DEIDARA'S POV
My breath hitches in my throat as Kisame swings the kunai. I don't care; I did what I could for her. I tell myself this anyway. Something about this whole situation troubles me, I must admit, if only to myself. But I'm not the only one. Maybe I imagined it; no one else seemed to notice, but I saw something in Kisame's expression, too, something disturbing his usual blithe mood. He has never had an issue with striking down a target before, neither have I. We do what we are told to do by Leader-sama, that's all.
I avert my eyes from the scene. I do not have to see what happens next. She did not even attempt to flee. Who can blame her? There is no escape to be had now. Absent-mindedly I reach into my cloak for the small photograph encased in hard plastic I had pocketed from her belongings earlier. A woman who looks almost identical to Aya holds a small child, a girl, with cherry blossoms in the background. It looks like her, but there are differences. The woman isn't Aya. On the back is written "Me and My Little Angel." Aya must be the little girl, and the woman, her mother. She must love her mother to carry this with her meager belongings, so why did she become rogue? People who love and are loved don't murder comrades and flee their home. Those things are done by people with nothing to lose.
Once again, my attention is drawn again when I hear the harsh slash of steel against steel. I prevent my gaze from moving in the direction of Kisame and Aya and bite my tongue. This is…wrong. The thought feels foreign in my mind. Part of me knows I should hold no sympathies for this girl. I had seen a phantom of my old self in this girl before, but we are nothing alike. She is worlds away from what I am now. My mind takes hold of the situation. But then…it is wrong. What? Steel against steel?
I yank my head in the direction of the anticipated bloodshed, but I do not find that as my intense gaze locks on to the spectacle. Aya has not moved an inch, but Kisame's arm is now across from where it had been, making his previous swing apparent. But there is no blood. Her eyes widen in shock.
A clinking noise echoes in the cavern, and a shinobi headband settles violently to the floor, a slash engraved across the middle of the steel center. Aya's stumbles backward slightly in delayed action and rakes a few gasps into her lungs. What just happened? Kisame turns around and makes eye contact with Leader-sama, a crazy grin on his face. Leader-sama nods and Kisame turns back to Aya.
"Congratulations, Matsura Aya. Officially from this day you serve me and by extension, the Akatsuki," Kisame says.
She lets out a almost inaudible, breathy, "What?"
"Let's just say your typical spy would usually make some effort to notify her village of any intel that may have been gathered or at the very least that the mission has failed, even in situations of certain death. They train you to do so before dispatching you on that type of mission. You were watched carefully; you had no such intentions. It is your lucky day."
AYA'S POV
Lucky day? That was a test? How fucked up can you get? Dying would have been easier on my nerves. I raise my palms and stare down at them. I am alive. This is real, and what's more, my father has taken me on as his subordinate. Perhaps fortune really is working in my favor today. I stare back into my father's critical gaze. If only it will continue to do so…
"Pick it up," he says, motioning to my headband. I walk over cautiously and scrape my headband from the floor, half-expecting him to attack me as if this is some sort of sick game they were all playing. Nothing happens. Clutching the freshly scarred item in my left hand, I hold it to my chest and glance back at my father.
"I hope you know what this entails, Aya. Furthermore, I have never once taken on a subordinate; do not make me regret my choice, or I will make you regret ever laying eyes upon the Akatsuki. You will be called upon when needed." He motions towards a series of passageways on one side of the cavern. "At the end of the leftmost hall, you will find empty rooms you may utilize. But don't get too comfortable. This is but one of many bases Akatsuki uses. We leave in a week's time. Don't bother with making me show you the way. My instructions are fairly cut and dried."
I bow as he retreats from me and the rest of the members begin to disperse from view. Deidara lingers a little longer than the others and our eyes meet briefly. Arigato, I think. Focusing my mind and emotions, I head for the direction of the empty rooms, longing for the opportunity to simply lie down and forget everything that has transpired through unconsciousness.
The hall is dim but light enough for me to drag my feet quickly to its end. I pass a number of plain, wooden doors before coming to the farthest one on the right. With caution, I try its handle, and it opens with a soft squeak. Poking my head slowly into the dark room, I peer around and try to detect any presence. There is none. Only bare room with a simple bed and a few dressers.
With a sigh of relief, I walk to the wall away from the bed and press my back against it, slouching to the floor in exhaustion. I imagine by now darkness has fallen outside, as well. What now?…I wait. I soak in those moments of peace. There may not be much time for it once I start upholding my obligations.
A light illuminates the room all of a sudden, and pivot my head towards the door. The blond bomber stands in the doorway with his hand on a light switch off to the side. In his other hand there is a cloth package. "You just gonna lie here in the dark, un?"
I do not reply, but he dismisses it and approaches me and places the item he is holding on the floor next to me. He smiles slightly.
"A few things you may need, un. Change of clothes. Something to clean yourself up. These rooms have their own small personal wash rooms." He points to another door apart from the entrance that I had not noticed for some reason. "You'll need it; you look awful, un."
I grunt amusedly, well aware of the sweat dirt, and blood splatters coating my clothing and body. No thanks to him. He laughs.
"Gomen, Aya-san, I did not mean it that way." I shrug and place the package in my lap. He stares at me in silence before I become uncomfortable under his observation.
"Arigato," I say finally, smoothing the cloth around the package out. He hunkers down on the floor in front of me to level our eye contact.
"I'm glad you made it in," he says, seeming sincere, though I do not know why. Were not all Akatsuki members cold-hearted villains? Would I have come to find them if I truly thought that? Well, some of them don't seem far from it on first impression.
"I am, as well, ya know," I say absently. I begin to unwrap the contents of the package. Shampoo. Toothpaste and toothbrush. Bar soap. Hairbrush and ties. Pants. Shirt. Female undergarments. Sleeping gown. I cast him a questioning stare.
"From Konan," he snickers, "Don't get the wrong impression that I keep things like that, un."
"Konan?" I repeat.
"Yeah, she is part of the Akatsuki. She is the only female Akatsuki member, un." I nod in understanding, though I do not recall a female in the room earlier. Hopefully, she is friendlier than Silver Hair.
"Tell her arigato for me, would you, Deidara-san?" I fiddle with the bottle of shampoo. Now that I think of it, a hot shower would be nice on my aching body before I drift off to sleep. But…I sigh with utter fatigue.
"You know, if you're too tired to clean yourself up…I can help you, un." My mind takes its time through my tiredness to grasp what he has said and misses the tinge of sarcasm that laces his tone. When it does register, it hits me like a sack of stones.
"Uh, h-hey!" He waves his hands with a devilish smirk.
"I'm only kidding with you, of course, un, " he laughs, "Unless, that is, you actually want me to, un."
"No," I say quickly, shaking my head violently. Is he out of his mind? I'm not exactly in a kidding mood from all that has happened to me in so short a period of time. He feigns disappointment that seems a bit too genuine.
"Oh well," he says, finally standing again and heading for the exit. As he reaches the door, I catch one last glimpse of his face and the impish grin plastered to it. "I'll see ya later, Aya-san, un."