Had the strangest urge to rewrite this chapter, so I did. Beware manicurist Deidara, with his ultimate cosmetician skills, and hyperactive Hinata who has crazy mood swings.
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Groggily, her eyes opened, and a salty scent drifted to her nose. She put a palm to her face and was confused at its stickiness. Then, she realized what had happened.
Her eyes dulled and shut themselves once more.
"Sasori…sama…" She murmured to herself.
"Hn? What did you say, Hyuuga?"
Hinata's eyes flew open. She sat up straight and swiftly turned her head towards the voice, nearly twisting her neck in the process.
A pair of jade green eyes stared back at her, startling the female slightly at how close they were to her own.
"Yo. Looks like you're finally awake, un."
Deidara stood up from the bed and walked to the window. Hinata took a look at her surroundings. She was lying on a mattress with a blanket over her. There were random objects like bags of clay strewn across the room.
"…Where am I?" She narrowed her eyes with suspicion.
The blonde sighed loudly.
"My room, and unfortunately, your room too." He turned around and replied, annoyance apparent in his voice.
"From now on, you are my partner. You will call me…Deidara-danna."
Hinata let her body relax and fall back onto the soft mattress.
"Do I even have a choice?"
Maybe I shouldn't have left Konoha.
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"This is your cloak, your hat and your ring." The three items were passed to her.
"That's about it. Now just wait for Rei-sama's orders." Deidara told the bored Hyuga, who yawned sleepily in reply.
"Wake me up when that time comes…" She mumbled, before twisting her body under the blankets and closing her eyes.
"…Baka…you can't go to sleep yet, we still have to perform the Akatsuki tradition, un." He bent over and pulled the sheets away from her, causing loud protests which he thoroughly ignored.
"Fi-ine," She pouted and reluctantly sat up. "Just what is this tradition, anyway?"
Walking towards a drawer, the blonde pulled at the handle, and retrieved a small bottle from inside. He walked back to where Hinata was sitting and dangled the object in between her eyes.
"Manicure and Pedicure."
He could have sworn that her eyebrows had disappeared behind her fringe.
"…Huh?"
"A cosmetic treatment of the hands, fingers and toes… including trimming and polishing of the nails and removing cuticles, and corns." Deidara recited accurately from his memory.
Hinata gave him a skeptical look.
"I know what manicure means. Are you sure you can handle it, though?" She asked, her voice full of doubt. The blonde glared in reply.
"Of course! How do you think I maintained my position as Akatsuki's Top Cosmetician, un?" He boasted with slight indignation.
"With my impeccable taste in varnish colours and tints, and my artist's precision in applying-"
"Fine! Fine! I'll let you do my nails!" Defeated, Hinata sighed, and grudgingly put her two hands out.
Deidara smirked, and opened the bottle of nail varnish with a faint 'pop'.
"Don't worry…in my hands, you'll have the best set of nails in Akatsuki, un…"
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Hinata was amazed.
Her senpai had painted her nails with absolute precision, like he claimed. But the way he applied the varnish was what had wowed her the most.
He had smoothed the brush gracefully over each individual nail, like a painter at his full potential. How effortless and easy it seemed, when he had managed to make every stroke seem like a magnificent piece of art itself! The way his hands moved with such a rhythm, Hinata could feel her breath synchronizing.
The tip of the brush swirled and swirled, leaving trails of indigo-blue polish in its tracks, turning the once insignificant nail into a masterpiece.
A masterpiece indeed, she thought, as she admired her almost-dried nails.
"Well? Pretty good, aren't I?" Deidara's voice broke into her thoughts.
Hinata tore her eyes from her fingers to look at him, a slightly crazed look in her eyes.
"Oi! Where the hell did you learn how to do this! Teach me!" She demanded, shaking the male.
"Put – Me – Down!" He managed to choke out, before freeing himself with a tug and landing on her bed. Hinata fell to the floor, and crawled back up to face him.
"Ne! Ne! Teach me, Deidara-danna!" She smiled enthusiastically at him, making him blink. Then, catching her off guard, he pinched her cheeks hard.
"Itai---!" She wailed and fell backwards, rubbing her face while glaring at the attacker. "Danna!"
"Maybe another time," He replied in a flat tone, and turned around to face the window with his arms crossed.
GEEZ.
A few seconds later, the clay-manipulator felt someone rubbing and thumping on his back repeatedly. He moaned loudly in contentment.
Damn, that feels GOOD.
"Like that, Danna?" A mischievous voice drifted into his ears, and made him stiffen. "If you teach me now…"
"SHUT UP!"
Damn you, Sasori-danna, for dying and leaving me with this brat.
Somewhere near Sunagakure, a person sneezed.
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Er…a few clues in this rewritten chapter. Those of you who were sad that Sasori died, you may rejoice. ;)
As for the whole nail-varnish thing…there's also a "clue" to Hinata's new fighting style in there. Yeah. That's all I'm saying. -.-;;
I'm so subtle, aren't I?
