A/N: Ohhh, I had so much fun with this chapter. Enjoy!

Artist's Alley

Chapter 12

Sasori must have knocked me out again somehow, because the next thing I knew I was waking up, my head fuzzy once again, and this time with completely no clue about where I was. Wherever I was it was cold and dark, and I while I was no longer paralyzed (thankfully), I was now tied to a chair instead. It was a slight improvement over paralysis, but not much of one since I still couldn't move and the ropes were tied so tight that they were digging rather painfully into my skin. Then my stomach grumbled, informing me that it was hungry and should be fed soon if I didn't want to suffer dire consequences. I wondered how much time had passed since I was first abducted.

"Hello!" I called. My voice echoed slightly. I waited a few moments. No response. "Is anyone there?" I called again. Still no response. I frowned. "You know, if you're gonna hold me hostage, you could at least feed me!" And again, no response. Groaning, I gave up. Really, were all Akatsuki members jerks?

My stomach growled again. "Sorry, you're just gonna have to wait," I told it. I sighed and tried to make myself comfortable. Emphasis on the tried.

While I was failing at being comfortable, I started to reflect on what had happened. Deidara had agreed to work for the Akatsuki in order to save me. At least, it seemed that way. Could it be that he really did care about me? In spite of my situation, this small ray of hope was enough to make me feel giddy. Even if Deidara didn't love me, he cared enough about me that he wasn't going to let me die, even if it meant doing something he obviously didn't want to. For my sake, he had agreed to work for the gang he had left two years ago.

I was happy, but at the same time a little bit scared. It sounded like this mission was dangerous. What if Deidara failed? He might get caught by the police, or worse...he could die. My stomach clenched at the thought. That couldn't happen. It just couldn't.

And what if he did succeed? Would that really be the end of it? I didn't know much about gangs, but I wasn't really sure if they would just let him get away with doing one thing for them and then letting him be. What if they kept forcing him to do things? Would I be a prisoner forever? What if he decided I wasn't worth the trouble and just let me die? What if he decided he liked working for the Akatsuki and joins them of his own free will?

My head was starting to spin with all of the 'what-ifs' when I heard a door open and saw a bright light shining into the room as someone entered. I squinted against the sudden brightness, trying to see who it was. I heard footsteps and saw the person's outline come towards me.

"Hi, Kaya."

Wait a minute...that voice... "Kei-kun?" I blurted. I could see his face now. It was definitely Keito.

"I'm going to untie you, so don't try to run away okay?" He knelt down and with a knife cut the ropes.

I was so in shock that I barely even noticed. "Keito, why are you here?"

"That Sasori bastard. He wasn't supposed to tie you up," Keito muttered angrily, completely ignoring my question. "I take it he hasn't fed you either. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but you didn't answer my question," I said.

"Stay there, I'll bring you something. I'll get a blanket too. What was Sasori thinking?" He turned around and left me, still neglecting to answer my question.

"Hey, wait!" I called after him, but he just walked away. Men! I swear, they never listen! Well, at least he was bringing me food.

I rubbed my arms where the ropes had cut into them while I waited for Keito to come back. I wasn't about to go wandering off on my own. Hopefully I could force some explanations out of him when he came back. Man did he have a lot of explaining to do. To pass the time, I started to peer around the room. What I saw was more than a little disturbing. The room was filled with bodies. They were just lying around, some laying on the floor, others leaned against the wall. My eyes went wide and I felt the blood drain out of my face. Forget not wandering around on my own. I was getting the hell out of here!

I stood up so fast that I knocked the chair over and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter, but I didn't care. I ran to the open door and almost straight into Keito. He must have seen the panic on my face because he looked seriously concerned. "Kaya? What's wrong?" he asked.

I pointed behind me. "There's there's. In there. There's."

"What? Kaya, what is it?"

"Bodies!"

I saw realization dawn on his face. "Kaya, calm down. Those aren't bodies, they're just puppets."

I gaped at him. Puppets? I turned around to see, and noticed that all of the 'bodies' had exaggerated joints like marionettes. As he had said, they were puppets. "Oh," I said, feeling pretty stupid. I started to wonder if I had a tendency to overreact too much.

"I brought you food. It's not much, but sit down so you can eat it," Keito told me.

Okay, even though I knew they were just puppets, I still felt a little disturbed having to go back in there. "Can I eat somewhere else?" I asked.

"Sorry, but you'll have to stay in here. Sasori won't like it if you're wandering around his house."

I frowned. Why should I care what Sasori liked or didn't like? On the other hand, pissing him off might be a bad idea, so I decided to accept my fate and stay in the puppet room. At least for now. Which reminded me of something. "Keito, what are you doing here?" I asked again. "And don't ignore me this time."

Keito waited until I had picked up the chair and sat down, then handed me the bowl of soup he was carrying. I noticed for the first time that it smelled really good, and my stomach growled once again. I took it from him and hastily scooped a spoonful into my mouth. It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted, although that was probably just because I was so hungry. I ate another spoonful and gave Keito an expectant look, just in case he thought I had forgotten about the question.

He sighed. "Kaya, it's a really long story."

"Well, it's a good thing I probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon," I pointed out. He wasn't about to get out of this.

Another sigh, followed by a pause. Then he started to talk. "So, he actually agreed to help you?"

"What?" I said, a little confused.

"That good for nothing bastard you were living with."

Keito's voice was filled with hatred. I had never heard him speak with that tone before. "You mean Deidara-sensei?" I asked. How did he even know about that anyway?

He stared into the darkness behind me. His face had grown strangely cold and distant. "I'm surprised. When that Sasori suggested using you as bait, I didn't think it would work." He looked at me. "I'm glad I was wrong though. The sooner I can execute my plan, the better."

I could feel my head starting to spin. What exactly did he mean? The way Keito was talking it almost sounded like he was the one who had planned all of this. "Keito, what are you saying?" My voice was weak. There was no way Keito could possibly be working with the Akatsuki...right?

"I hated my parents you know, especially my father," Keito went on, still not quite answering my question, although the more he said, the more the pieces started to come together in my mind. "Most kids have dads who work normal jobs, like police officers, owning restaurants, or running a company. Things that a kid could be proud of. But mine? He wasn't any of those. He fought against the police, and instead of running a restaurant or a company, he was the leader of something far beyond that." He paused, as if letting his words sink into me.

"No way," I said. It was true that I had never met Keito's parents. And if he was saying what I thought he was saying, it would make sense why I hadn't. "Your father can't be..."

"That's right," Keito said. "My father is the leader of the Akatsuki."

Even though I had already figured it out, it was still a shock. I couldn't even think of anything to say. All I could do was just stare at him. After a moment, he continued talking.

"Even though I hated what my father did," he said, "even though I swore I would never follow in his footsteps, something changed a month ago. That bastard took something away from me." He moved closer to me. "I thought I could change your mind by telling you what he was, by showing you just what kind of sick bastard he really was. But even after that, even after I told you about him, and killed that stupid slut so you would see him for the cold-blooded murderer he was, even then you still pined over him."

I stared at him. 'Killed that stupid slut?' Did he mean...Akane? Keito had killed her? "Keito, you killed someone?"

"I had to. I know how you are. I knew that even after you found out what he used to be, you still wouldn't leave him. So I set up a back up plan, just in case telling you about his past failed. And just as I thought, once you realized that he was the kind of person who could kill a woman without even thinking twice about it, you couldn't stay with him any longer." I saw his hand clench into a fist so tight that blood dripped down his palm where his nails had dug into the skin. "But you still didn't forget about him. Dammit."

This was impossible. Was this really the Keito I knew? The Keito who had been one of my best friends since junior high? And what was worse, was he was the one who had killed Akane, and he was right. I had believed Deidara was the one who did it, and I left him because of it. I couldn't believe it now. I was such an idiot. The real person I should be fearing wasn't Deidara. "Keito, he didn't kill her," I said.

Keito's eyes narrowed. "What does it matter?" he shot back. "He could have. He's killed enough people in the past. People like that, they don't ever change. No matter what."

I shook my head. How could Keito's thinking have become so twisted? "Keito, you're wrong," I said. Deidara had changed, I was sure of it. He had quit the Akatsuki for a reason. "I don't believe Deidara is that kind of person."

"Why are you defending him?" Keito practically shouted. "Why are you so blind? Can't you see what he is?"

I set down the bowl of soup which I had abandoned eating long ago and stood up. "I do see what he is," I said, staring him in the eye. "And I see what you are too. Deidara isn't the one who's a cold-blooded killer. You are."

Keito gave a short laugh. "You really are an idiot," he said. "It doesn't matter though. That fool is about to walk straight into a trap. Once he's gone, you'll have no choice but to forget about him."

My body felt cold. "Keito, what do you mean?"

He smirked at me. "Tonight it will finally happen. Tonight Deidara is going to die."

A/N:

Keito: Don't worry, they're not bodies, just puppets.

Me: Uh huh, sure...