"What's wrong?" I asked nervously as I took a step back, bumping into Deidara unintentionally. Deidara watched Itachi with flickering eyes before narrowing them and placing a protective hand on my shoulder from behind.
"Dude, you're being a weirdo, the hell are you doing, un?" Deidara finally asked Itachi who glanced fleetingly at him but then back at me, ignoring his question entirely. Those crimson eyes of his scanned over me and I flinched as Itachi's cool fingers touched the center of my forehead before brushing my hair to the side. I could see his expression change from uneasy curiosity to that of a hawk—intensely fierce and calculating.
"What happened?" His voice came out assertive, though not demanding. I winced my eyes shut and released a defeated sigh.
So much for keeping it under wraps.
I felt Deidara's hand lift from my shoulder and when I opened my eyes, he too was staring along with Itachi, eyes locked on my right temple.
Deidara's lips pulled tightly against his teeth as he began yelling. "Was it Hidan? I knew I couldn't trust him!"
I waved my hands frantically as I tried to explain. "No no no! It wasn't Hidan, it was his mark, the one with the bounty!" I clarified quickly, tripping over my words as I did so.
"What else did he do?" Itachi asked almost hesitantly, as if he were afraid of what my answer might be. His eyes fell downcast to follow my hands as I subconsciously tucked them inside my pockets.
"N-nothing really," I lied.
He didn't miss a thing with those eyes. My fingers trembled as Itachi grabbed my arms gently and pulled my hands from their rather conspicuous hiding spot. I balled them into little fists in an attempt to both cease the small, but noticeable tremors, and hide the bulk of my injuries. Itachi looked at me with a raised brown and a disapproving tilt of his head.
"Are you planning on starting a fight or is there another reason you have these weapons at the ready?" He asked, his hands around my wrists, lifting them so my fists were between us.
"The first one," I said with confidence, refusing to yield. I couldn't help but smile sheepishly. I knew there was no way out of this one but darn it if I wasn't going to try.
"Starting a fight? With whom?" He was humoring me for the moment. I'd take what I could get.
"Mmmm..." I looked between Itachi and Deidara, contemplating deeply, not about who I wanted to fight of course, but rather, how to get them to focus on literally anything but me.
"You don't seem too sure about this fight anymore," Deidara speculated, crossing his arms over his chest, perhaps not wanting to be left out of the amazingly witty banter.
"These terrible gashes wouldn't have anything to do with it, would they?" Itachi asked calmly as he angled my wrists in various directions to get a better look. Even with my fingers balled up, it turns out he could see plenty. I winced apologetically in defeat.
"Maybe… but you should see the other guy," I insisted. I was internally kicking myself for removing the bandages after a couple days, perhaps it would have been better to keep them on despite how considerably the wounds had healed.
Itachi was done playing along. "Izumi," he said somewhat sternly. "Open them."
I felt like a little kid getting in trouble. I huffed and let my fingers relax and unfurl, my eyes set uncomfortably to stare at the ceiling. I was the slightest bit pleased to feel the shakes had stopped at the very least. Itachi's eyes took on a certain frigid stillness as he looked down. Deidara also seemed speechless which was impressive for him, given he always seemed to have something to say.
"Izumi, what the hell," Deidara hissed, quickly finding his voice and making the feat far less impressive.
"This is nothing," I assured, trying to make light of it with a wave of my hands as I pulled them away.
"Nothing?" Itachi repeated with a frozen chill on the word. His hand moving quickly and tugging down my cloak collar to reveal the angry, mottled bruising that, while far better than it was, still wrapped around my neck in thick greenish yellow swaths. One after another, he was finding everything he wasn't supposed to. I shouldn't have been surprised, and I wasn't really, just frustrated this was yet another thing I couldn't seem to do right.
"Please don't tell anyone," I pleaded as I looked both men in their eyes. "You weren't supposed to find out… Kakuzu said I wouldn't be allowed on missions if Pain learned about what happened." I bit my lip in waiting for what I hoped would be unconditional agreement to my very simple terms.
"The man who did this... he's dead I presume?" Itachi asked, low and even.
I swallowed hard, remembering the gruesome details, and nodded.
"How very fortunate for him," he followed curtly as he straightened up. Without another word he turned away and exited, leaving me alone under the unstable stare of Deidara.
I looked to him desperately before imploring again, "Dei, please don't tell anyone. I don't want Pain to find out. I'm fine, really."
Deidara's one visible eye took on an increasingly conflicted squint as it flickered across me once more, taking stock of my various injuries several times over. His lips pressed together to form a tight line as he considered my request.
"God, you see if I say nothing and it happens again…" he trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose.
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes as I launched into another plea. "I know, I know. I'll be more careful, it was my fault anyway, I should ha-"
I found myself abruptly cut off by the sudden feeling of being pulled forward. What little balance I had to start fled from my feet as I tripped into the blonde's grasp, my body hitting against his chest and my eyes snapping open to find myself pinned against him tightly. Nothing but a startled gasp passed my lips as I felt his arms looping around me, pulling me into him further.
"Dei…" I said in surprise, barely a whisper as his forearms squeezed strongly against my back, bulging with a protective ferocity. I wasn't sure what was happening in all honesty, but he felt warm and safe and I wanted to keep feeling that. As soon as the paralysis lifted from my arms, I quickly returned the gesture, wrapping them around his torso, my fingers grasping at the fabric of his shirt. If I could have pulled myself any closer, any tighter, we would have become some terrifying amalgamation of two humans fused into one.
I hadn't realized how starved I was for this feeling of being comforted, but after everything that had happened, it felt like a drug. The warmth from his hold permeated my skin, causing my eyes to lull shut as I let my head come to rest against his shoulder. One of his hands instantly glided up to hold it place against him, his fingers burying themselves in my thick hair. Like a heatwave, the temperature of my cheeks lit up in an instant and I relished in that too, the fine hairs on my arms bristling and standing at attention all at once. The breath caught in my throat as I felt his lips brush against my ear.
"Just so you know, Izumi, I never would have let that happen to you," Deidara whispered.
His fiercely somber voice sent tremors through my nervous system and in my attempt to melt into him further, I buried my face deeper into the crook of his shoulder and neck. I was absolutely lost in the foreign feeling of what I'd consider my first real hug, so much so that I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard the clearing of someone's throat from behind us. Tearing backwards out of Deidara's grasp and slapping my arms against my sides, I quickly turned to see one very cheeky looking Sasori staring at Deidara and I with a brow raised impressively high and his arms folded casually over his chest.
"H-how long have you been there?" I stammered out, another wave of heat racing up my cheeks.
He didn't answer, he only smiled.
"I was just greeting everyone after my trip, I just got back!" I shouted defensively despite no one saying anything accusatory to begin with.
Izumi, dear, would you like a shovel to go with this hole you're digging?
Deidara didn't look nearly as perturbed and utterly flustered as I was, in fact, he was looking more like Sasori with a stupid little grin on his face, like he was somehow entertained by my erratic repsonse. He mirrored Sasori in crossing his arms casually, leaning his weight on one leg and watching me with an amused tilt of his head as I continued my one-woman show.
"I see," Sasori said with an understanding nod. "So you're giving hugs out to everyone then? I can't help but notice I haven't gotten mine yet."
"Well yeah… You were going to be next so this is actually perfect! Per-fect!" I blustered as I stomped towards him much more aggressively than warranted or intended.
"Excellent," he agreed and stood open-armed, waiting.
I stopped short of the hug before putting my limbs out in a stiff, awkward fashion, trying to go in with my arms far too high.
He's taller than you, why on earth would your arms be above his?
I paused abruptly with a shake of my head, having realized my mistake, before stepping back and taking a second to readjust into a lower position. Feeling like I was totally nailing the height at which my arms should be, I stepped into the hug again in an odd, mechanical way. My head bobbed from side to side as I tried to figure out which direction his head was going in so as not to bonk mine against his. I didn't recall having to put this much thought into it with Deidara... Sasori watched with a patient smile as I tried to figure it all out and I did all I could to ignore Deidara who looked to be shaking and completely red from trying to hold in a fit of laughter.
Our chests pressed against one another and my hands fell around his back and held him against me by the shoulder blades, which were hard as freaking rock by the way. In fact, so was his chest. I gave his shoulders a few small pats, mostly to test how hard they were, before I couldn't help but tear away.
"Okay, Okay, what are you, made of muscle?!" I shouted incredulously. That just about undid Deidara who had been doing so well in holding it together.
"That was the best thing... I've ever freaking seen!" Deidara cried through literal tears, he was laughing at me so hard. Sasori had also begun to lose his shit in a slightly more controlled way and I was left just wanting someone to answer as to why Sasori was so gosh darn hard.
"Izumi…" Sasori started, taking a moment to contain his laughter enough to speak. "Why do I feel like Deidara got a name brand hug and I got stuck with the store brand?"
"Oh my God, stop! I tried, okay?!" I cried, covering my face with my hands and shaking my head.
"Who is next on your hug list? I can go get them for you if you'd like?" He offered overly sincerely.
I dragged my hands down my face, stretching and pulling my bottom lids away from my eyes. "You were the last one, can you believe it?" I deadpanned.
"I absolutely cannot," Sasori reported with feigned surprise. "So did Itachi get one like mine or one like Deidara's? He pressed with a knowing smirk.
"Okay, alright," Deidara intervened, pulling my hands from my face and smoothing out my hair with a chuckle. "You're probably tired from your trip, yeah?"
"Exhausted," I concurred quickly with a sigh.
"I guess I'll let you off the hook for now then," Sasori mused with a hint of disappointment and a playful look.
"Well thank you. How very generous of you." I said with great exaggeration and a curtsy.
He raised his brows and nodded, clearly impressed with my superior etiquette.
That's right, I'll curtsy on your ass.
"One thing before bed though… Sasori."
"Yes?"
"Why the heck are you so hard?" I asked, exasperated. The corners of his mouth tugged up in pure amusement as he began to remove his cloak.
"Whoa! I wasn't asking for a free show or anything!" I exclaimed, blood rushing to my face and my hands flying out to stop his fingers working deftly to unfasten the garment. Sasori let out a small chuckle at this.
"I think you got the wrong idea," he said, the humor still thickly coating his words. He continued unbuttoning the cloak down his torso before pulling the fabric to the side, revealing his astonishing, inhuman chest. An unrecognizable object sat embedded in his skin where his heart should have been. Upon closer inspection I noticed it wasn't skin at all. My hand reached out to move towards it slowly with inexplicable curiosity until I caught myself and looked up at him apprehensively. He smiled slightly at my hesitance.
"It's okay," he assured. I felt the edges of it and the vein-like structures that wormed around the surrounding area. It was cold and hard with a feeling of finely sanded wood.
"What even are you?" I gaped.
He answered calmly, "A puppet."
"A puppet?" I asked, my face contorting at his seemingly impossible statement. I looked at Deidara for confirmation and he gave me a nod, lips pulling into a smirk.
"Izumi… what's all this?" Sasori inquired, taking hold of my hand and inspecting the palm with scrutiny. Apparently he'd been studying me while I was busy doing the same to him.
"Not again, not you too…" I groaned, tired of explaining and begging people not to snitch.
"We're supposed to keep it under wraps so she doesn't get put under house arrest," Deidara explained so I didn't have to. I gave him a grateful look.
"Ah, I see. Well in that case," he paused and brought my hand to his mouth, briefly pressing his lips against it. "I hope it heals quickly for your sake."
I flushed, recalling Hidan doing the same when he first bandaged me, before stammering out a flustered "thank you".
Why do people keep doing that?!
"What's wrong, never had anyone kiss a wound to make it better?" He questioned matter-of-factly, head cocked to the side in genuine interest.
"N-no, is that really a common thing?" I asked, honestly baffled.
"Geez, Izumi. I had a messed up childhood and even I know that. People do it all the time, especially parents and relatives," Deidara explained, taking my other hand into his. "It's only sexual if they use tongue," he teased with a pointed look, watching me intently as the tongue from his hand's mouth slowly lapped at my scarred palm.
"Dei!" I cried, tearing both of my hands back and holding them protectively against my chest. The duo proceeded to lose their shit once more as I watched them, impatiently waiting for it to end.
Thanks for coming, hope you enjoyed the show! I'm going to off myself now, see you never.
Deidara pretended to wipe a tear from his eye before leading me by the shoulders out of the kitchen. He eventually began to wind down enough to form a sentence. "I think we've probably tortured you enough for one night."
"I'd say you've tortured me enough for at least a month," I challenged with a stern look coupled with a yawn which, incredibly, made me look much less stern.
"Nah, definitely just one night. We'll pick back up tomorrow, yeah?" He grinned and I scrunched my nose at him as I crawled onto the couch and under the blankets.
"Goodnight guys," I managed to squeak out begrudgingly through another yawn. They returned their own 'goodnights' and retreated into the darkness of the hallway, leaving me to fall into a deep sleep. I don't know how long I was able to stay in such a state before hushed voices stirred me and I curiously met the temptation of listening to a conversation I was not meant to hear.
"The second memory seal removal went well, I take it?" Itachi spoke in a hushed tone so as not to wake me, but having been cursed as a light sleeper at a young age, it didn't take much. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to alert him of his failure.
"You have too little confidence in us. It went fine." I identified the other voice as Kakuzu.
"Forgive me, but I am having a hard time mustering such confidence given the state you managed to return her in. Did you genuinely think a high collared cloak and some tousled hair would be enough?"
Kakuzu grunted at the insinuation of his foolishness. "Maybe not for you, but for someone like Pain who isn't as personally invested, yes, I think it will do. It didn't go quite as expected, but I assure you she is fine."
"Out of curiosity, as I think you are generally a man of wisdom given your years, what exactly was the expectation? Sending a girl like that in to meet a man like Gorzo. How did you envision that going?" Itachi was mad, I could hear it in his voice. There was a certain sharpness to his pointed questions despite their low volume. I continued trying to focus on appearing asleep.
Kakuzu sighed heavily with an edge of annoyance at the line of questioning hinting further at his lack of judgement. "She was back to her normal self in a matter of days. Keep making a fuss about it and Pain will ban her from leaving base at all. He'd probably put her in solitary, that'll be on you."
"What is it to you if she's to remain confined here? It's unusual for you to break the rules, yet you're hiding this from Pain. What do you get out of this, Kakuzu?" Itachi was pressing him.
"She proved herself useful on our job, made us quite the sum, made Hidan more tolerable. I like to keep our options open." Kakuzu retorted, I imagined with a shrug, his already limited supply of patience depleting by the second.
"Options…" Itachi said, turning the word over thoughtfully, "So you would like to have the option of putting her through some other traumatic trial, or you like having more hairstyle options?" Itachi questioned, obviously referring to the fabulous braid I had given Kakuzu.
"Keh… is that what this is about? Don't waste my time, it's not like that… but if you're worried about someone making eyes at Izumi, I suggest you direct your attention to Hidan."
"That's not what I was saying," Itachi said quickly.
"I read between the lines. Like you said, I have some wisdom given my years… you want to talk about my actions being unusual? Look at yourself, Uchiha." He paused briefly, I presumed to shoot Itachi some sort of hostile look. "I'm done with this conversation."
One set of heavy footfalls receded, surely Kakuzu leaving. I heard nothing else for a long time, so long in fact that I began to wonder if Itachi had chosen to float away. He seemed to be a man of many mysteries and I wouldn't put it past him to have such a talent, but I eventually heard a weighty sigh that was undeniably him.
My heart raced at the sound as it was far closer than I expected. Based on my exceptional survival instincts, I estimated him to be standing practically on top of me as I "slept", half-curled up with my head peeking out of a mess of blankets on the couch. I hadn't heard him walk over, so maybe he had floated. After a long, tenuous moment of silence, I swear I could sense that he was drawing nearer into my personal bubble. There was that static electricity buzzing through the air that seemed to happen whenever he was near.
It took everything in me not to flinch as I felt something brush gently against my hair and I mentally I breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing It was Itachi, his fingers lightly pushing my bangs to cover the unsightly scab on my temple more effectively. I thanked the Gods that my arms were safely beneath the blanketed confines, lest he notice the wave of brail-like goosebumps manifesting across the skin of my arms at his touch.
His hand retreated as he let out another sigh. I envisioned it going in tandem with a slight shake of his head but I didn't dare open my eyes to find out. I laid still for so long afterwards, listening for retreating footfalls, that my feigned sleep slowly transformed into the real thing.
A/N: lmao GUYS I want to apologize for not keeping Sasori in character whatsoever but for some reason in my headcanon, he is this lowkey sarcastic sassypants and I'm just not sorry about it. This is who he is now. (Also, thank you for reading and to my loyal reviewers, I really freaking appreciate you.)
