The room was quiet and dark, save for the bit of evening sunlight that glared through the window. His body, trounced and bruised, lied there nearly unconscious on the floor; clothes spotted and soaked in his own blood. His eyes were half-lidded as his stared into the space in front of him, fingers twitching in pain. His breathing was slow and his entire body ached; he could have sworn every bone in his body was broken from Gozu's hands. It took Meizu to calm him down and not kill the blonde. He sighed, wincing as a needle-like pain went through his chest; it even hurt to breathe. 'Damn, guess I've really gotten myself into a bad situation this time...' He continued lying there, thinking of the next action he would take to get out of here. His hands were tied behind his back, and his clay and weapons were confiscated.

He shivered as the room grew colder due to the sun setting, and darkness began to greet him. Maybe if he could muster the strength, he could make his escape through the window. First, however, he needed to do something about his hands. Shakily, he picked his head up, trying to encourage the rest of his body to move, to ignore the pain and stand. 'Come on, get up!' Bringing one leg forward, he pushed away from the floor and maneuvered into a kneeling position. The spine of his back and other joints cracked as he steadily stood up. Blood dripped down his forehead and chin as he padded his way to the window. Even though he was already in immense pain, he used his head to bash open and shatter the glass of the window. He needed to be quick now; there was no doubt in his mind someone heard the sudden noise. His escape was bittersweet, however, as he quickly dodged a large shuriken coming from behind him; a few strands of his hair fell to the floor.

"Oh, I hope you weren't planning to get away." Mizuki smirked. "Perhaps I should make you more comfortable, seeing as you're a guest and all." He reached behind him to throw another one of his large shurikens. Summoning some adrenaline, Deidara quickly, but smoothly bent backwards to dodge the lethal weapon. When he came back up, he charged at Mizuki, intending to land a hard kick to his face. Mizuki quickly jumped out of the way, and laughed. "Your attacks are weak!"

Upon landing on one knee, Deidara smirked. "Thats alright. At least it was a good enough distraction!" He quickly darted towards the door and thats when Mizuki realized.
"Stop him!"

Deidara smiled, an expression of sweet victory was on his face until suddenly someone stepped in front of the door frame. He came to a halt, and growled. "Get the fuck outta my way!" He brought up his leg to kick the stranger, but they caught his foot in their large hand and pushed him to the floor. The person took a few steps inside, moonlight revealing who they were.

"Geez, I send Meizu and Gozu off to find out what happened to our men and then I come back to this mess. Keep a leash on your merchandise, boss." Murasame frowned, kicking Deidara in the ribs.
"Hmph." Mizuki sighed, pulling one of his shuriken from the wall. "Just know that if he would have gotten away, it would have been your fault. And whats going on outside?"
"Maybe you should take a look for yourself." Murasame took a step out of the way, gesturing for Mizuki to walk outside.

The man made a confused expression as he went through the door. At first he didn't see anything, but upon looking down on the ground, he realized the true horror and event that had taken place. All of his men were scattered across the ground; some were sliced in half, others were just literal body parts all over the place. Mizuki trembled. "Wh-what the hell? I was just out here! How did all of this-"

"Boss, watch out!" Murasame pushed Mizuki, receiving a deep cut to his arm as both men fell to the floor inside the cabin.
Deidara weakly lifted his head to see what happened. All he saw was the shadow of a person standing outside before they slowly brisked their way in. Deidara's eyes widened. It was Sasori! He gritted his teeth. 'The bastard always wants to play super hero!' However, his expression was dark and overwrought; almost displeased as he eyed Deidara on the floor. Deidara frowned. "What the fuck are you glaring at? How about fucking untying me!"

Sasori's attention moved to Mizuki as he stood up, a wicked smile playing on the man's face.
"So, you've come to retrieve your member, huh? Guess he's really worth something after all!" Mizuki laughed. Suddenly, his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Or could it be..." he leaned down, picking Deidara up by his ponytail. "He's worth something to you." He brought the blonde's mouth close to his, planting a chaste kiss to his lips. Deidara blushed, trying to push back, but Mizuki kept a firm grip to his hair.

It was then that Sasori officially lost his temper, throwing a kunai at Mizuki and then his puppet followed suit to slash its sword at him. Mizuki dodged the lethal weapon and Murasame managed to stop the puppet's attack.
He chuckled. "Don't get feisty now. If you want your little toy back, then here!" He shoved Deidara towards Sasori. The blonde stumbled into Sasori's chest. "It wont matter though. Once I restrain both of you, I'll have enough money from the bounty on your heads than I'll ever need!" he grabbed one of the giant shuriken from behind his back.
"Hidan, take the brat." Sasori grabbed Deidara and threw him towards Hidan who reluctantly managed to grab hold of the blonde.

"Hey, why I gotta watch this fucking nuisance?!"
"This wasn't my idea, bastard!"
Hidan growled. "Yeah but its your fucking fault we have to save your fucking ass!"
"I didn't ask for your help either! Un."

Deidara was pissed. He could have easily handled Mizuki on his own and made a clean get-away, both away from his gang and the Akatsuki. But no, here he was instead being rescued by them. Honestly he would have preferred being sold off to a bounty collector than having to deal with this bullshit! He sighed, refocusing his eyes on the battle between Sasori and Mizuki. It was then that he noticed Sasori was glaring at him. His spine suddenly chilled; the look he was giving him was unsettling. 'Wh-whats with him staring at me like that? Hmph!' he whipped his head to the side, avoiding those brown eyes.

"Boss, shall I aid in this battle?"
"No." Mizuki smiled. "I want to kick this guy's ego down a notch! You just stand there and watch!" He said, spinning the star-shaped weapon in his hand. As instructed, Murasame backed off and exited through the window, looking back for a moment and wondering curiously in his mind how the battle would go.

The two ninja simply stared each other down, waiting to see who would make their move first. Mizuki took a few steps to the right, and Sasori did the same; they were simply circling each other until finally Mizuki went in for his first attack. He threw the giant shuriken at Sasori, who blocked its incoming attack with his puppet, however this caused him to be blindsided and Mizuki grinned. "Surprise!" He stabbed the man just above his shoulder. Sasori staggered, but otherwise the wound showed no hindrance.

He retaliated by taking the same weapon and swiftly throwing it back at the man, but Mizuki was quick to miss it and it pegged to the floor instead. "So, not even a stab there will slow you down?" He stood up straight. "Fine, no more games!" He charged at the red head, but Sasori was once again protected by his puppet. Mizuki clashed with the inanimate being and suddenly Sasori appeared behind him, ready to deal a fatal blow. But Mizuki only smirked. He ducked down as Sasori swung his arm, accidentally landing the blow to a joint on his puppet instead. The puppet's arm fell off, unable to wield its sword anymore.

"Heheh!" Mizuki chuckled. "That puppet is not only your strength, but your weakness, too! And now that you can't control it properly without its other arm..." he dashed at Sasori, "You're defenseless!"
"Hmph." A sly smile went across the red head's face, as he brought his hand up and curled his fingers.
Mizuki came to a sudden halt. "Wh-what? I-I can't move!"
"Puppets are not the only thing I can control." he said, walking towards the man slowly. "While it is somewhat true my puppets are my strength, they are only merely an obstacle that I find beneficial against my opponents."
"No! How!" Mizuki growled, trying to get out of the man's hold.
"When you clashed together with my puppet, I was able to transfer my chakra strings to your body. I still didn't have full control of you at that very moment, which is why you were able to dodge my attack."
"Wh-what?!" Mizuki's mouth hung open; even Deidara was in shock as he watched outside.
"Thats right. From the very beginning, your fate with me was already determined."
"Tch. So what!" Mizuki frowned. "You're gonna kill me now? Fine, go ahead and do it!"
"Well," Sasori backed away, moving his left hand to the side and spreading his fingers, "That wouldn't be as much fun would it?"

Suddenly, Mizuki's body took a few steps forward, and then he leaned down, reaching for the kunai lodged in the floor. Tightly he gripped it around his hand, and pulled it out. His expression was both that of confusion and fear.
"Since you value your own life so little, then it should mean nothing if you take it yourself."
"Wh-what?!" he brought the knife up to the corner of his neck, and his body started to tremble. "No! Stop!"
"Not caring about your life and then begging for it. Pitiful." Sasori said, walking away from him.
"No! AAAAH!" Mizuki slit his throat, blood spraying like a misty shower from his body as he collapsed.
"This transaction is cancelled."

'So, you let him beat you.' Murasame scowled as he watched his former boss take away his own life. Shaking his head, he turned and walked down a path in the woods. "Damn Mizuki and Zabuza. If their heads weren't so filled with money all the time, they would probably still be alive. Hmph, doesn't concern me now..." Murasame suddenly stopped when he saw a tall man approaching him in the distance. Instinctively, he got into a fighting postion. "Hey, who are you?!"

The man continued walking a few more feet, before stopping. Murasame could see nothing of detail on the man except for green eyes that glared off the moonlight and two bodies in his hands. When he took a closer look however, he realized who they were: Meizu was tossed over the man's shoulder, and Gozu was being dragged in his right hand. He assumed them to be unconscious. 'H-how could he have taken out the brothers?!'

Suddenly long, snake-like particles came from behind him. When their slithering forms hit the moonlight just right, he could make out that they appeared to be some kind of dark tentacles.
Murasame was still in shock. "Wh-what are you?!"
Without warning, the tentacles pierced through his body, striking all of his vital points. The consciousness he had left was only enough to make him tremble. "You," the man narrowed his eyes as the tentacles retracted, "Are worthless to me." Murasame fell to his knees as the man walked past him, before finally falling dead on the ground.

Deidara watched in horror as Sasori walked outside. 'N-no way. He was able to kill him so easily. How can he be so skillfull and plan out his actions like that?!'
"Always wanna make a fucking show for yourself huh, Sasori?" Hidan tsked.
"Never mind that. Where's Kakuzu?"

"Hidan." Kakuzu suddenly appeared.
"Look at that, right on cue!" Hidan grinned. "Took you long enough!"
"Just help me carry one of them."
"Say what?!" Hidan yelled. "First I'm put in charge of this blonde motherfucker, and then you're gonna make me carry some other loser?!"
"Then how about fucking untying my hands so I can get away from your whiny ass!" Deidara bellowed.
"Oh, I'll fucking untie you alright!" He lifted up his scythe. "Just keep still!"
Deidara flinched. "Wh-what the hell! Just use your hands!"
"Then how much fun would that be?!"
Sasori sighed. "Just pass him off to me. You and Kakuzu can go handle whatever business you have."
"Sure!" Hidan kicked Deidara's back, urging him to be with the red head. "I'd much rather collect money than deal with that pest anytime!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PEST, UN?!"
"Hmph. Later, bitches."

Deidara growled. "That bastard. I swear I'm gonna- Whoa!"
Suddenly all gravity was lost when Sasori picked Deidara up in both his arms.
He frowned. "H-hey, put me down! I'm not your fucking fiance!"
"Yeah, yeah." Sasori sighed, hopping up to the tree tops; Deidara quickly pressed against him to prevent from falling.
'Could have warned me he was going to do that! Hmph.' His face was a light pink. Having to be so close to this bastard in such an awkward position was the last thing he wanted to be doing; he was perfectly capable of walking on his own. Suddenly, something else ran across his mind. He remembered the eerie, unnerving stare Sasori gave him after Mizuki had kissed him and tossed him off. It gave him chills. Immediately, he cleared his mind and refocused on getting back to the Akatsuki base for now.

~:::~

"Hey, you know, it wouldn't hurt to untie me." Deidara grumbled as he watched Sasori standing near the desk in the dimly lit room. He was sorting through medicine bottles and other materials. Sasori didn't reply to his command and this only made Deidara more upset and he struggled to try to get his hands free himself. But tied behind his back and without a weapon nearby to cut through the thick rope, there was little he could do. He was at least grateful that the pain in his body had narrowed down a bit, although some parts where he was hit were still sore. He huffed, looking at the floor.

"Here. Drink this." Sasori held out a small bottle of liquid. The blonde lifted his head. The bottle was made of dark glass, so Deidara couldn't tell what the contents were. At this, he was immediately suspicious.
"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just something that will help your body heal and relax."
'Hm? Some kind of antibiotic maybe?' Deidara really didn't want to take the medicine, but the look in Sasori's eyes dared him to refuse the offer. He sighed, and reluctantly gave in as he opened his mouth. Sasori tipped the bottle and the liquid poured down Deidara's throat. It was extremely bitter and not very tantalizing of a taste, but he continued to drink it until the bottle was empty. "Ugh! How about picking a better flavor next time!"

Sasori didn't respond and made his way back to the other side of the room. Meanwhile, Deidara tried to get the medicine's weird taste out of his mouth. However, he found himself salivating more than he wanted to. Then his stomach started to feel nauseous. He moaned. 'Wh-what was that he just gave me? I feel like... I'm going to pass out...' His head felt hot and the rest of his body followed suit to the sudden change in temperature. Everything at that point was turning into a hazy blur, and he felt himself getting warmer. "Ugh..." his head fell back against the pillow; for some reason his heart wouldn't stop beating in his chest. 'Ah... I feel so hot...'

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear the first time." Sasori said, lifting up certain bottles of medicine and setting them back down. "I am an impatient person, but I can be rather imperious as well. Meaning," he turned around, walking to the bed and cupping Deidara's chin in his hand. "I should teach you who exactly your body belongs to."