Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.
A/n: Thank you so much to Kyra213 for BETA-ing this chapter.
Italics are thoughts or flashbacks.
Chapter 8
DING! The elevator stopped at the first floor and the doors opened. A certain blond walked out to be greeted by the hotel staffs. The hotel manager informed him that his bike had been sent to the garage and was already repaired, waiting for him at the parking lot of the hotel. Deidara smiled and thanked the man then proceeded to get his bike.
He let his thoughts drift to the event that happened moments ago. FLASHBACKS…
Deidara was in the bathroom, enjoying the lukewarm water as it washed him. He heard two voices outside the bathroom. He recognized Sasori's voice and another woman's voice. Someone was out there. Instinctively, the blond knew it would be unwise for him to stepped out of the bathroom and introduce himself to Sasori's friend or whoever outside.
The voices became louder as he heard Sasori say, "Grandma Chiyo, there's no one in there!" Then, he heard the woman's reply. Ah, it must be Sasori's grandmother. The blond continued his shower as he listened to the two argued. A smile appeared on Deidara's face as he shook his head.
He never wanted Sasori to be in a bad situation. He knew he must leave without letting anyone see him. Turning off the tap, Deidara then slide on his clothes and made his way to the bathroom door. The noise outside had subsided but Deidara knew that the two people were still there.
Closing his eyes, Deidara chanted something.
"…Three, Two, One…" The magician unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom. He took a glance at the two people who stood outside the bathroom. They were frozen. Frozen in time. The spell had worked. Deidara let the door hang open and then walked towards the exit of the suite. Taking a last glance at the redhead, Deidara disappeared through the door, the door clicking as it locked itself behind him.
The blond then strolled along the corridor. Everything was frozen. The housekeeping lady frozen in her task of changing the sheets. Deidara walked pass her and saw a pink-haired lady who had previously been walking towards Sasori's suite. The blond recognized the lady as Sasori's friend. He walked pass her and entered the elevator that was already opened. The pink-haired lady must have been here to see Sasori. Thought Deidara as time suddenly unfroze and the elevator door closed.
END OF FLASHBACKS…
Deidara sighed at the thought of having to use magic in a situation like this. He knew he could have just walk out and said 'Hi' to the old woman and Sasori, but he didn't, even though he loved excitement and knew it would be fun to see the redhead in a situation like this.
It's better not to push him too far. That was the thought that stopped Deidara from doing what he was planning to do. He did not want to lose the redhead, and most of all, he never wanted to hurt Sasori.
It was the right way to leave like this. Oh, he knew Sasori would find him and would question him about his actions. He couldn't wait to see the redhead's annoyed face when he told him, "Magic." Deidara couldn't help but chuckle, Humans are really weird. They would rather believe in lies than the truth if the truth contradicts what their beliefs.
Deidara got on his bike and started the engine. He was going to visit Hidan at the hospital before going home. The blond magician knew his sister, Ino, was so going to question him on his whereabouts last night and he would tell her, tell her all about the amazing redhead he had met and about how the redhead was his fated one. He knew Ino would react with a gasp and get hyper over the Yaoi. Ino had always been a Yaoi fangirl.
"…so, I was saying we should go for a visit at the temple near the Iwa mountains." Sakura ended her sentence, waiting for Sasori to reply.
The redhead merely looked at the silverware in front of him. His mind had wandered off to somewhere else. The same old questions began to haunt him. That's not possible…Magic? Huh! There is no such thing as magic! And the likes were nothing new ever since Sasori met Deidara. There must be an explanation for all this.
"Ahem," Grandma Chiyo's cough snapped Sasori out of his trance.
The redhead looked up. "Yes?"
"Sakura asked if you want to go to the temple with her." Chiyo raised a brow and gave a hint to her grandson to comply. Sasori rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Chiyo quickly interrupted, "Aww, my grandson is just shy, Sakura." She patted Sasori not-too-gently on his back. "No need to be shy, Sasori, I know you want to accompany Sakura since it's your off-day, isn't that right, Sasori?" The last few words seemed to have a thorn in them.
Sasori understood it well. He knew his grandmother would not let him off if he were to decline Sakura's offer. He looked at Sakura who was sitting across the table. She was smiling at him. Despite it all, Sasori would defy his grandmother and decline Sakura's offer to visit the temple.
Just as Sasori was about to open his mouth, Chiyo interrupted, "It's a deal then! I'll call Kabuto."
Sasori remembered that Itachi would be arriving at Iwa this afternoon, "Grandma Chiyo, I couldn't…"
Chiyo quickly cut the redhead off. "Now, where is Kabuto? Haven't seen him since this morning." She took out her cell phone and dialed. Sasori rolled his eyes. It was useless. Once Chiyo made up her mind, there was no changing it. It was best for Sasori to think about what to do the entire day with the pink-haired lady.
"I'm so glad you would be willing to come, Sasori," said Sakura. "I hear the temples in Iwa are beautiful. They really are works of art." Sakura had said the word 'art' because she knew Sasori loved art.
The word 'art' seemed to catch Sasori's attention. Oh well, it might not be too bad, right?
"Yes, please be here by 11." Saying this, Chiyo hung up. Turning towards her grandson and self-proclaimed 'future-granddaughter-in-law', she smiled at them. "I'm sure both of you will have a nice day together."
Sasori had to raise his hand to get Chiyo's attention. The old woman just wouldn't listen to him. "Grandma Chiyo, Uchiha-san's going to be here this afternoon. I need to…"
Chiyo merely brushed the redhead off, "I can arrange that. Now all you have to do is have fun with Sakura." She smiled.
"Sure…" Sasori muttered.
"Yes, yes. I'll be there on time." Saying this, Yakushi Kabuto hung up his phone. He turned and scanned the area. He was definitely not in his hotel room.
The sheets were a deep shade of purple and the walls were painted in dark colors. Kabuto concluded that he was definitely not in a hotel room. There was the sound of water running behind one of the doors. A bathroom. Kabuto knew someone was in there.
What the hell happened? He tried to recall the incident the other night. Oh yea, Sasori had told the silver-haired chauffeur to pick him up at the hospital. Kabuto remembered arriving to find no one there. After waiting for two and a half hours, Kabuto tried calling Sasori's cell but no one answered.
Kabuto then began to ponder if he had misheard his boss. He waited another half-an-hour before leaving the place. He had stopped by a bar on his way back and decided to go in for a drink. Kabuto remembered bumping into someone when he was in the bar, but he could not recall who. Soon, Kabuto had gotten drunk and the moment he regained consciousness, it was already morning and he was in some unknown place, naked and sore all over.
A one-night stand. Kabuto mentally slapped himself for letting his guard off like that. You know you are a bad drinker, scolded inner-Kabuto. Gosh, he could not have just jumped at anyone he met at the bar, could he? The thought of having sex with some stranger was enough to make Kabuto want to kill himself. Kabuto confirmed that he must have had sex with a man because he was sore somewhere that wouldn't be sore if you were to sleep with a woman. The silver-haired man swore to never ever drink again.
At that time, the sound of the running water stopped. Kabuto squinted at the bathroom door. Damn, what happened to my glasses? he thought, unable to see clearly due to the fact he was severely shortsighted.
CLICK. The sound of the door unlocking meant that whoever that was inside the bathroom was going to come out soon. Kabuto's clenched his fists tightly, feeling nervous. Well, who could blame him?
The bathroom door opened and a man walked out. Shortsighted or not, Kabuto immediately recognized the man. With skin as pale as that and long dark hair, it was hard not to. The person standing in front of him was none other than the man Kabuto had met at the café.
'Oro…something, was it?' Kabuto tried to recall the name. Yea, yea, he was the one who wanted to strike a deal with you, replied inner-Kabuto. The silver-haired man looked silently at the man who was now approaching him.
"Have you slept well?" Orochimaru questioned the young man as he sat down next to where Kabuto lay. The pale man was wearing nothing but a towel which covered the lower part of his body. Kabuto could not help but notice that the man's body was even paler than his face and hands. Well, it was only natural because clothes more or less protect people from sunlight.
Without saying anything, Kabuto got out of bed, squinting as he tried to search for his clothes. Orochimaru noticed that the man was ignoring him. He smirked. Playing hard-to-get? thought the gold-eyed man. "You were amazing last night," he said. It quickly earned him a glare from the younger man who was in the middle of getting himself dressed. The snake-like man chuckled, "even though it was your first time."
That made Kabuto snap. "What do you want?" his voice came out cold.
"Nothing, really," Orochimaru made a hand gesture, "just a compliment," Golden eyes locked onto dark ones.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Kabuto shifted his gaze away, and faked a cough. "Well, I don't remember anything." When the words slipped out, Kabuto felt like shooting himself in the head. What was that supposed to mean?
Orochimaru laughed. "Seriously, you can't recall anything?"
Now fully dressed, the silver haired man shrugged, "Well, doesn't matter anyway." He then turned to leave. He walked towards the door but then froze in his steps when Orochimaru's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"You've forgotten your glasses."
Turning, he realized that the gold-eyed man had his glasses and was whirling them around with a finger. Quickly, Kabuto approached the man who handed him his glasses. He took it without even noticing that Orochimaru's free hand was already around his waist.
Kabuto's eyes widened as he was pulled towards the bed. He landed with a thud and couldn't help but close his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again he realized that he was already pinned down by the taller man. Yet, Kabuto retained his composure, even when Orochimaru lowered his face towards his ear and whispered something.
"I hope that we can cooperate in near future." his voice was seductive. He had meant the deal earlier – the one that required Kabuto to steal some drafts from Sasori.
It was Kabuto's turn to laugh, "Interesting. You want those drafts that badly that you would even prostitute yourself for them?"
"Watch your mouth, boy." Venom was present in the snake-like man's voice. It slowly melted into something more placid, "I need not do something like that." His mouth brushed against the silver-haired man's ear.
It sent shivers down Kabuto's spine. The younger man tried hard to regain his composure, "Oh-ho? Please do explain."
"Yakushi Kabuto, you really do intrigue me." Orochimaru continued, "I can make you want to work for me…Like I did with the others. They listen to only me, and no one else."
Kabuto chuckled, "With what? Black-magic? Voodoo?" A mocking question. "Seriously what makes you think I am like the others?"
Orochimaru had finished toying with the younger man's ear and was now locking his eyes with Kabuto's. "Oh no, you are not like the others." He said, "But I can still make you work for me. No one can refuse me."
"I would really like to see you try." Kabuto smirked as his hands made their way to the elder one's chest, shoving him away. Orochimaru let himself fall into a sitting position as the younger man got up. Kabuto then quickly slid on his glasses, walked towards the door, and opened it.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru's voice stopped the younger man in his tracks.
"Yes?"
"Talk to my butler, he'll show you where your car is."
"I see, thank you." Saying this, Kabuto was about to step out of the room and close the door behind him but Orochimaru's voice delayed him.
"And oh," the gold-eyed man continued, "I'm looking forward to seeing you in future."
Taking a huge bouquet or flowers, Deidara walked into the ward where his friend, Hidan, was staying. It was really a miracle that the Jashinist was already wide awake and arguing with a certain masked-man.
"I ain't fucking paying!" yelled Hidan.
The masked-man known as Kakuzu, who was also the treasurer of the FanTocHe Company, shot him a glare. "The hell you aren't paying for the damages done! I will sue you!"
"I would love to see you fucking try!" Hidan was fuming right now. There was no way in hell he was paying, it wasn't even his fault! "You were the one driving without your fucking headlights!"
"And you were the one driving in the wrong direction!" The treasurer argued back.
The two clearly did not notice that Deidara was already in the room. The blond had to fake a cough to gain their attention. Hidan turned towards the magician. "Hey, Hidan. Still as energetic as ever, un."
"What the fuck are you doing here, blondie?" Hidan glared. "I thought I fucking told you I didn't want to see you ever again!"
Deidara rolled his eyes, "Well, why is my fucking cell phone number still in your cell?" He mimicked the silver-haired man's way of talking. "The hospital called me yesterday, said you were injured badly."
Hidan looked away. He did not know why he didn't delete Deidara's number from his cell. Oh well, he is…well, WAS your only fucking friend. It was totally true. Hidan had not known anyone besides Deidara, which explained why the hospital could only find Deidara's number in Hidan's cell.
"Come on, Hidan, un." Deidara walked towards the man. "Forgive me, please, un." He smiled his Cheshire cat smile and tilted his head slightly to the side.
"How could I possibly fucking forgive you?!" Hidan's voice was sharp as he said that, pointing a finger at the blond magician he continued, "You fucking rejected me!"
Deidara rolled his eyes. "Oh, I thought I told you clearly that you are not the one, un?"
"Why can't I fucking be the one?!" Hidan questioned.
It was no point arguing with the stubborn Jashinist. Deidara quickly let the topic drop, "Look, Hidan, un. Let's not talk about this now." He placed the flowers carefully in a vase.
Hidan's ruby red eyes were on the blond, "Fuck you, blondie!"
"Does that mean you have forgiven me, un?" Hidan did not reply as he turned away. Deidara continued, his grin still plastered on his face, "I guess that's a 'yes', un."
Feeling totally ignored, Kakuzu faked a cough to regain attention. He then said to Hidan, "I'll be collecting my payment in three days time." He nodded slightly and turned to leave.
"No way in fucking hell am I paying!" Hidan glared.
"Then I'll see you in court." The treasurer turned and glared back. He made a bit of calculation inside his mind. He was obviously lying about bringing the silver-haired man to court because being Kakuzu, he would not want to waste unnecessary money on the lawyer fees. He said that merely to scare the Jashinist so that he would pay him.
"See you in fucking court!"
Okay, that did not work. Kakuzu felt like exploding because none of his schemes seemed to work on that silver-haired idiot. Knowing that it was pointless to argue, the FanTocHe treasurer left, leaving the two friends alone.
"So, how's your fucking life lately?" questioned the Jashinist. He had an evil smile on his face, "Face any fucking difficulties? Broke your fucking leg?"
Deidara glared at him. Of course, the Jashinist wouldn't go easy on him, he must have prayed to Jashin every single day for the blond magician to be punished. Well, it was so typical of Hidan.
"As a matter of fact, I'm fine, un," replied the blond magician. He looked at his watch, "Geez, look at the time un. Gotta go home and change before I head off to the temple un."
"Wh-what?" Hidan sounded alarm, "Where the fuck were you last night?"
"I've been here all night, un," Deidara quickly lied. He didn't want to upset the Jashinist more by letting him know he was with someone else. Hidan seemed suspicious so Deidara quickly added, "I've been sleeping on the bench outside your ward, un!"
Hidan's suspicions immediately disappeared and he beamed, "Really?"
"Yes," Deidara felt bad for lying but what could he do? "I was worried sick about you, un." He definitely could not let him know about Sasori yet; he didn't want to hurt him again.
Hidan made a hand-gesture, "I think you should fucking go back now." He didn't look at the blond magician. "Don't want you to be fucking late to that heathen temple."
"Guess I'll see you tonight, un." Deidara then turned to leave.
"Hey!" Hidan quickly looked up, "Wanna fucking have dinner with me tomorrow night?" He gulped, "They fucking said that I could be discharged soon."
Deidara turned and smiled apologetically, "Hidan, I'm sorry, un…"
Hidan made a hand-gesture, "I fucking promise, no weird thoughts!" He added, "We are fucking friends, right?" He shifted his gaze.
Deidara chuckled and gave a nod, "I would be glad to have dinner with you, un."
TBC…
A/n: Reviews make me update faster. So, um, R&R please? Lalala~ *will only update when reviews reach a certain target* *Gets killed for being evil XD*