The next morning, Sasori woke up to his best friend mumbling something about some girl in his sleep. He rolled his eyes before even opening them. Turning over very slightly, he saw Komushi in a position he was sure only a fool like him could sleep comfortably in. With a groan, he sat up and got out of bed, tightening his robe as he moved toward the door.
Before he even opened it, there was a knock. When he answered it, one of his mother's servants was standing before him. "Oh, you're already up," she said with a small smile. "Your mother wants to know if you and Lord Komushi would like anything."
Sasori looked back at Komushi, still passed out on his bed. "Just two cups of coffee for now," he told her.
She nodded and backed away. "I will be right back."
"You can leave it by the door. He's indecent." The servant chuckled as she continued her way to the kitchen. Sasori rounded the bed and nudged Komushi hard in the side. "Get up," he said.
"Hnnn, no, you take it off," Komushi laughed in his sleep. He nuzzled his face into the bed deeper.
Sasori shook his head, pushing against his friend harder. "We have things to do," he grumbled, shoving Komushi hard.
Komushi jerked away, feeling his body flip over. "Mmm! What was that for, Sasori!" he whined, rubbing his eyes. "You can't let a man dream?"
"You can dream once my slave is returned to me," he said flatly with a hand on his hip.
"Uugh, fine," Komushi whined again. There was a light knock at the door and Sasori moved to go answer it. "So, I'm going to follow Shira," Komushi said, "infiltrate—"
"Don't use the word 'infiltrate,'" Sasori cut him off, walking back to the bed with two mugs of coffee.
Komushi smirked, taking one of the mugs from him. "Infiltrate your aunt and uncle's house. Find out where Azumi is. And then what? How do I get her to you?"
"That's what I spent most of the night thinking about," Sasori hummed. "This is going to be the hardest part. Not just getting her away from everyone but actually convincing her to be alone with you."
"No one ever has to be convinced to be alone with me," Komushi smirked.
"Must I remind you again that she doesn't really like you?"
"Why don't we just stick to the cake idea?" Komushi offered. "If she genuinely likes it then it should be able to get me close."
"She has Shira. She can get cake at any time," Sasori sighed.
"Then churros and the guise of turning my back on you," he raised a thick brow.
"Elaborate," Sasori squinted. "I don't need to worry about you defecting."
"No, of course not," Komushi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'd never betray you. Especially after everything I went through for you."
"Don't try to make me feel guilty," Sasori sighed. He was already feeling a little guilty about it and he did not need to be reminded.
Komushi smirked at him. "If I pretend to be turning my back on you, she might trust me quicker. It would be easier to get her out and bring her to you."
"Fine," Sasori huffed. "It's the best plan we have right now." He ran a hand through his hair.
"If you think of something better we can always change it."
"No, we will go with that. If you are taking her out for churros, I assume you're going to the coffee shop?"
"Is there anywhere else we'd go?" Komushi chuckled.
"Fair," Sasori rolled his eyes.
"I'll sweet talk her there," Komushi continued, "and then I'll bring her here."
"She's never been here," Sasori hummed, "she wouldn't think it's my parents' house. That'll work."
"Good plan?"
"Good plan."
"Good. Now let's go eat breakfast."
They got up together once their brilliant plan was solidified. They could smell breakfast wafting down the hall. They walked into the kitchen to find his parents feeding each other pieces of fruit.
His mother giggled softly at something his father said. "Good morning, sons of mine," she smiled up at them. "Did you sleep well?"
Sasori's face scrunched up at the sight of his parents being in love and he let out a small disgusted groan. "Ew," he grumbled.
"I slept great!" Komushi grinned, nudging Sasori's in the side with his elbow.
"Yeah, I slept fine," Sasori sighed. They moved to sit down at the table with his parents.
"Good, good," she smiled. "Do you have any plans today, Komushi?" she asked, getting up to pull two plates for the boys.
"Oh, I'm going out to run some errands today," he hummed, sitting down. Sasori poured himself another cup of coffee, feeling his energy already fading.
"Oh, maybe you can come with us," his mother smiled brightly, setting the plates down and then serving them.
"Yeah, we're heading out to the market today," his father chimed in.
"Oh, I'm heading in the other direction," Komushi chuckled. "The indoor market."
"Aw," Sasori's mother pouted slightly. "Maybe next time then."
"It's a date."
"Ew," Sasori muttered into his mug.
"And what are your plans, Sasori?" his father asked.
"Not much. Sitting in my room, pretending I don't exist," he answered nonchalantly.
"You can use the workshops, Sasori," he reminded his son. "You aren't confined to the bedroom."
Sasori hummed, pouring sweet cream into his coffee. "I haven't forgotten," he said to his father.
"Oh, yes! Sasori, maybe you can work on a wedding gift for your cousin!"
"Oh, that's right," Komushi chuckled. "I forget Little Temari was getting married."
"You say 'little' like she's not only a year younger than you," Sasori said.
"She's always going to be little to me."
"Don't tell her that," Sasori and both his parents said at the same time.
"Do you have any ideas for what you are going to make?" his father asked.
"Well, I didn't really plan on making anything," Sasori grumbled. "At least not today. But I guess I can make her some kind of perfume."
"Do you know anything about her fiance?" Komushi asked.
"Not really," Sasori hummed. "But I'm sure I'll meet him sometime before the wedding." He started eating his breakfast. "I could go out to lunch with them one day to figure him out." He shrugged. "I'll figure something out." There was the unspoken thought that if Azumi was there, she could have made her bath goods for them. But no one vocalized those thoughts. No one was in the mod to make Sasori brood nor was Sasori in the mood to brood.
"Anyway, you have full access to both workshops. So please, Sasori, be productive today," his mother encouraged sweetly. "What would you like to eat tonight?"
Sasori pretended to think while he finished off his coffee. "Surprise me," he said. "It's been a while since I've had anything you've made."
His mother smiled. "Prepare to be surprised then," she said.
They all ate their breakfast and cleaned up. "We're going to head out now," his father said, standing up from the table. He wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and looked at his son and his not-son. "We'll see you two later."
"See you later," Komushi called after them. Sasori waved to his parents, already heading back down the hall to his room. He mentioned to one of the servants to have a pot of tea brought to his room on the way out.
Komushi followed after him quickly. "So are you going to make anything for the wedding?" he asked.
"Probably but like I said, not right now," he sighed, taking his seat at the desk.
Komushi nodded, picking up the rest of the chantilly cake from the night before. He covered it up a little to be able to carry it through the city. "I'll have her back before you know it," he grinned.
"See to it that you do," Sasori muttered, already shifting through papers. He would not admit that he was excited to see Azumi again. To have her back in his clutches.
"How are you going to keep your parents out of the house tonight?"
"I don't need to because we are going to keep Azumi quiet."
"Right," Komushi said softly with a slight nod. "See you later then." With that said, he left the room and headed to Shira's restaurant to follow the chef to Azumi's location.
Shira pulled the door of his restaurant shut with a satisfied sigh. He shifted a basket of food on his arm to lock the door then turned to head down the street. He squinted against the mid-morning light. "Ugh," he groaned as he shielded his eyes with his free hand, not noticing Komushi peeking around the corner.
Komushi watched him for a few moments, letting him get far enough to follow at a safe distance. He hummed softly to himself to appear as non-suspicious as possible as he walked through the streets. He refrained from tasting a little bit of the cake he was holding, having to constantly remind himself that it was part of the plan. He noticed Shira take a turn that was not toward Sandaime and Sachiko's house. Komushi let out a confused hum as he continued to follow Shira.
He looked around their surroundings, frowning as they got further and further away from the house he thought they would be going to. The area was familiar but he had not been to this section of the city in a few years. 'Who lives over here?' he thought. 'Could he not be going to visit them?' he frowned. It did not dawn on him until he saw the mansion come into view. 'Gaara's place!' His jaw dropped.
Shira walked up to the front door and knocked then took a step back. Within a few seconds, it opened and there was an excited squeal from inside. Azumi appeared in the doorway to hug him then stepped away to let him in.
"Good morning," Shira chuckled, stepping into the house.
"Good morning," Azumi grinned, walking to the kitchen with him.
"I made you all your favorites and threw in some extra leftovers from the night," he told her. "So you have lunch in there too or you can eat that first," he chuckled through a very long, tear-jerking yawn. He placed the basket down on the table and slumped against her heavily. "I'm going to go take a nap," he smiled sleepily.
Down the hall, Komushi slipped into the house, listening for where Azumi and Shira went. "Amazing," he laughed silently. "I don't know why we didn't think of this."
"Aw," Azumi chuckled, gently rubbing Shira's back. "Go upstairs and take your nap," she told him. "Gaara should be done with his patients by late afternoon so he should be back when you wake up." She kissed his cheek. "I will be down here, eating an infant's weight in food," she grinned.
"Sounds good," he smiled, yawning again. He pressed a kiss to her head then departed to die for a few hours.
Komushi pressed against the wall until he heard Shira disappear down the hall. He glanced back at the kitchen door then down at the cake in his hand. This would either be the best time to lure her away or the worst since she had food and knew Shira just went to bed. He waited a few minutes, wanting to make sure that Shira was definitely not coming back any time soon and that Azumi was going to remain in her spot.
Azumi pulled the first dish out of the basket and sat down at the table with it. She hummed happily as she started eating.
Komushi looked into the kitchen, sighing quietly in relief that her back was turned to him. 'I suppose now would be the ideal time,' he thought. Sasori said the cake was her favorite. She could never turn it down. He took a deep breath and readied himself to carry out the plan then made his way toward her. He crept up to the table to stand just beside her, setting the cake down so it was only in her peripherals. He held his breath a moment. If she screamed he would have to act quickly. He could not let Shira suspect anything and he doubted the man was actually asleep yet so there was still the risk he would come rushing to her aid.
Azumi looked at the cake and smiled. "How could I forget?" she chuckled, pulling it closer. She looked up at him and her smile immediately faded. She gasped hard, almost as if to let out a scream but Komushi moved quickly and covered her mouth hard with his hand.
"I come in peace," he assured her with a hiss. "Don't scream," he told her. He kept his hand over her mouth. "I'm only here to ask if you have any news on Sasori." He stared at her harder. "Are you going to scream?" he asked her.
She hummed a little and pretended to think about her decision for a moment then nodded. "Loud as fuck," she said, muffled by his hand. How could she trust him when he was the best friend of the man looking for her?
"I figured that would be your answer," he rolled his eyes. "I guess you don't want that cake," he glanced at the dessert on the table. It was a stretch to think she would keep quiet for a cake. But he banked on hormones and his lack of threatening energy to win her over. "I don't know where he is," he lied. "So I can't take you to him. And..." he paused, looking back to her, down at her belly and noting that she was starting to show, "I don't want him killing that child." A truth to balance out the lie.
There was a muffled pouting noise that came out of her when she looked over at the chantilly cake. She really wanted it. She looked back at him and stared at him for a few moments. "What do you want?" she huffed behind his hand.
"I'm going to trust that you won't scream," he said, carefully taking his hand away. He pulled the seat next to her out, keeping it close in case she did scream. "I just want to know if you have any information on Sasori. I'm sure you guys are keeping tabs on him," he raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen him since that night at his house."
"If tabs are being kept on him, they are not being shared with me," she said, pulling the cake closer to her and taking a few bites of it. "I know nothing. Not where he is or if he is still injured." She went silent and took a few more bites of her cake. "Not that I care," she lied.
Komushi's lip twitched at her last statement. "Is that so," he hummed, getting up to cross the room and pull a fork of his own. He sat back down, digging into the cake from the opposite side. "I figured you, of all people, would be keeping the closest watch on him." He hummed again as he ate his piece.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I have better things to do than obsess over what he is doing," she said. "And you, as his best friend, should be the one who has the most information on him. I know you well enough to know that you would be by his side in his incapacitated state." She looked at him hard and lowered her voice. "You really think I am going to sit here and believe you have not been with him since the night you tried to steal my snake?"
Komushi leaned in, grinning wide. "If I knew where he was," he whispered back, "would I be here asking you this question?" He raised his eyebrow in challenge. He smirked, leaning back in his seat as he took another bite of cake. "No, I'd be with him. But I am a little upset with him right now if I'm being honest." He needed to win her trust. At least enough to lure her out of the house.
She narrowed her eyes at him then sighed and rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "Humor me. Why?" she asked.
"That's easy," he shrugged. "He wants to kill your baby," he said matter of factly. "I don't agree with that. I want you to have it."
"You are mad at him because he wants to kill my baby," she muttered. "But then where was that same mentality when he beat me the night he found out his uncle was trying to abolish slavery? You were there for that and you encouraged him," she growled, her voice getting louder.
He held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't say I was perfect," he defended. "People can see the error of their ways and realize they are a horrible shit person, can't they?" He pouted a little. "I've done a lot of terrible things and have a lot I regret. That night is definitely on the list."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes again. She did not believe even a little that he would have changed so quickly after being the way he was his entire life. "You know that I know nothing now," she told him. "I cannot give you what you came here for." She stood up. "I suggest you leave."
"Azumi, wait," he stood up with her. He had to get her out of the house. "Let...please believe me," he said softly. He pushed as much apology into his tone. "I'm really not here to sell you out to Sasori or anything." He reached for her hand, holding it firmly but gently in his hand. "Let me take you out for churros." This was a desperate move. She could easily turn him down there. She had no reason to believe him and they both knew that. She had even less reason to leave the house but he had to make the attempt.
She looked at their hands then back at him. He did sound sincere but she was having a hard time fully believing him. A small part of her wanted to cave and go out for churros but she knew in this situation she had to keep a more level head. Gently, she tried to pull her hand away from his. "What more could you possibly want?" she asked. "Whatever it is you want to know about him, I cannot help you with." She did not want to leave in case Shira woke up. The last thing she needed was for him to panic and make Gaara panic because she was gone.
"Nothing," Komushi shook his head. "I just want to treat you to some churros and coffee. I'm sure you've been stuck inside most of the day and everyone is watching you." He gently squeezed her hand to hold it in place. "It will be my treat and then we will come back here." He offered his most charming smile. "Come on, I'm sure the baby would love churros," he teased.
She stared at him for a few more moments and then sighed heavily. "I am sure you mean well but me leaving would cause more problems than you know," she said. She tried to pull her hand away again. "Let me go."
He released her hand with a heavy sigh. "I know Gaara's route. He's going to be gone for hours. You won't be missed for a twenty-minute churro break," he pushed gently again. "We'll go and then come back right away," he shrugged. "You're really content to be left here all day alone until Gaara comes back?"
She gave it another long thought and then sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "Twenty minutes," she said, looking back at him.
"Twenty minutes," he repeated with a boyish grin. He helped her clean up the little mess on the table quickly. When they were done, he offered his arm to her. "My lady," he smirked as he used her title for the first time.
She hesitated for a second and then took his arm. Together, they left the house and headed toward the coffee shop. As they entered the mid-morning and early afternoon crowd, she suddenly realized exactly why she was content to stay inside until Gaara came back. The crowd. There were always so many people out. Subconsciously, she pressed a little closer to Komushi, using him to shield herself as he moved them through the streets.
Komushi noticed it instantly. He pulled her a little closer and moved towards the edge of the crowd. "You're just like him," he chuckled softly. "Here, we'll take a back road," he told her, steering them down a path that was much quieter. "There is always a way to get where you need to while avoiding the crowd," he winked down at her as he led her out the back end of an alley and it dropped them off two doors down from the coffee shop.
She looked up at him and hummed. "I have taken a few of them with Gaara," she said. "But I have not been able to explore this city on my own to figure them out myself." She looked down. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Under any other circumstances I would offer to show you more," he smirked. He walked ahead of her to hold the door to the shop open for her. "But I promised twenty minutes," he smirked.
"You did," she said, a small smile appearing on her lips as she stepped into the shop.
"Go find a table," he told her. "I'll get the churros and coffee." She nodded and walked toward the tables by the window, finding a table that they could people watch from. He put the order in then scanned the room. He spotted his soon-to-be captive and thankfully no one else that would foil the plan for him. He picked up their order once it was set right next to him and made his way over to her. He sat across from her, placing their food down. "It's been a while since I was here," he smiled, sipping his coffee." He hummed contently, making a show of looking out the window.
"I was here recently," she said. "I really like this place." She took a churro and dipped it into the icing then took a bite. She pulled her coffee close and took a sip. "I try to only have one cup of coffee a day," she hummed. "I cannot have too much since I am pregnant."
"Were you? So they let you out of your cage?" he teased then looked down at the coffee cup. "Oh, right," he frowned. "Would you like me to switch it out for tea?" he asked. He had genuinely forgotten about the coffee rule. He did not spend much time around people having babies. "I can get an herbal tea," he offered.
"No, no," she smirked. "This is my first and only of the day, do not worry." She took another sip, savoring the coffee. She took another bite of her churro. "I came here with Gaara yesterday," she explained.
"Alright," he chuckled, relaxing back into his seat. "Oh, wow, that is pretty recent," he smirked. "You really love churros, don't you?" He picked up his own to stir his coffee with it. "I'm surprised you are all at Gaara's," he said conversationally. "He never lets anyone over."
She finished her churro. "Well, he insisted," she said. "We are having a baby together so it should not be surprising."
"Fair enough," he said into his cup. "Mm, but isn't it more crowded with your family all there?" He was doing his best to pose his questions delicately so as to not raise too much suspicion in her. "I mean...I'm sure they can hear you two." He gave her a wicked smirk.
She scoffed at him. "No one can hear us," she said. "We are very careful." She gave that statement a second thought, realizing that if they truly had been careful, she would not be pregnant. "We are usually very careful. Not that we have to be at his house. My family is not always around."
"I'm sure you are," he snorted. "Oh! Are they having fun learning the city?" His eyes scanned the room again. If her family was roaming about, he needed to be a lot more careful. However, he could not get paranoid. He forced himself to stay relaxed.
"They do not really like it here," she said. She looked at him for a moment then looked down at her coffee. She was not going to reveal the location of her family. It was none of his business where they were or what they were doing. Him knowing she was staying with Gaara was already too much information for him.
"I see," he said, picking up another churro. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree at all," he licked his lips. He was not making much progress on information but he had her. He just needed to lure her back to the house now. His time was almost up with her but everything was running relatively smoothly. He tilted his head a little, setting his coffee down to look at her. "Will you miss the city?"
She took a moment to answer, looking out the window for a few seconds and then back at her coffee. "It has grown on me," she finally said. "There are things I might miss...but overall...I do not belong here."
"Mmm," he nodded sagely. "You don't," he said, looking her over. "But will Gaara belong to your village? Or your child?" he asked. He picked his coffee back up and opened his mouth to say something again then he saw someone pass by the shop window that set off alarms in his head. 'Shit!' he thought, catching a glint of narrow gold eyes. 'Utakata's here? Shit, did he see us?' He fought to keep his cool. 'Did she see him?' He looked at her over his cup's edge.
She frowned, picking up her coffee again. "I...hope he will..." she said softly. She never thought about whether Gaara would truly feel at home in her village. She would feel horrible if he regretted leaving the city. "I do not want to force him...but he said he wanted to go..."
"It might be tough on him." Komushi discreetly looked around the room, trying to spot Utakata. He kept his tone light. "He's never lived anywhere else just like you haven't. And by the sounds of it, our homes are drastically different." He locked eyes with her before going back to searching the room, drumming his fingers along the side of his mug.
"I think he can adapt to things easily," she hummed, looking out the window again. "And...if he wanted to come back...I would not mind coming back with him."
Komushi's eyes snapped back to hers. He sat up a little straighter. "Now that is interesting to hear you say," he smirked.
She did not like the way he perked up and frowned again. "I am sure he would be fine in my village, though," she said, finishing her coffee.
He watched her finish her coffee. At the same moment, he caught Utakata out of the corner of his eye crossing the crowded room. "I'm sure he will," he said, downing his own coffee. "I suppose my time is up. We better get you back," he said, trying not to sound rushed. The bastard had noticed them. He would cause problems for them if he interrupted them.
"I suppose," she said as she watched him as he finished everything and then stood up when he stood up, a little surprised he was actually keeping his promise. He took her hand and quickly led her out of the coffee shop and back into the crowded streets.
Komushi needed to stick to the crowd this time. He stayed along the main road. He did not need the other man following them so easily if he followed them at all. The route he was taking would look relatively the same as going back to Gaara's house until a certain point. By the time she would realize where they were actually going, he could pick her up.
Utakata narrowed his eyes across the room. The sight of Azumi out with Komushi did not sit right with him remotely. He frowned as he picked up his order of coffee, deciding he should at least check on her. He quickly left the shop, going in the direction he saw Komushi take Azumi in. Moving through the crowd, he looked around for Komushi, knowing Azumi would be too small to spot easily among the large number of people.
He spotted the other man, moving quickly through the crowd and looking around suspiciously. However, the early afternoon throng increased and more people started getting in his way, preventing him from reaching Azumi before he lost sight of Komushi.
"Dammit," he muttered, looking around again to see if he could spot them.
Nothing.
He knew Azumi had started staying at Gaara's house and he wondered why Gaara had not been with her. He immediately started heading to Gaara's house to warn whoever was there about the situation.