Chapter Two
Old Debts

There lay, on the ground, an old wooden tub. Within were a pile of grime encrusted dishes, parts of which, where the grime was least, glinted under the morning sun. They lay in a pile, in the middle of the tub, surrounded by brown water. Like an island made up of refuse, surrounded by filth, reveling in it's horrific glory.

Sasori stared down, as if the sight personally offended him.

He looked up at Deidara, and glared. "You could help me, you know."

The blond cocked an eyebrow from where he stood, slouched against the door frame. "Isn't it bad manners for a guest to be put to work?"

"Not when he's a freeloading jackass like you," Sasori snapped, squatting on the outside of the tub.

Deidara grinned. "Then why bother asking me in the first place?"

The other man gave him one last glare before turning that same look to the task before him. Deidara chuckled, before turning his face to the sky.

He closed his eyes. The sun was warm on his face.

"Maa... it is a beautiful day," Deidara mused. "A pity we're stuck here."

"Speak for yourself," Sasori said. "I'm heading into town after I get done here. If I got two freeloaders to feed, I'm going to need more supplies than this."

"Two freeloaders?" Deidara said, amused. "I could have sworn that the boy fended for himself last night."

"Yeah, well..." Sasori said before devolving into mumbles.

Conversation halted after that, and Deidara could hear in the distance, the sounds that the boy's small weapons made as they hit their target. It was a cacophony, to his mind, played in tandem with the clink of the dishes as Sasori washed them, the redhead's mumbles under his breath a background noise. For a moment, he could imagine himself elsewhere.

"I suppose you're right," Sasori said suddenly, jerking the blond out of his thoughts. "The boy has taken care of his own needs. And I do like a guest that doesn't bother me... hell, you're right, I didn't even have to feed him last night."

"I think he was worried about being poisoned," Deidara replied, leaning his head back against the door frame.

Sasori snorted. "That didn't seem to stop you."

"I still owe you ten bucks."

Another snort. "As if that would stop me."

Deidara grinned. "But then you wouldn't get your money."

"I'm sure there's something on you worth ten bucks."

Finally, he opened his eyes to smirk down at Sasori. "There's a reason I still owe you ten bucks."

Sasori gave him a wry look. "You might think that, but I still say you have something hidden on you."

The blond shrugged. As Sasori went back to his work, Deidara looked out at the other end of the small enclosure.

The boy was shirtless in the morning sun, the light reflecting off a faint layer of sweat. It gave him a small glow, an ethereal quality that he knew Sasuke would not appreciate. Deidara admired the effect as his mind wandered back to the previous evening.

It might not have been a good idea, leaving the two of them together after they got off to such a rough start. Sasori had stormed back into the house in a right fit when he got done with Sasuke, falling on the housework like a man possessed. It had been amusing for a while, before the man's unending anger had started to irritate him. He had retreated to the front room, all the while the sounds of moving dishes and muttered oaths moved freely between the rooms.

Though at no point did his commentary (on his disgust for Sasuke, his forbearers, their forbearers, and ungrateful assholes who dumped their problems on him) not amuse him.

A loud thump on the floor, the sound of dishes crashing, followed by a sudden silence had finally alerted Deidara to the fact that Sasori had passed out. He had taken a quick peek into the kitchen to see the other man sprawled out halfway between one of the counters and the basin he now waged war against. White and blue dishes laid in pieces around him, ringing his head like a crown. He had left him there, only to be woke by the crunch of pottery and Sasori's loud cursing.

"You shouldn't let the boy get his way," Sasori commented. Deidara looked down to see the redhead looking at Sasuke, before turning those thoughtful eyes to him. "Not if he's going to be any use... he needs to learn how to follow orders."

Deidara shrugged. "It hasn't been that long since we met," he said. "I should have thought about this more, but I didn't think I'd ever get the opportunity. It's just one of those things."

Sasori was silent for a moment as he stopped working. "You might want to take a shot at training him," he said slowly. "You're not as good as I am, but that doesn't mean much when teaching someone the basics." He looked up at him. "Not to mention, he listens to you."

Deidara looked at the other man, before turning a thoughtful gaze to the young man.

"There's also the fact that I might not be here all the time. I have a cover to maintain."

That surprised Deidara, though he realized it probably shouldn't. "Is it fine for you to be here right now?"

"Should be... the Organization is aware that I make the occasional trip elsewhere. But it'll arouse too much suspicion if I'm gone for too long or for too often." He sighed.

Deidara was silent.

"You managed to ruin a lot of my credibility, Deidara," Sasori said, a hard edge in his voice. "You, and that fucking stunt of yours. It was hell managing to get Pein to see that you were worth keeping alive. And now..." He jerked his chin at Sasuke. "Now you nabbed that little bastard, and once again, you expect me to clean up after you." He threw his rag down and stood up. "Hell if I know why I keep doing it."

And he walked back into the house, shoving his way past the blond, the dishes only half done.

"Fuck," Deidara said, turning into the house only to see Sasori stomp out of the kitchen and further into his home. The sounds of feet pounding on the stairs echoed back to him, and he cursed a second time; he knew better than to follow him up there.

He'd never been allowed up there.

"Fuck," he said again, slumping against a counter. His eyes trailed the room, taking in the washed counters, the swept floor, the dust free shelves. Sasori really had done a good job cleaning up the night before.

He rubbed his eyes.

He'd had a point, Deidara knew. As much as he resented him for it, as much as he still wanted nothing more than to rip Itachi's fucking head off... the truth of the matter was that he hadn't been strong enough, and it had only been Sasori's intervention that had saved his life. He owed the man, big time.

And he couldn't count on him sticking around just because he was fond of Deidara.

The blond walked to the door, looking back out at the kid.

The boy's tricks were good, he knew, but they wouldn't be enough. Itachi was sly, and he was extremely skilled, and his partner wasn't someone to cross either. He had know, from the moment he had laid eyes on Sasuke, that the only way for him to succeed was to get the boy trained well, and trained quickly. A ninja does not a gunslinger make, and Itachi had had all the training that Sasuke had had... and more. He would know what to look for. His only chance, Sasuke's only chance, would be if the boy could meet his brother on equal footing.

He had hoped to count on Sasori to train him, but not if it would jeopardize the other man. He owed him too much.

He sighed and walked out of the house, and towards Sasuke.

"Oi, brat!"

The boy paused, but did not turn to look at him. Deidara admired the way his arm moved back before moving forward, the way his weapon left his hand. It moved in one continuous motion, a wave that washed in and out. His weapon, under the morning sun, gleamed a brilliant silver; a small point of light that connected the wave to the shore.

"You smell," he said cheerfully. That caused the boy to look at him, his hair swinging with him as he whipped himself around to glare at the blond.

"What do you want?" he virtually hissed at Deidara.

The blond grinned and tilted his head. "Thought I might help you continue your gun practice." His head moved towards the house, and he glanced back at the abandoned dishes. "Especially while he's busy."

Sasuke had followed his gaze, before turning back to him with a suspicious look. "He's not even there."

"I did say he was busy," Deidara replied, amused.

Sasuke studied him for another moment. "I don't need your help," he spat finally, and turned around to continue his knife throwing.

The weapon never made it to the post. Sasuke dropped the weapon he had been about to throw in shock.

"I'm a piss poor shot compared to that bastard brother of yours," Deidara said, ignoring the gun in his hand and the ache caused by its firing. "So don't think you'll be able to get away with just using those pretty little weapons. He won't let you close enough."

Neither said anything for a moment. Sasuke remained standing with his back turned to Deidara. Finally, he turned around once more, a bitter gleam in his eyes. Deidara, in that moment, felt connected to the boy in a way he hadn't felt connected to anyone in months, if not years. He stared at him.

"Why are you even bothering, then?" Sasuke said, and the blond turned his gaze away from him.

He shrugged. "Someone has to."

He could feel Sasuke's starring on him. "I don't need your pity," he snarled in his own language.

Deidara looked back at him, and he gave him his coldest glare.

Sasuke stepped back. Deidara knew this was the first time the he had looked at him with anything other than amusement or mockery.

"Don't think I'm doing this for your sake, little boy," he said coolly. He took a step closer to the black haired boy, his eyes holding the younger man in place. "We merely have a mutual goal, but if I thought for a second I could do this without you, I would."

Sasuke watched him now, something in his gaze that Deidara couldn't interpret. "But why me?"

He stepped back from the gaze, shrugged, grinned, reverted, and said, "Why not?"

Sasuke blinked at him for a few seconds, completely thrown. Then he sputtered. "Why... why not? What kind of reason is that?!"

He shrugged again. "Did you want those lessons, or not?"

Sasuke looked at him for just one more moment, before turning away from him. "I should have fucking known better," he muttered. "I should just go home."

Deidara frowned. "And do what? I doubt there's anything left for you there."

The boy shot him a dirty look.

"Che, fine. If this is too much for you, then you can just fucking leave." Deidara said nothing for a moment, noticing the way Sasuke had relaxed at his words, the way the grip on his weapon loosened. "But remember: your brother is already looking for you. He knows you're here. If it's a quick death you're looking for, then by all means get going."

The boy froze, his pale face draining of what little color was there to begin with. Deidara smirked.

"Or, you can remain here," he said. "Learn what you have to, and then help me bring him down."

"I hardly have a choice," Sasuke snapped. His shoulders slumped as he sighed, the first sign of anything other than anger and self righteousness in the boy. Deidara read that as defeat, and he approved.

"But I want you to teach me," he said, looking up and staring hard at the blond. "I don't like him. He's hiding something."

"And you like me?" Deidara said, surprised. He chose to ignore the comment about Sasori; the man was always up to something, but it was never anything he had to worry about.

The boy shrugged, uncomfortable. "You've been honest," he said.

Deidara blinked. "Well... I should probably get started then." He looked around. "So, where's your gun?"

The look on Sasuke's face wasn't exactly the best note to start his training on.

Author's Notes: omg, I owe those who have been waiting for this the biggest apology in the world. There have been a couple reasons for the delay... but the biggest one is is that this chapter was meant to be twice as long, and I'd been struggling with the second half. I had some issue earlier in the summer, got sucked into some family drama, and then into a different AU. Then was finding a job, getting a job, and then totally rewriting this chapter. This is not where the apology comes in... no, it comes from the fact that what you've just read is something I've been sitting on since July in an attempt to finish getting that second half out. Today I looked it over, and realized half of my problems was that I was trying to stretch out what didn't need to be stretched. So the second half of this chapter is now becoming chapter three, and thus, I'm finally making this chapter public.

And while you are reading this, I'll point out that I've made a forum here, which can be located through my profile, and that for any of you on LJ, I've got a personal fic comm going. Feel free to bug whenever you might find me on... I don't bite, and I love to hear from people.