The house smelled absolutely disgusting…like an old pair of socks that had been left to mold

:Sixteen Years Later:

"He never came back," Sasori said. "I think he's gone for good." Pein rested his head in his hands. He had recently been very stressed out, and Sasori was sure this news wasn't helping him. "Look, I could care less that Orochimaru is gone," he said. "It's the ring we need to get back. Without it, we'll always be short one member; it's hurting the organization!" "I think that's what he wants," Sasori muttered. Pein slammed his fist down onto the table. "Of course that's what he wants, damnit!" He watched as Pein paced the room. "I just don't know how we're going to get it back…I mean, say he didn't die out in the desert. Then where is he?"

"Wake up." Sasori began to stir. "Wake up faster!" He felt someone smack him over the top of the head, and his eyes jolted open. "WHAT?!" he screamed to Itachi. He was covered in blood that didn't appear to be his own, and he looked like he had just had a hell of a fight. "You have a new partner, Sasori. Leader says you must come and greet him." New partner? After sixteen years he FINALLY had a new partner? "They got Orochimaru's ring back?" Itachi laughed mirthlessly. "Of course not, puppet…" Sasori's memory started flashing back to him. His new partner must have gotten the last available ring… "Alright, I'm coming…" He rolled off of the cot and followed Itachi through a bunch of winding caverns lined with red lanterns for light. The walk seemed to take forever, but at least it woke him up enough to think coherently. They came to the last chamber, where a few other members of the organization were gathered. Pein was holding up someone that Sasori didn't recognize, but seemed to be only half-conscious with wounds that had been wrapped in makeshift bandages. "Sasori!" Pein called to him (though there was an echo, so it really hadn't been necessary). "This is Deidara. He's your new partner." "I've been informed," Sasori responded as Deidara coughed blood. "Rough initiation?" Deidara weakly raised his head. He was bleeding out the nose and mouth and looked as though a truck had hit him. "I'm here involuntarily, un," he said hoarsely. Sasori stepped forward and cupped Deidara's cheek with his hand, tilting his head to the left to get a good look at him. "How old is he?" he asked Pein. "Sixteen…the youngest member yet." Deidara coughed again, and droplets of his blood fell to the ground. "How long until he recovers?" "We've estimated it at about a week," Pein said. Deidara groaned and went limp. "Excellent," Sasori murmured, wrapping the unconscious boy up in chakra strings and began the tedious process of dragging the boy back to his room. It would have been a relatively boring journey, but Kisame caught up with him half way there. "I'll bet you're glad you didn't have to go through Itachi to get in," he said, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder to indicate Deidara. "Almost killed him." "I see that," Sasori spat. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen again!" "But you should see what he did to the cavern!" Kisame exclaimed, pointing at Deidara again. "Blasted huge craters into the stone!" Sasori's eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks. "What? How?" "Bombs," Kisame whispered excitedly. "So I take it he's a long range fighter?" Sasori began walking again, and Kisame nodded. "Good…it'll be easier to work with him, then…" Kisame followed him for a few more yards, but could think of nothing to say, so he turned around and walked the opposite direction. When he had gotten back to his room with his new companion, Sasori dug around in one of many random storage closets and managed to find a decent cot (better than his own, actually), and some old blankets that smelled sort of like mothballs. He then set up the cot with some difficulty because it was a little rusted, released Deidara from the chakra ties, lifted him (noting how thin he was as the boy's spine pressed into Sasori's wrist), and covered him up with the blankets. It would be a few more hours, Sasori estimated, before Deidara woke up again, at which point he would try to feed him.

:Four Days Later:

Deidara was finally up walking around, and although he was still badly bruised from his fight with Itachi, his cuts were beginning to heal, the swelling had gone down, and he had cleaned himself up quite nicely, revealing a handsome, finely featured face and fierce blue eyes. And in spite of his thinness, he was very high strung (though he tried his hardest to be as serious as possible), and often, when they were alone, he would begin talking at great length about art. This was something he and Deidara had in common—their love of art. Unfortunately, Deidara's beliefs were vastly different from Sasori's. He believed art to be transient, whilst Sasori believed it to last as long as possible. They'd had a few heated arguments on the subject already, but it never got physical like it might have with Orochimaru. Sasori was quite pleased to have someone to talk to intelligently, and didn't mind having Deidara around. He thought he was actually rather pleasant (though this was most likely in comparison to Orochimaru, who tried his hardest to kill Sasori, but failed miserably every time). Deidara was feisty, but tended to obey Sasori quite well most of the time. He would see how the boy did out in the field, though. He planned to leave the next Wednesday for Sunagakure. Rumor had it the Shukaku was now sealed within a Genin boy of about twelve. "Wednesday, un?" Deidara asked, flicking a rock across the stone floor. "Don't you think that's a little soon, un?" Sasori rolled over on his cot. "Well, let's look at it this way, Deidara…it's been four days. You're almost fully recovered. You've got about a week until we leave. Think of this time indoors as an early vacation, because when we leave this cave, we won't be getting another one for a hell of a long time." Deidara cocked his head. "Vacations, too? I think the only thing you people don't provide is food and a five star hotel, un." "Just be thankful you have a place to sleep," Sasori yawned, running his hand through his thick, crimson hair. Deidara flicked the rock again, and Sasori grimaced. "Will you quit that!?" He screamed, and Deidara recoiled. "I'm sorry, Sasori-danna," he said in a small voice, and did not go to retrieve his rock. Sasori, who was feeling particularly lazy tonight, rolled over on his stomach with an arm hanging off the cot—he was careful, though. To reveal to Deidara what he was too soon would mean an unsteady working relationship. He didn't want that. "So…where were we going, un?" the blonde asked, fidgeting a little. "I'll tell you where we're going as soon as you tell me what kind of drugs you're taking to make you so damn hyper," Sasori retorted. "Danna, it's what I'm not taking, yeah…now, where are we going?" "Sunagakure," Sasori snapped. "But, depending on the weather, we might take a detour into Konoha…I've heard there isn't a single tavern in the whole village." Deidara looked at him quizzically. "Then how the hell am I supposed to get plastered, un?" "Go down the mountain, into the field, and start gorging yourself on the mushrooms," Sasori replied, letting his mind wander ever so slightly off track. He conjured up, in his mind's eye, images of griffins and sorcerers who were sent to defeat them, and then he thought of insects, and how some of them were simply too bouncy. "Augh! Dei! What the hell is this!?" A grasshopper had landed on Sasori's cheek—it was cold and wet, and he had lifted his hand to brush it away. This effort had merely smeared the insect across his face, and when he looked at his fingers, he found it not to be organic grasshopper, but earthen grasshopper. "You've been thinking too hard, un," Deidara responded. "Let's go get wasted!" "I am not going down the mountain this time of day—" "You've been asleep all fucking day, yeah! I wanna do something worth my while, un…not set clay grasshoppers on you, Danna!" Sasori turned over, and responded with newfound malice. "Well then take an hour, go masturbate or something, and let me sleep. I didn't sleep all fucking night because I was up developing the recipe for a new toxin, which, if you don't shut up and leave me alone for a while, I will be forced to use on you!" "Fine, un," Deidara said, voice rising steadily with each syllable. "I'll leave you alone!" He stormed out of their room and walked as quickly as he could to the outside. His bruises were beginning to hurt him with each step he took, but he savored the pain…it was keeping him alert. Soon the light was sighted, and he beheld daylight with an outcry of agony as it nearly burned out his corneas, and he started off down the mountain. He was going to gather a bunch of these mushrooms, go back to their room, eat them, and go insane. "Sasori-danna, you fucking jackass, un," Deidara muttered under his breath. "Let's see how well you deal with a psychopath, yeah…" As he reached the field, he saw a whole bunch of mushrooms crowded around the sides of the cliffs, and went to go pick them. As he knelt down, though, he noticed something wasn't right about them. Furiously, he picked about a dozen and headed back up the mountain to the hideout.

"DEATH CAPS!" Deidara roared. "YOU WANTED ME TO EAT DEATH CAPS, YEAH!! HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM, DANNA?!" He threw the deadly mushrooms to the ground, and had half a mind to strangle Sasori, who was lying there perfectly calm. "Honestly," he said. "I thought you'd fall for it." Deidara glared at him. "Fuck you, un…" "Right back at you, Dei," Sasori yawned, and picked up a mushroom that was intact. "But really…I could have sworn there were psychotropics down there…there were a bunch last year…Death Cap spores must have blown in on the winds…do you think you could go get me some more of these?" "Danna, I am not touching any more toxic mushrooms, un! I am going to wash my hands, and then I'm going to go and blow something up, yeah!" Sasori cocked his head to the side, an arrogant smile on his face. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a terrible temper? You may want to get medication for that, Deidara…" The boy threw his hands in the air in defeat and walked out of the room. Sasori smirked. He knew that even if Deidara tried, he probably would have an extremely hard time killing him. "Dance, puppet, dance!" he screamed after him, and from down the cavern, Deidara called back an irritated "Fuck you!"