound of music and warm air.
"Zabuza's the tall fucker with grey skin. Looks kinda like a serial killer." Added Hidan, grinning somewhat. "And he's probs got a pretty little kid by his side so he won't be hard to spot."
"I got that, you can shut up now." The redhead muttered under his breath as he stepped inside the venue, the heavy door shutting behind him without much effort. The service entrance led right into the backstage area of the lounge, and it was ridden with staff. Suddenly, Sasori found he'd rather be outside in the cold with the others.
The boy inhaled and unzipped his North Face, loosening his heather grey infinity scarf as he skirted his way to a less-populated corner and sat on one of the folding chairs.
"Pardon me, but is that… your natural hair color?"
Legs crossed prissily, Sasori glanced up at the rather sultry voice that he assumed was addressing him. He met the fair-skinned face of a young woman, dressed in black with a walkie-talkie clasped against her belt. She had intense grey eyes and a mane of loosely-waved, pale lavender hair that was pushed back by a cat-ear headband. Her bow-shaped lips were pressed into an amiable smile.
Ordinarily, he'd ignore a stranger for speaking to him so freely, but this girl was strikingly gorgeous. Sasori felt a rather uncharacteristic need to respond to her.
"It is." He nodded curtly, resting his hands in his lap as his eyes fully met hers.
The girl's smile grew as she unceremoniously plopped down in the chair next to him. "It's extraordinary!" She remarked. "I've always wanted red hair."
Sasori blinked. "I think that purple suits you quite well."
Eyes lighting up, the girl shifted some in her seat and faced him, their knees touching.
"You think so? It's newly-dyed." She said. "I'm naturally a brunette, but… I needed to change my appearance." She averted her gaze, looking rather solemn as she tugged her hair onto her shoulder. "For reasons."
Sasori detected the sudden dodginess in her tone, but he kept quiet about it. He removed his scarf from around his neck and placed it next to his thigh.
"I'm Tatsu, by the way." She said, the introduction sounding almost rushed. Her smile returned in an instant as she offered a gloved hand. "Are you… from one of the bands that are performing tonight?"
"Yes. Akatsuki." Sasori inspected her hand for a second before he took it in his own and shook it tentatively. "I'm Sasori."
Bewilderment crossed Tatsu's features, and then she drew her hand back and reached up to adjust her headband. "A-kat-su-ki…" She enunciated each syllable carefully, "One of your members… isn't he dating some idol wench?" Her nose scrunched.
"Yes." Sasori didn't really feel a need to name specifically who it was that was dating her. "Ino Yamanaka."
Tatsu huffed and visible contempt flickered in her eyes. "Ugh, I loathe that bitch…"
Sasori was a bit struck by her bluntness, but before he had a chance to ask her reasoning the door opened, and then slammed a second after.
Tatsu appeared to be troubled by who'd entered because she winced, pressing two fingers to her temple. "…Oh God..."
Puzzled, the redhead glanced to the side of them. He saw Deidara standing in front of the service door, both his eyes and mouth open with a horrified look on his face.
"What the fu— Tatsu?!"
Tatsu briefly shut her eyes, straightening her legs and standing up from the chair. She turned on her heel to face Deidara with a dry smile.
"Dei. I'd say it's nice to see you after so long, but…"
Sasori was confused by the scene in front of him. Did these two... know each other? That seemed pretty evident, but why was the aura so tense? And why did Deidara seem so upset by her presence? The boy's lips parted in question when Deidara practically lunged at him, seizing his arm and tugging him out of the chair.
"Stay away from her, baby." Deidara brought Sasori to his side and wrapped a guarding arm around his small frame. "She's, like, the spawn of Satan. Hm."
Tatsu watched them, her smile warping into a cynical grin. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment." She chuckled, "And damn, I see you've still got that unfortunate speech impediment."
Deidara squinched his eyes. "What the fuck are you even doing here?"
"I work here. Isn't that obvious?" Tatsu pointed a gloved hand to her belt and blinked. "My parole officer and Zabu'niki have some history. So… he owes me one."
Sasori's brow furrowed as he stared at her. Parole… officer? She's been in jail? No way someone that pretty could go to jail… The boy pursed his lips and he looked up at Deidara, tugging on the leather sleeve of his jacket. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
Deidara met his eyes, an amply worried look on his face. He reached down to push Sasori's hair back and bit his lip, examining the exposed skin. "She didn't try to hurt you, did she?"
"No I didn't!" Tatsu crossed her arms, looking offended as she stepped closer. "Sasori's my friend."
"Oh, no, no, no. Back the fuck up, bitch. As if I'd led you near a loved one again." Deidara's jaw clenched and his fingers curled into a fist. "You better disappear before Hidan shows up. You know he isn't above hitting women. Hm."
Of course he isn't. Sasori's eyes darted between them, considering whether he should actually get involved or let this issue iron itself out. It was difficult to do much when he had minimal knowledge of what the hell was going on, but still, the boy was curious.
His gaze fell back on Tatsu and he watched her sneer at Deidara. Exactly what was this girl to him?
"You're delusional. Hidan would never hurt me." She scoffed loudly. "He loves me."
Oh.
The door opened again and they looked up. Standing in the room now were Itachi, Kisame and Hidan, all three men staring at Tatsu as if they'd seen a ghost. Hidan was the first to speak. Kisame followed after him.
"What the fuck is she doing here?!"
"Oh shit..."
"Hidan!" Tatsu exclaimed in a shrill voice, shooting her arms in the air and sashaying her way towards him. "It's been so long, baby! The last time I saw you was—"
"It was in court, ya crazy bitch." Hidan roughly snatched her forearms, halting her in her tracks as he snarled. "When I testified against you for attempted murder. What the fuck are you doing here?"
Attempted murder? Sasori blinked.
"I'm on parole." Tatsu announced proudly. "I needed a job or they'd put me on house arrest. And the attempted murder thing is just… speculation..." Her lips formed a small pout and she clutched Hidan's arms, trying to bring them down to her waist but instead he shoved her backward.
"Get. The fuck. Away from me, whore." He practically roared at the stumbling girl, crossing his arms as he watched her fall back. "You had every intention of murdering my girlfriend. That shit doesn't fly with me!"
"Stop being so dramatic!" Tatsu's pout only grew when she regained her balance, standing up straight and smoothing her hair over her shoulders. "I'm on my meds now, so it's all good, okay?"
But her words only seemed to further rouse Hidan's notable rage. He balled his hand and actually made a move to strike the girl, but Itachi firmly grasped his arm and held him back.
"Hidan, don't." The Uchiha sighed, his tone coaxing, but also assertive as he looked at the other man. "We're in public. You do remember that, right? Let's not make even more of a spectacle of ourselves."
A derisive grin claimed Tatsu's fair features. "Ah, Itachi." She giggled, "Always the wise one."'
Sasori spied the perturbed look on Kisame's face as his eyes momentarily locked with Tatsu's. They seemed to share some kind of indecipherable exchange before the huge man coughed into his hand.
"Tatsu, what do you plan to accomplish by being here?" He asked softly.
"It's like I said before, Aniki, I work here." The purple-haired girl breathed an annoyed sigh and rested her hands on her hips. "It was either this or house arrest."
Did she just call him…'aniki'? What… Sasori's confusion only grew as the seconds stretched on. The fact that no one was offering to fill him in on what even was going on was horribly frustrating; Itachi had once said to him that as a band (as well as friends), it was unethical to keep secrets from one another. Sasori had agreed, but only conditionally. And this was one of those conditions. He glanced back at Deidara and took hold of his bicep to get his attention.
"Who is this girl?" Sasori questioned.
Before Deidara had a chance to respond, Hidan stepped into their line of sight. He had a rather furious look on his face as he turned to the redheaded boy.
"A crazy fuckin' bitch that needs to be thrown back in jail, and raped!"
"Excuse you." Tatsu cleared her throat, her arms rising up in defense. "No need to be rude." She said, her grin widening as she turned to stare at the silver-haired man. "I'd much rather be raped by you than some filthy inmate, Hidan…"
"What the hell is going on here?"
The unfamiliar voice was deep and throaty. Vexation coursed through Sasori's veins as he looked up, catching sight of a tall man with grey skin, dark eyes and a short mop of spiky black hair. Judging by his appearance – and the pretty brunette fixed at his side – Sasori presumed the man to be Zabuza.
"Hey, Zabuza." Kisame greeted him first, a faint grin claiming his bluish mouth. The grey man's jaw set, and Sasori saw how very sharp and pointed his teeth were. (Much like Kisame's, strangely enough.) Zabuza had glanced over at Tatsu, irritation swimming in his beady eyes.
"Don't tell me you're causing another scene." He sighed at her.
Tatsu looked rather exasperated as her head tilted. "Well what did you expect? You pretty much forced me into a room with my ex, and his clan of dumbasses." Her ex? The last part of her sentence hung in the air, before she sent Kisame a tender smile. "Excluding you, 'Same-ani."
Hidan let out a feral growling noise and shrugged Itachi's hand away, walking up to Zabuza in thunderous strides. "What the fuck were you thinking hiring her, man? You know she's fuckin' mental!"
Deidara nodded in agreement with his friend, a baleful look on his handsome face. "And not to mention the bitch's got a criminal record. Hm."
To Sasori's interest, it was the androgynous brunette who spoke up next. Their brown eyes were large and glassy, obsidian hair falling straight down their back and garmented with a velvet headband. Sasori recalled Deidara and the others discussing them, along with Zabuza, the other week, and he was certain the kid's name was Haku. Or something.
"We didn't have much of a choice." Haku's voice was unexpectedly smooth. "Tatsu is something like a family member to Zabuza, so he felt obligated."
Interesting. When Sasori felt a hand on his back and lips at his ear, he knew it was Deidara without even turning his head. No one else had enough audacity to get that close to him.
"We'll tell you everything later, okay? Now's just not a good time." He said, his voice low enough so only Sasori could hear. The boy waited a moment before nodding slowly. He watched a surprising smile claim Deidara's lips, his hand ruffling the crimson tresses atop Sasori's head.
He knew if it'd been anyone else he probably would have swatted them away, but – as much as he hated to admit it – he somewhat enjoyed Deidara's touch. A very small part of him might have even craved the blonde, in a way that wasn't exactly… innocent. But no one needed to know that.
"Alright. Now stop touching me." Sasori narrowed his eyes him.
As per the boy's request, Deidara retracted his arm, blue eyes moving to look back at Zabuza and Haku.
"Y'all could've at least had 'er workin' a different fuckin' night!" Hidan continued to rant on. Unlike usual, his hair wasn't gelled back against his nape so he kept having to push the locks out of his eyes. "I still don't get why the fuckin' bitch is outta jail in the first place!"
"Babe, I'm standing right here." Tatsu snorted.
"You think I give a shit about you?!" Hidan fumed. "And stop fuckin' calling me that! I don't even like your crazy ass!"
"Okay, look." Zabuza held up a hand to grab everyone's attention. "I understand her being here is causing problems. I can send her home tonight, but that's as far as it goes with me. Feel free to file another restraining order."
"The restraining order didn't work the last time." Deidara muttered, clearly irritated by the bogus suggestion.
Zabuza shrugged his shoulders. "That ain't my problem. But you guys are on in an hour. Get it together."
Tatsu looked hurt as she tugged on Zabuza's sleeve. "You're really sending me home? No fair. I barely had any fun!" She walked around to stand in front of him, arms folding defiantly.
"You're a disruption." Haku's eyes narrowed slightly. "Zabuza's words are final, so yes, you have to leave."
There was noticeable resistance when Zabuza seized Tatsu roughly, holding her by her waist and yanking her to the exit. Deidara and Hidan both seemed to relax considerably, though Hidan was still frowning.
"This isn't fair!" Tatsu was yelling with flailing arms, trying her hardest to fight against Zabuza's grip, but the efforts were futile. "I barely got to see Hidan and it's been a year! Kisame, do something!"
Kisame actually looked pained as he watched the grey man drag her out of the room. Sasori was sure, in the two months he'd known Kisame, never once had he seen him make a face like that. It made him wonder. What exactly was his relation to that woman?
"That was quite an interesting show."
Kabuto had approached them alongside Yahiko, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked fondly in the direction they'd gone. "I definitely haven't seen Tatsu in a while. It would have been nice to chat with her again."
Deidara's hand balled into a fist. "Tell me you're not serious, my man."
Sasori couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but there was something about Kabuto that made him feel horribly uncomfortable. Everything he said seemed to be dripping with venom, and the way he smirked and shrugged nonchalantly at Deidara made him cringe.
Yahiko, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about much at all as he sauntered up to his band mates. "We should prepare for the show."
Hidan was baring his teeth as he clenched and unclenched his fingers. "Fuck that shit. I need a goddamn drink."
If possible, the crowd was even more enthusiastic than when they'd performed at Ino's. Despite his shitty mood from before, Deidara couldn't help but grin down at the audience. He was sure the lot of them didn't even know much about them, really, but even still their genuine hype over their performance made him feel contended. It was odd, but definitely a good kind of odd. They'd even begun calling for an encore as Akatsuki walked off the stage.
"Good job, you guys." Commended Haku, who was standing just behind the stage's curtain. "The audience usually doesn't cheer that loudly, but I can't say I'm surprised."
"You shouldn't be. We're fucking amazing!" Hidan's mood had certainly lightened within the hour that passed, but Deidara wasn't really surprised. Hidan was known for his fuming anger, but also known to get over it as quickly as it'd come. The blonde looked at Yahiko and saw him lighting a cigarette.
"You and Zabuza promised us free drinks for the night." Their leader said with a smirk.
"And we meant that. Feel free to help yourselves to the bar." Haku nodded, ushering them to the bar that was just outside of the backstage area. Without waiting any longer they'd all started towards the door, but Sasori haltingly grabbed Deidara by his arm.
"Did you forget you were gonna tell me what the hell was going on earlier?"
Deidara looked down at the boy and smiled some. "I didn't forget, Doll." He lifted his eyes to Hidan for a moment. "But… I think this story would be much easier to discuss tipsy, don't you think, Hidan?"
Hidan nodded. "Fuck yeah."
"The bitch's name is Tatsu Minami." Hidan brought his screwdriver to chapped lips and grunted. "I dated her for a while before I got with Ino."
Sasori leaned his chin on his palm. The six of them were currently seated in a curved velvet booth in the VIP section of the lounge, a tray of drinks sat before them on the wooden table. Sasori's was the only one that wasn't alcoholic; he'd just settled for a Mountain Dew with a bendy straw.
"She did mention her hatred for Ino..." The redhead briefly thought back on his conversation with Tatsu.
"Yeah, I ain't surprised. I cheated on 'er."
"That still doesn't give her a right to try and murder Ino." Said Itachi, his eyes trained on the clear contents of his glass. Even he seemed to be troubled, which surprised Sasori.
"What exactly happened though?" Raising his brow, he glanced over to the blond man that was sitting next to him. "Did she really… go to jail?"
Deidara sighed. "Yeah, she did. Like Hidan said, he'd cheated on her with Ino. Then the bitch went insane and broke into his old place. Somehow she set it on fire when Ino was still inside." His fingers tightened around his glass. Just telling the story was enough to rile him up, it seemed.
"We were lucky as hell that the smoke detector went off. Ino escaped. But my poor baby… she's got this huge fuckin' burn down her back because of it." Hidan was seething, but he also looked sort of hurt from unearthing such painful memories. "I fucking hate that bitch. I'd kill her ass if she was here right now. No one lays a fuckin' finger on Ino and gets away with it…"
"She didn't get away with it." Deidara took a small sip of his drink and leaned back in his seat. "She got thrown in jail. Hm."
"But apparently that wasn't enough. I'ma have'ta file another restraining order and pray to Jashin the bitch keeps her distance." Hidan mumbled, gruffly.
Sasori looked up at Deidara, idly observing his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed his drink. Somehow it wasn't that hard to wrap his mind around the story, considering the kind of person Hidan was. It seemed more than likely that he'd attract someone that mental.
But there was still one factor that was bothering the boy immensely.
"Kisame," He glanced across the table and closed his lips over the end of his straw. "You and Tatsu are close, aren't you?"
Everyone at the table saw, and heard, the bluish man sigh and rub the corner of his eye with his finger. "She's from the same town as Zabuza and I. So she kind of sees us as older brothers." And there was that pained look again.
"But he knows now where his loyalties lie, right Kisame, my man?" Deidara peered at him, his hand reaching to close over Sasori's atop the table.
The conversation was interrupted by Kabuto, with an unfamiliar brunette woman at his side. The woman had a notepad in her hand and a mechanical pencil behind her ear, and she looked down at them with a smile.
"Gentlemen, this is Shizune." Kabuto directed a hand to the left of him. "She's a talent scout from Kage Records."
"Kage Records?" Deidara's eyes widened. "That's GIRL3 and Ichigo's label. Hm!"
Shizune's smile grew and she placed one hand on her hip. "That's right, son. I saw you guys play tonight and you were amazing!" She pulled the pencil from behind her ear and stepped a little closer to the table.
"May I sit?"
Itachi, who was seated at the end of the booth, nodded and scooted a little closer to Deidara. They were staring intently as Shizune parked herself at the edge of the booth and sat her notepad on the table top.
"So…" She took a moment to look around the table. "I've talked to Kabuto. And I think I'd like to formally discuss a contract with you guys."
A/N: This chapter was a lot longer than I intended! But I like the way it ended, so it's fine. Make sure to review and tell me what you think, okay?
