A/N: Ok, hopefully this is a little longer than the last chapter. I can't believe I've updated three days in a row now. I have a test on Monday and two midterms on Wednesday and I should be studying. So naturally I'm writing like a maniac instead lol.

Artist's Alley

Chapter 11

I don't know if you've ever been paralyzed before, but let me tell you something: it is not a pleasant experience.

When I woke up, my mind was in a complete haze. I couldn't remember what had happened to me and it took a moment for me to realize where I was. It was familiar to me. I was seated on a couch in front of a widescreen TV hanging from the ceiling. Since I couldn't move my head, I had a limited view of the unique furniture and strange sculptures which decorated the room, but it was definitely a place I knew. I was in Deidara's living room.

The next problem was figuring out how exactly I'd gotten here and why the hell I couldn't move! Try as I might though, I couldn't remember what had happened to me. The last thing I could remember was coming home after to school to find my parents gone and a note telling me to fix dinner. Beyond that, my memory was completely fuzzy. I spent a few minutes minutes trying to make myself remember, but eventually I gave up because I was starting to get a headache. Feeling frustrated, I tried to decide why Deidara had brought me here, and what exactly was he thinking by paralyzing me? If this was something permanent I was definitely going to kill him. Except if it was permanent, I'd have a hard time doing that. Stupid Deidara. This guy had a really sick sense of humor if he thought this was funny.

Since there was quite literally nothing I could do (except breathe, fortunately), I took to straining my eyes to see as much of my surroundings as possible, in case there were any clues to why I was here and what Deidara was planning on doing with me. From what I could see, there was nothing really out of the ordinary. Well, that's not entirely true since pretty much everything in Deidara's house is out of the ordinary, but nothing out of the ordinary for him. I don't think I ever will understand his tastes. Since I haven't really explained exactly what his decorations look like, let me just say that his weird obsession with explosions is definitely obvious. Pretty much all of his paintings and sculptures are of some sort of explosion. Weirdo. But that aside, I couldn't see anything that would give me any kind of clue.

And then I noticed something on the table in front of me. It was a sword. It was pretty ordinary looking, but it was definitely something I had never seen in Deidara's house before. So I was in Deidara's house, completely paralyzed, with no memory of how I had gotten here, and a sword sitting on the table in front of me. That sent a chill through my body. Just what was he planning on doing with that? In spite of everything, I still wanted to think that Deidara wouldn't hurt me. After all, he had let me get away with stealing from him and running away in the middle of the night, but it had only been a little bit. What if he was holding a grudge though? Maybe he was one of those who took every little slight as an insult, and now he was executing some horrible plan for revenge. I couldn't be sure if that was it, and like I said, there wasn't really anything I could do. All I could do was wait.

The house was very still and quiet. It seemed like Deidara probably wasn't at home. I stared at my reflection in the black TV screen, wishing there was a clock in my line of vision. I'm not sure how long I sat there, unable to move, but it felt like forever. I could also vaguely see the reflection of the front door in the TV screen, so I kept my eyes on that, waiting for Deidara to walk through. Even though I was scared about what would happen when he did come home, a part of me was excited that I would be able to see him again. I gave myself a mental smack for that. I'm such an idiot. Then finally, I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door started to open.

My heart was pounding as I watched the reflection of the door opening and Deidara walked in. He shut the door and started to walk toward the living room. Then he stopped. The silence was torture and my own breathing and the sound of my heart pounding seemed unnaturally loud. Then finally he spoke. "Kaya?"

I couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded surprised. Wait...did that mean he wasn't the one who had brought me here? It didn't make sense. Who other than Deidara would bring me here? And then something horrible happened. My body started to move on its own.

I stood up from the couch, or rather my body stood up. It was bizarre. Even though I couldn't speak, in my head I was freaking out. My body leaned down and my fingers closed around the sword on the table. Why was I picking that up? I turned around and started to slowly walk towards Deidara, the sword hanging by my side. I could see his face now, and he looked as surprised as I was, although probably for different reasons. And the next thing I knew, I was running towards him, lifting the sword up to strike. No! I screamed in my mind, but there was nothing I could do. I held my breath as I brought the sword down, waiting for the inevitable.

Deidara grabbed my wrist, stopping the blade. His eyes were raging as he glared down at me. "What the hell are you doing?"

I wanted to tell him it wasn't me, that my body was moving on its own, but I still couldn't speak. That anger in his eyes terrified me. It was a look of pure, cold hatred. I knew without a doubt that he was going to kill me now. Then to my surprise, his gaze moved to look over my shoulder.

"Show yourself, Sasori no danna!" he growled.

Sasori? That was when it all came back to me. Sasori had been in my house. He had stabbed in the neck with some sort of needle, and after that I had lost consciousness. So that meant he was the one who had brought me here? There must have been some sort of poison on that needle that had paralyzed me. So was there some sort of poison that could allow him to control my paralyzed body? I didn't understand how it was possible, but it seemed to be the only explanation.

"I see you are not entirely a fool," a new voice said, one that must belong to Sasori.

Deidara released my arm, which fell limp to my side, and stepped back. The frightening look in his eyes faded. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice, un?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

"I have a mission for you, from our leader," Sasori said.

Deidara's eyes narrowed. "I no longer take orders from your leader, un."

"I thought you would say that. That is why I brought insurance."

Deidara glanced at me. "The girl, un? It doesn't matter. I am done with the Akatsuki."

Suddenly my arm started to move again. This time it lifted the blade of the sword and pressed it against my own throat. Sasori spoke again. "If you do not accept, the girl will die."

Deidara looked into my eyes. I stared at him. I was terrified. He wouldn't let me die, would he? But his eyes were cold and hard, and he turned away. "Do what you like, un." The words stung. He was just going to let me die right in front of him and not even try to stop it?

"How cold," Sasori said. "This little girl spent so many nights crying over you, and you do not even care a bit for her?"

Deidara glanced at me, and I saw his eyes soften a bit. He grunted. "What will you gain by killing her? Someone so weak won't fit into your collection, un."

"It is true, her death would be quite pointless," Sasori agreed.

Deidara narrowed his eyes again. "Well, what does your great leader want, un?" he asked. To my relief, my arm dropped to my side again, leaving my throat thankfully completely intact. I still couldn't move my body though, and the blade remained gripped in my hand.

"There is a certain man who should have died around two years ago," Sasori said. That didn't explain much to me, but apparently it made sense to Deidara.

"Him, un?" he said. "What a pain, why can't he just send someone else?"

"Since a certain traitor foiled our plans, it seems that he has remained with increased security, making it rather difficult for us to get through."

The look on Deidara's face suggested to me that he didn't quite believe this. "So, he needs my art, un."

"Yes, well, I wouldn't call it art, but your abilities are requested."

Deidara glared at him. "How many times do I have to tell you, un? The beauty of true art lies in a fleeting moment." I stared at Deidara. Was this really the time to be arguing about something like that?

Thankfully, Sasori seemed to share my sentiments, because he completely ignored the comment. "If you successfully complete this mission, your betrayal will be forgiven and you will be allowed to leave the Akatsuki without consequence."

"That is quite a deal, un. What's the catch?"

"There is no catch. Do you accept? Or?" My arm raised the sword to my throat again. I wondered how many times I would have to go through this.

"Fine, I'll do it. Let her go then, un," Deidara said. My arm lowered again, and this I dropped the sword onto the floor. That was a relief. Deidara started to step toward me, but another arm wrapped around me instead, pulling me away from him.

"I will keep her with me for now," Sasori said. "So that you won't change your mind." Deidara grunted again and stepped back. "You will receive details of the mission this evening. When you return successful, I will return the girl to you."

A/N: Just a heads up, I'm not really planning on bringing the Akatsuki in. Sasori's probably the only one who will appear. I hope no one's too disappointed!