Series: Naruto
Setting: AU
Rating: M
Word Count: 7,605
Warnings: Language
Summary: The truth is revealed about the one that they are after and questions are left to be answered.

I Am... Chapter 25

"Uchiha! Time to move!"

The command echoed throughout the hallways rushing people to their feet clanging against their cages with protests at the poor quality of service in the place. Hours they have been trapped without word so they could plead their cases to the first person that would listen to them, believing that they were in the right and it was a whole big terrible misunderstanding. Just because they were caught holding up a convenience store or a liquor shop, it didn't mean that was what they were doing, it was someone else that slipped the gun in their hand. All together they started to stir raising the decibels louder swearing discriminative slogans at the officer walking up towards the cells, seeing if he would bite back for something to tell their attorney that they were subjected to Police brutality to get the sentence lessened or even better, freedom.

Except he didn't even flinch when a wad of spit connected spraying the vulgar fluid across his face, the only reaction was wiping it off with the back of his sleeve which amused the taller and older man following behind. Coming to a stop in front of the locked cell, he stepped out from his shadow peering into the space where the one he was after had been resident for the night, well morning by the time he had left him in there it was close to sun rise. He hadn't been in the greatest shape when he was thrown in there so he was expecting him to be a pile of battered bones or acquainted with a new friend who would have made sure he was in good company for his time in holding.

"Sorry I'm late, you see I got caught up trying to find…" His famed false excuses came to a grinding halt seeing the man already to his feet, folded arms across his chest standing around as if he had been waiting there diligently the entire time for his return. It had been a good ten hours since he had returned and yet he still looked more awake than ever, hours of grueling interrogation hadn't thrown him at all still leaving behind that permanent smug look on his face.

Jingling of the keys around followed by the heavy latch snapping back brought the steel door to open, arms commanded to be held out in front while handcuffs were placed around his wrists in preparation to be lead back into the room once again for another days worth of useless questions that would not be answered. Ceasing the chains that bound him together, Itachi was pulled out into the corridor like a unfaithful dog, shoved forward down the walkway while the suspicious silver haired detective peered around to see if he had done anything to the place overnight. Looked like he eventually received a cellmate.

"He was exhausted" the bland voice called back without even looking, like eyes in the back of his head, he knew what he was looking at.

A man at least three times his size in weight alone splayed out face down on the floor gurgling in his unconsciousness which was not uncommon to them, many were brought in on weekends for drunken misconduct being left to sleep it off on the cold floor overnight only that he suspected different. Careful not to disturb any evidence in the room, Kakashi glanced over everything stopping at the small bathroom facilities with a crouch down over the body, staring at the metal-rimmed bowl with a cock of his eyebrow. Red liquid, most certainly not a breakfast jam, had hardened around the edging of the bowl no longer moist from freshness but a good few hours old. Shuffling over the burly man's head was lifted revealing the same substance that would have certainly been matching the one on the toilet, the deep split open cranium cracked against the ground without even so much of a whimper showing that he was going to be out of it for a few good more hours.

Heading back up towards the back rooms, his fingers clicked up high to catch the attention of the booking clerk, nodding back towards the cells once he had her attention. "Hey Holding Cell Four. What was he in for?" he asked getting an answer that he almost brought him to slap his hand against his forehead. "Not him, the other one" Jesus what kind of idiot states the crimes of the person he was in charge to get answers from.

"Oh him. Ummm…" Pages flicked over to see who was allocated that room, snaking a long fingernail down the page until she had came across the one he was after. "Attempted rape of his eighteen year old step son"

Turning mid step on the back of his heel, Kakashi stormed back into the cell again and rolled him over onto his back, curiously peeking down into the unknown wincing in sympathetic pain for him and his swollen purple jewels. Seems like someone wasn't satisfied enough with trying to get his hands on one young boy for the night that he had to pick another unfortunately he picked the wrong one this time. The bastard got what he deserved, this one he would keep under the radar for the Uchiha only because he had done a service to the community. With that much bruising, he would have been lucky to be able to urinate without sitting down.

The same shitty colored walls once again that hadn't even looked like a janitor had been through to clean up his space inside his closet since the discarded trails of cigarette ash and or even the littered plastic cups were still on the floor. Everything the same was as it had been left. Maybe a tactic to drive him insane, some kind of mind game to break him down knowing how long he had been there and his escalating sleep deprivation but simple acts were not going to sway him so easily.

Deeply sighing, Itachi stared at the door in preparation for his arrival mentally preparing himself before he walked through with that smart-ass air of arrogance to ask him the same questions over again. No this time he was meant to be getting to the point, the reason why he had been locked up wanting to be explained by his own mouth to collaborate on what had happened so he would be charged with the crime and locked away for life never to see them again. How could something that should have run so smoothly get messed up so fast?

"You will tell me exactly how it happened"

Slamming the door shut, he was ready to get down to business without the small talk. No more bullshit get to know you crap, no more trips down memory lane of the boy's fucked up past, this was it right here, right now. Pulling the chair up to the table swinging his leg wide of the backwards turned furniture; the detective leaned over the back narrowing black eyes at him, facing off with the evasive Bounty Hunter who glared back at him equally ferociously. It would be revealed.

"A Bounty Hunter?!"

The news was a shock to Deidara who couldn't believe that they were tracking down someone who was trained to track down others. The fact that he was one of them was not the matter being that cops were corrupt so why not the closest thing to it as well, the temptation of money, fame and the dark side were hard to resist. He knew that for a fact. That had been him at one point. But to go after someone who was highly skilled in the way they thought and acted was ludicrous, already this had been proven with the multiple attempts to murder them off one by one only ending with failure because they were indeed smarter than he was. Face to face would be something else; he would know and would be waiting to retaliate with an ambush of his own.

However he wasn't just any kind of Bounty Hunter like the rest of them in the game that were low level, not like those assholes that tried to grab the bounty out from underneath the ones that had contracted them to do the job efficiently except their arrival would screw it up. He was something special.

Crimson eyes were fixated blankly on the photo in front of him, on the pale complexion that brought out the snake like eyes that mocked even without trying as if it knew a secret that was so important but he was not willing to share. That long graying thin frail length of hair that hung lifelessly over the sides of his face, those eyes… he couldn't tear himself away from them. Something about them, something he couldn't put his finger on but it was there lingering in the back of his mind eating away at his psyche, tearing him down from the inside out.

"His name is Orochimaru" Kisame started to explain, sitting down on the couch on the other side of the room getting comfortable to fill the newest members in. This might be a bit on a long winded history for them to grasp so he offered the other two to do the same, Deidara taking up the offer perching himself up on his desk with his legs crossed despite the growl for him to get his dirty shoes off but Itachi remained firm, arms still at length staring down.

Reaching over to the table at the side where a small silver tray of bottled unidentifiable alcohol sat, the boss grabbed himself a glass, pouring the burning liquid straight instead of adding a mixer, knocking it back with a satisfied sigh getting himself a refill straight afterwards. The initial buzz quickly started to take effect soaking into his blood stream mellowing out his mood, sinking into the seat absolutely relax which was a change from the high strung mood of late. After all of this he was going to be requesting a vacation, maybe a permanent one feeling the weariness of his age and the years of battle, not the spring chicken he was once before. Although still seen as young by many, he felt like he had hit seventy and needed to retire. "And yes, he was a Bounty Hunter"

Was being the key word. One that had been admired and looked up to as one of the founders of the business, putting many away behind bars where they should have been in the first place. There was even a glimmer of respect for him from Kisame in the past but all of that changed within a blink of an eye. He started to change; views weren't what they used to be. The felons they sort after to retrieve ate away into his brain as age started to settle in, getting the taste of the dark side after being caught up in a Police Corruption scandal that saw him serving thirty days in prison before being released from lack of evidence against him. To that day, no one knew if he was responsible or not but then it didn't make a difference.

The life was promptly tossed aside to be caught up in the whirlwind of drugs. A minor player at first, earning his reputation over time with the alleged murder of a Yakuza boss so gruesomely that it had all the major crime lords cowering. And then the territory was his. Narcotics, assassinations, prostitution, nothing was too small for him. Within the span of 2 years, Orochimaru has taken the lesser bosses and even the bigger one and crushed them by the ball so nothing was left.

"He wasn't just a normal Bounty Hunter was he? He was Akatsuki?" Itachi asked, still hung over his position on the table.

He didn't need the answer to that as it was starting him straight back in the face, the bold letters that stated his prior connections telling him that he was closer to them than he would like to imagine. Who else would be better to come after them when their movements were predictable since he was one that used to study them? Still there was more than that, why did he know him?

"Ha, nothing gets past you does it Itachi?" Kisame chuckled back at him, pouring himself another stiff beverage. "Yes he was one of the original. Back then it was us and Sasori" Those were the good old days before he was in charge of teenagers. That was that idiot with the doll fetishes fault, only that they needed Deidara at the time. They always operated in a three-man team. Not even they saw it coming it had happened so quickly, one minute they were all around having drinks after a mission and then next the short red head has a knife to his throat, parting with the words that they were no longer a team and if they tried to stop him then they would be slaughtered.

The bulky leader however was not worried about it at all; the past was the past that he stated with a shrug. "Never liked the bastard anyway," he laughed aloud before knocking back the alcohol.

If that was so true when why was he knocking them back like there was no tomorrow? Worse, why wasn't he sharing? "Oh well not my concern anyways. You old guys can dwell of on your own memories but all I care about it stopping this asshole, un."

Cheers from Tobi and wild clapping approved of Deidara's statement but Kisame could only shake his head at him. Such a cocky hotheaded little snot he was but yet they were all looking forward to ending it so they could return to normal.

Taking a few bows from his seated position in gratitude for the warm applause, Deidara quickly ceased all jokes becoming deadly seriously about this. "What are we going to do?" he asked, glancing between the two on the couch.

As a group they discussed the plans that they for the capture of the fugitive but one of them wasn't paying attention. Still, it was planned down to the finer details so nothing was going to be left out. Just because Orochimaru knew their step before they took it, it didn't mean that they couldn't do the same since they were all the same. He was going to be set up with high security which he had Tobi covering that area.

"We are not going to plan for his home, the surveillance is too damn high there and he is as paranoid as hell," Kisame stated with a nod, glancing over at Tobi who could confirm this from his previous stakeout. "He is having an initiation party for the welcoming of his newest trusted member at Issa."

The place he spoke of, Issa, was controlled by Orochimaru as part of his territory. A personal playground if you wish, where he liked to throw expensive parties and bask in his illegal fortune with anyone and everyone. Other dealers, high profile celebrities he had under his thumb and even political parties. He had his roots deeply embedded in everywhere. But tomorrow would be only his closest and unfortunately skilled men at his side to celebrate someone special and they knew exactly who that was.

People talked on the street about one fetish that the older man had that even made the vilest of criminals cringe. Young boys. But they had to be a specific age for his tastes, that tender age of sixteen when they were beginning to ripen into young men that continued to be maintained through to early twenties. Their minds were suggestive to the older father figure especially the ones from broken homes, showing them that the world was not as bad as it appeared to be, giving them the taste of power to fight back and gain their trust. But many had come to believe that his peculiar palette spawned pedophilia, only that was far from it. Orochimaru had strict morale grounds against the abuse against minors, no sex, not even a kiss other than on the cheek. His vice was to watch. The elegant beauty of youth blossoming into adults, their impressionable bodies expressing his own long lost childhood, only the ones with delicate features he would take. And this time, he had found the faultless one.

"Is the warrant for Sasuke?" Itachi asked weakly, shaking his head around. He couldn't focus properly. A lingering voice deep in the back of his mind talking to him that he could not near clearly. This was important, more so than he had ever faced before but yet he could not shake the haze.

'Might I say that you, Uchiha Itachi, have turned into a fine and certainly attractive man.'

"No, your brother is safe… for now. It is just for Orochimaru and his current five heads. What you do with Sasuke is up to you."

Itachi hadn't even heard his boss reply; instead the sudden loudness inside his head caused his fingers to dig into the varnished desk. Bombarded left and right with what seemed like random conversations that made no sense to him but his subconscious recognized it, that silhouette of the man that sneered over him as he was attacked out on the street.

'I was a very close personal friend. I remember you from when you were a small child still wearing nappies.'

So why did he just stand by and did nothing to help? What kind of friend was he to his father? A bounty hunter of the past, the Police's attitude towards the retrieval agents would have been spawned over the years but had it had something to do with him? His father of course was more than influential and to have one of the best of the other world on his side would have been extremely helpful but he must have known he turned. They were no longer friends. The war would have started between them.

'Ahhhh Sasuke-kun, he was only a few months old the last time I saw him before today. Another display of Uchiha heritage at its best, just like his older brother.'

Lies! Bullshit! Complete… fuck! He was working for him back then! His father… his father was dead… and he was there. Sasuke, no he wasn't there at all; he couldn't have been talking to him before hand. There was no way he was going to believe that his brother could have been involved with it with the way he was traumatized. No he wasn't. What the fuck was going on? No, it was his head playing tricks on him again just like it had with Deidara, so now was no different.

Sense the quieter than normal demeanor of the Uchiha, Kisame raised his eyebrow curiously over towards the slumped over male with a slight shift forward inspecting him. "Hey kid! Are you okay?" he asked, listening to the heaving labored breathes. If he kept going like that, he was going to pass out from hyperventilation.

Why was he watching them? Why was his brother chosen to be at his side? Was it because he had held him back or just to get to him? Fugaku… he didn't seem to know anything about what was going on with all this focus of attention towards him so revenge for the past and now of all times just didn't seem just. Had he been after him for some reason that he did not know or was the entire family targets?

"Itachi?" Deidara spoke to him softly, now at his side tenderly smoothing his hair back. He knew what he was going through. "Come on… lie down for a while."

A tug to pull him up off the desk, hooked arm steadying the way towards the couch with a flick of his head for the other two to get off it, Deidara walked Itachi over. Maybe he wasn't ready for this and he should just drop out and the four of them should go. Hell, they should make Kakuzu earn his worth for once and get his ass into the field but the Uchiha was in no shape to take this one. It was his brother; he had to be going crazy worrying about his safety.

After a good ten minutes, he had calmed down sleeping peacefully on the couch while the others watched over him, mostly confused never seeing him break down like that. "What's the matter with him?" Kisame asked, still knocked down his drink although he had changed locations.

"I don't know really, un," Deidara shrugged, sitting on the edge of the couch in the tiny space between the edge and Itachi's curled body. "He remembers thing and it seems to make him spazz out."

"Is he going to be able to do this?" Kisame had placed a lot of trust in him for this and even spoke highly to the Leader about him so he was not going to be let down.

Smirking, the blonde fished into his pocket and tapped out a smoke, lying back against the comfy body being and exhaled, watching the grey wisps floating upwards. "Seriously. It's Itachi. Nothing is going to stop him from his job, un." But he wished he wouldn't do this one.

It was well into the evening and everyone decided to head down to the pub for a couple of drinks before parting their own ways, everyone except for Itachi and Deidara who Kisame put the trust in the blonde to lock up for the night. He rather have kicked them out to save the big screen from walking away with him but the Uchiha was still catching the z's by the time they left. Truthfully, the thought did cross his devious mind. Just to rip it off the wall and casually walk out so they could claim an insurance job on it but instead, he was laying on the sofa watching the action movie that was coming near its end.

The loud explosion almost knocked him back, escalating over the turned up volume from trying to hear the characters talk. Unexpected and exhilarating that brought Deidara's baby blues to widen wishing he had some popcorn to much on.

"Turn it down," groaned the waking male who also had heard the loud eruption.

"Make me, un," came the retort, swiveling around and rolling into the smug body with grin.

Itachi was in too much of a daze that he wouldn't have the coordination for that… or so he thought. The quick snap of his wrist ripped the remote control out of his hands, followed up by pointing at the set and suddenly it went from flicking to dead black. "Hey I was watchin' that!" he pouted, rolling off and standing up in a huff. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the furniture making him all grumpy.

"Where did everyone go?" Itachi asked, sitting up and looking around. It was pitch black outside now when it wasn't last time he remembered.

"Drinks, leaving me to lock up, un." That desire to steal that television was growing higher with every minute spent there. That would look perfect on his dresser. "We could always…. Hey!"

He was deliberately ignoring him, pushing past roughly without a word and heading towards the door. Someone had their knickers in a knot and for reasons that he did not understand either, except he had that painted look on his face that reminded him of something, like he was hiding something. A look he knew all too well. Chasing after him quickly, he scooted over to the alarm pad and armed the alarm, sliding across the floor grabbing the glass door on the way past and closing it up shut. Flicking the keys around in circles a few times, he locked up as instructed and tucked them into his pocket, scowling at Itachi as he headed towards his car.

"Where do you think you are going Itachi?" Deidara asked at the escaping male.

Looking around, he shrugged back his reply as if it was not obvious at all already. "Home" he replied with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

Shaking his head at him with a sigh, Deidara hooked his arm around the taller males leaning up against his shoulder. "Your home isn't really habitable at the moment, un. In fact I couldn't tell were you were sleeping before" Dodging police tape and blood stains was not the type of surroundings he needed at the moment, he needed somewhere else that was at least a bit saner. "You are coming home with me" The blonde flashed him a huge grin, tugging him towards the car excited to have him coming back with him. This time it would be more of a happier moment than the last time he had been there and he wasn't letting him out of his sight now that he had him.

"Do you remember where to go?" he bounced ecstatically in his passenger seat.

Starting the car up with a loud rev, allowing it to die down to the purr of the idle, Itachi's eyes diverted up and to the left in thought. His face wrinkled up in deep concentration trying to plot the direction in his head since it has been so long since he had been there but finally he gave a nod, thinking that he had it correct. "Just point me in the right direction if I get lost."

"Or you can let me drive."

Turning his head over to him, his brow crinkled up into a scowl shaking his head in response. Plus if that wasn't enough the simple statement on "No" would be enough to end that discussion. No one drove his car but him.

A big and obviously fake pout stuck back out at him looking for sympathy that he was not going to receive, only a roll of his eyes as he set off down the street. "You know that doesn't work on me" the Uchiha huffed, glancing back at him again still with that ridiculous look on his face.

"No harm in trying is there, un" Deidara replied in laughter, sinking back into his seat. No matter how many times he looked at him, he could never get enough of him. Such a change from what it had been before but still he was the same old Itachi in the end.

The drive back to his place wasn't long at all with Itachi remembering how to drive like a maniac despite missing a couple of turns on the way through, still they arrived in record time, pulling into the parking bays out the back that were originally designated for the tenants. The place had long since been abandoned by the city and left to them to overrun, technically squatters but nobody cared about the slums just as long as they kept to their own side of town and didn't bring their business to where it wasn't wanted. As a consequence, the entire couple of blocks were filled with the most unsavory types that could be found. Prostitutes, homeless, drunks, drug addicts, run away kids, husbands that were taken for everything in a bitter divorce. The crap that no one gave a shit about but it was his home. He belonged with them.

"What ya step, you could fall through," Deidara chuckled, opening the door straight up yelling loudly that he had returned.

Mixed reactions came from the house filled with orphans, some grumbled, screamed back to shut up, didn't care at all and then there were the herd that bounded down the stairs without concern about their safety and flung themselves at the blonde. Young children all fought for attention at once wanting to know how he was and what he had been doing, wanting to tell him exactly the same in return because he had missed out on so much that there was over a hundred things easily.

"Slow down, un. I haven't been gone for that long," he told them all, extinguishing the accusations that he had been missing for fifty years. Kids and their overstatements.

"Yes you have." "Nuhuh, it was one hundred." "He was off fighting the bad guys and we were stuck here with broccoli."

Ewww. Even Deidara couldn't approve of eating broccoli. He was about to sit them down and tell them all about his death defying tale when there was adorable cry out of "Deidei," followed by the pitter patter of someone with very short steps running towards him. Looking down at the ground with a sweet smile, he crouched down as the small girl ran over as fast as she could with her arms stretched out, holding his out exactly the same. She almost tripped over her own feet trying to get to him as fast as she could except he caught her before she landed face first, picking her up his arms snuggling his face up against her.

"Hello Suki. You have gotten big, un."

Deidei appeared to be one of the few words that she knew as she started babbling gibberish to him, making the other distinct words of mama and papa but other than that, it was just baby talk. Of course that was allowed to happen since she was still an infant but Deidara still tried to listen to her, talking back in the same fashion that brought her to laughter.

"At least you were her third word. If she came out with un I would have disowned her."

Itachi has been lingering in the background just watching it all happen quietly without a word, not wanting to disrupt the blissful faces that all fought for his attention and now someone new had that. The man that called out came into the focus accompanied with a woman by his side, presumably his partner and the mother of the child as Suki squirmed around in his arms and called out for her with her arms out. Both of them seemed to be friendly with him as well, giving a recognizing nod before turning his attention back to Deidara but Itachi was clueless. Sort of… he was familiar.

"Yeah yeah you are just jealous, the kid loves me more, un," Deidara laughed back, following them off into the kitchen sitting around the table while the youngsters were ushered off to bed by the woman.

When she came back, she thoughtfully made them something to drink except for Deidara who got himself a big cold glass of cranberry juice knowing his tastes too well to give him anything else. "We were about to order Chinese. You boys want some?"

There was no chance that Deidara was going to pass that up at all especially with the hint that they would be shouting for him only that it was shot down with a taunt of how cheap he was. Instead Itachi handed over the money to them with the promise that the moocher would pay it back later for sure, placing his order and sitting back waiting for his free feed to arrive. While they were waiting, the blonde took the liberty to embellish the truth and tell his awaiting audience that snuck back of their close brush with death, showing off scars that were yet to heal. The ohhs and ahhhs coming from the children showing him their undivided attention was soon stopped by loud cheering that dinner had arrived.

Instead of the lonely delivery boy coming through the door, he was replaced with a group of five rowdy males, each one of them giving Deidara their own form of abusive loving being a noogie, slap across the head, tug of his hair and a couple of other signs of boys being boys. Introducing them all one by one to Itachi, he explained that they were the guys who he used to help out with in his illegal form of racing but there was one that he neglected something special about him. The one that had kicked the self pity out of him that one night at the club that made him open his eyes. Nao was just introduced with a huff of his name and then promptly ignored with the dive for the food they had brought.

Although the food was being shoveled in freely, the audible level rose while they caught up that had the brunette feeling out of the picture. Not that he minded that at all since Deidara was the topic of conversation. Stories of his childhood, when they all first met each other and the inside jokes they shared, the past he wanted to craved to hear more of was spilled out over Chinese food. The rambunctious child that he thought he might have been was crushed knowing that he was a well mannered, quiet boy that only got louder with age and more destructive while living on the wild side. Itachi could only remain silent, watching them with a softened face.

"You coming out with us tonight right Dei?" one of them asked, beckoning his finger towards him to get up off his chair. Tonight was party night, the clubs were flourishing.

"Not tonight, un. I think I'm gonna get sleep," Deidara replied that brought a circle of playful gasps. Ignoring them, he gazed over at Itachi with a sly smirk, knowing that he had better things on his mind than dancing the night away, no matter how alluring the nightlife was.

Saying his goodbye to his peers, Deidara took Itachi's hand within his own and pulled him up from the chair that he had molded to, waving them off smugly with his fingers and guided him up the stairs towards his bedroom. This time it would be better than the last, he promised himself, snapping the door shut with his foot and standing in front of him.

"You look lost, un." The look over his face was one of confusion, feed too much information at once and sent into an overload while trying to compile. Maybe he had heard something he didn't like about him and was having second thoughts, perhaps he was trying to cure world hunger but whatever it was, he was distant.

Shaking his head as soft kisses were pressed into his collar, he didn't reply other than that, holding still as they continued up onto his neck teasing the pink skin. "You could have gone with them," he pointed out. Who was he to keep him from friends that had been there for him for longer than he had?

Pulling the shirt up off over his head and tossing it onto the floor, Deidara hooked his fingers around his belt and walked backwards towards his messy bed, kicking the junk out of the way. "I don't want to. I have all the fun I want right here," he told the raven, pulling him down onto the ground with a deep kiss.

Itachi was all that he needed.

"Hnn… Itachi?"

Rolling over onto his other side, his arm swept across the bed only feeling the lingering warmth of the disappeared body that was no longer at his side. Crumpled sheets were all that remained from the session that lead to after they had left the bar, the sticky feel of sweat and other liquids telling him it was time for a shower although it was still dark outside. His sleep was only brief it appeared, over a month of having someone at his side while he had slept must have gotten him adjusted to being held at night but now that he was gone, it felt lonely.

Shifting out of the bed Deidara started his search, not very far to look in the small room just following the shadows on the ground towards the fire escape. The moonlight shone brightly over him, the wafts of smoke highlighted by the beams from the cigarette in his hand as he hung over the balcony looking at the ground below.

"I wouldn't be out on there, it's not very sturdy and I don't wanna have to scrape you up off the ground, un."

There was no answer in return, nothing. Not even a laugh or a snort, no retort at all from him that troubled Deidara a bit. The deep drags of toxic gas exhaled out into the nighttime air were another indication, Itachi never smoked unless something was on his mind. Something that would have been eating him from inside that he would not share with anyone but he had to remind him that he could speak to him no matter what.

Slender arms wrapped around his torso, molding to the curves of his back resting gently against him while he remained unmoved, listening to the heart beating inside of him. Deidara could have sworn that it came to a dead stop as if he had given up all hope at all. "What's on your mind? Tell me," he asked him tenderly. He needed to cease taking it all on his own and open up no matter what it was.

"Nothing is wrong, I'm just thinking," Itachi stated in his reply, flicking the butt over the balcony watching it spark as it rebounded against the concrete.

"That's what I'm worried about, un. You think too much."

Tugging at him firmly, Deidara lead him back into the room and over to the adjoining shower, commanding him to stay put like a puppy as he ran the water up to temperature. Something was on his mind that was worse than usual, he wasn't speaking but his eyes said it all, always cast down to the ground staring blankly. He was going to lead himself to a nervous breakdown on of these days.

He was going to have to provide that distraction that he was looking for, yanking Itachi under the water by the waistband of his shorts. His fingers slipped through his hairs to loosen the hold of the band, freeing the long onyx hair that rivaled his own in length that plastered to his body under the steaming streams. Together they sat down on the tiles with a little guidance from Deidara, the bottle of shampoo was picked up squirting a little of the fragrant soap into his hands, smoothing a thin layer over the top of Itachi's head. With all the experience and the time he took when it came to his own hair, he was indeed an expert at washing hair and he was going to treat him to his skill.

Working his fingertips against his scalp, the top layers began to foam up in little bubbles. Thick clumps broke apart making it easier to get through to the sensitive skin massaging firmly to work the solution through, cleansing him. "You can't keep it bottled up, ya know. It's going to drive you insane" he started telling him, wiping away the excess bubbles that trailed down close to his eyes. "Tell me what's on your mind. Is it about tomorrow?" The job itself wasn't what would be the problem but more of the subject that would be there waiting for them.

Itachi was silent for a while, chewing on his lip trying to push that thought away. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring nor did he have a game plan to tackle it as he normally would have. Completely flying blind for the first time just letting the moment take him, to guide his reactions.

"There is no point in saving someone who doesn't want to be" he finally replied.

He couldn't force Sasuke to make a decision; the family he had now made for himself would replace him fully until the point where he would lead to his death. The powerful addiction he had developed, the encouragement that had been offered that he could never give him, the temptations were too great for someone so young and easily influenced.

"Do you want him to come back to you?" Deidara continued to probe, stopping his soothing motions to focus Itachi's mind.

"He is my brother"

"That wasn't what I asked, un"

Itachi paused, hanging his head down. "Is abduction an option?"

He could not tell if he was being serious about that but given Itachi, he would have been but no one couldn't say that he wasn't unique. Laughing aloud into his back, Deidara shook his head leaning them back away from the straight streams of water, stroking his fingertips over his chest. "I guess that would work well too, un." Looking up at the mound of soap suds in his hair, he blew gently across the bubbles letting them flutter through the air until they hit the jets, dispersing down the drain. "Time to rinse."

Carefully the foam was washed away, making sure that his eyes were left shut so they wouldn't get irritated until it was squeaky clean and ready for the final step of conditioner lightly rubbed into the tips to be left overnight. Clearly, Itachi did not take care of his hair and was full of split ends. He would have to give him the proper actions to take when caring for such long locks, much to the brunette's huffing protest.

Together they stood back up for a final quick all over clean, the soaked shorts quickly where removed with a wave of a finger not to put any back on, getting out of the shower and drying off. Just as Itachi wrapped the white linen around his waist, it was promptly snatched back off him with another playful wag. The tip twisted around in a tight line between his fingers, flicked outwards connecting with skin in the form of a sickening crack. Deidara's eyes scrunched up from the sound, slowly cracking them open to see where it had connected… oppps. A very red patch trailed down the inside of his thigh so close to the goods that would have cause a howl of agony if hit in the correct place, not to mention a deep scowl spreading across the plain complexion that told him it was time to run.

Bolting out of the bathroom at the speed of light, the blonde streaker retreated for safety of the bedspread, swan diving onto the thin foam mattress only to be caught mid air by a flying tackle that sent them both crashing down. He knew that this was the end; he was going to go to hell and drink with the devil because he certainly had that crazy look in his eyes.

"No, I didn't mean it!" Deidara screamed pinned face first under his weight desperately grabbed for anything to pull him away. The wrath was something he had never faced before and it had him worried. He was going to hurt him for sure, maybe pull his pubic hair out one by one until his eyes started to water or maybe tweak his nipples until they turned purple.

A loud squeal came from the blonde when the sudden jolt surged through his body with a fate worse than that. "No no no no Itachi, STOP, UN!" he cried as the wriggling fingers teased his curves. Nooooo he hated tickling. He was useless when the delicate skin was teased, worked over on the spot for a few seconds and then moved onto the next before it became adjusted. And Itachi was the master without a clue; he was hitting the most sensitive parts on his body that left him only in a pleading pile of mess. "I'm sorry, really, un," he pleaded again to get him to stop.

At least he was able to catch the break that he needed that was enough to roll over onto his back, ready to bring his feet into the contest with as much force as possible. If he didn't, then there would be a chance that his already suspicious smelling bed would smell even worse from the scent of urine.

Just when he thought he could not stand it anymore, he retaliated with quick jab to the gut with his knees and an equally fast flip to roll Itachi onto his back, reversing the roll with him underneath him. "You bastard!" he cursed, ready to go in for his own attack to test the Uchiha's sensitivity when he stopped.

That look. It was something amazing. The widest smile he had even seen splashed across his face so large that he would have pulled a muscle from underuse of them. It was daunting to see him in that state as first especially when he started a hearty laugh, breaking out into fits of uncontrollable giggling but he couldn't help but join in with him. Deidara could never in his wildest dreams imagine that Itachi could ever look that radiant. Soft hands brushed over his cheeks to cup his soft, fragrant skin, placing a tender kiss on his nose. "I told you, you look beautiful when you smile, un," he murmured sweetly, loosing himself in the endless crimson sea.

Itachi could not respond to him other than letting his laughter die down that took the smile along with it, slowly diminishing back to his usual scowl. It was not on purpose because he commented on how he looked but there really was something on his mind, something he had gone over and over inside his head but he didn't know how to say it to him. There would be no better time than now.

"…I'm leaving Akatsuki."