"You sure like to drink a lot," Deidara says.
Rin is on her fifth cupful of sake. Her desire to cease drinking is looking remarkably feeble by the minute.
She waves dismissively.
"I don't drink all that much but when I do, I can't stop because," she hiccups from the back of her throat, "because it makes me unnaturally sociable and happy ha-ha."
He frowns resentfully. He was only being thoughtful, a good repayment for her treatment.
"Have you seen Tobi?" He asks.
Deidara has not seen his teammate since their return to Cascades.
Rin stares past him.
"Oh…I don't know…"
She sighs deeply.
And as if reading their conversation, Tobi suddenly appears.
"Senpai, I think you're missing something."
He plants himself beside Deidara and pulls out three spider sculptures from his pocket. They squirm and twist uncomfortably in his grip, as if desperate to be set free before Deidara decides to explode them.
When Rin leans over to scrutinise, she lets out an exaggerated gasp.
"You're killing them, Tobi! Let go!"
There is a wild look to her, as if she is frantically searching for a source of danger that does not exist.
Deidara scowls.
"Tche! Give me that," he snatches the wiggling sculptures from Tobi's grip.
In one forceful move, he compresses the spiders into one mushy lump of clay.
"Oh no!" Rin cries, "You killed them!"
She is looking so thoroughly despondent, he briefly feels a spark of guilt for the merciless action. But in the next few seconds, she seems to have forgotten the ordeal and is now pouring herself another cup of sake.
"Tobi! What a surprise to see you here," says a sweet voice.
A flash of dark hair followed by the smell of strong jasmine perfume. The Cascades waitress sidles through the gap between Deidara and Tobi and plants herself uncomfortably close to Tobi.
"Don't you see how uncomfortable he is?" Rin says stiffly.
"Shut it girl if you know what's good for you," the waitress snaps.
Then, she is taking Tobi's arm and pressing her head against him.
"You should really learn to back down when someone is obviously uneasy with your actions," Rin says caustically.
The cup she holds now resembles a mosaic artwork.
Sensing imminent danger, Deidara turns to Tobi.
"I think you're missing a few spiders, go find them," he orders.
"Will do senpai!" Tobi answers quickly.
And much to the waitress's chagrin, he dashes for the exit.
"You really think I'd take advice from the likes of you?" the waitress sneers.
She throws Rin a dirty look, then takes the half full bottle of sake and pours it onto the table.
"I'm not surprised that alcohol is fuelling your slutty ego," she continues.
At these words, Rin lets out a high-pitched chortle.
"Tobi would be a better explanation for confidence."
"Next time don't talk bullshit," the waitress snaps aggressively.
Rin shrugs. Her indifference to the situation is startling. This new personality is confronting, perhaps a disconcerting contrast to her timid kind-hearted disposition.
"Don't give me that attitude! This is probably the reason why he despises you."
"You sure like to talk for someone who's so hypocritical," Rin says.
"Hmph. Your confidence irks me."
"Tell Tobi that," Rin sighs.
And it must be some sort of Morse code between women, or perhaps it is the smug look on Rin's face, but Deidara is lost in translation.
The waitress, however, sees right through it.
"What did you say?"
Her voice is laced with a dangerous level of sweetness, it makes the hairs on Deidara's neck stand on end.
Rin does not answer, but there is a passive look of triumph that lines her gaze.
And in that same moment, the waitress advances.
"You stupid bitch did you fuck him?"
She viciously grips her shoulders and shakes her.
Instantaneously, the smile falls from Rin' face.
"Why don't you mind your own business?" she mumbles.
"Answer me!"
"He doesn't belong to you. That's non-negotiable," Rin says, and something in that tone indicates her answer.
The inconspicuous piece of revelation stuns even Deidara into incredulous silence. Rin would not lie about something so significant.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he does not seem too perturbed by such information.
The virus had struck a sensitive core, as if the value of existence exceeds beyond what people would consider priceless.
On a scale of art and the need for vengeance, Tobi sits relatively low on his priority. Not out of being worthless, but perhaps the idea of pleasure and jealously is only reserved for a world where he has achieved all he has set out to do. Still, he is uncertain as to whether those intimate moments with Tobi were even real. Either way, he has other business to focus on.
When Deidara breaks from his muse, the waitress is halfway through the air with her hand. He anticipates the end result. The sudden instinct gets him between the two women faster than he expects.
He grips the waitress's hand before it makes contact with Rin, who is now staring wide-eyed with a very blank expression on her face.
"Watch it," Deidara intervenes.
"Stay out of this," the waitress spits.
"This ain't a fair game lady. I would stay out of it if alcohol wasn't messing with her coordination," Deidara mutters.
"Hmph! She asked for it, the way she is drinking and slurring and dressing like that."
The waitress shoots them a contemptuous scowl before stalking off in the opposite direction. In that same moment, Deidara notices the strange faint black-grey lines that are scrawled across Rin's neck and arms.
He shakes his head and when he looks again, they have vanished.
I must be seeing things.
"Senpai," Tobi says.
His sudden reappearance startles him. Tobi is striding past with more spider sculptures in his outstretched hand.
"Found them. Sneaky little nutters they are," he continues, and he places their incapacitated state onto the table alongside a purple coloured pill.
"What's that?" Deidara asks.
"Anti-sake pills I call them. She is such a lightweight," Tobi says.
He gazes curiously at Rin, who is now staring at the ground with a very peculiar expression.
Deidara reaches for the purple pill.
"Take this," he says to her.
She gazes with a component of blankness, as if she does not know what she is looking at.
"What's it for?" She asks.
"To reverse the bloody damage," he mutters, and surprisingly, she takes it from him and swallows it.
"I didn't expect that," Tobi states bluntly, "She needs to be monitored until it leaves her system. I can sit here and-"
"I'll do it," Deidara interrupts, "I got her into this mess so I'll take responsibility for it, and besides, I owe her for saving my life."
x
She does not remember falling asleep, but the sounds of shuffling paper wakes her from a hazy blackness.
The first thing she sees is the yellow glow of artificial lights, followed by the sounds of distant chatter and laughter.
She is in a small room with only a single table and two chairs. Her body is lying on a long couch that is more pleasant to look at than lie on.
From beside her, there is a small mauve armchair. Someone is already sitting in it.
"Honestly woman, I didn't expect you to fall into a beauty nap, hm."
The voice is irritable yet familiar.
Deidara peers from behind a large newspaper and surveys her with a look of annoyance before he lets out a long sigh of relief.
"Finally, I was starting to get bored of reading this dumb crap about some rich guy marrying some poor woman. Oh the scandal," he scoffs, "Sounds like something you women like reading."
Rin frowns at the offensive comment.
"What happened to me?" She murmurs.
"Drunk too much apparently," Deidara answers from behind the paper.
She sends him a reproachful scowl.
Good gracious, has she really been drinking? That must explain the blurry memories. She vaguely remembers accepting drink offers from Deidara as a 'thank you' gift.
It was not a good idea, considering how vulnerable alcohol makes her. Perhaps it has something to do with her body composition, but her tolerance for such substance is incredibly low.
At the time, there was a dangerous need to suppress the miserable disposition and to preoccupy her mind with innocuous thoughts.
"How long have I been out?"
"Couple hours. Tobi gave you some purple pill," Deidara replies from behind the paper.
"He did?" She says in surprise.
A medication for alcohol poisoning. Did she really drink that much?
And as if reading her mind, Deidara suddenly speaks.
"You didn't drink that much," he says, "Less than half a bottle I reckon. Cheap drunk you are."
Rin frowns. Only someone who knows the ins and outs of drinking would know that much. Deidara is not of drinking age yet but she knows he has a strong disregard for rules.
"I need to go for a walk," Rin says.
And Deidara closes the paper at her comment.
"Finally, babysitting duty's over."