Hey everyone. It's finally spring break for me. Finally. xP
I think I'll be able to write faster now. Or I'll try to.
Yes. The opening scene of this chapter makes no sense. I know. But it's needed for later, so I just decided to put it in now. o-o;
Next week…like…the first day.

"Mom, un! Look!" I pointed at a glass bird in a store, a smile on my face. "Can we get it?"

"Do you know what 7846 divided by 4 is?"

"Un…I–"

"Sorry, wrong, we're not getting it."

"Mother!"

She sighed, looking down at me with sympathy in her eyes. "Look, Deidara, it's way too expensive. Even if you had gotten the problem right, we still wouldn't have gotten it. Maybe when you get enough money you can buy it for yourself."

"…Fine." I glanced at the beautiful bird one last time, the colors of starlight shimmering on its crystal feathers like glistening tears.

«––––––

"Again…about last week, after school…" Deidara stammered, "I-I'm sorry…truly."

"Yeah, I get it. Look, it was really nice and all the first three times, but now it's getting plain irksome," Sasori growled, annoyance sinking into his voice. "You obviously were on drugs."

"I don't do drugs, damn you!"

"Well why else would you speak to me that way?"

Deidara winced slightly. He still hadn't come up with a plausible excuse for what he had said, no matter how long he strained his brain to think of something.

"Well, well…what do we have here?"

"A pair of Akatsuki rats?"

Sasori froze, eyes narrowing. "Dammit…"

Them again? Deidara knew how much Sasori hated these two, and judging by the way they acted during the first encounter, Deidara could honestly say he hated them too. He turned around slowly, scoffing out, "I didn't know Orochimaru's slaves walked this way, un."

"They don't." Sasori scowled, now facing the two other boys. "These two are just idiots. They'd be good friends with Hidan."

"We have orders from Orochimaru-sama to eliminate the first two members of Akatsuki that we see."

"You two are the lucky bastards. Feel special?"

"Yes, they should, shouldn't they?"

"Especially since they get to be taken out by us."

"I hardly find that as 'lucky,'" Sasori snorted, placing a hand on his hip.

"Then you're stupid."

"He is stupid, isn't he?"

"You're stupid. Both of you," Deidara countered, anger rising fast.

"Aww, he's standing up for him! Isn't that cute?"

"More like sickly sweet."

"That's what Orochimaru-sama would say, isn't it?"

"No, he'd say something more…praising. After all, he does hold Akasuna in such good regards."

"Oh, yes, how could I have forgotten?"

"Tch. This is taking too long."

"Sasori-san!" Deidara's eyes widened as the redhead shot forward, starting his fight with one of the brothers.

"You don't have time to worry about your boyfriend now, pet," Sakon sneered as he rushed at the newest student.

"Sasori-san isn't my boyfriend!" Deidara snapped, bringing up an arm and blocking a blow aimed for the side of his neck, the limb trembling from the pressure being put on it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sakon grinned, continuing to press his forearm against the other's in an attempt at landing the first hit. "Akasuna wouldn't want to go out with someone like you, now would he?"

"What'd you say?!" Deidara snarled, swiping his arm and getting Sakon's arm off of his.

"Ooh, looks like I hit a nerve!"

"Shut up!" The blond rushed towards the other teen, clenching a fist and sending it towards Sakon's stomach.

Sakon smirked, easily blocking the oncoming attack. "You underestimate me."

Blue eyes widened. Deidara moved his head to the side just in time to dodge the fist headed his way, feeling the wind brush his ear. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the leg headed for his side at the same time, and it nailed him sharply. He grit his teeth as he hit the ground, quickly standing up after. The feeling of something warm pressing against his back alerted him of Sasori's presence.

"What's wrong, brat? Get pushed back already?"

"Like you're one to talk?"

Sasori chuckled. "Try not to play too long, got it? School's going to start soon and I don't want to get Tsunade's lip because we're late."

"That goes for you too, un."

"Oi, Akatsuki!"

Silver and blue eyes narrowed at the simultaneous voices of their enemies.

"Come on, what's taking you so long?"

"Is this the limit of the feared Akasuna?"

Deidara felt Sasori stiffen behind him and he ran forward. "You two need to learn when to shut up!"

"Aw, you two aren't going to fight anymore?" Sakon almost pouted before looking over to his brother. "Hey, Ukon! Seems like they're not going to fight each other anymore!"

"Really? I have to say I'm a bit disappointed." Ukon smirked as he blocked a punch from the angered Sasori. "If they had fought each other, it would've made it so much more easier on us." He caught sight of Sasori's lips curling upwards, and frowned. "What's so funny, Akasuna?"

"You know what would be even easier?" It was Sasori's turn to smirk, his voice low.

"What?"

Sasori smiled, closed his eyes and cocked his head. "This." And he kicked Ukon right between the legs.

"Ukon!" The younger brother pried his gaze off of Deidara to stare with wide eyes as his twin bent over in pain.

"See? Now that's what happens when you provoke me." The tone of Sasori's voice was icy, enough to make someone's blood freeze. "Now…are you going to call off your ridiculous attack? Or shall I have some more fun with you? Ukon-san…"

"I…I don't have any say…to what we do…!" Ukon hissed out, struggling to stand up straight. "It…It's all Sakon's decision…!"

"Oh? But you're the older brother, are you not?"

"Y-Yes…"

"You're pathetic." Sasori scoffed before brightening his face up, turning to a stunned Deidara. "Deidara!"

Deidara stiffened, hoping there wasn't a flush staining his face…damn Sasori and the way he said 'Deidara…' "Un?"

"Get them to call off their attack. I don't feel like fighting with opponents so weak right now."

Deidara nodded, before turning to the gray-haired boy, raising his leg and knocking him down as he tried to run to the other. When Sakon tried to rise, Deidara prevented him from doing so, stepping on his back and holding him there. "Call off your attack."

"Oi."

He turned to the redhead, blinking.

Sasori tilted his head, frowning. "Don't steal my technique."

Deidara frowned back. "It was the easiest way to get him to stop. Lay off."

"You seriously stole that from me when I beat you in sparring."

"Like you stole the way I guard?"

"I did not. Itachi guards like that as well."

"So you stole it from Itachi-san?"

"Tch. Are you actually accusing me of stealing?"

"Because you do?" Deidara retorted as he followed Sasori towards the school.

"You stole Pain's dodge."

"Everyone dodges like that. You do, un."

"Then you stole from everyone."

"You want me to dodge differently than everyone in the world?"

"Perhaps."

"Stupid."

"Brat."

"Conceited ass!"

"Annoying shit!"

Ukon and Sakon rose and glared at the other two's backs.

"So, how did it go? And, you two lost as planned?"

They turned.

Ukon kept his glare, snarling out, "Oh, it went fine, if excessive abuse counts in that category!"

"Ukon!" Sakon looked at his brother in shock.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Then your report?"

"They're exactly the same," the twins scoffed in unison.

"Their fighting style…"

"To the way they fight each other verbally."

"It's annoying."

"Very annoying."

"Is that right…" Orochimaru paused. "So he would only be able to hold off Sasori-kun…I was hoping that he'd get better after a while to be able to surpass Sasori-kun, but…" He sighed. "Which one of you fought Deidara-kun?"

"Sakon."

"Did you find his weakness?"

"…Akasuna."

"Hmm?"

"When I mentioned that Akasuna wouldn't ever want to go out with him, he snapped…"

"Now isn't that interesting…did Sasori-kun hear or see that?"

"No, he was too busy kicking me in the–"

"But we can't use Akasuna…"

"Then we'll use his other friends."

"Again? But that didn't…"

"I'll have a chat with him. Directly."

––––––»

"Well why else would you speak to me that way?!"

Sasori's thoughts revolved around that one statement he had uttered. Why would Deidara say such things? Unless…

His eyes widened.

No. There was no way. The brat couldn't have…

But…the way he looked at Sasori, and the way he acted…it all made sense then…

Sasori felt a blush wander onto his face, and he quickly covered it with his arms as he lowered his head. With his arms crossed in front of his face and eyes half-lidded, it looked like he was about to fall asleep. Deidara couldn't…no, it was just his imagination.

"I…I can't believe…you kissed me…"

…Quite frankly, Sasori couldn't believe it either. The second was a mistake, by stupid Hidan and his stupid drunkenness, but the first? That was entirely Sasori's fault.

No. It was still an accident. Pain was being a jackass – and Deidara calls me that – all "Do this! You have to kill his emotions!" so I just…tried to show Deidara it was an act…there wasn't another way I could show him, right? I could've told him, but…that would be going against 'God's orders.' But kissing him was…

"Sasori…"

"I'm thinking, Itachi."

"The teacher wants you."

He lifted his head, staring at the stony face of the teacher. "What?"

Ibiki glared at him. "You're the best student I have, and I find you dozing off? What a disgrace!"

"I wasn't dozing off, Morino-sensei," Sasori growled slightly, eyes narrowing.

"Alright then, tell us: what's the longest part of the small intestine?"

"The jejunum."

"And can you tell us a fact about the jejunum?"

A smirk twisted the redhead's lips. "…You know those horror action films where someone gets their stomach torn open and all their guts are seen sticking out, bloodied and all shiny looking? That's usually the jejunum flopping around because it's so long."

Ugh! Sakura forced herself to keep her tongue in her mouth. A sigh blew from the girl sitting next to her, and she turned, eyes wide.

"Isn't he just dreamy?"

"Temari-san!" Sakura exclaimed over the chatter that filled the room, much to Ibiki's annoyance. "There's nothing dreamy about Sasori!"

"Oh, you just don't have good taste in boys, Sakura!" Temari huffed, breaking her gaze from Sasori.

"Sasori doesn't even want you to exist!" Sakura reminded, glancing over at said boy.

Sasori was still smirking, ash-rose irises directing themselves at Itachi, who rolled his eyes and sighed, as if to say, "That was really unnecessary."

"The only ones he cares about," she continued, looking Temari straight in the eye, "are the others in Akatsuki…and…" She trailed off before starting again. "…Deidara-kun…"

"Mm? Deidara?" Temari blinked. "Isn't he in Akatsuki?" A pause. "Oh, wait! I never got around to asking him about the Akasuna Fan Club!"

"The what?"

"The Akasuna Fan Club! He is rather caring towards Akasuna, you know? Those two…they have this really nice relationship going on, despite what I heard…them beating the living shit out of each other at the start?"

"Relationship?" The color almost drained from Sakura's face.

Temari noticed this and held up her hands. "Oh, no, not that way! As friends! Have you seen them? They're really tight."

"R-Right…" Sakura's eyes narrowed as she bit her lower lip.

"Huh?" Temari's smile dripped from her lips. "Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"No, nothing!" Sakura slapped a grin onto her face. "Nothing at all!"

"Okay, if you say so…"

––––––»

"I don't get it!"

"What's there not to get, un?! You subtract the stupid numbers!"

"Yeah, I know that, shitwad, but how?! If one's freaking 43.32º, then how the hell is the other one not 136.68º?!"

"Because it's a 90º angle!"

"That's a 180º angle!"

"No it's not! Does that look like a straight line to you, un?!"

"There are tons of straight lines on this Goddamn thing!"

"Not those, you idiot! The main one that isn't there!"

"If it's not there, then how the hell do you expect me to find it?!"

"I'm not! That's the point! There's no main straight line, so it's a 90º angle! Do you know what a 90º angle looks like?!"

"Yes, and it doesn't look like that!"

"Because that's the 180º angle! The stupid straight line!"

"You just said there wasn't one!"

"Because I was looking at the seventh problem!"

"I thought this one was the seventh one!"

Deidara sighed. "Okay, fine…if you were referring to the eighth one, yes, you're right."

"…Then…the one you were looking at…seven…" Sasori scanned the question over, frowning slightly. "…46.68º?"

"Un…since the other angle is 43.32º, and 46.68º added to that equals 90."

"Really…" Sasori looked at the three problems left. "…Well…I have to go home now, so if you don't mind…"

The taller of the two shook his head. "No. It's fine, un."

"I'll…see if I can figure out the rest by myself."

"Just tell me tomorrow if you need any help…or if you didn't get one."

Sasori scoffed before smiling slightly as he stood up. "Yeah, yeah. I'll ask you for your help."

A smirk appeared on the Deidara's lips. "You better."

"Heh." Sasori shrugged, walking away towards the exit of the room. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Deidara nodded, watching as Sasori departed. After, he redirected his gaze to his own paper, quickly finishing the last three problems before standing up, slipping the worksheet into his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder and made his way out into the hallway.

"Deidara-kun…"

"Kimimaro?" Deidara blinked and turned around.

"I'm…sorry, Deidara-kun…" Kimimaro apologized, clenching his fists. "But I'm afraid…you must come with me to Orochimaru-sama…"

"What? But–!"

"You don't have any say…he insists."

"There's no way."

"Then…he'll hurt your friends."

"…!"

"Once again…you will come with me."

Deidara's eyes narrowed.

"And once again…I am sorry…"

––––––»

"Looks like you came without a hassle this time, my precious Deidara-kun." Orochimaru grinned, amber eyes flashing. "Was dear Sasori-kun not there?"

"Shut up," Deidara growled, glaring the snake-like boy down.

"Such crude manners…however, perhaps you could put those to good use…"

"I'm not going to follow your orders."

"Oh, but then…your friends will receive the punishment…"

"You can't hurt them!"

"Follow my orders and we won't have to hurt them, dear."

Deidara grit his teeth together, eyes shutting painfully. "What…what do I have to do…?"

"You should know what you must do."

The blond stayed mute, head tilted towards the ground. "I…I have to hurt Sasori-san, un."

"Right."

"Dammit, no, I won't…!"

"But your poor friends…"

"Sasori-san is my friend, too!"

"But Sasori-kun is strong…do you really think Naruto-kun and his buddies will be able to stand up to us?"

"They're strong…don't underestimate them."

"But against Kimimaro-kun and Tayuya? And myself?"

"…!"

"And what if we had a surprise attack? I really don't think they train for that kind of stuff…"

Deidara felt his stomach hurt painfully. "I hate you…"

"Yes, but…"

"Leave them alone! Leave my friends alone!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that."

"No…"

"Come now, Deidara-kun…you don't even have to hurt Sasori-kun. Just knock him out and bring him to me. Is that so hard? It's such a small price to pay for your other friends' safety."

"Sasori-san…"

"Oh, precious, it's all right…it'll be fine. I hate seeing you hurt like this, but we will have to hurt your friends if you don't bring me Sasori-kun."

Deidara let his head hang, expression dark.

"Well, Deidara-kun?"

Slowly, he lifted his head. "I…understand. I'll take down Sasori-san…and cause the…downfall of Akatsuki, un."

A grin twisted Orochimaru's lips. "Good…"

…That's going to cause some more problems. Of course, Deidara's not too fond of the idea of what he has to do…
And, of course, they're still dumb about their emotions. They know it's true, but they don't know it themselves yet. If that makes sense.
Uh, yeah, the math part might be wrong…I confused myself a lot writing that part. -hasn't done that kind of stuff in ages-

～Arrina