"Don't start with this again, Deidara." Sasori's gruff voice boomed at his partner. They were almost to the base, with the Jinchuuriki wrapped up in Deidara's clay bird.
"I'm telling you Sasori no Danna, Art is fleeting, un!" The blonde raised his arms up to the air, and caught a handful of air. "Art is that moment of pure and utter beauty that brings exhilaration, emotion, and awe all together in one gigantic burst of ecstatic splendor, un." He let go of the air and out of his palms came a swam of little butterflies. Their clay bodies sparkled in the sunset, and they flew around in harmony.
"You're art is nothing." Sasori grunted. The ripped cloth on his mouth blew in the wind. "Art isn't something that happens and goes away. True art is eternal. True beauty is something that will last throughout time as a testament of one's craftsmanship and skill." He glared at Deidara's butterflies as they started to explode into small colorful fireworks.
"So? Wouldn't the memory of a fleetingly beautiful moment last forever, un?" Deidara looked over at Sasori and chuckled. "Like how that Kankuro guy tried to out-do you with your own puppets." The bulky man's glare switched from the fireworks to his partner.
"If you think a moment of enjoyment is the equivalent of true art, then you are no artist." The air around them tensed a bit. They continued onward for a few minutes in silence. The duo's arguments on art always seemed to divide them further apart, rather than allow them to work together. Capturing the Jinchuuriki was one of their greatest feats in their short partnership. However, it didn't really make things more tolerable.
Soon enough, they reached a ledge overlooking a small river. This river encircled a round cave with a torii gate blocked by a giant boulder. They had finally reached the base. "Let's go." Sasori broke their silence and hopped from the ledge onto the surface of the water. Deidara did the same, and the two walked over the water towards the torii. After forming a hand seal, the boulder lifted upward, and the two went into the cavern inside.
A holographic projection inside the cavern turned to look at them. It was slightly see through and fuzzed constantly. It had ringed gray eyes and spiked hair. It spoke in a deep and serious voice.
"You're late. Start preparing."
...
Suigetsu lost his footing on a tree branch as he landed with too much weight. It began to snap, and he grabbed for another branch. However, that one also snapped, and he fell backwards towards the ground below.
"Shit!" he exclaimed. He tried to catch something to stop his fall, but everything was out of reach. The others were already ahead of him. He looked down at the ground below, which was a bed of rocks. This was going to hurt.
Splash!
When he hit the rocks, he burst into water and landed in small puddles around them. The water lifted and gathered in one place next to the rocks. The liquid started to take form, and finally became Suigetsu.
He rubbed his lower back in pain and groaned. "Ahhh…If I wasn't a Hozuki I would be such a failure at life. What a pain." He thought back to his childhood with Mangetsu. They were members of the same clan as the Second Mizukage. However, he couldn't remember knowing any other family except Mangetsu. Nobody from the clan bothered to save them from their eventual fate. The rise of the Third Mizukage and his hatred for bloodline clans eventually caused him to eliminate the Hozuki. Because of this, Suigetsu and Mangetsu had to hide their abilities.
"Suigetsu!" Sasuke's flawless face peeked from behind a tree branch and peered down at the mist teen. "Stop lagging behind. We're almost to the Akatsuki base." Suigetsu began to ponder on their own relationship. Ever since they woke up in bed together, Sasuke hadn't shown any kind of real affection of sexual desire. Instead it was 'Itachi this' or 'Itachi that' or 'Hurry up Suigetsu' or 'You're getting in my way'. They never even mentioned their little intimate moment that rainy night even once. He was a teenager. Already he was missing the closeness they had before. Mostly the physical closeness.
Suigetsu smiled and jumped up to the Uchiha. He stared into the ebony eyes with his own amethyst ones, grinning. There was some silence, followed by Sasuke's raising an eyebrow.
"…"
"…"
"…Suigetsu?"
"Yes Sasuke?"
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Because you're a sexy motherfucker." Wink wink.
Wack. "Oww!" He could feel how big the bump was from Sasuke's blow to his head as said attacker darted onward to the others with a few mutterings of 'usuratonkachi' and 'baka'. Apparently they were still too busy for the teen to start being flirtatious again.
Damnit all. Suigetsu followed his lover for what seemed like hours. It was already the middle of the night. How did they expect to reach the base before morning? Unless that was the plan. In fact, Suigetsu had no idea what the plan was. Chiyo had sent a little windup bird with intel on their progress, and they had continued in pursuit without much of any dialogue.
What were they going to do once they saved Gaara? Was Chiyo really going to keep the promises she made? The old woman may seem nice and a bit senile, but she was also crafty. They had killed Suna's government officials. He himself was surprised the Elder of the village had decided to let them tag along on a mission to save their highest official without penalty. Also, apparently she had gotten permission from Gaara who had cleared their names to her. But Gaara had been fighting Deidara at that time.
He finally caught up to the group, which were being led by Chiyo herself. Suigetsu eyed her suspiciously. His eyes then scanned over the other two sand nin. They were also not that trustworthy. Kagura had tried to kill him ever since they met, which would be understandable if they secretly were going to betray him and Sasuke. Also, Tanaku was too quiet and only really talked to Chiyo, rarely to Sasuke, and the only words he said to Suigetsu were his introduction.
Taking a few more steps along the branches, Suigetsu reached Sasuke. He tugged on the Uchiha's cloak, which made the teen's face frown. "What do you want Suigetsu? And don't say 'you'." The white haired teen blushed a bit, but replied while leading him a bit away from the others.
"I've been thinking Sasuke. Did Chiyo or Tanaku ever tell you why they let us off the hook for invading the Kazekage Mansion?" Sasuke's eyes darted at him. He could tell the mask of stoicism had faded a bit, as Sasuke was thinking about what Suigetsu just said.
"…I don't know. However, that doesn't matter right now. If they do plan on betraying us, it won't work. We're going to engage Akatsuki members, and they'll wear themselves out more by fighting for their Kage rather than us. Plus, if we encounter Itachi, we'll separate ourselves from them. If anything, we'll be the ones doing the betraying."
Suigetsu bit his bottom lip nervously. The confrontation ahead was also another thing that was bothering him. While he could consider himself an able fighter since birth, the others in the group were much more prepared. Sasuke had Chidori and his katana. Kagura had swords and other weapons. Tanaku had puppets. He didn't know what Chiyo had, but being an experienced medical ninja would be more important than him being able to turn into water. If there wasn't any water nearby, he would be pretty useless.
He considered that maybe he would ask to borrow one of Kagura's swords before they started the attack. He would have better luck asking to marry her.
"We've arrived." Chiyo said suddenly. They all stopped at a grass ledge, overlooking a thin stream. The stream surrounded a large mahogany colored cavern. In front of the cavern was a torii gate, blocked by a giant boulder. It was still nighttime. They arrived earlier than expected.
"So this is the place?" Tanaku asked. Chiyo nodded.
"Gaara is just behind that boulder." Suigetsu gulped. Looks like he didn't have that much time to plan how to fight anymore.
This was more of a filler chapter really. Looks like Suigetsu's been missing some of Sasuke's lovin' ;)
Suigetsu: Maybe I am.
Sasuke: ...
Suigetsu: :p
Sasuke: Don't start _
Suigetsu: D:
Me: How sad xD Anyway, next chappy on the way!