SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Eleven

Sword Play

At first Deidara leaned into the kiss, moaning softly at the soft, tender feeling. But soon he snapped out of his euphoric trance, quickly pulling away at the striking of a wave. He gave an enraged glare and Deidara made a move to slap Sasori across the face.

The red head acted instinctively, having been taught how to fight long ago – he was a fine stalwart warrior with the reflexes of a feline. Sasori grabbed the boy's wrist and instinctively took hold of the blonde's throat, a self defence method which was inescapably automatic. A few seconds past until his mind caught up to his reflexes and he quickly softened his harsh grip, allowing the blonde to breathe, "Sorry; defensive instinct."

He let go of the blonde's neck just as a wave crashed against the ship, and Deidara stumbled forward, knocking over Sasori once more. They hit the floor, the blonde pinning the red head below him. The older male's mind raced but cooled once he recalled the fact that the blonde possessed no weapon and that the red head was far stronger than he was.

"Okay," the red head frowned up at the blonde, face full of irritation, "THAT time was definitely on purpose."

"Maybe so, un…" Deidara shrugged and leaned closer to Sasori, his voice dropping to a quiet but defiant tone, "I will win you, Danna; but it won't be because I look like your little ex-girlfriend." The blonde got to his feet and the red head sat up, watching the younger male for a few suspecting seconds.

"…" A sudden smirk curved Sasori's lips, "Go right ahead, Brat." He got to his feet and in a few seconds he had dominantly slammed Deidara against the closed door, pinning him down, "You want my affections, is it? You'll have to earn them first." The red head studied the blonde sceptically for a moment before chuckling, giving a sly smirk as he let the boy go, "On second thought, you're absolutely nothing like her."

The red head walked back over to his desk and picked up some scrolls which had fallen as a result of the harsh weather, placing them back on the shelf. Deidara frowned defensively before he straightened up, "I see that you're perfectly aware and prepared for the storm, un." The blonde opened the door, a stream of bitter rain splattering on him. He paused before exiting, looking back at the red head, "Can you teach me how to fight with a sword?"

Sasori shot him a distasteful look, "I've already told you; Konan is your mentor. Not me."

Deidara smirked at him challengingly, "But how am I going to win you if you don't give me the opportunity?" The red head seemed to think for a few seconds before giving a sigh.

"Fine…" He looked away from the blonde, "I also think that you have learnt your lesson; so I will revoke your previous punishment." Deidara chuckled slowly and left, leaving the red head with a bitter taste in his mouth, but with a strange smirk on his poisonous lips.

Deidara shut the door behind him and surveyed the area slowly. The rain was like a curtain across the scene, and none of the frantic figures noticed him. The blonde nearly lost his footing again as a wave hit the back of the ship, but he managed to remain standing, quickly moving down the first steps and proceeding down the second steps which led below deck.

Halfway down the stairs, another wave swamped the Lightning Queen, and he didn't succeed in stabilising himself. Deidara tripped down the stairs, slamming down each step at a time. Once he stopped on the flat surface of the room, he gave a groan of pain and slowly got up, his body aching. He limped as he walked, finding Konan swinging within her hammock, although she sat up once she heard his approach. "Took your time." The bluenette eyed him and his limping gait, a sudden hinting grin curving her lips, "Oh, so that's why you took so long…"

Deidara didn't understand what she was alluding to until a few moments later, his face suddenly flushing, "No; I'm limping because I fell down the stairs, un." He sat up in his own hammock, giving a sigh of relief at the shift of weight, "I took a while because I was discussing with Sasori about my training…I want to learn how to use a sword."

Konan gave a pout, scratching the back of her head, "I could have always taught you how to use a sword; I'm the one who taught Sasori all he knows…" She eyed him slowly, before giving a shocked expression, "You have bruises on your neck…"

Deidara frowned and felt the tender area, "I tried to slap Sasori; he wanted me…But only for the reason that I reminded him of his girlfriend, Karura…Is there the possibility that he will remember that he killed her?"

Konan shrugged while she shook her head, "No; I didn't just block the memory, I removed it completely from his mind…" She looked at the blonde slowly, "How old are you anyway, Blondie?"

Deidara frowned at the odd question, "I'm nineteen, un…Why?"

The bluenette smirked at him knowingly, "I just thought that you might like to know the ages of a few people." Deidara frowned as Konan began to go on, "Sasori is twenty-five, and he has been a pirate since he was eleven years old. Now the three captains onboard are all twenty-two, having left the orphanage and deciding on the pirate life when they were eighteen."

She grinned and the blonde watched her sceptically, "Well then, since we're on the sudden topic of age…How old are you?"

Konan's grin faded into a simple bitter smile and she looked out the porthole behind her, "As an angel, I don't age. You might say that I'm Eternal, although I can be killed by non-natural causes." She turned back to the blonde, "Today is my 330th birthday." Deidara stared at her as if she were insane, his face paling suddenly. "Although, most of that time was spent There, as I've only been on Earth for the last thirty years. I came down in celebration for my 300th birthday," she smiled bitterly, "I could finally become a prophet and preach to humanity. But at the sight of my wings, they grew fearful of me…"

Deidara continued to state at the ageless woman, "…Can you tell me more about Akatsuki, un? About the members individually…"

Konan blinked, snapping out of her sudden depressive slump, giving a grin at the blonde, "Sure! Well first there is Sasori and then myself, though there is nothing much you don't know about us." She shrugged, "Then there is Lord Pein – similar to myself, he is also Eternal. However, he is a demon rather than an angel, his wings still intact. Then there is both Itachi and Kisame, known as the Fire Breather and the Demon Shark of the South. One of the reasons why Sasori and I chose this ship is because Itachi is actually Sasuke's older brother." Deidara's eyes widened in shock, "Itachi killed his entire family – excluding his little brother – after he received his dream from Pein, who had ordered him to do so. Leader promised him that if he were to do this, Sasuke would eventually come to be a powerful figure and he would find true happiness."

Deidara frowned and looked away from the woman at nothing in particular, "But if the Fire Breather has a brother…Then doesn't that mean that Sasuke-"

"It was unintentional." Konan gave a shrug, "We didn't expect Itachi's mother to have a second child…" She gave a sudden smirk, "They don't call Sasuke the Lightning Rod without reason…But his power is raw and untrained, so he has little command over lightning…Unless he is in an ireful temper…"

"Who else is in the Akatsuki?" Deidara was highly interested in whoever else was in the fearsome organisation.

"Well, as I mentioned before there is Kisame. He can transform his body into that of a shark – and even when he is in human form, he is a mutation between these two species." She shrugged, "He is a good ally though and quite cheery. Then-"

She was cut off by a sudden shout, "Konan! Deidara! I know you're out there!" The figure of Yamato popped his head out from behind one of the doorways, "There you are! Stop lazing about and come help me with dinner!" They nodded and quickly scrambled to their feet, the blonde's body still quite sore from his previous fall down the stairs.

-x-

The storm has subsided not long ago, but it had lasted for a while – almost an entire day. The blonde was asleep in his hammock, the rest of the crew also asleep, most of them beyond exhaustion. Deidara was suddenly woken up by someone clamping a hand over his mouth. He opened his startled eyes and felt panic take over him, believing that Orochimaru and Kabuto had come to take him away and to repeat what they had done to him a bit over a week ago.

He began to struggle, but was calmed when a familiar voice cooed in a low whisper, "Shhh, it's Sasori." Deidara stopped his plight and the red head removed his hand from the blonde's mouth, "Come with me." The younger male watched him for a few seconds before giving a nod, quietly slipping off of the hammock.

He followed the red head up the set of stairs that led above deck, finding the area dimly lit by a bright lantern. They moved down to the very front of the ship, where the ring of light lit up the empty scene. "What is it, Danna?"

The red head fiddled with his belt and Deidara's eyes widened once he saw him pull out two swords. "I'm going to teach you how to swordfight – isn't that what you wanted?" The older male gave the blonde an irritated look and Deidara gave an exclamation.

"Oh yeah…But why so late, un?" Sasori walked forward and offered the blonde the handle of one of the swords, the boy taking it slowly, "I'm tired…"

"Wow Brat," Sasori crossed his arms, his own sword in hand, "I am offering to give you crucial lessons in sword fighting, plus the opportunity to win my affection, and all you can do is complain." The red head shot him a good glare, "You need to make up your mind."

Deidara frowned and stuck his tongue out at the red head, "It's the middle of the night; of course I'm going to be a bit pissed off, un."

"My, such aesthetic language…" Sasori lifted up his sword and moved into a sound stance, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The blonde gave a smirk and attempted to imitate the red head's pose, "No, but I do kiss my doctor with it."

"Touché." Sasori eyed him slowly, "Move your sword a bit closer to your body and your feet need to be a little further apart." Deidara followed the red head's remarks until he was satisfied with the blonde's current stance, "Good…Now be on guard – and keep the sound low. They shouldn't be able to hear us, but you can't be too careful."

"Right." Deidara nodded and continued to anticipate the red head's attack, although Sasori stood still, "…Well?"

The red head suddenly swiped at the blonde, and Deidara was momentarily stumped, instinctively moving back to try and dodge. He managed to move out of the weapon's deadly swing, but a few strands of his hair weren't so lucky, blowing away in the wind. He stumbled for a few steps, his hat falling off to the floor of the deck. "Concentrate, Brat."

Sasori didn't pause and he continued on from his initial assault with graceful movements, making a stabbing motion with the sword. Deidara had managed to regain some of his senses and he quickly hit the blade away from his chest, succeeding in blocking the attack.

Sasori withdrew the sword quickly, causing the blonde to stumble for a moment, but he regained his footing almost immediately so that he had the chance to parry, knocking the red head's sword away while he tried to stab Sasori.

The older male pivoted to the side and swung his sword back around, hitting the blonde's blade with enough force that it went out of the blonde's hand and clattered to the deck floor a few metres away. Deidara scowled at the soft throbbing of his hand which had been clutching the weapon only a few moments ago, but his face altered into a surprised expression when a sword was suddenly pointed again his neck. "I win."

Deidara blinked at the red head before giving a smirk, slowing moving his hands up in defeat, "I guess you do, un." The hand mouths stuck out their tongues in defiance, and Sasori withdrew his sword, "How'd I do?"

"You survived – don't you think that is good enough?" He smirked at the blonde and moved over to where the sword had collapsed on the deck, "But if this had been a real fight, you wouldn't have survived the initial attack. Although, I am a highly skilled swordsman – probably second best on this ship, after Konan that is. So…" Sasori frowned in thought as he picked up the blade, "You were quite good for a beginner…You were good enough."

"Thanks…" Deidara pursed his lips, "At least, I think that was a compliment…"

"It wasn't." Sasori turned to the blonde and tossed him the sword, Deidara quickly catching it – albeit with little grace. "'Good enough' is not good enough." The red head quickly moved back into the prepared stance, waiting for the blonde. Deidara caught on and fell into the same pose, although he still needed a few points of meticulous positioning from Sasori before he was in the correct position. "This time, you come at me…"

Deidara smirked and waited for two whole seconds before lunging at the red head with a powerful swing. Sasori swiftly ducked low, avoiding the blade easily while turning his own. He used the blunt handle of his sword to knock Deidara in the left leg. Sasori used enough force to make the blonde lose his footing, and the boy clattered to the deck with a loud 'oomph'.

"Your footing went off as soon as you attacked." Sasori straightened up and turned the sword around so that the blade was pointed outwards once more, "You're making rookie mistakes, Brat. You'll never win me at this rate."

Deidara groaned and stood up, turning around to face the red head. He gave a determined expression and fell back into the stance, almost getting it correct this time. "Just you wait, Danna; I'll win you yet. I'll make you forget all about that damn ex-girlfriend of yours, un." He gave a sinister grin, "Understand?"

"Keep dreaming." Sasori smirked at the blonde, and pointed his sword at him, "If you want to win my love so badly, you'll have to show me how badly you want it first. I won't give my heart to just any blonde-haired blue-eyed boy, no matter how in love with me he might be." The older male lunged forward with the sword, the younger boy managing to dodge, "Or however long they have waited."

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