Later on that night, when it was finally time to leave for the party, Azumi walked Naga back to her room. "No one should come for you," she said softly to him, kissing the top of his head. "Just stay hidden." He hissed softly to her as she left. 'I would die before they could take him from me,' she thought as she walked through the halls and met Sasori at the front of the house.
Sasori waited for her on the front steps of the mansion. The moment he saw her, he started down the steps to the servants waiting to carry him on the platform.
"My Lord, is Lady Chiyo not traveling with you?" one of the servants dared to ask.
"No, she will be leaving separately," he said easily. He leaned back on the small back of the chair in the middle of the platform, the very picture of nonchalant tranquility.
Azumi took her spot next to the platform. Once she was there, the other servants were given the command to start walking. The party was in the same place as the last one they went to—Oonoki's house. The same place Azumi and Gaara had their first real conversation, where Sasori got in a fight with Deidara, and where he dragged her home from to burn her chest with acid. Needless to say, the memories involved with the location were not the most pleasant for Azumi. However, she made her medications a little stronger than she normally would have so she was in a pretty neutral mood herself over it. They got to the party fairly quickly, just as the air started to cool down and the sun was not visible anymore but still cast a little bit of light. The servants lowered Sasori's platform just below the steps of the house.
"Welcome back," Kurostsuchi greeted Sasori as he walked up the steps.
He suppressed the overwhelming urge to trip her down the stairs and plastered on a friendly smile. "Always a pleasure," he said smoothly, focusing on the giddy feeling he got every time he thought of what was waiting at home. The mansion was already overflowing with people and music filled the air.
Azumi groaned softly, seeing the number of people already there. Once again, she recognized almost no one. She stayed close to Sasori as they made their way through the crowd. She knew her purpose there was to act as a deflector of other women so he did not really have to find a wife and she had no idea how to do that. They passed by a table laid out with drinks and food. She watched as Sasori discreetly contaminated random cups and plates with the poison he had Azumi make. The very poison that would cause the consumer to literally shit themselves. His face never wavered from the genial neutrality he had forced it into. He scanned the room to find a nice spot they could hide away in when he noticed someone beelining for them rapidly.
"Oh, son of mine," his mother called over the din of the crowd.
"Mother," Sasori bowed slightly, reaching for her hand to press a kiss to the back of it.
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "You smell amazing," she said when she pulled away.
"Thank you," he said with a chuckle.
"Have you had any luck finding a wife?" Somehow, both Azumi and Sasori expected that question next.
"Mother, I only just arrived."
"I noticed you were speaking with Kurotsuchi though." Her tone was a little teasing.
Sasori sighed rubbing his face. "Your eyesight never ceases to amaze me, Mother." He cracked a real smile. "Unfortunately, she is out of the running because she is practically still a child," he whined just a little.
"Oh, I suppose she is rather young," his mother pouted slightly.
"I cannot marry someone with a ten-year age gap," he chuckled.
"I know, I know," she sighed. Her gaze fell on Azumi and then back to Sasori. She quickly noted the coordination in their outfits and again how striking Azumi was. Even more so now in the fine garment and her makeup done. She leaned in to whisper into her son's ear. "If I find you are hiding behind that little pet you bought," her tone a pure threat, "I won't hesitate to take her away and force to the floor alone."
Sasori's blood ran cold. The nursing of his grandmother was easier to deal with than the idea of facing socialization alone. "I would never," he said softly to her.
His mother hummed as she pulled away again. She gently patted his cheek. "I would hope not," she said with a smile. "For your sake."
"May I cut in?" His father said, walking up to them. He and Sasori looked exactly alike but their demeanors were drastically different.
His mother giggled, taking her husband's offered arm. "Why, of course." She opened a fan to hide her wide smile, polite and flirtatious.
Azumi gasped slightly, seeing Sasori's father. 'A family of handsome men, indeed,' she thought.
His eyes fell on her and she tried her best to keep her composure, at least in front of his wife. "And who might this young lady be?" he asked.
Azumi bowed to him. "My name is Azumi, my Lord," she answered.
"She's my slave," Sasori added.
He gave her an easygoing smile. It looked so much like Sasori's without any of the menace or malice Sasori's usually held. He nodded slightly to her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope he's not making life too hard on you." He gave a teasing smile to Sasori which made Sasori's own expression twist into something lofty.
"She's a slave, Father?" Sasori said, stubbornly reminding him again.
"I heard you the first time," his father told him with a smirk. "Your mother tells me you're looking for a wife." His smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Good luck," he said. He looked at his wife and nodded toward the dance floor. "Shall we?" he asked.
Sasori's mother giggled and Azumi knew exactly what was happening. Sandaime did the same thing to her whenever he smiled. "We shall," she grinned, letting her husband lead her away. She gave Sasori one last warning look before disappearing.
Sasori rolled his eyes but could not keep the smile off of his face. "She's going to check in with me later," he sighed. "And she's going to trap me by dancing." He released another heavy sigh. "If the party makes it that far," he purred, glancing back at the refreshment table. "If you get hungry, tell me," he told her. "I don't want to risk you getting caught up in the fun."
She nodded and followed him further through the room to the corner he claimed. He sat down in a chair and she stood next to him, looking around at the crowd. She was looking for Gaara but she did not want to admit that to Sasori. She noticed a couple of women looking at Sasori, smiling flirtatiously at him. There was an audible scoff coming from both her and Sasori. They lingered like decor in the corner for the better part of twenty minutes into the party.
"If you stay over here much longer, I'm going to start thinking you're some sort of statue," Kankuro said as he sashayed over to them with a drink in his hand and a woman on his arm.
Sasori huffed, irritated that his family was pestering him again to socialize and that no one had stumbled across his little prank yet. "Leave me be, Kankuro," he grumbled. Another young lady giggled behind her fan as she passed by.
Azumi looked at the woman that Kankuro was with. 'So he does have someone,' she thought, remembering Gaara mentioned it being a possible lie to deter their father.
"The women want you, Sasori," Kankuro smirked, nodding to the woman that walked by.
"Unfortunate for them," Sasori countered.
'Is it really, though?' Azumi thought.
"Aren't you supposed to be wife hunting?" Kankuro asked. "Can't efficiently do that sitting in the corner."
The woman on Kankuro's arm giggled softly. Her eyes landed on Azumi. "Did you dress matching to your slave girl?" she dared to ask, stifling another giggle. "I'm surprised they are looking your way at all with you two looking so much like a married couple."
Kankuro blinked and finally looked at what his cousin and Azumi were wearing. "Wow," he laughed openly. "You're trying this hard and women are still throwing themselves at you. What a hard life you must live." He poked Sasori's nose.
Sasori's eye twitched hard and he swatted Kankuro's hand away. "I like things to be cohesive and uniform!" he snapped.
"You like to match the woman you take to parties," Kankuro corrected. "And right now it looks like you're very taken."
Azumi looked at Kankuro and nodded in agreement, folding her arms. She sighed softly.
"What does it matter to you?" Sasori asked Kankuro.
"It doesn't," Kankuro smirked. "But you know your mother is going to get on your ass about it."
"Then that's my problem to deal with."
Kankuro raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's your funeral," he chuckled, linking arms with his date once more and turning to leave. "I'll make sure they wrap you up real nice," he called over his shoulder teasingly as he dove back into the crowd.
"Unbelievable," Sasori grumbled, folding his arms and sinking into his seat.
Azumi sighed and looked down at him. "You will have to make it look like you are at least putting in some effort," she said softly to him. "If your mother sees you sitting here the entire time, she will not let you off easily." She did not want to admit to him that she would find dying by his mother's hand because of him more embarrassing than just dying by his hand.
"Tch," he clicked his teeth. He felt like a petulant child with the way he was behaving but he really did not want to do this. However, he knew Azumi was right. He could feel his mother's gaze from across the room. He glanced up, seeing her watch him as she spoke to Sandaime. With a sigh heavier than it should have been, he stood up. He looked around and walked up to the closest young late who did not offend his senses. "Care for a dance?" he asked as smoothly as he could muster.
The young lady gasped, a grin slowly appearing on her face. "Lord Sasori asking me for a dance?" she whispered. "How could I refuse?" She took his offered arm and followed him onto the dancefloor.
Azumi watched as he disappeared into the crowd and sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. "Finally," she whispered. She just wanted him to stage an effort so she did not have to endure his mother.
"I thought he would never get up," Gaara whispered in her ear the moment the crowd swallowed Sasori's mop of red hair. He smiled at her, a bottle of wine tucked under his arm.
She could not help the grin that appeared on her face as soon as she heard his voice. She looked at him, resisting the urge to hug and kiss him. "It took talking to him like he was a child to finally get him up," she chuckled.
"That sounds about right," he chuckled, producing two small glasses. "Care for a drink?" he asked, holding up the bottle.
"Absolutely," she smiled. She took the glass he handed her and watched as he poured the wine for both of them. She took her first sip and sighed. "I needed this," she mumbled.
Gaara hummed, enjoying the burn of the wine. He smirked, raising the bottle a little. "Tell me when you want more." He risked leaning over and pressing a kiss to her neck. "You look beautiful by the way," he whispered in her ear.
She bit her lip in a smile. "Thank you," she giggled, feeling her face get warm. "You look amazing yourself." She took another sip of her wine. "As usual," she added with a smirk.
He smiled at her, subconsciously biting his lip as he looked at her. He wished they were sitting along the banks of the river again instead of whispering at a party. He pushed his thoughts down and forced out a small chuckle. "You're flattering me," he sighed, looking out over the crowd. "Do you know what he did?" he asked, referencing the prank he knew his cousin had lined up for the party. Just like he always did. He would admit that it was very mildly entertaining to see what he could come up with.
"He, uh...he spiked the drinks and some of the food with—" Before she could even finish her sentence, there was a nasty wet sound coming from someone on the other side of the room, followed by a couple more. It started. A few people already shit themselves. The entire room went dead silent, everyone standing in shock of what just happened, unable to actually process it. After a couple of seconds—which really felt like an eternity at the moment—the silence was broken by a very loud, obnoxious booming laugh.
"Uuuh..." Gaara winced. The smell hit them hard and the booming laughter was joined by a chorus of more horrific wet splattering sounds from across the room. The laughter echoed off of the walls, only getting worse as the sounds went on. Gaara sighed heavily, immediately regretting it while simultaneously looking like he wanted to die. There was a mix of more laughter and horrified screams throughout the room.
Sasori stumbled out of the crowd, grinning widely. He was giggling, nearly out of breath as he stumbled into his seat. He looked up at Gaara nearly in tears. "Your father's laugh always brings me such immeasurable joy."
"That laugh is your father?" Azumi chuckled.
"It is," Gaara grimaced, covering his face as he spoke.
She looked at Sasori. "Should we move to another location before your mother mauls you to death?" She just wanted to get out of the room and be somewhere where there was not a diarrhea outbreak happening around her.
"Aah, we probably should," Sasori said, still laughing. He stood up, waving for them to both follow him out of the room and towards the back of the house. There were steps leading right up to the river's edge. The air was clean and fresh and just far enough removed from the hysteria ripping through the party.
"That is not going to be fun to clean up," Azumi hummed, taking another sip of her wine as the three of them sat down on the steps with her in between them and looked out over the river. For once, she was grateful that she was Sasori's slave and not one of the ones that lived in Oonoki's house.
"It most certainly won't be," Sasori grinned, reaching over to snag the bottle of wine from Gaara. He noted the glass in her hand but opted not to say anything. His night was going too well to be angry. He distinctly heard Deidara's screams and reveled in a small joy.
Gaara rolled his eyes when the bottle was taken for him. "You're welcome," he said flatly.
"It's the only thing here I can trust not to be contaminated," Sasori smirked. He leaned back against the steps and sighed. "I wish Komushi was here to see this," he chuckled.
"He would have walked around, handing drinks to everyone if he was," Gaara said.
"When does Lord Komushi return?" Azumi asked.
"He's only going to be gone for a few days," Gaara rolled his eyes. "Not even a full week. But I guess that's a long time to be away from your husband," he teased Sasori. Sasori glared at him, taking a long swig from the bottle.
Azumi smirked, offering her now-empty glass to Sasori. "Would you like a glass?" she asked.
He took the glass from her, glaring at her as he poured the wine into it. Though, the expression broke as he handed her the glass back. "Pass that to Gaara," he chuckled. "Give her your empty cup," he instructed. Without much question, Azumi handed Gaara the glass of wine and he gave her his empty glass. Sasori repeated the action and handed the glass back to Azumi and then lifted the bottle. "To an absolutely wonderful day," he laughed, knocking back the bottle.
Azumi chuckled and she and Gaara drank their wine. The three of them sat there in silence for a couple of seconds until there was a sound of metal clinking with every step as someone came down the stairs behind them. "I thought you would be out here after that," Kenzou chuckled. "That was quite an interesting party trick, Lord Sasori."
"Aaah, Kenzou." Sasori's cheeks were starting to pinken. "Did you enjoy it as much as we did?"
"It's always amusing to see Lord Rasa belt one out," he chuckled.
"It gets me every time," Sasori hissed, laughing. "Drink?" He held up the bottle.
"Don't mind if I do," he smiled as he sat down, finishing the drink he had in his own glass and then holding it out for Sasori to pour the wine into it.
Azumi looked back at him. "How did that oil turn out for you, Lord Kenzou?" she asked.
Kenzou grinned, setting the glass down gently and opening his arms. He stood up, stepping down a few of the stairs so he was level with her and pulled her into a hug. "You tell me," he chuckled.
The hug was just as crushing as the last one but minus the waterfall of sweat. She could still smell the metal but the scent of the oil was much more prominent. "Great," she said. He finally let her go and she quietly gasped for air. "I used about twelve notes in it." She bent back a little to crack her back. "I am glad it works for you and that you are pleased with it."
"Twelve?" he chuckled. "I don't know much about fragrance making but I know that mine is one of a kind and judging by their faces," he chuckled, pointing out the varying levels of shock on Gaara and Sasori's faces, "that's more than average. Thank you again for this wonderful gift."
"Only three more than the average," she chuckled, waving it off. "Nothing too crazy. You are very much welcome." She gave him a bow and then sat back down between Gaara and Sasori.
"Will you be staying much longer?" Kenzou asked Sasori. "Or will you be disappearing into the night before they can find you."
"I'd say two more glasses of wine and then we've got to make ourselves scarce," Sasori nodded. "My mother is at the party and angry is an understatement for how she is probably feeling right now."
"Ah, haha, I did see your mother on my way out here," he chuckled. "You may have some spare time because getting through the room is...well, a shit show."
"Knowing my aunt," Gaara grinned. "That's not going to stop her remotely."
"SASORI!" Sasori's mother roared.
"And that's our cue," Sasori laughed, handing the bottle back to Gaara. "Kenzou, Cousin," he bowed to both of them. "See you both tomorrow." He grabbed Azumi's upper arm harshly and started to pull her back toward the house.
Azumi waved at Gaara and Kenzou as she was being pulled. She ignored the pain in her arm from his tight grip the entire way back to Sasori's home. "That turned out quite well," she hummed. She enjoyed seeing him in a pleasant mood. She was a lot less on edge around him when he was like this. However, she did not know how long something like that would last and she was prepared for it to switch at any moment.
"Today turned out to be a rare treat!" He gave out a boyish giggle. He pulled her through the house quickly. He heard no whispers from the other servants. In fact, the whole house seemed startlingly normal. Sasori felt another wave of heady glee flush through him. He spun Azumi around by her arm and hard onto his bed so her body bounced on it. "All we need to do now is wait." He crawled on the bed, a large predatory grin stretched over his lips. As if he was a massive cat who had just eaten their fill of a meal.
"Do you think they would have noticed your grandmother's absence among all of that commotion?" she asked. Someone was bound to notice. Chiyo seemed to be friends with Oonoki himself so he had to have noticed at least.
"My uncles noticed. And Oonki," he confirmed. "I was asked by all of them on the dance floor and told them all the same thing: she sent me on ahead of her." He rolled onto his back with a content sigh. "Gives us an alibi. She's sent me ahead plenty of times. The real question is: have the other two hags noticed?"
"I think we would have been confronted by them when we arrived back if they did," she said, laying back on the bed. "I am sure by morning they will notice their friend not joining them for breakfast."
"She easily could have sent them away for something," he said, the glee gleaming refreshed and anew in his eyes. "But you're right, we won't know until tomorrow morning. I'm almost too excited to sleep."
She turned to look at him. The reason he was in this sort of mood was horrible, but she wanted this good mood to last as long as possible to ensure her own life would continue. "I know you already took two baths this morning, but what about another one?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "No, not right now, but maybe," he shifted to look at her. "You can give me one of those back rubs again."
She chuckled softly as she sat up. "Of course," she said. He grabbed the oil from the bedside table and handed it to her. She waited for him to roll onto his stomach before straddling him and dripping the oil onto his back. Once she set the bottle aside, she started massaging him, starting with his shoulders and between his shoulder blades. Her brow furrowed at how quickly he had become tense again. 'Seriously?' she thought. 'Can you not be stressed for at least a week?' He hummed softly into his bedding as her hands worked his muscles. It had been a rather eventful day and before he even realized it he was starting to doze off. He idly he wondered as he slipped off how he had grown to trust her so quickly. She continued to move her hands, working the muscles in his lower back and getting lost in thought. After a couple of long minutes, she looked down and noticed he had completely fallen asleep. She smiled softly, removing the clip from his hair and setting it aside and then getting off of him. As she got off of him, she contemplated taking off his jewelry for him but she quickly dismissed the thought. She was not his mother and though he acted like a child, he was not one. She closed the bottle of oil and put it back on the bedside table. 'I suppose I am sleeping in here tonight,' she thought, getting off of the bed and changing her clothes. She sighed as she laid on the daybed and attempted to fall asleep.