Itachi and Kisame returned to a silent lair.
Kisame had promised himself sleep and tromped off to his room without a word. Itachi felt the urge to check on certain…people. He passed Hidan's room, found the Jashinist sleeping in a fairly uncomfortable looking position, and then stopped outside Deidara's room.
The blonde had healed considerably. He was happy to see that. He walked into the room and was almost frightened when Deidara's eyes flicked open.
What the hell happened to his eyes?
The other day, they had been lifeless. Blank and glassy. This morning, they just looked…
"Hey," Itachi called out gently. He walked over and tried to ignore the unnerving sight. That fucking Sasori…
"Don't,"
The word came out frightened, cold, and bitter. Itachi stopped in his tracks. Deidara propped himself up achingly slow. He winced a bit and Itachi saw his arms tremble as they supported his weight.
"What happened?"
"Don't…ask," Deidara cupped a hand over his mouth and his chest heaved. The movement was reminiscent of someone throwing up after too many drinks.
"Did Sasori—?"
"Don't even mention his name," Deidara wiped his now bloody hand on his blanket, where Itachi could detect other traces of wiped blood. He was sitting still, his breathing unnaturally loud. Itachi took another step forward and saw Deidara flinch, as if Itachi's movements actually caused him pain.
"He did it again," Deidara said finally. "Sasori,"
The Iwa nin glanced up at Itachi. Again, those eyes pierced Itachi's in the most unsettling way. It probably wasn't even the way Deidara was looking at him. It was probably just the eye itself.
"Are you blind?" Itachi asked softly.
Deidara closed his eyes and touched a finger to one of them lightly. He took a deep breath before answering.
"Temporarily, I think….I've seen him use this poison before. He said it wouldn't last long, but the pain—,"
"Stop,' Itachi growled. He swept out of the room, the air suddenly crackling with undisguised aggravation. The Uchiha was going to ask Kakuzu something, then he was going to give Sasori a little punishment of his own.
How dare he… Itachi thought as he hurried along, his cloak swirling dramatically around his legs as he walked. …that little—
Deidara opened his eyes again and grinned.
Perfect he thought.
Sasori didn't know it was coming before it was way too late.
He had just been waking up when a form walked—no, stormed—into his room. He had just enough time to register that it was Itachi Uchiha when he heard the five words that would inevitably end in his death.
"Fire Style: Fireball no Jutsu!"
Hidan stopped short in the corridor just in time to catch the sight of the huge ball of flame release itself upon the room. He saw Itachi's calm form standing there. The Uchiha turned around.
"He deserved it," he said shortly. He walked to Hidan and cocked his head. He was strangely out of character. He reminded Hidan of a psycho, unstoppable yet supremely intelligent serial killer. Hidan knew that Itachi was already intelligent, but since when was he psycho?
"Did you do anything to Deidara while I was gone?"
Hidan froze. A flash of a sudden recollection that yes, he did, crossed his face, to which Itachi reacted to equally quickly.
"So you did?"
"H-hey…look," Hidan took an involuntary step back. "I didn't…you know…,"
"Good," Itachi put a hand on the Jashinist's broad shoulder. "Because if you did, you'll end up just like Sasori over there,"
He laughed a little. It was a weak, exasperated, unsatisfied laugh. "Now get the fuck out of my way,"
Deidara had heard everything that happened. Sasori was only in the next room, after all.
And no longer…he thought. He spat a mouthful of blood that had collected under his tongue and picked up the vial of liquid he had taken from Sasori's room the night before. It was damn worth it. He'd thought of other ways to keep the puppeteer continuously distracted in the least suspicious way possible, but there were none that proved as effective as sleeping with the man. It was when his guard was the most low. It was when Deidara knew it was the perfect time to wait until the puppeteer lulled into sleep and for him to sneak into his room and take a small amount of the poison.
After that, it hadn't been hard.
All he had to do was take the poison a few hours before Itachi returned. Then, when the Uchiha did, he would fake that Sasori had raped him—again—and Itachi would then, without a doubt, take action on this.
Deidara just didn't know that he would go so far as killing him. But of course, he had no complaints.
Now all he had to do was wait until his sight returned. Then everything would be perfect.
The end
And that's it! For this story, anyway. Don't forget about Hidan's sudden angsty show at the dinner table. That'll come in a sequel…which I'll get around to. It just didn't seem right to put it in here. It ruins the atmosphere...anyway, hope you enjoyed it.