Exquisite Desire
Chapter 34: Travels in the Snow
A/N: Sorry this took so long to be posted, I thought I had before I started this research project, which has taken up my whole summer. I got a 4 day weekend, so I'm posting it now~
"What's his problem?" Sasori's voice drifted into his ears, drawing his focus from the book in his mental lap to the real world around him. They were sitting on the airplane, which startled him because he didn't remember going to or getting on it having spent the whole time in his own head staring at the image of his brother. Deidara was sitting to his right at the window, Sasori to his left and Tal on the single seat in the aisle across from them.
"I don't know, he's just sad," Deidara mumbled, making a huge understatement because he was equally confused and annoyed he didn't understand what was wrong. 'Sad' was a very small word for what Itachi was feeling right now.
Sasori's face moved in front of his, scowling up at him. Itachi let his eyes follow him to show he wasn't dead inside, but didn't say anything to him. "Why?" the redhead questioned.
"I'm fine," Itachi murmured down to him finally. "Sorry." The redhead didn't look convinced in the slightest, but sat back up with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"Are you mad at me?" Deidara asked quietly, looking up from where he'd been sitting, slouched, bad-postured, with his chin in his palm.
"No," Itachi assured him. "It was just hard to walk away."
"We shouldn't have walked away, un," the blond muttered under his breath.
"No… It would have put him in danger," Itachi told him. Deidara gave him an annoyed look that said he didn't appreciate the parental tone he had, but Itachi couldn't help it. Deidara was a sporadic person. He didn't always think many steps in advance, especially when he was excited about it. Like taking him. Taking him from Japan without thinking about the risks that came with breaking laws. Like claiming him as his human servant without thinking of what would happen later. Like exposing Sasuke to a world that was on the brink of war when he was safe.
"But you wanted to see him," Deidara insisted, clearly confused. "I know you do, un. I feel it."
"He needs to be safe."
"But you want to be with him, un."
"I'd rather him be safe."
"But!" Deidara stomped on the plane floor angrily, earning an irritated glare from the person in front of them. "We would've taken care of him. It'd been fine and now you're unhappy, un!"
"I know," Itachi murmured quietly. "It's okay. I'd rather him be safe."
"Who are we talking about?"
"We are not talking about anyone, danna."
Itachi stared at the seat in front of him, focusing all his attention on it as Sasori leaned uncomfortably close to him. His face was inches from his own, his nose centimeters from his cheek, but he wasn't being threatening. Deidara glanced over at him with a dirty look, but didn't get defensive, so Itachi just sat as still as possible as Sasori sniffed him in silence. The vampire was trying to get him to spill his secrets through intimidation, but Itachi refused to give anything away. He apparently found nothing interesting from his scent, either because he made an unhappy noise and sat back in his seat again. "Where did you go earlier?" Sasori questioned.
"Around Tokyo," Itachi replied when Deidara didn't.
"You're lying," Sasori informed him. "You don't smell like the city at all."
Itachi turned his head to finally face him, trying to meet his eyes as squarely as he dared. The redhead seemed to accept this challenge and refused to back down, though it was possible that Sasori just didn't understand that staring at anyone for long periods of time was socially unacceptable. Finally, understanding that he was not going to win silently, he gave a small shake of his head. "I have no intention of telling you, Sasori," he told the redhead. "I'm sorry." Deidara started to turn around to say something smug, but Itachi held his hand up in front of the blond's face without looking at him. Starting a fight on a plane was probably the worst thing in the world that could happen right now, and the blond accepted that quite begrudgingly as he folded his arms angrily over his chest.
"I could find out," Sasori looked slightly amused at their interaction, but didn't egg Deidara on for once.
"I don't doubt that, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try," Itachi replied.
Sasori puffed his cheeks slightly in annoyance, but he didn't say anything else as the fasten seatbelt sign came on as they began their decent. When the plane had touched down, Deidara was already unbuckled and poised to get up, but Sasori, who was in the aisle seat, was waiting patiently for the shuffle of frantic people to clear out so the blond had to wait, his leg jiggling irritably. He gave Itachi a miserably impatient expression that the brunette took to mean that Deidara had forgiven him for not being as excited as the blond had expected him to be.
Their short trip back to the train station he and Kisame had left several weeks ago was uneventful and Tal, his hand tucked deeply into his coat pocket protecting the vial, suggested that they get food before their trip. The vampires obliged, though Deidara was muttering in his head. Tal was much better at thinking logically than the blond, who was eager to see someone get excited. Itachi lifted his elbow to gently brush the blond's arm and he smiled again. Sasori was still watching them, so the brunette was careful to keep his face from reflecting the pain in his heart from leaving his home country and his brother behind. After a quick meal, they went through the train station and only had to wait a short while to climb the train.
"Deidara," Sasori said after the train started moving. "You have a better sense of distance and direction than him," he didn't gesture, but Itachi realized he was talking about him. "When we get close to the spot, we'll need to jump off."
"Jump off?" Itachi started, staring at him then out the window. It was dark, but as they passed through cities, the lights and signs were going by them at speeds that inspired his imagination of what would happen if they jumped off the train when it was going this fast.
Sasori gave him an amused look. "Sounds exciting doesn't it?" he murmured.
"Into the snow," Deidara grinned, obviously not thinking of death, but the prospect of rolling around in the snow. "Wont the sun be coming up though?"
Sasori nodded, his amused look deepening into a small smirk. "I guess you'll get a chance to test your resolution," he commented and Deidara looked a little worried as he glanced at Itachi, who realized this resolution meant feeding off of him to get a better hold on his day time death.
"Don't worry, I trust you," he told the blond with a smile that didn't seem to reassure him very much. They were together in the compartment for a few days, mostly in silence except for a few arguments that sprung up between the two vampires. Itachi was beginning to be able to read Sasori's body language, however strange and abnormal it was. He noticed when the redhead was starting to get bored which usually meant he was about to go at the blond. He began countering it by sending Deidara unexpected mental thoughts that made the effects of Sasori's comments less because the blond was paying attention to his human.
Each day, Deidara and Itachi would slip away to find some private compartment or bathroom stall so the blond could feed from Itachi. Itachi was a little surprised he didn't try in front of the others, but the blond seemed to understand exactly how much Itachi dreaded the very thought of getting bitten in front of anyone due to the reaction of Deidara's venom. Deidara, however, seemed positively delighted by Itachi and was clearly unhappy that they had such limited time to themselves. Though the blond was only feeding small mouthfuls and he was keeping himself well stocked with orange juice and snacks, Itachi always returned to the shared compartment slightly pale and Deidara acted slightly high for the next few hours, giggling at nearly everything. They hadn't had much chance to do such feedings before Deidara left in November. Itachi had still been a little apprehensive and when he had given Deidara blood it was from a cut instead of a bite; he was still unenthusiastic about the reactions to being bitten, but, under the circumstances, accepted that it was how it must be done. The effects of the connection they now shared had an overwhelming impact on feeding now. Since both could feel what the other was feeling, Itachi received the relief of his own blood to Deidara –being able to understand now the actual strength it took to not drain him, and Deidara felt the physical effects he could not in his vampire body. The first time they slipped away, they had both collapsed in dizzyingly pleasured heaps and took quite a long time to return to the compartment.
The blond was lounging lazily with his head on Itachi's lap, imitating a nap instead of the effects of the sun when his eyes opened with a sharp snap and he lurched up again. Itachi, who had been talking quietly to Tal, startled and stared at him, barely having moved his chin out of the way from colliding with the blond's skull.
"We're almost here," he said to no one in particular, but Sasori also sat up from where he'd been resting against the side of his seat. "A few miles away, un." He tilted his head back as far as it would go to look back at Itachi with a grin. "According to your memory."
"Hopefully it's accurate," Sasori commented, picking his clothing items that had spread out in the last few days and put them on. Itachi didn't ask why a vampire needed a winter coat, scarf, hat and cloves, because despite the gruffness the redhead had and the dangers he held at his fingers, he looked remarkably like a child about to go play in the snow.
The others followed in suit and pulled on all their warm things before they walked out into the corridor, Deidara shouldering his bag. No one paid much attention to them, so they reached an empty car without much difficulty. Sasori opened the door to the train much like Kali had and jumped out without hesitation, but the two humans glanced at Deidara, quite certain that they would not survive the jump as easily so the blond took hold of them both and leaped out after his maker.
The snow hit Itachi like a wall. Even bundled up as he was, it was a lot colder than in the warm compartment they had left. Deidara took the brunt of the fall, landing in the tall snow and nearly disappearing under its depths weighed down by the two humans. When the train finally passed, Deidara tilted his arms back so the two of them could drop into the cleared path where the tracks were and wait for the vampire to dig himself out. Itachi pulled his coat closer to himself, thinking how three more layers wouldn't have hurt, but figured it would be less miserable once they started walking. They waited, Itachi and Tal shifting their weight around to keep warm, until Sasori caught up with them, punching a hole into the train's snow trench from the tunnel he'd dug. He was covered in snow and shared a strange sort of grin with the blond. It looked entirely out of place on his face, but Itachi couldn't help but smile at the gleeful look Deidara gave his maker. It was generally difficult to remember exactly how young these two were, but moments like these brought the thought back to him.
"How will we find Kali?" Tal asked, as Sasori shook himself free of the snow. "She's closed me off, I wont be able to find her."
"We will be able to smell her," Sasori's strange, yet playful, grin disappeared and was replaced by a sardonic one. "Even in this thin air. Don't freeze you two," he added, pointing at them with a gloved hand. "We don't have any body heat to share."
They followed him back into the tunnel he had started and they began the slow process of tunneling through the snow. The two vampires seemed delighted to be tunneling through the snow that was nearly over Itachi's head – definitely over their heads – and they seemed to know what direction to go through the brunette had no idea how. Deidara murmured in his mind that they could smell a carcass ahead somewhere, which was why, every so often, one of them knocked a hole in the roof of their tunnel to let in the outside air. It was possible that the carcass belonged to a wild animal, but also that it was a victim of a hungry vampire living off of animal blood.
'Deidara? How are we getting back?' he asked suddenly as he watched Sasori climb up onto Deidara's shoulders to let his head disappear in the roof again. The redhead really did look like he was having an exceptionally good time playing in the snow, though Tal just looked more and more anxious the more they traveled.
'What do you mean?' Deidara asked, turning to look at him and earning a hard kick in the gut from Sasori for moving him.
Itachi pulled his scarf up closer to his mouth and exhaled heavily to warm his cheeks. 'After we find Kali,' he explained. 'How are we going to get back to civilization?'
Deidara wiped around to stare at him with wild eyes and dumped Sasori on the ground before the redhead could kick him again. "DANNA," he shouted unnecessarily. "How are we getting back home after we get Kali, un? These two can't travel in the cold like we can, and we have no food for them."
Sasori took the time to pull himself out of the snow and stand up to glare at the blond. "You only just thought of that? They're your humans; I'm going home after this."
"What?!" Deidara shouted at him, Tal and Itachi backing away from the two of them out of harm's way automatically. "They're going to freeze to death! What the hell is wrong with you, un?!"
"You could have thought of something yourself, you know," Sasori informed him in a calm voice in contrast to Deidara's which was reaching almost a shrieking level.
"You said to do what you said, un!"
"And when have you ever done what I said?"
Deidara gave an angry yell and jumped at the redhead who turned in time to catch him, but was still barreled into the snow. The several inches of snowy ceiling fell on their heads as they knocked it out, but it wasn't enough to cause much damage to the two humans, who scrambled out of the way as the two vampires fought. Itachi thought it was about time this happened because Deidara and Sasori seemed to physically fight every time they met and they hadn't done so in several days due to their close proximity to normal humans. They were probably bursting to attack one another at this point and Itachi seemed to understand some of the reasons that Deidara was usually so intent on avoiding Sasori at all costs, though the past few months had been an extremely rare exception.
Itachi turned to Tal to give him a half exasperated, half apologetic expression when something pricked the back of his neck and he suddenly felt extremely afraid, but of what, he couldn't tell. Deidara seemed to sense the fear through their connection and stopped trying to tear Sasori's arm off which resulted in Sasori shoving his face violently into a mound of snow. When the blond lifted his head to watch Itachi instead of retaliating, Sasori stopped fighting and seemed to freeze, his attention lengthening to a wider sphere around himself. No one moved.
Suddenly, Deidara turned and leapt into the air as part of the ceiling caved in. He collided with a dark shape and a small battle raged on again, though this time there was far more violence and the snow was stained in blood. Tal and Itachi jumped back and moved further backwards into the tunnel, both wide eyed and trying to get out of the way. The humans looked at each other, Itachi with apprehension and worry on his face, Tal looking extremely anxious and heartbroken. Itachi remembered how it felt to be so close to Deidara when the blond had closed him off and had no idea how to comfort his friend.
Peering around the bend in the snowy tunnel, Itachi watched as the two vampires struggled to hold the other down. He wondered why Sasori didn't use his own abilities to hold her in place, but decided that perhaps she was too strong. Deidara had told him that Sasori almost lost control over him when the blond had been worried about Itachi, so perhaps the bloodlust made Kali so desperate for blood that it made her impossible to hold with the power. It was Kali, still looking as feral as she had when Itachi last saw her in the train with Kisame. She was a horror ghost come to life, her fingers flashing like claws, her matted hair swinging wildly around them as she tried to fight through the two much smaller vampires to get to the blood source she was after.
Behind him, Tal stepped up and took a slow inhale of breath as to calm his nerves. "Kali," he breathed out softly, but the vampires, with their superb hearing, caught it easily.
The female vampire's face went blank with shock and the two others were able to pin her down on the snowy ground, but looking extremely harassed and bleeding slightly from the sharp nails and teeth she had used against them.
Her reaction seemed to give him courage and he held his head a little higher, squaring his shoulders as he took a step closer to them. Itachi shot out a hand to keep him from getting too close and Deidara gave him a small thankful nod. The blond wasn't sure how well he and Sasori would be able to hold her down. Tal began to speak in a language Itachi didn't know, but Kali tilted her head to the side and stared at him as if hearing something from very far away. She replied hoarsely in the same language and tried to free her arms from Sasori to reach for him, but the redhead grabbed her head and forced her gaze away from the two humans.
He spoke to her in the same language, his eyes haughty with the same self satisfied expression that usually lurked on his face. Kali answered with a growl. Confused, Itachi looked at Deidara who gave a dramatic shrug to indicate that he didn't understand the language they were speaking. Sasori repeated what he had said more sternly and Kali had replied with his name, so Itachi deduced that he had asked her if she knew who he was. Smirking at her – which seemed to aggravate her more, he spoke again and she froze with a soft, animal like preen and Tal smiled a little.
Walking up to her slowly, Tal knelt down in front of her, a mixture of expressions on his face that was almost embarrassing to watch. He whispered to her, and she strained to get close to him again though her movements were less savage. Finally managing to shake Sasori off of her arm, she reached out and touched Tal's face with her fingertips. Itachi stepped up behind him, and her eyes darted briefly towards him, but returned almost instantly to Tal's face. Itachi remembered her expression when she had heard his name. It was nothing compared to the one she had looking at him.
"Give me the bottle, un," Deidara said to Tal, holding his hand out expectantly.
Kali yowled angrily and swiped at his hand, nearly knocking the bottle away. "What is this?" she snapped, revere gone and speaking in English. "Deidara you foul brat, what are you doing?! Why have you brought Tal here?! You promised that you would keep him safe and away from me!"
"We've brought you a present, un," he told her, not bothered at all by her yelling. "Like… a icure/i. Hold still damnit."
"What?" she demanded angrily, writhing under them again. Tal slid back slightly and the movement caught her attention. Her large hungry eyes locked on him again and she made a sound that was halfway through a growl and a preen.
Tal spoke to her again in the language Itachi didn't understand and she tilted her head up at him.
"So hold still, so we can give it to you," Sasori snapped, grabbing her head again and holding her still while Deidara uncorked it and dumped the contents into her mouth. They clamped her mouth shut so she couldn't spit out and they watched her swallow and glare back at them.
"How long does this take to work?" Deidara muttered, as they rolled her onto her back allowing him to sit on her chest.
"How long did the bloodlust take to overtake her?" Sasori questioned, standing up again and frowned down at her. The air shimmered slightly around the trio and Itachi figured he felt confident enough to hold her down himself.
"A week…" Tal murmured, looking down at her upside down face. He didn't seem to mind that she looked like a crazed animal. He was drinking in all of her features with total adoration.
"A week?" Deidara cried, turning to Sasori again. "This is the worst plan you've ever come up with Danna! Our humans are going to FREEZE."
"Your humans."
"MY HUMANS!" Deidara was shouting again, but he didn't rise from Kali's chest. He looked like he very much wanted to get up and run over to Itachi, but the blond didn't want to leave Kali.
"It's already working," Kali murmured hoarsely under him. "I feel it."
Sasori gave a small humph of interest as he reached down and snatched the bottle out of Deidara's hand and examined it with obvious curiosity then pocketed the bottle. "How interesting. And Deidara, as I said before, I don't care whether or not your humans freeze—" Deidara made a vicious shriek and Sasori glared at him darkly.
"Deidara, Sasori isn't going to let us freeze or die," Itachi said quietly.
Sasori turned very slowly and dangerously turned to face Itachi. "I might," he said coolly.
"No you wont," Itachi gave him a small smile. "Because you've helped us a lot, so I'm sure you will be expecting something in return and you wont get that if you let me freeze."
The blond glanced back at Sasori who looked annoyed, but didn't say anything in response. Deidara giggled in their minds. 'I love when you put people in their place, have I mentioned it's pretty sexy, un?'
'Please stop saying things like that,' Itachi murmured back flushing darkly. "How are we getting back?"
"I don't know."
Itachi moved out of the way as more of the ceiling collapsed and frowned at him. "You really didn't think of it?" he asked Sasori.
"Nope."
Itachi sighed slightly as Deidara started yelling at Sasori again, which had very little effect on the redhead who sat down in the snow, still holding Kali down with his invisible strings. Tal was still kneeling on the ground staring down at Kali with a happy expression plastered on his face. He doubted the human would be any help to the situation in his current state, so Itachi guessed that meant it was his job to figure out exactly how they were getting out of the snowy wilderness. If Kali was feeding off of animals, there'd be something the animals ate so hopefully they could start a fire and maybe catch or cook something. He was very certain there wasn't any people in the area since Kali had chosen this place to keep herself away from people. They could stop a new train for a moment so they could climb on, but Kali was still recovering and that might not be safe to take her near so many people.
He pondered their options for a moment, bouncing on his toes a little to keep warm. Sasori had not taken any of Deidara's verbal attacks to heart and the blond had simmered into glowering silence. Blue eyes followed him as he moved around, growing less angry and more concerned each time he pulled his scarf up to blow hot air onto his face.
"I'm fine, Deidara," he said aloud, but started to pace a little so as to warm his legs up. "The best option is to delay a train long enough to get back on. We'll stay in the luggage area like Deidara did on his way to China. If Kali feeds on enough animal blood will that keep her safe from the humans on the train?"
"How many animals do you think can live in this weather?" Sasori scoffed at him. "We vampires can travel easily in the cold and don't have to feed as much as you do."
"You," Itachi said pointedly. "Are welcome to go ahead without us, our plans for returning don't have to include you, but getting Kali back into civilization safely and also Tal and I through the cold is important and would be easier with your help."
Sasori scoffed. "You always need my help," he commented.
"This time, we don't," Itachi firmly told him, ignoring the expression on Sasori's face. "We don't need you, but it would be helpful." He emphasized on the last word, feeling rather frustrated at the redheads lack of interest in keeping him or Tal alive. He knew Sasori didn't want either of them dead, or else he wouldn't have helped them in the first place, so what exactly was driving the vampire now? Wanting to know what Deidara and he had done before they left Japan? That seemed too tedious.
"Either way," Itachi continued when Sasori didn't reply, looking at Deidara. "We should find a place to stay while the antidote works on Kali. This place isn't very sheltered," he gestured to the ceiling that the wind was still blowing snow down on them, "and we don't know how long it will take." He looked down at Kali, who seemed torn between trying to throw Deidara off her and staying still. Her eyes were darting from Itachi to Tal, hungry, yet listening to what he was saying. "Kali," he began, feeling awkward addressing her. Her eyes locked on his face and the hair on the back of his neck stood up, but like before, Itachi forced himself not to be afraid. "You said when I last saw you that you had a nest nearby?"
"Yes," she hissed at him.
"Is there enough room for all of us?" he asked, trying not to sound eager. He did not want to stand out in this cold longer than he needed to.
She considered him, then looked up at Deidara. The blond looked back down at her unblinking, but his usual lofty air was gone. Itachi decided that she was judging him on whether or not he was trustworthy enough to know where she slept during the day. The sky above was in permanent grey from the thick snow clouds and it was impossible to tell what time of day it was, but the brunette was certain that it was still day time. Kali must have smelled their human scent and came to investigate, starved for human blood. She seemed to decide that he was not a threat and nodded. "There are hot springs too," she croaked out. "You will be warm."
"Should I hold your hand while we walk, un?" Deidara asked, grinning playfully at her.
"That might be best," she agreed, standing up as Deidara slid off her. Her surprised look made Itachi suspect it had been Sasori who raised her, not herself.
Deidara started to hold his hand out then paused and looked back at Itachi and Tal. The two of them couldn't move through this much snow without help. He glanced sideways at Sasori almost reluctantly and the redhead muttered in a new language that none of them seemed to understand, but he gestured for Kali to lead the way as he followed after her, allowing Deidara to help the two humans.
The process was very slow and difficult for the three of them. The other vampires were out of Itachi's sight before long, but Deidara assured him that he could smell their direction in case the trench they had made instead of digging a tunnel was filled up again. When they finally stopped, they were in front of a rock face, not quite a mountain, but not a hill. Sasori and Kali were standing on a rock above them, waiting for them, but Deidara set the humans down on the ground and sat down hard in the snow, resting his head against an ice covered rock, eyes closed.
"Deidara?" Itachi asked, concerned as he knelt down in front of him.
"He's run out of energy," Tal explained quietly. "Even if the sun's not out, it's still day time. Being connected to you lets him be able to walk around, but he's not as strong as he is at night."
Itachi, worried now, knelt down closer to him and reached out to him, but the blond waved him off, mumbling that he was fine. The brunette looked up at the vampires above, neither coming to aid him. Perhaps they couldn't. Reaching out, he took Deidara's arms and slid them around his shoulders and hoisted him onto his back. "I'm not entirely useless," Itachi told him when he protested and, getting a better feel of the blond on his back, carefully began climbing up, Tal coming up after him.
"I see you've over exerted yourself," Sasori commented when the three of them finally arrived at their level. Deidara was clutching Itachi's coat tightly, his face buried into his scarf. Itachi was panting heavily, soaked in sweat from his efforts under the many layers of clothes. Deidara ignored the jab, hugging Itachi tighter as he leaned against a rock as Tal stood up.
"The cave is here," Kali croaked, pointing with her hand and Sasori walked with her into it, perhaps following her, perhaps walking her there.
"Are you okay?" Itachi asked Tal, who was rubbing his arms.
"Yeah… just out of shape," the man gave a weak chuckle and cautiously followed the two vampires out of the cold.
'Are you alright?' he asked gently.
'Yes,' even Deidara's mental voice sounded exhausted. 'Just need to rest, un.'
Hoisting Deidara up higher on his back, Itachi trudged through the snow after Tal and out of the icy wind that nearly ripped him from the rock face. Kali's cave was deep and the entrance very steep down into the rocks. It was very warm and when they caught up with the others, Itachi could see why she called it a nest. It was cluttered with many different things, some ready to close off the entrance, others in a dirty pile arranged in a nest shaped bed. Kali had crawled up to sit in it, her eyes on Tal, watching his every move, but gestured at Itachi to place Deidara next to her. She took her eyes off her human for a moment as he bent down to set Deidara down, but Deidara growled at her like a feral cat and she averted her eyes. She knew Itachi belonged to Deidara and would not try to feed on the brunette as much as she wanted to. The bloodlust was vanishing, but was still there.
"You need to go warm up, un," Deidara mumbled to Itachi, pointing deeper in the cave where hot steam was pouring out towards them. "I'll be fine. When the sun sets, Kali and I will go hunting, un." He looked over at her and she seemed to play with the idea then nodded. "Hopefully we'll find something that you and Tal can eat too, un."
Nodding, Itachi got up and moved deeper into the cave, Tal following behind as he shed his extra layers that weren't necessary in the steamy cave. The back of the cave had another entrance in which ice cold air tried to penetrate the heat of the steaming pools before them. Itachi wondered briefly with bitterness why they hadn't used this entrance instead then realized it had been on the other side from where they had approached. With Kali in her current state, he expected there to be bones strewn around the open space, but it was empty. Kali didn't eat meat, despite her appearance of a savage animal. She would have just fed on the spot and left the carcasses for another predator to find and take advantage of.
Glancing over at his companion, he saw him already removing all of his clothes and did the same, noting with a strange emotion he couldn't pinpoint that he had been naked in front of people and seen more naked people more times since he met Deidara in his entire life. This, like everything else, was just something he would have to get used to. It seemed odd to think that considering how long he'd been with Deidara so far.
He felt Deidara's amusement somewhere higher up the ascending tunnel and knew he could tell what he was thinking. Grumbling, he peeled his clothes off and sunk into the wonderfully hot water and leaned back against a rock.
"Deidara will be fine," Tal said quietly. "The sun will be setting in a few minutes."
Itachi looked over at him and frowned a little. "Kali will be fine too," he replied, giving him a smile of reassurance. "Deidara won't let anything bad happen to her."
"I am forever in your debt, Itachi," the man told him, closing his eyes as he leaned back, exhausted, against a boulder. "We are… I mean… Kali and I." Itachi had never asked how long Tal and Kali had been separated from each other, but must have been very long for Tal to think of himself in singular instead of plural with Kali. He thought about it for a moment and realized even he was starting to think of himself and Deidara as one entity.
They sat in silence for a long while, the hot water thawing out their frozen limbs, though the icy wind outside was making small crystals formulate on their damp hair. Itachi felt very relaxed, almost as if he could sleep, but there was still danger nearby and his brain wouldn't allow him to. He felt when Deidara left – silently wishing him a good hunt – and wondered if staying in this hot spring too long would be bad for the two of them. His hands were becoming very pruned and he was about to suggest they get out when he felt some one behind him and looked back to see Sasori standing over him looking down.
He felt a chill run down his spin that had nothing to do with the wind. "Did you decide not to go hunting?" he asked as calmly as he could. The redhead had a strange look in his eyes.
"Someone had to stay to make sure you two didn't kill yourselves," the redhead commented.
There was a stretch of silence as the redhead continued to stare down at him from an uncomfortable height. "Is something wrong?" he asked, his heart pounding nervously.
"No."
Another silence. Agitation began pushing apprehension away. "What do you want then?" he asked, turning his body around so he didn't have to crane his neck.
"I've just decided on how you and Deidara can repay me for helping you," Sasori informed him.
Itachi swallowed, but knew this to be partially a lie. Sasori probably had decided a long time ago the payment he would demand from them, but was most likely something that Deidara wouldn't react very well to and was waiting for a chance to get Itachi alone. "How?" he asked.
"You will help me run an experiment," Sasori informed him. "Or rather, you will convince Deidara to agree to it and then help me perform it."
"What kind of experiment?" Itachi asked slowly.
The redhead crouched down, perched on his toes as he rest his arms on his knees casually. His face was calm and lacked the same amount of emotion as his voice, but his eyes were different. They were so intense, Itachi wanted nothing more than to look away, but found himself rooted to the spot, staring up at the heavy lidded eyes the color of thick, warm honey. To all who looked at him, Sasori was a child, no more than twelve years old, but his eyes gave him away. His eyes were old. Very old. He'd seen things, done things, that no one else had. Bottomless pools of ageless calculations, of plots and wars, of music and art, of games and torture. How many pages had been in that book? Thousands. Over five thousand he had counted. He felt himself shaking slightly and desperately tried to stop before Deidara sensed his fear and came running.
"You," Sasori began, "are going to convince Deidara to feed you his blood and then I am going to feed on yours."
"You want to feed on Itachi?" Tal's voice sounded curious and confused behind him, but Itachi gave the briefest shaking of his head he could manage, still unable to look away from Sasori.
His brain was working madly, running thoughts from one side to the other, putting things together and he swallowed. There wouldn't be room for negotiation, he knew, because Sasori didn't want anything else and wouldn't accept anything else. For the huge favor he had bestowed on them, he wanted his treasure once more. His favorite thing in the world: Deidara's blood. Since Deidara was a vampire, made by Sasori, the redhead couldn't feed on him anymore. But if Itachi drank Deidara's blood, and then Sasori drank Itachi's, there was a small possibility that Sasori could taste it yet again, or, at least, taste Itachi's immediate memory of it.
"Would that work?" Itachi choked out, barely audible.
"That's why it's called an experiment," Sasori replied, monotonously.
"What if it doesn't work?" Itachi asked, unable to strengthen his voice at all.
"Then I will have no further use of either of you," was the ominous reply before Sasori stood and walked back up into the tunnel, leaving him in a stunned and terrified silence.
R&R