Deidara couldn't sleep; thoughts of Itachi clouded his mind. He sighed and rolled to his other side. How in the hell was he expected to get any rest? All Deidara could think about was the dripping wet body of Itachi Uchiha beneath his own as they kissed. His pale, snowy skin dotted with stray droplets, charcoal black hair falling and adhering to the Uchiha's tantalizing flesh, while his crimson eyes gave him lusty, half-lidded bedroom eyes.

"Stupid Uchiha, un! Get out of my head", he grumbled, hiding his head under a flat motel pillow. This bed was so uncomfortable that there was no way he'd get any sleep tonight; luckily he was trained to stay awake for three days straight. Although, after the second day, he'd get to a point where he lost all patience and sanity and just indiscriminately blew shit up. These hard, irritating mattress springs were absolute murder on his back, or at least that's what the bomber was telling himself. The obvious tent in his pants may have been the actual culprit in this horrendous crime of insomnia.

He shut his restless azure eyes and tried to settle down but all he could see was a sexy raven seductively running a hand down his muscled, well-toned abs as he lay out naked across his bed. This was a genjutsu – it had to be; a tantalizing, torturous genjutsu.

'Come here Deidara. I'll give you a bang', the sexy dream version of Itachi said in his dark, seductive voice that echoed enticingly to every corner of the blonde's skull.

Deidara sat up and gasped, panting with bright red cheeks and a growing problem manifesting in his pants. He looked over at the bed on the opposite side of the room - Konan was still asleep and snoring softly. Deidara chuckled, 'So even the paper kunoichi snores, un?' How interesting. That could be used for future reference (cough blackmail cough).

Deidara broke out of his bemused daze. 'Since I'm home in Iwa, maybe I should go for a walk, hmm', he thought to himself. The cold might just help sober him up and rid him of his erection. He slid out of bed and onto the floor and shivered. The floor was so cold it burned into the soles of his feet like raging blue flames. Even though Iwagakure was a small desert-like city, the nights were awfully cold and being so far up north, not even the hellish cavernous landscape or the canyons and rock formations could ward off the kami-awful blizzards during the winter season.

The blond quickly slid on his shinobi boots and Akatsuki cloak before sending a small wave of chakra into the next room to check that Itachi and Tobi were still asleep, only Itachi was missing. Huh? Where the hell could that Uchiha be, un?

He went to the door and stepped out cautiously, but before he could answer his internal question, he felt a jolt of panic and surprise go through him at the sound of his name being called by the same sexy voice that was the source of his wet dreams.

"Where are you going, Deidara", Itachi asked behind the blond only mere feet away, making the bulge in Deidara's pants even more troublesome as his pants tightened considerably, bringing a flush to his cheeks. 'Please don't notice!'

"I was going out, un", he answered, not turning to meet his interrogator's eyes.

"You do remember the agreement, don't you", Itachi said in his plain unexpressive tone.

Damn that Uchiha! He had to bring up the Konoha-Iwa release agreement Leader had negotiated with the two territories. 'Thank you Mr. Prefect for reminding me of my idiot past choices that you'll never let me live down, un!'

"Damn it", Deidara muttered under his breath. He knew Itachi heard him but he didn't care and turned to face the raven, which was a lot closer than he thought. Itachi was less than a foot away, staring him down with his damned blood-red Uchiha eyes. It was like he was staring right through him and into his very soul. The blond swallowed nervously and hesitated before whispering furiously, "I wasn't running away, un! I was just going to go for a walk, un!"

Deidara turned back around to head down the hall, "Now if you'll excu-"

Itachi grabbed his arm, causing the short blond to turn back as the forceful hand yanked him backwards. Deidara couldn't help but shoot his a dirty look that surprisingly wasn't all just rage or irritation. Itachi actually touched him! Deidara's heart began to race at dangerous speeds. "You aren't going anywhere on your own, hence I'm going with you."

"NANI?!"

"Right now would be a perfect time to gather intelligence on our target and their location", Itachi added monotonously as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Deidara scowled and ripped his arm away from Itachi's grip. "You know you only chose this mission for 'Sasuke', un; no other reason", he shot back. "Why should I have gone at all, yeah? Why the hell did you choose me, un?" Suddenly that prominent erection seemed to deflate, which was a relief even though Deidara was really too annoyed at Itachi's mistrust in him to really care if the raven had seen it or not.

Itachi stared in a very hurtful and a very much not Itachi-like way. The blond didn't catch it at all and continued to verbally lash at the Uchiha.

"You just want Danzo's head, un", the blue-eyed blond added more softly but somehow with more anger than before. They had known each other a long time, long enough for Deidara to know Itachi's reasoning for leaving his beloved Konoha and baby brother. He knew more than just that though, why else would Itachi have risked his own reputation to talk Leader into hiring the young artist?

Itachi didn't reply or make a move to respond in the slightest. He stared past Deidara as if in thought for a moment before the graceful raven brushed past the teen and down the hall. Deidara stood baffled for a moment before catching on and chasing after his elder rival, who was now going to babysit him in his own hometown. He didn't dare ignore the older Akatsuki member, regardless of how much he hated or liked him and made haste to catch up with him. What a night, yeah!

~xXXx~

The streets of Iwagakure were not very well lit, thanks to the dying economy and most of the funds going on military and importing food from surrounding countries. Deidara didn't really understand how anyone could stand living in this kind of a wasteland he used to call home, but apparently, the country was plentiful in precious gems. Deidara himself used to blow holes into the earth and had found some amethyst once after blowing up the side of a cliff and causing a small avalanche. Watching the purple shards scatter across the landscape was absolutely beautiful and by Deidara's standards: 'True art, un!'

Deidara didn't even notice Itachi was leading him to a less than pleasant side of the village, where all the criminals and prostitutes and possible gangs lurked. The streets had become more cracked and crooked and unkept. The building seemed to hunch down as if foreshadowing events that were to occur, a silent warning for the pair to leave. They were all dark and dreary most with broken or boarded windows. Upon the side of one building was graffiti spelling out the kanji for 'Dogs of Death'. Deidara had never heard of such a gang, but then again, since he had been under the Tsuchikage's wing as a child he had been rather sheltered and oblivious to the more macabre of matters and whereabouts within the hidden village. The duo continued until the raven stopped in front of a shady-looking building. The sudden stop almost made Deidara crash into the Uchiha.

"Oi! Watch it, Uchiha, un", the short teen snarled. He quickly glanced about his surrounds but scowled as he found them both unfamiliar and unrecognizable, "Where are we anyways, eh?" The ominous, lifeless building was no different than any of the other buildings they had passed by, well maybe except for the fact that the very sight of it made icy tingles run down his spine as if a nest of spiders had opened an ice rink on his back. Spiders… It was best not to get further into that train of thought.

Itachi gestured his head towards a small opening to a neighboring building with its windows beaten in and cracks and holes decorating the walls. It was an understatement to say 'uninhabited'. "We're going in here to gather information", he stated, ignoring Deidara's previous question. "Henge into someone else - it's so when you run off, you won't be executed for breaking the contract agreement." The raven stared into Deidara's very soul as he watched the blonde's expressions change into mild curiosity and then into annoyance and hatred.

Deidara huffed and blew out a puff of air to ruffle his long bangs, "Fine, but I wasn't going to run off, un", he said with air quotations. "Unlike you!"

Itachi just glared at the blond, unmoving until Deidara finished his short tantrum and finally complied. He changed into the ninja that greeted them, 'Awasaki'. "Heh, if I'm gonna get into trouble, it might as well be as that bastard, un", he said, adding an explanation. The scowl was replaced with a chilling smirk.

Itachi looked over Deidara's genjutsu and nodded silent approval. "Cloak your chakra", he stated. The teen did and they entered the dark, dank building.

The walls were blackened and burnt and the windows had been shattered and knocked out. The whole place reeked of piss, rotting wood, and death, explained by dried blood in one room that Deidara had cared to glance into and regretted at the sight of it and a disembodied, decaying hand. This place was saturated in filth and gore!

'Kami save me. I don't wanna be here! Where is here anyways', Deidara thought nervously tensing and preparing for a fight.

Itachi apparently sensed Deidara's discomfort and sighed. "It's a genjutsu."

Deidara suddenly noticed the raven again. "What?"

"Use your other eye", he stated simply, although his voice sounded as if he wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes and disappear into the shadows as he would've on his own.

Deidara was reluctant to follow his advice, but listened and looked at his surroundings. Heh! It wasn't scary at all, just abandoned. The walls were a plain whitewash seasoned with age and peeling with a few noticeable cracks. The floor was an old hardwood that Deidara didn't recognize, of course, he wasn't a fan of wood anyways; they lasted long and grew old. Deidara didn't have the patience for a tree to grow and die off or be mature enough to cut down. The floorboards were coming up and cracked in some places and maybe one or two were missing and there was absolutely no blood or decaying limbs!

'Damn Uchiha! Once again he outdid me', Deidara thought angrily. He was getting tired of Itachi, but at the same time, he couldn't get enough of his calm, cool attitude. Well, the important thing was they were about to make progress in their mission and the tent in his pants had all but vanished. It was as if he had never dreamt of the raven, wet, lusty, and naked.

'Damn it to hell, un!' Opps. Well, I guess I spoke too soon.

Itachi stopped once again this time in front of a door. Deidara could have almost sworn Itachi was intentionally trying to make him crash into the raven.

"What the hell Itachi, un", Deidara snarled.

Itachi completely ignored the Iwa-nin's remark and knocked on the door; three rapid and one, two, three, four short, then he made a hand sign and the door opened. "Come, Deidara", he said coolly, without feeling before embarking down a narrow stairway spiraling downwards. Deidara shuddered with gleeful excitement and quickly sunk back down into his angsty facade.

"I'm not your damn dog, un", Deidara muttered under his breath before following the humdrum, reserved man.

They embarked down a narrow stairwell which twisted and turned and contorted in erratic directions. Deidara couldn't help but think the idiots that built this were high off of underground fumes. One moment they were walking straight and the next it felt as though they were doing loop-de-loops. At some point they went through a hallway that seemed to shrink making Deidara's stomach churn with claustrophobia and then all of a sudden it had returned to normal and felt like he was walking on water! He want out of this crazy place already! Who designed this place? Alice in Wonderland? Tim Burton? Willy Wonka? A Kindergartener? It felt as though they had walked for hours in the near-black darkness, until the came to the end where light was peeking through a curtained off doorway. 'How peculiar, un?'

Within the underground establishment were hundreds of vendors selling everything from weapons to cadavers to scrolls. This was most definitely illegal and right under Iwagakure's nose. They'd probably never find this place! How did Itachi find it?

"Itachi-"

"The Uchiha clan once planned to overthrow the reigning government; it makes logical sense they would draw support from our country's nemesis", he said cutting off Deidara. Damn him! It was like he read the Iwa-nin's mind! Deidara knew for certain he was neither that blond nor predictable, but it did seem like a reasonable question one would ask so he dropped it at that. Nonetheless, he followed Itachi's lead to a small tavern in the back of the establishment, although Deidara was feeling kind of giddy that he saw a work of his earlier clay masterpieces on display at a table. He wondered if the people that bought his art knew exactly what he did with it. Did they know that his new style was an assortment of explosive masterpieces that he used to take countless lives? If only they knew…

Once close to the bar, Itachi yanked him to the side into a dark space and slammed him against the wall, glaring at him with his Sharingan activated. Deidara was about to protest when Itachi covered the bomber's mouth.

"Before we arrived, Tobi found an informant who apparently knows something about this 'Tako Taco' character. I have no real details on the matter, but in case anything happens you must stay here", the last three words had more weight than the others, increasing in verbal intensity in the bomber's mind. Deidara shook his head to signal he understood, for he dared not to get in between the grudge match that he had stumbled across. Itachi took this deathly serious considering the fact that the bastard who planned on killing off his clan and almost succeeded was involved. He disliked Danzo from the very depths of his soul. Deidara didn't want to become a splattered result of getting in the raven's way. Even if he was a pacifist, he doubted the Uchiha give any second thought to murdering the man he had hunted for this long.

Deidara did not wish to stay outside but considering he'd finally show his sensei and Itachi that he was worthy of their attention gave him a spark of determination. He especially wanted Itachi to like him even though he hated him, but he still wasn't sure why. Ugh. Why was everything so frustrating and confusing when it came to this guy?!

Itachi left the bored shinobi to himself and went inside of the tavern to meet this so-called 'informant'. Who knows? Maybe it would be a turned ROOT agent?

Deidara wasn't going to risk his identity being compromised down here and just leaned against a closed stall tossing pebbles with small bursts of chakra, watching them hit the ground. It wasn't beautiful like his art but at least he got to blow off some steam. Every time he tossed one, it would make a small amount of sand scatter around it like a ripple in a pond. Maybe if he threw a stone large enough it would cause ripples in the earth. He was both fascinated and enthralled with the idea so much so that whilst throwing rocks, he didn't notice the tall stranger that had approached him.

"Well howdy", the strange man said casually, startling Deidara into awareness.

Deidara scowled and tossed another pebble lose to the stranger's feet. The effect was almost like a bullet as it ricocheted off the hard earth. "Piss off, un. I don't have time for you, whoever you are", he hissed. Opps! An 'un' slipped! Maybe the guy wouldn't know who Deidara was.

The man smiled vibrantly and Deidara got a better look at him. He was tall; maybe six feet tall. Definitely bigger than Itachi's five foot eight. He had short, bedheaded blond hair similar to Deidara's own but with a hint of fiery orange. It was like a silky gold. He had round amber eyes and a very light tan. Deidara could assume that the man spent most of his time in this dark underworld but was most likely from a working class by birth. He had a vibrant yet arrogant smile plastered onto his face and wore a gorgeous suit. It was a beautiful silk suit woven and made by hand, too bad it was gray. It would've been prettier in red, but Deidara thought that about just about everything. Everything was better with a little flame to it.

Deidara's first impression? This man was most likely a pimp who thought Deidara was a girl, and then again, he was disguised as Awasaki so that was wrong. He could be a gangster, but they usually had a posse and this man was alone. He didn't get scared by the pebble so he may have been a ninja, but Iwa-nins were too poor to dress like that and same goes for any rouge. Just exactly what and who was this man? All this profiling was getting boring! It made Deidara begin to long for a wad of clay to burn that ugly gray suit to the ground in pops of small explosions.

"Nice to see you Awasaki-san. I thought you weren't coming", the man said calmly.

Deidara scoffed, "Well obviously I changed my mind." He fought not to say 'un'. He'd definitely have to blackmail the other ninja for his newfound information later. 'So Awasaki-kun is familiar with this criminal scum, eh?' He inwardly smirked.

The man was no longer smiling and didn't seem to be amused. "We especially didn't expect to see you here while the Akatsuki are in town, all things considering, since you dislike them so much", he said darkly. Uh oh! Was Deidara caught?

'Come on, Dei! Think, un!' Deidara crossed his arms, "I 'changed my mind' because one of them is in there", he answered smoothly. 'Nice save!' "I was thinking of giving them a scare when they come out."

"How… interesting, 'Awasaki-san'," he said, obviously not convinced. "After you gave us the information on one of their members, I never would have suspected that you would follow one here." Somehow he had made his way right in front of the smaller shinobi and roughly grasped his chin, glaring into his eyes, "But you aren't Awasaki, are you Deidara?"

'Shit! I'm caught!' Deidara was just about to toss an explosion and run when he realized his body was frozen in place and his captor's eyes were glaring into his own, their owner wearing a knowing, diabolical smirk. This couldn't be happening! His left eye cancelled out genjutsu! This couldn't be good. No. This wasn't good at all and there were no take-backs now. Deidara was caught.

"Sleep, Deidara."

And the world went black.

~XxxX~

Itachi made his way to the table in the back, shrouded in shadows. There was a hooded figure in a plain dark brown cloak nursing a bottle of sake as they sat at a table in a far secluded corner. That would be his contact, he assumed since most of the other patrons were far away, chatting and finishing up their drinks. Even though the tavern was open until dawn, most of the underworld characters would rather be home by now, resting up for tomorrow night's exploits. Itachi hunched his shoulders and he kept his head down to appear inconspicuous. The raven seated himself across from the figure who had been awaiting his arrival. His steady Sharingan gaze went to the figure, waiting patiently.

"It's a lovely night," Itachi recited his line. Most women – and some men – would swoon head-over-heels to hear him say that line, or just that one word. 'Lovely'.

"Only if you're gonna be drinkin'," the stranger recited.

Update: The raven has made contact, over.

The cloaked figure slipped a scroll across the table discreetly. Itachi, slid it into his cloak and looked to the figure. "Is this all for me, Anko-san?"

The figure smirked and turned her gaze up. "Long time, no see, Weasel. I would have thought you'd say more, after all, you've been rogue for going on seven years now! That's a long time away from home," the snake kunoichi said thoughtfully and rather sarcastically before taking a long swig of sake and wiping her mouth on her sleeve with no apparent finesse.

Itachi just furrowed his brows some and cringed before reverting back to his prior expression. "I heard ROOT was involved in the scroll theft," he said piercing her with his gaze.

Anko inhaled some of her drink on accident and began coughing and sputtering. "Where… cough cough… did you hear that," she said heatedly.

Itachi just continued to gaze on, waiting patiently for an answer.

The bluenette sighed and put down the alcohol. "There's… a member here, working with an Iwa spy," she boldly looked up at the interested raven, meeting his unyielding gaze. Her gaze was solemn but her lips curved into a perverse smirk, "I also hear he likes to kidnap young men. I can only assume why…" Once again she had trailed off thoughtfully as her mind drifted to faraway places in the land of rainbows and hotties.

Itachi ignored the innuendo, "Do you know the man's identity, Anko-san?"

She frowned again, "No, but apparently he's from the Yamanaka clan. Very handsome and very blonde, kind of like your friend." She grinned and took a gulp of sake. "By the way, is he available," she asked lustfully.

Itachi was slightly put off by her alcohol induced babbling about Deidara, his current partner, Deidara. "I apologize, but I do not believe he is," he answered, making the older ninja pout.

"Aw well. That's really too bad! He's so adorable! What about your partner; the tall blue one," she asked.

"Sensei," he said a little more sharply to bring her back, "we need to get back to the situation at-hand."

Anko sobered up some, "Right. Right! Sorry Weasel!" She flailed in embarrassment for a moment before reverting back to herself. "The rest of the information I collected is in that scroll. I didn't get much, but what I found should be useful."

Itachi nodded a bow in thanks and stood from his chair in a fluid, graceful move. "Thank you, Anko-san. I appreciate your assistance." He turned to leave.

"Oh and Weasel," she said solemnly, "be careful; the guy has been snatching up people close by! I wouldn't want you to be captured too!" She thought for a moment and deadpanned, "Although I don't see you ever having a chance of that."

The corner of the raven's mouth turned up into a signature Uchiha smirk and he left through the front door. He scanned the area for Deidara's faint, masked chakra, since the area was so poorly lit but found nothing. There was neither hide nor hair nor any trace of the explosive artist anywhere! There was nothing, nothing but a faint trace of chakra.

He looked over the chakra with his powerful Kekkai Genkai, thankful that he had them. He normally would have just suspected the boy to have run off but this was different. Who would go through the trouble of trying to wipe the area of chakra signatures? There was only a faint trace of chakra to be found. He examined it closely with his eyes, stooping to sit on his haunches as he ran his Sharingan over it. It was a familiar type; likely a genjutsu user's chakra. He had definitely felt it before and they had likely kidnapped the blonde after wiping away his chakra. Whomever the culprit was, either wasn't very good at covering his tracks or intentionally left it for the Uchiha to find. Either way, two things were for certain: someone had targeted Deidara through the camouflage and that someone was now an enemy to both him and the rest of Akatsuki!

This wasn't good at all. What would happen to the Bakuton user? Surely he could take care of himself, but the raven couldn't help but be worried. He didn't really care for the blonde's particular ninjutsu or his peculiar impulsive behavior but he had to find him. He was somewhat of an annoying blemish or scar that you will to fade away until you realized that it was a part of you and your personality. Then something else occurred to him, Deidara was a very useful part of Akatsuki with his 'art' being able to fly and his crazy/risky but well-formed strategies. Leader would be very displeased if his investment was to face premature termination.

That was it, Itachi had to get the Iwa-nin back, but first he needed to get Konan and Tobi. If he was going to have any chance of retrieving the bomber and completing the mission they had been assigned he was going to need his allies. With that, he vanished in a swarm of leaves to collect the paper-nin and the masked ninja.

~XxxX~

"Ugh… what? Where am I, un? My head… my head hurts, un," the blond said to the darkness. His eyes had just opened and quickly began to adjust to the dim lighting; an earthy, musky scent filled his nose.

Deidara was deep underground in a dark, torch-lit room. His wrists were sore and swollen, suspended above him and his toes weren't touching or even grazing the ground.

He gripped the chain holding his wrists in place and pulled hard, even trying to use chakra to break the links away, but it wouldn't form. Chakra shouldn't have been an issue. He had barely used any on the flight up here, why wouldn't it form? His gaze darted around the room. He was in the very center and the only way in or out – without his chakra or explosives – was a heavy wooden door to his right. This looked to be some sort of a dungeon.

The blond tried a different strategy of sliding his wrists out of the thick metal shackles and cried out with effort. It didn't work, it just made his wrists more sore and peeled off a thin layer of skin. The only other option was to rip his own arms off, and that wasn't looking too appealing.

He tried his chakra once more to scan the area, but there was only a faint glow before it was zapped away. "What the hell is going on, un," Deidara yelled and began kicking and thrashing in his restraints. He wanted out! Now!

"You won't be able to use your chakra with those on your wrists," the sound of another voice, another person in the room started Deidara. "They isolate chakra from the body. Even now as you produce it, it's slowly being siphoned away."

Deidara caught a pair of deadly orange eyes, much like Sasori-danna's on a bad day, watching him from the shadows. "Just who are you supposed to be, un," he said darkly to the shadow.

He could feel the shadow smirk at him. "My identity is meaningless, but rest assured, more than just your head and your wrists will be sore soon."

A growl resounded from his side and more dangerous a gravelly, dark voice spoke, "Takashiro…"

'So much for a secret identity, un?'

A sound of footsteps came close to the blond and although he couldn't see anyone in that direction, he knew the man who had spoken was still there. He could feel the intensity of the being's eyes boring into him. Pure malice and hatred became thick in the room, masking the scent of earth and souring it, leaving a bad taste in the bomber's mouth.

"So you're the famous so-called artist, Deidara," the gravelly voice said from the shadows.

"He's a really catch isn't he," Takashiro said stepping into the light and giving Deidara a once over, no, a twice over. It was both sickening and disgusting feeling that particular man's eyes on him as he realized it was the very man that had kidnapped him.

"What do you mean 'so-called', you culture-less, artless fools! My art is the epitome of beauty, transience, and flame, un! 'So-called'… Get me down from here and I'll show you what kind of art I can make out of you," Deidara said in a deadly tone glaring into the shadows as best as he could as he strained to glare past his arm at the being.

A deep chuckle resounded, echoing off the walls. "I see. You certainly live up to your reputation. I heard you were outcast by your own village for failing in a suicidal mission to destroy your country's enemy. You were defeated all because of one man. Your art was useless against him," the shadowy being's footsteps resounded closer. "That one man is why you've been brought here."

Deidara tried to digest that. He remembered that day he was given the kinjutsu and sent to destroy Konohagakure. He remembered every detail from landing to being beaten half to death by its inhabitants who combated against him with ease, never giving him the chance to fight his rival, the reason he had allowed himself to be defeated, the same reason he was here, Itachi Uchiha.

"What does this have to do with him, un? What the hell am I doing here?!"

The figure walked out of the shadows and revealed a wrinkled face with a criss-crossed scar on his chin. Bandages covered his right eye and wrapped around his head, dark locks falling over them. "You're merely here as bait." The figure walked around to face Deidara's front, he was scowling, but to Deidara he looked more constipated with that fixed expression, making the blonde smirk. Of course, he had no idea who the man behind the bandages that had hidden in the shadows, actually was.

Deidara had to raise an eyebrow though. Curiousity always seemed to get the better of him and this time, curiousity was knocking into his gut, forcing words to spew from his lips, unable to contain them: word vomit. "Bait for what, un?"

The man chuckled deeply and a smile ghosted his face. "I suppose you are familiar with Uchiha Itachi, am I correct?"

"I suppose you're brain-dead, un. Am I correct," Deidara said just as smoothly. "Of course I obviously do."

The bandaged man nodded to the blond who smirked and trekked close to Deidara before launching a painful fist up into his gut, making him rock in his restraints, shooting pain through his body. His attacker sighed in adoration and grabbed his side to stop him in place. "What a pity", he said pouting, his eyes giving Deidara yet another unwelcome, lecherous once over. He sure as hell didn't want to be stuck in this room with him alone.

Deidara locked angry blue eyes with the kidnapper's, Takashiro's, golden eyes and sneered at him. He was going to get him. He didn't forget being captured and he sure as hell did not want this man anywhere near him.

In a movement too quick to catch, remarkably without chakra, Deidara pulled himself up on his restraints and swinging forward returned a hard, swift kick to the man's face, knocking him back into the shadows and onto the filthy floor. Deidara hoped he hit his head. He hoped he was going to bleed out. He hoped he wouldn't have to see this guy anymore and he hoped he ruined that bland over-priced silk suit that a ninja had no business wearing. This wasn't the mafia, idiot, un!

The bandaged man looked off into the direction of his subordinate and then back to Deidara. He shook his head as if knowing just what would happen, as if horrors awaited the artist suspended from the ceiling and began to walk off into the shadows before calling out, "Let me know, when you're ready to cooperate." There was a loud thud and his footsteps vanished. There was nothing but silence and darkness and judging by how the 'boss-guy' just left, this wouldn't be good. This was a dungeon after all. Torture and interrogation all the way!

The silence was suffocating him in shadows as his eyes flew from corner to corner, scanning every wall in between. Surely that guy couldn't still be conscious after a hit like that, right? WRONG! Of course he was conscious. Of course he was about to torment Deidara. And of course, he was likely going to molest, and or rape him, well actually more like 'and' after showing so much previous interest in him.

Deidara gasped as he felt a swift hit to the ribs and something made an audible crack, or more like, an ugly, disgusting crush. He felt immense pain through his side and he was knocked breathless, even after a hand gasped his chin roughly and brought Deidara's face to meet theirs.

Takashiro looked pissed off and thank Kami – no really, thank you Kami! – he took off that bland gray suit jacket. "You made me very upset today", the charming voice came out, softer and somehow calmer than before. It felt icy and sent shivers down Deidara's spine. That was the exact tone Leader took before he punished him for blowing up part of his statue in the middle of Amegakure's village square. It was a gift from the people really, since they all seemed to worship him like a god after he took over the political reigns from its fascist now ex-leader (who Leader had killed and exterminated from existence mercilessly). This tone meant assured pain and suffering. It meant Deidara better hope the rest of Akatsuki could find his will in his belongings because he was pretty sure he was dead. (Though hopefully not Kakuzu.)

Takashiro was pretty tall and from how Deidara hung to the floor, their eyes were almost level. His eyes became half-lidded and he whispered, "You and me, are going to have a lot of fun, Dei-chan."

The blonde bomber swallowed thickly but looked on defiantly to hide his fear. He had to keep his willpower up, his strength; otherwise he would crack and be completely useless. Useless, just like he always loathed himself for being. He had a job - certain usefulness – in Akatsuki. He wasn't going to jeopardize it to save his own ass, which may prove to be more literal than he previously thought. Well, at least he wasn't a virgin…

~~ /-_-\\* Konan On Top /-_-\\* ~~

What a delightful dream… What a wonderfully delightful dream…

There was the magnificent leader in all of his glory, Yahiko. He was so handsome and beautiful with his chocolate brown eyes set upon her, for her and her only. His bright smile graced his face and his cheeks were powdered with a slight blush as he took in my appearance. "K-Konan-chan, y-you look great", he said bashfully.

He was always so cute when he was bashful and it made me smile in return, my own contained, distanced smile. "Thank you, Leader", I replied shyly. Was he going to kiss me? Would I finally receive my first kiss?

He looked around just as bashfully as before, trying to find something to put his attention on to quell his admirable nervousness, but his gaze landed back on me as I continued to smile. "K-Konan?"

"Yes Yahiko", I asked in a light anticipating voice. Oh my Kami! Was he finally going to say it? Did he share my feelings? He had to! I just know it!

"I've never actually said anything before, but I…" he paused and swallowed as if unsure that I'd share the same sentiments. Like I'd ever reject him! I have a diary filled with nothing but 'I love Yahiko-kun' and such that I'm still filling with hearts and lovey-dovey phrases. "… I really like you, Konan." He was now bright red as if he had held his breath the whole time. He was so adorable like this…

I looked up into his deep, dark eyes, savoring his affectionate, unsure gaze. "I-I like you too", I said timidly although blood and heat pooled behind my cheeks as well. I looked up at him expectantly.

Please, kiss me, my love. Kiss me, Yahiko.

In a blink of an eye, although I hadn't seen him make an advance, he had closed the short distance between us. His lips were parted as he gazed down at me, the desire in my eyes reflected in his own. He slowly brought his head down, his lips intent upon meeting my own and I closed my eyes, waiting expectantly for his kiss.

Several moments came and passed and still his silky lips had neglected to meet mine. Maybe he was just a little nervous? I peeked open a curious amber eye and found the ginger shinobi prodding a finger into my cheek.

"Poke," he said, repeating the gesture in a childish voice.

I couldn't help but pout. So much for my first kiss, stolen away by a childish display.

"Poke," he repeated, prodding uncomfortably harder.

I slapped his hand away and let out a grunt of frustration. "You were supposed to kiss me; I wanted you to kiss me! What happened?"

Just then, the ginger frowned and put his hand to the side. Orange spiked hair darkened to black, his dark chocolate orbs blended into a singular, awe-inspiring crimson, and his face was replaced with a more angular, 'Uchiha' visage. He lent his head down, lips parted, and pressed them to my own. It felt so real and looked just as realistic, it even smelled life-like. I could taste the essence of the rain and shadows on his lips and before it got any further, he gently pulled back, stealing those wonderfully chaste lips away.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said, his expression furrowing into a look of utter frustration. He turned away and I could feel the sharp tinge of guilt radiating from his core.

"Obito," I muttered quietly, so quietly, I'm not even sure my ears had even detected it, but my heart knows I said it. How did he… how did he get into my dream?

Inevitably, the question on my mind awoke me and I slowly sat up, before stretching to start my day, until I turned to my immediate left and jolted in surprise at the shock of the more serious younger Uchiha beside me. As a matter of fact, I was so surprised that I fell off the other side of the bed and onto the floor with a loud THUNK!

I pulled myself up to the side of the bed and took in the sight of the intimidating raven standing over me with his fiery Sharingan blazing. He made no move to attack or criticize me so I got to my feet and before I got a chance to ask my obvious questions, he spoke.

"Get dressed, Deidara has been kidnapped," he said with a tone I couldn't quite pick out, but it definitely wasn't normal for him.

Wait a minute… did he just say kidnapped?

Okay, so I know I posted a few days back, but I hope you guys are enjoying the new chapter! If you have any comments, etc., you can review or send me a message! I'll try to put up a new chapter soon, and you know constructive criticism can be useful! Reviews always get me pumped and in writing mode! I'll try to edit my spelling and grammar better too! Thanks for supporting!

(Re-edited version, as of July 5th.)

SeverNSkull