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Chapter 18: Love or Duty? They are the Same, un!

Song of the Chapter:
The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage – Panic at the Disco!
Reason: Everyone surveys Sumiko and Deidara's relationship and has their own opinions. Also, I thought 'Trophy Boys' = Deidara and 'Trophy Wives' = Sumiko; this matches age wise.


Gaara was clenching his fist as he surveyed the sight before him. Sumiko's eyes widened, but she did not relax her hold on Deidara nor did the blond artist release her. "Gaara-kun? What are you doing here?"

The red head glared at Temari and Kankurou to stop any words that might stir up excess emotions. "Seeing as you are the stand in Kazekage technically, I feel that you should come back to the Sand Village." Sumiko raised a red eyebrow while Deidara gaped at her.

"Are you talking about that summons from the Sand Village council that suddenly appeared in my room? Thank goodness Katsu-kun, bless his fluffy soul, was brought up so I had a reason to depart from the party. That summons had appeared in my room and I immediately had to deal with it. Just so you know, I have no real intention to return. Mark me as a rouge ninja." Gaara's face furrowed; remember, no eyebrows.

"Summons? Did that damn council act without approval again?" Sumiko smirked.

"Having issues controlling them? Why not set Shukaku-sama on them since that solves the annoyance of the geezers and his bloodlust?" Deidara looked into Sumiko's eyes which had now hardened into a steely glint.

"Few people are able to restrain that demon; yet another reason that you must come back." Sumiko snorted.

"So… the mighty Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand, needs a keeper?" Deidara laughed while the other Sand siblings did not look happy. Sumiko glanced at Deidara who nodded and kept the clay bird flying above the ninjas and safely out of reach of most of their ninjutsu. Sumiko's eyes wandered between the angered Kazekage and his sister's fan.

Kankurou stepped closer, reaching into his kunai pouch. "Sumiko-sama, I never took you to be the traitorous type." Sumiko shifted uncomfortably on the clay bird while Deidara retorted.

"Shut up, un! Who are you to think you know Sumiko-chan?" Gaara's eyes widened; no one had referred to Sumiko in the Sand Village so formally. Even he had called her 'Sumiko-san' while others called her Sumiko-sama.

"You refer to her so informally but do you know who Sumiko of the Red Dress really is?" Sumiko pulled out a Bingo Book and began scanning it. "Do not bother with the book. Sumiko became a missing ninja since that way, she has access to information that as a regular ninja of the Sand Village, she would not be able to access. She is the perfect spy." Sumiko rolled her eyes and pulled out her Sand Village headband; still unscratched. Deidara's hand touched the cold metal.

"I thought you took care of this, un…" Sumiko touched his cheek and his blue eye zoned in on her brown eyes. "Sumiko-chan, what the hell is going on?"

Sumiko had a single tear come from her right eye. On cue, Gaara seemed ready to wipe it away. With a flicker of her wrists, he was tied up in chakra strings and soon the other allied ninja found themselves in a similar fashion. "Deidara-kun… I want to be in the Akatsuki… With you and brother… But I cannot just turn against my village…"

Temari scoffed. "Don't tell me you love this terrorist?" Deidara frowned at the kunoichi. "Honestly, you can do much better and in our village, you are revered. Why would you leave for someone like him?" Sumiko's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Deidara's hands.

"I did not leave for love. I left because of a duty to my family, my twin brother. I stay because of love." Deidara smiles and with a hand, moves some of her red hair out of her face; an action that irritates Gaara.

"What of your duty to your friends?" Sumiko lowered her eyes and tried to study a rock. "Don't tell me you would pick love over duty. You have to make a choice; love or duty?"

Sumiko felt a gentle hand lift up her chin. She was looking into Deidara's cerulean eye which sparkled. Sumiko felt a leap in her heart. "Sumiko, they are the same, un!" Sumiko smiled as Deidara leaned in for a gentle kiss. The ninjas below began struggling against Sumiko's chakra strings, but to no avail. Deidara withdrew and they both smiled. Sumiko pulled out her headband, reached for a kunai, and to Gaara's shock, scratched through the symbol with no more hesitation. Deidara smiled as Sumiko began to run through various hand signs. He picked up the kunoichi and landed on the ground safely. The clay bird began to go towards the Sand and Leaf ninja and their eyes widened. Deidara made a hand sign just as Sumiko finished her rather long technique. "Katsu, un"

Sumiko and Deidara disappeared a split second before the explosion could claim them, but what the two Akatsuki members did not notice was a poof as a log was wrapped in chakra strings and Kakashi's now revealed Mangekyo Sharingan spinning as it started a technique.


Deidara and Sumiko appeared in the now vacant living room. They saw the note on the refrigerator immediately. Gone to party; be back soon. Deidara, you are not to explode anything within the base. – Leader.

Deidara sighed. "I do not explode that much stuff, un…" Sumiko smirked and kissed the blond's cheek. Sumiko went over to the television and found a video. Holding up the video to Deidara, he nodded and putting the video in, they began to watch.


Three hours later…

Everyone had returned from a party with various states of drunkenness present. Hidan did not drink claiming his religion was against it. He had spent the duration of the 'sinful' party sacrificing 'heathens'. Konan and Pain had vanished after drinking quite the amount of booze and had not been seen except when it was time to go back to base. Sasori had drank that night for the sake of drinking, but his puppet body did not absorb alcohol so he was not impaired in any matter (something that annoyed the other members). Kakuzu had managed to swindle free alcohol and had revealed to Sasori that he had stolen other organs besides hearts so that he was able to break down alcohol much faster than any normal human could. Itachi, upon drinking much sake, was the sleepy, but still deadly drunk. After falling asleep, it was up to the overaggressive drunk Kisame to watch over his young partner. Tobi had become the overly hyper drunk who began to badger everyone. Both parts of Zetsu had become the 'hit-on-anything-that-moves' drunk.

Kakuzu and Sasori had quite the struggle to haul the various states of inebriation, aka the Akatsuki, back to their hideout. Hidan and Mamoru were not helping insisting that they had several heathens to offer to Jashin's glory. Upon arriving, Sasori smiled seeing a sight upon the coach of the living room. Kakuzu picked up the video. "This is unexpected. I didn't think Deidara had a thing for chick flicks." Sasori raised his eyebrow and laughed at the title, The Bingo Book.

Sasori looked at the description and read it aloud. "The story of an S ranked criminal and a loyal spy. Their relationship will be put to the test by a conflict of interest. This really does sound like Deidara and Sumiko to a T." Sasori noticed something odd; Sumiko was wearing her Sand headband, something she rarely did and that the headband now had a scratch through it.