A/n: I have chocolate cake! Mmm...cake. Be jealous! Do it!! -ahem- Anyways. Plot significance ahead! Shh...don't tell anyone I told you... -shifty eyes-
P.S. Any Yu Yu Hakusho fans, check out my new fic, Entertwinement (that word is way too long for its own good). I only have one chapter up, but I'm currently working on the fourth one, so I'll be updating fairly often. Go read it!! I'm not demanding, I swear.
Artist's Alley
by: roses.red
Chapter 8
Deidara held me tightly against him. His hands slid up my shirt as his lips met mine.
I awoke and sat up, breathing hard. Another one of those dreams? This was starting to become a bad habit, and this dream was definitely worse than the last one. I groaned and flopped back onto the pillow. What was happening to me? Of all the things to dream about.
Okay, may as well just get over it. I climbed out of bed and took a quick shower, then dressed and fixed myself a bowl of cereal. I glanced at the calendar as I ate it. Today was Monday, the first day of the last week of school before summer break started. Four whole weeks to spend with Deidara! I frowned. Of course, that could either be good or bad, depending on how much he felt like tormenting me. Knowing Deidara, he would probably take the opportunity to do so as much as possible. Darn him.
I was sitting on the couch, reading a book, when the doorbell rang. I hopped up and went to answer it, hoping it wasn't Akane. I already had a black eye and a bruised cut on my back thanks to her. I didn't need any more injuries.
Opening the door, I found Keito standing there. I blinked once or twice, trying to decide if he was real or not. "Kei-kun!" I cried, throwing my arms around him. "What are you doing here?"
"So, you really are living here," he said solemnly.
I released him and looked up at him. "What?"
He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I came to bring you home," he said.
Bring me home? What did that mean? I laughed. "Don't be silly, Kei-kun. I live here now. Oh, do you want to come in?" I started to go inside, expecting him to follow.
He grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Kaya, I'm serious," he said. "This guy is, well, he's dangerous, okay?"
Dangerous? Deidara? Okay, he could be a jerk sometimes, and he did have a bit of a temper, but dangerous? I crossed my arms, glaring at Keito. "Stop trying to act like my big brother. Deidara-sensei is hardly dangerous."
"I'm not lying!" He paused for a moment, trying to decide if he really wanted to say this. "Have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?" he asked at last.
"Aka-who?"
"Akatsuki. They're a gang, probably the most dangerous in Japan. They've killed many people just for their own personal gain, and Iwato Deidara used to be one of their members."
I gaped at him. Deidara, part of a gang? Deidara, killing people? It couldn't be true, right? I shook my head. "What are you saying, Kei-kun? If you're trying to scare me into coming back with you, this is going too far. Maybe you should just go."
"Kaya, please!" Keito said. He stepped forward suddenly, and gently touched my bruised eye. "Did he do this to you?" he asked softly. I stared at him. "Did he?!"
My eyes narrowed, and I slapped his hand away. "Of course not! Deidara would never hurt me!" I said angrily. "Keito, I appreciate your concern, but you don't know anything about him. Please just go away!"
Keito looked stunned by my words, but after a moment, he nodded. "I'll leave," he said. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
I shut the door on his retreating back and leaned against it, staring at the ceiling. Keito wouldn't lie, not about something like this. Deep down, I knew that, but I didn't want to accept it. Finally, I decided to find out for sure whether he was lying or not.
I went into Deidara's room and sat down at his computer. It was still locked, but after clicking the hint button, I was pretty sure I could figure it out. It took a few tries to get the wording right, but I finally got it: Artisabang. I rolled my eyes while it logged on. I didn't think I would ever understand that logic.
Once the screen loaded, I clicked on the internet and did a search for 'Akatsuki'. The first few results were articles on the latest actions of the Akatsuki, but then I found what I was looking for—a site with information on Akatsuki and its members. I scrolled down the list of names; all of them had titles.
Uchiha Itachi—Mangekyou Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame—Samehada Kisame, Akai Sasori—Sasori of the Red Sand. I grimaced at that one. Had I really sat in a bar with a dangerous gang member? I scrolled past the others, deciding I didn't care about all of those guys. Then I saw it—Iwato Deidara—the Explosion Master. I felt my heart stop, and I had to force myself to continue reading.
'Former member of the Akatsuki, Deidara quit two years ago, turning himself into the police. However, for unknown reasons, all charges against him were dropped, although evidence suggests that he was responsible for the deaths of—'
I stopped there and closed the window, logging back off. I didn't want to know who or how many people Deidara had killed. I wasn't sure I could handle it.
I walked slowly into my room and sat down on the bed to think. Deidara was a killer, a murderer, even if, for whatever reason, he had gotten away with it. I knew I should go home right then. I should stay as far away from him as possible. But, for some reason, the thought of leaving him hurt even more than the knowledge that he had killed people. In spite of that, in spite of everything, I still…well, I loved him. I wasn't sure when it had happened, or why, but I really did, so much that it hurt. Was that wrong?
I pulled my knees up to my chest. More than anything, I wanted someone to talk to. I needed someone to tell that what I was feeling was okay, what I should do.
"Kiyo…" I whispered. "I wish you were here right now."
That was it! I grabbed my bag and pulled out what was left of my money, counting it out. There wasn't enough. I frowned. I would have to ask Deidara for money when he got home, and I wasn't sure I wanted to face him. Not yet, at least. I was too frightened. On the other hand, I really had no choice.
I waited impatiently for him to get home, pacing the living room and trying to rehearse the conversation in my head. When I finally heard the key turn in the lock, I froze.
'Calm down, Kaya,' I told myself. I took a deep breath. 'He's still the same Deidara. He is.'
The door opened and Deidara came inside. I backed up a step, my heart pounding, although I wasn't sure why. Deidara, the former gang member. Deidara, the murderer. 'No,' a small voice whispered in the back of my mind. I had to remember. Deidara, the man who had cared for me, even when I was a pathetic, whiny brat. Deidara, who had protected me from the person trying to hurt me. Deidara, who would never do anything to harm me…right?
Deidara's face popped in front of mine. "Boo," he said. I shrieked and jumped back. He snorted. "A bit jumpy, un? You've been staring at me ever since I came inside. I thought we were past that?"
I glared at him. "Oh, sh-shut up. I just wanted to ask if I could, um…" I paused. Now I felt weird about asking him for money out of the blue. I was living with him, but still.
"If you could what? Sleep in my bed, un?" he decided to fill in for me. "I don't mind, but I doubt you'll be getting much sleep." He grinned suggestively at me.
I blushed and resisted the urge to slap him. "No!" I shouted. "I wanted to ask if I could borrow some money for bus fare tomorrow. Sheesh."
"Hmm? Where are you going, un?" he asked. "I can drive you, you know."
"Well, it's—it's kinda far," I mumbled, looking away from him. To be honest, I was taking this trip partially to get away from him for a day. If he went along, it almost defeated the whole purpose.
"What, you think I'm just gonna let you wander around Japan alone, un?" he asked. "Who knows what kind of trouble an idiot like you will get into."
I frowned at him. "I will not! Sheesh, maybe I don't have so much trouble believing that after all."
He raised a brow. "Believing what, un?"
Oops. Me and my big mouth. "N-nothing," I stuttered. "Fine, drive me if you want. I don't really care; it saves me money anyway." I turned on my heel and stomped away to my room. Darn it. He never failed to irritate me, no matter what.
Still, even if things seemed the same, it couldn't change what he had done, and the fact that I now knew about it. I sighed. I wasn't sure if I could keep it up or not. Why had Keito had to tell me? I would have been better off not knowing.