Confined to his room for the past forty-eight hours, Deidara has lost track of time and space.
The ailment hacks at him with such vicious vengeance, he is unsure if he will ever see the light of day. His head feels swollen - the incessant pulsation of a banging sensation that hits, bounces and rattles against his skull is so intense, he is incredibly disoriented.
Then comes the sharp, piercing pain that prods against his abdomen and knots his internal organs in a tangled mess.
"Is this how I'm going to die?" He mutters angrily.
Even his voice trembles at the effort of utilising his vocal cords.
"My art needs to be experienced regardless of whether you're a virus or a ninja."
It retaliates with increasing power and forces him to expel a lungful of bloody something for his cheek.
The coughing does not stop for a long time, until his body exhausts itself from the persistent heaving.
Hours into the night and he hears the opening of a door.
Without thinking, he lets out a groan that should have been a 'Who are you?' sentence.
The movement stops.
"Deidara?"
The voice is soft yet familiar.
Rin.
He does not speak, but he makes a slow nod in the darkness.
For a brief moment, she remains quiet, then she is whispering in his ear.
"You need to sit up for me so I can help you."
The sounds of her movement fascinates him, as if having another human being in his room is something he has taken for granted.
Sick, vulnerable and lonely. That would be a terrible way to die. At least Rin is here.
He hears a shuffle, then a clicking sound followed by the illumination of dim light.
"Dammit," he groans.
Two days cooped up in a tiny inn room with minimal lighting has turned him bat-blind.
"Sorry," Rin calls from somewhere to his right, "lights are a necessity at this point."
When she peers at him, her face reflects a brigade of concerning emotions that is akin to a clucky mother fretting over a sick child.
She gets him upright. The feel of her soft hand against his back is like a palliative relief to his tired body.
In the next few seconds, a surge of warmth rushes through. Then the sickening pain recedes into nothingness.
"What just happened?" He asked.
Though his throat hurts, his vocal cords are no longer fighting and straining against his sentences.
"Temporary relief only," she says without looking at him.
Then she picks up a black satchel and dumps the entire content of a hospital onto the floor beside her.
"Where were you?" He asks.
"Out of town."
"You came all the way back?"
"Yes," she replies shortly.
He frowns at her statement.
When he surveys her, he sees the sombre, dispirited look that is etched into her blank gaze. Although she is concentrating at the contents before her, there is a strange aura of hopelessness that radiates from her. Whatever it may be, he is grateful for her presence, albeit he will never admit to this piece of information.
"You seriously love to inconvenient yourself don't you?" Deidara mutters.
"For someone who is sick, you sure like to talk a lot," she answers irritably.
"Oi, oi, I'm just saying, hm."
"Sit back, I need to measure your temperature," Rin says gruffly, and she places the thermometer into his mouth with more force than necessary.
"Have you seen Tobi yet?"
At the question, she tenses considerably, as if the sound of Tobi's name evokes agitation.
Yet she does not answer.
"Why do you need to carry around so much stuff?" he asks interestedly.
"It's a necessity," she replies simply.
"You just think it's a necessity, you're probably a just in case type of person who always thinks they need to carry more than they-"
"Shut it, Deidara," she shoves another thermometer into his talking mouth.
Then she yanks it and checks the temperature with a very dissatisfactory look on her face.
"Hasn't changed, you're still fevering. Maybe if you stop yapping crap, you'll get better real soon."
She hovers a hand over his chest.
"I've brought your temperature down but you'll need to take medication in order to keep it that way. I'll be making it soon so you need to keep resting whilst I'm away," she says mildly, "Also, don't talk too much."
x
When Rin returns several hours later, the grotesque sensation of fatigue and exhaustion rises to the surface of his skin. But Rin does not allow the ailment to escalate. Moments later and the tranquil comfort of her chakra takes over.
"Here take this," she hands him a bitter smelling herbal drink.
"This tastes disgusting," Deidara gags.
"It's medication, it's not meant to taste nice," she replies dryly, "And drink…all of it."
"Absolutely disgusting."
"If you want to get better, you'll have to take it, five times a day," she says indifferently.
Normally he would argue against such nonsense, but he does not have the strength to put up with his body, let alone her.
"I'll be doing viral extraction tomorrow. It's going to hurt so you better rest up," she says solemnly.