Clay and Puppets

Summery: In which, Sasori gains, through a string of seemingly unfortunate incidents, a new partner named Deidara. Reluctant to form any kind of friendship with the young Iwa missing-nin, Deidara seeks to get to know Sasori, while adjusting to his new life in the evil organisation of the Akatsuki.

Disclaimer: This product is meant for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Use only as directed. Flammable.

A/N: Just something I have to address: a few reviewers have told me they have become confused over Deidara's age, and believe he is acting like a small child. The only thing I can say to that, is that I characterise Deidara as being the happy-go-lucky and innocent character of the Akatsuki, second only to Tobi, despite his age of sixteen. Also, Sasori refers to Deidara as a kid, simply because 16 is still a young age, and Sasori is quite a bit older. I will try to portray him as more mature in the continuing chapters, but he is simply going to be a major uke in this, so I apologise for any that find this not to their taste.

Anyway, sorry, just had to address that. Please don't get the wrong idea though, I have not been flamed in any sense, and I hold no ill regard to those who have expressed their opinion that Deidara is acting too young, in fact I encourage such critizism, I simply have to justify my position as the author of the story. Please continue to enjoy the fic, and I hope you all like this new chapter.

Thank you.

Chapter 13: Secrets of a Partnership

- The Emergency Mission -

Deidara was grinning, he couldn't help it. How could he not be happy and giddy? He had just finished his official entrance ceremony into the Akatsuki, after all.

Walking back from the dark and gloomy halls of Sir Leader's chambers, the blonde boy was filled with a new appreciation for the organisation he now belonged to. He had found a home here, he knew now - and a family, as it turned out. The blood bond between the members had itself come as a great surprise to Deidara, though now that he thought about it, it explained how close the Akatsuki really were to each other. When Deidara had first entered the Akatsuki, it had surprised him how they interacted - talking and laughing, cooking and eating at the table together. As a whole, an insider could really say that the Akatsuki did function rather like a family.

And now, Deidara was the new member of the family.

Smiling happily, the ex Iwa-nin continued to admire his right hand - newly bandaged after the cut he suffered for the blood bond - and more accurately, his right index finger. Residing there, where before there had been nothing, was the object Sir Leader had slipped onto his hand; a ring. The ring had actually been forged specifically for him, as he was told, since Sir Leader had decided he would become a member, and which supposedly stood for him. As it turned out, each member had their own unique ring, which they each wore on a different finger. No two rings where the same, or worn in the same position as any other member's.

Seiryu, The Azure Dragon, was the name of Deidara's ring. Also - much to the blonde's interest - in being given his ring, he had been informed of Sasori's; for the simple significance that he was his partner. He had learned that Sasori's was gyokunyo, The Virgin, which the puppeteer wore on his left thumb.

Glancing over at his partner, Deidara took careful note of the bright red ring on Sasori's thumb, the kanji proudly proclaiming the name of his representative ornament. Sasori had been smiling himself earlier, and Deidara was elated by the fact that the redhead had been somewhat excited for his ceremony, but now they were both exhausted. They had just gotten back from their mission today, and then had been hurriedly dragged off to participate in the ceremony. Now they both just wanted to go back to their room and sleep.

It was late, nearly midnight, but Kisame was still up in the kitchen as they walked though it.

Sasori smirked slightly as he told the shark-man, pointing to the house rules board stuck on the wall, "Rule no.2, Kisame."

The blue man glared light-heartedly at the smirking puppeteer, but simply shrugged and replied, "I'll clean up. Really."

Deidara smiled and shook his head, but before he and his partner were finally able to go to bed, Kisame called after them;

"Hey, you two should really eat somethin' before you go ta' bed! You only just got back from a mission, so aren't ya' hungry?" The shark-man gestured invitingly towards the kitchen.

Sasori looked over at Deidara for conformation, who simply yawned in reply, before the redhead turned back to Kisame and told him; "We're just tired. We're going straight to bed, there will be plenty of time to eat in the morning."

Kisame shrugged, "Whatever does it for ya'." He replied, giving a short wave goodnight, as they turned on their heels and left for the comforts of their nice warm beds.

Apon entering their room, they both moved automatically, simply changing their clothes in the bathroom, each having a quick shower, before they climbed into their respective beds.

Pulling the covers up around himself, Deidara felt an immediate appreciation for the familiarity of his bed, having had to sleep in a hotel room the night previously, he was glad to be back home, ready to rest and wake up tomorrow to start a new day.

Sasori's voice was quiet, monotone and calm as it always was, as it washed over Deidara;

"Enishi."

And the lights went out.

"Dei, wake up."

'Who was that? Ah, a voice. Why are they talking to me? Do I know them?'

"Deidara, you have to get up."

'I don't want to though... I just want to sleep.'

"Brat! Wake up!"

At the sound of his Danna's suddenly dominating voice, Deidara shot up in bed, eyes wide and confused as he awoke to the presence of what appeared to be three figures standing in he and Sasori's room, which he could barely make out in the darkness. It was still night.

Then suddenly, someone turned the light in the room on again, and Deidara could see everyone properly.

Looking up in front of him, he found the person who had originally attempted to wake him up. The tall figure of Kisame stood over him, his eyes bright and imploring, as he tried to rouse Deidara.

"Dei, you gotta' get up." The shark-man told him, his voice sounding urgent.

Sasori sat on his bed on the other side of the room, rubbing his eyes tiredly, as it was apparent he too had just been woken by Itachi, who stood next to his bed as Kisame did Deidara's.

"What's going on, un?" The blonde asked the general room.

"Emergency mission." Itachi answered, to Deidara's slight surprise. The Uchiha had never spoken to him before, and, he realised, this was the first time he had seen the Uchiha since he had been brought to Akatsuki. But, with a sudden clarity and remembrance of the night before, he supposed it was different now that he had performed the blood bond.

Sasori sighed deeply, standing up from where he had sat on his bed, and quickly going over to his draws to take out some clothing, retrieving his Akatsuki cloak from where he had draped it over a chair, before walking towards the bathroom door.

"We need to get ready to leave, brat." Sasori informed Deidara, his voice firm as he then enforced this by commanding him; "Get up and get your clothing, prepare anything you need to take. We leave in ten minutes."

Deidara felt flustered and confused, as the bathroom door shut and Kisame and Itachi both took a seat on Sasori's bed, waiting for the other two to get ready. It was apparent that they needed to leave immediately.

When Sasori had finished and Deidara too had changed and gathered his things together, almost forgetting his shinobi sandals before Itachi - much to Deidara's embarrassment - had pointed out that they wouldn't get very far if Deidara had no shoes.

Once they left Sasori and Deidara's room, they found it was deadly quiet out in the halls of the hideout, as everyone was fast asleep at the late hour. The four that were to depart did not talk as they made their way out of the main chambers, and then finally out of the cave entrance to the Akatsuki hideout altogether.

Standing outside, it became evident that it must be about three am in the morning, for it was still pitch dark as it had been when they had all gone to bed, and it would be an hour yet before the morning sun would begin to creep its yellow light over the horizon.

"Where are we headed?" Sasori asked, a formality before they headed off in any one direction through the surrounding field and proceeding forest.

"Kumogakure." Itachi replied, Kisame giving his usual grin as an approval of what his partner had informed them.

Sasori simply nodded, then looked quickly over to Deidara as though he were making sure the blonde also understood, before they all took off into the field, coming to the edge of the forest where they began leaping through the trees at a fast speed.

"What is the mission? We haven't had an emergency departure for quite some time." Sasori asked casually, though his speed betrayed how seriously he really took the mission to be. Emergency missions weren't named that for the fun of it, after all.

Deidara too, putting effort into keeping up with the other three ninja, listened intently for Itachi's answer.

There was a slight pause before the Uchiha replied, one that Deidara would later come to associate with Itachi as his usual speech pattern, as though the man always had to phrase what he was going to say carefully, perhaps to avoid offending, or revealing too much of his own thoughts.

"This is a seek and capture." Itachi replied eventually, his voice monotone and contemplative in the darkness as they sped through the trees, "A man the Akatsuki has been watching since the assassination of that spy in Amegakure, is on the move. He is travelling towards Kumogakure. We must intercept and defeat him, to take him back with us."

Deidara was slightly surprised, "Do we do that often, un?" He asked, not knowing the Akatsuki performed missions such as captures.

"No." Sasori replied to him, his eyes forward as he leaped alongside the blonde, his voice slightly strained, "That is why this is an emergency mission, we have only just gotten word of his movement, so we must capture the assailant immediately, before he reaches the sanctuary of Kumogakure where he will likely have back-up."

Deidara nodded, though he knew Sasori nor any of the others would have been able to see it. Was it just him, or did Sasori seem strangely distant at the moment? He hadn't looked at Deidara once since he had gotten up, though he had looked briefly towards him before they took off, the redheaded puppeteer seemed almost unhappy. Perhaps he was still just tired from the mission they had come back from yesterday? Deidara wondered.

"We'll have to be fast," Kisame continued his partner's dialogue, his voice decidedly more casual, "'Cause we only have two days. We'll have to travel at night, and sleep when the sun comes up in a few hours."

Deidara felt relieved at that small piece of information, for even though they had only been travelling for all of twenty minutes, he could feel his bone-deep exhaustion from the night before still present after his poor three hours of sleep. No doubt, Sasori was every bit as tired at he was, he thought.

After another hour and a half of travelling, the sun was well on its way climbing up over the mountains that could be seen surrounding the horizon, weakly lightly the sky in the early morning. The four missing-nins had now stopped travelling in the trees, as the forest area had now opened up into wider expanses of greenery, and the gaps between the branches had become too large to leap the distance from above, they now travelled on foot, making their way to Kumogakure, which was still a full day's travel away.

As they were walking at a slower pace now, having made good time when they had travelled in the dark, they all looked forward to stopping within the next two to three hours and resting at a hotel for the day. By now, Deidara distinctly regretted not listening to Kisame the night before and eating something before going to bed, as he had now not eaten since the morning of the day before, and was starving.

Eventually, they reached a small shinobi work township, known to be small areas inhabited by few working families which were set up for the convenience of travelling ninja. Situated every few miles, travellers would often come apon these, and shinobi often made a point of stopping at them in their travels if they were migrating from village to village.

Having come apon one of these, Deidara wondered if they were going to walk through it or go around to avoid seeing any people. Usually, these small townships would have no idea of the dangers of any hot-shot organisations such as the Akatsuki, the locals having basically no knowledge of the Bingo Book whatsoever and preferring it that way, and so the four knew they had the option of entering if they chose.

Then, upon noticing through his still-present eye-scope, which Deidara had not thought to remove since his mission the day before, the blonde spotted a food stall only but a few meters inside the entrance to the township, and heard his stomach grumble in need. He couldn't stay silent any longer, Deidara decided, and boldly grabbed Sasori's arm.

Sasori immediately became aware of the blonde's need of his attention, and turned to see the boy's one visible bright blue eye wide with pleading.

"Sasori-no-Danna, un," The blonde started respectfully, his voice holding an apologetic tone, "I'm really hungry, un, can we stop?"

The puppet master seemed to avoid his gaze for a moment, as though unsure of himself, before he nodded. Stopping his walking, bringing the blonde to a halt next to him, Sasori looked over to Itachi and Kisame, who immediately noticed their ceasing footsteps and turned to the other two partners questioningly.

"Deidara and I are hungry." Sasori informed them, "We should stop in this township, then move on to the closest hotel, where we will rest."

Itachi nodded approvingly, while Kisame grinned wide, "Sure thing, Sasori. Come on, Dei."

Deidara nodded in reply, as they all turned and walked towards the small township.

Letting his hand stray to brush against Sasori's arm again, the blonde waited until the puppet master was looking at him again before he smiled appreciatively, showing his gratitude that the man had not revealed it was only Deidara who was hungry.

Sasori nodded hesitantly in reply, and quickly averted his gaze back to the township they headed towards.

When they walked into the township, they found they were quite well ignored, obviously going unrecognised as they had expected by all locals and other visiting shinobi. Deidara was the one to walk the quickest, almost running over to the stall he had seen from outside, and squealing in delight as he found they sold two of his favorites; ramen and miso soup.

"One miso soup and one ramen, please, un!" Deidara exclaimed to the stall-keeper, having made his decision to get some soup for himself and ramen for Sasori. The young lady smiled warmly at Deidara's enthusiasm towards the food, noting to herself that the young man was quite good-looking, if a bit feminine, and that he must be around her age.

"Of course, sir. Coming right up!" She told him cheerfully, immediately preparing his food for him as the blonde went to reach into his cloak, before realising he had no money.

Deidara frowned, then looked over at Sasori who was looking around himself, seeming to scan the area with curiosity. Deidara thought that the puppeteer looked momentarily quite innocent, before he smiled to himself, then yelled out;

"Hey, Danna!" Sasori looked over to the blonde, and after a moment, began walking towards him.

"What is it?" Sasori asked, eyeing the stall Deidara was ordering from, and the young lady behind it who seemed to be sneaking glances at the blonde every few seconds. He glared at her.

"I need money, Danna, un," Deidara told him, and Sasori realised that the blonde hadn't been given any of his own money yet. He made a note to sort that out with Kakuzu when they got back to the hideout.

"Hn." The puppet master reached into his own robes and produced a small pouch he carried his finances in, taking out a few coins which he then handed to his blonde partner.

Deidara grinned widely at Sasori as the puppeteer handed him the money, "Thanks, Danna!" The boy felt his excitement grow as he turned to the smiling young lady and handed her the money, reaching out to take his food at the same time.

The woman's hand didn't release the food though, and Deidara stood confused for a moment, his hands close to hers as she leaned closer to him, giving a quickly anxious glance at Sasori as though she wished he wasn't there, before she spoke;

"I was wondering, I know we've only just met, but are you doing anything tonight?" Her tone was soft as she fluttered her eyelashes at Deidara, obviously thinking the action to be seducing the blonde, while Deidara was in fact only further confused.

"Doing something tonight?" Deidara asked in confusion, not understanding her meaning, as she simply nodded. He was about to ask what she meant by that, before he felt something incredibly surprising.

An arm, around his waist. And not just any arm, Sasori's arm.

"He's busy." Sasori's deep monotone voice told the girl condescendingly, as he allowed his arm to drape around Deidara's slim waist meaningfully, pulling the blonde a little closer to him protectively as he spoke.

Deidara was truly confused now, "Un?" He asked, as he looked down at Sasori's arm wrapped almost possessively around him, wondering why on earth the puppet master was doing that, and furthermore, what he and girl were talking about. Of course, the blonde merely assumed Sasori was informing the girl that he had a mission on tonight, and that they had to get going.

The girl seemed to take this news rather poorly though, as her face filled with surprise and embarrassment, his cheeks flushing red as she averted her eyes from Sasori's scathing glare.

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry, sirs! Please, have a good day!" She replied quickly, her tone high-pitched.

Sasori did not reply, simply telling Deidara; "Come on, brat." Before steering himself and the blonde away from the stall and over to the undercover table where Itachi and Kisame were sitting and talking. He let his arm drop from the blonde's waist as they approached the other two.

Sitting down, Deidara felt a light pink on his cheeks from the contact with Sasori, but sat down and immediately began digging into his food, passing Sasori the ramen he had bought him.

"Hey, Dei," Kisame spoke up then, noticing the blonde's slight embarrassment, "What happened? Why are you blushing?"

Deidara looked up in slight surprise of Kisame's mentioning it, though anything he would have said was immediately interrupted by Sasori.

"The stall girl was coming on to him." The puppet master replied, his voice carefully concealing his resentment towards the young lady, his tone casual.

Deidara's eyes were wide as he looked over at Sasori, "She was not, un!" He yelled in embarrassment, his cheeks reddening further, as he added, "Was she, un?" He had no idea.

Kisame burst out laughing though, "Really?" He asked, grinning wide in his amusement, "Ah, your too irresistible, Dei-chan!" he laughed heartily, leaning across the table to pinch the blonde's red cheek jokingly.

Deidara glared at the blue-skinned man, slapping his large hand away as he continued laughing, and promptly growling at him, "Shut up, Kisame."

Itachi, too, seemed greatly amused with Deidara's reaction and his partner's jesting. While Sasori merely played with his food, trying to seem disinterested with the entire conversation.

Then, something seemed to gain Kisame's attention. He looked back to his partner, a somehow softer smile now on his face, as he took hold of the smaller man's thin wrist lightly.

"Ne, Itachi-san, would you like some dango?" Kisame asked politely, gesturing towards the stall he saw some distance away that sold sticks of the sweet dumplings.

Itachi looked over to the stall, not having noticed it before, and smiled lightly as he nodded.

Kisame grinned again as he then stood up and made his way away from the table, over to the stall to get some of the treat for his partner. Itachi smiled to himself as he watched his partner purchase the dango for them; Kisame knew it was Itachi's favorite food.

Deidara watched the exchange between the partners questioningly, wondering at the change of attitude they held towards each other.

When Kisame returned, they were ready to go find a hotel. Deidara and Sasori were finished eating, the blonde in a decidedly better mood now that his hunger was sated, and they took off from the table they had sat at to go looking for the nearest inn.

Itachi took his dango stick from Kisame, smiling up his large blue partner to show his gratitude, as they walked on. The sun was high in the sky by now, and the four shinobi were all tired from the already eventful night before. Wanting to find their hotel room quickly, they checked into the first one they saw, not giving much thought to the security of it. They were in a township, after all, and they would not come under any threat here. Another beauty about stopping in a township, they all thought as they made their way up to their rooms after the no-hassle exchange of money for a key, was that they didn't have to register under fake names to get in.

They ordered two rooms, one for each set of partners, as was practical, and as they departed from each other Itachi organised with Sasori that they should meet at 6:30 pm to begin moving again, that way they could keep up good time, with time to spare if there should be any accidents. Sasori recognised the Uchiha's precaution with having extra time as the man's way of easing any concern Sasori may have for his inexperienced partner getting hurt, and the puppeteer was grateful.

When they had entered their room, Deidara had crashed, wanting nothing more than to sleep. And it was now, in the silence, that Sasori let himself feel the turmoil he had been suffering from all day.

Last night had been meaningful, as all Akatsuki entrance ceremonies were, and Sasori was elated with the cementing of Deidara's being a member of the Akatsuki. At first, the puppeteer had accredited his happiness to the fact that he was glad he finally had a permanent partner again, or perhaps the fact that this partner at least seemed to be a cohesive match for him, or even that the boy respected him and considered the redheaded puppeteer his Danna.

Yet, as the night wore on, Sasori found himself feeling something else. A feeling that had only surfaced to the point of recognition before they had gone on their first mission, that day he had watched Deidara walking around in the lake hidden in the forests outside the hideout, when he had been collecting clay. That same excitement had made itself known last night, when Deidara had stood before him, the blonde's hand placed against his, their fingers interlaced. And suddenly, with a profound clarity, Sasori had known.

He cared about Deidara. More than he ever had for anyone in his entire life. In fact, Sasori had long ago convinced himself that he couldn't care for anyone in the way that he now found himself caring for Deidara. He was scared. More than scared, he was downright terrified. What did this mean? Why was he feeling this way? It couldn't be a good thing. And he, Deidara, wouldn't he find this all so wrong? Surely, he would be disgusted by Sasori, should the man make his affection known. After all, Sasori was supposed to be the boy's partner, his Danna, and the redhead found himself taking this position very seriously.

No, right now he could not even look at the blonde, hence the reason he had been avoiding eye contact with the boy all day. If he did, maybe his feelings would show through. And he couldn't take that chance. He didn't know what he felt, if it was the affection one felt for someone that would be considered a friend, or even a sibling, or (he felt his fear grow at the very thought) perhaps more than a friend or sibling, but he didn't want to know. He had to squash this, whatever it was, before it had time to grow into something else. Before it could crush them.

Closing all the blinds to their room, Sasori settled down in the bed left for him in the hotel room, and fell into a restless sleep.

"'Tachi..." Kisame whined, arms and legs spread out on his bed as though he had just dropped himself there in exasperation.

Itachi sighed, "Give me a minute, Kisame." He called through the open bathroom door, wishing his partner would stop complaining.

The running tap was soothing to the Uchiha, as he cupped his hands and brought the cool water up to wash his face, rubbing his tired eyes. After his few weeks off after the mission when they retrieved the scroll of Iwagakure (and Deidara), Itachi's eyes had healed for the most part, but he found them still becoming sore when he became tired. He opened his eyes and examined himself in the mirror, telling himself that he could complete this mission without using his eyes, before he walked into the room he was sharing with Kisame.

He came to stand next to the where the blue man lay, taking off his kunai pouches and cloak.

"Took you long enough." Kisame mumbled tiredly, looking up at his partner with slight concern on his face.

Itachi gazed back at him calmly, "Do not worry, Kisame." He told him firmly, "I am fine."

Kisame held his gaze for moment longer, before he let it go, smiling easily up at his smaller partner. "If you say so, 'Tachi."

The blue man then reached out an arm, wrapping it gently around the waist of the Uchiha, and pulling the smaller man down to where he lay on the bed.

Itachi followed Kisame's lead, letting himself be pulled down to lay next to the larger blue man. Sighing contentedly, the raven-haired man tucked his head under his partners chin as he settled himself comfortably against the other man's chest. Kisame let his arms wrap around the Uchiha, pulling him closer against him as they did every night when they slept.

"Tomorrow," Itachi spoke softly before letting himself fall asleep, "You're buying me more dango before we leave."

Kisame grinned lightly, closing his eyes. "Sure thing, dear." He chuckled.

A/N: Next chap: They commence the actual events of the mission. I hope you all liked this chap, especially the Kisame/Itachi bits XD.

Until the next update!

-Emerald-