"Ah, just what I needed." Deidara sighed as he pulled on his robe. A quiet, serene shower under a waterfall proved effective in clearing his mind. Though of course he was still tense about some things, he certainly felt ten times better. All too soon though, his mood would be soured when he had go back to the Akatsuki base and face a certain red head that he wasn't too fond of. Whatever. Marching through the dense woods, he made it back to the familiar path leading to the hideout. Tobi wasn't there; good. Maybe he actually managed to kill him this time. Well, thats one out of the way.

He yawned and walked a few more feet, before stopping. His ears perked slightly; someone else was here. He frowned, not in a mood to fight and get dirty again. "Whoever you are, I suggest you turn right back around and return to wherever you came from."

"Is that how you're going to greet me, Deidara? My, and I came all this way just to save you."

Deidara's eyes widened. He knew that voice. He turned around. Long, pink hair, bandages wrapped around her forehead attributed with a black hat, and dark coal eyes. There was no mistake. It was her. "Tayuya." Deidara's voice was low and tinged with abhorrence for the woman.

"Hmph." she gave a sideways flick of her long hair and put a hand on her hip. "So this is what you've been doing? While I don't approve, I must say that gaudy robe is quite unbefitting for an assassin such as yourself, don't you think?"
"Piss off." Deidara spat. "Drop that damn princess charade of yours and tell me what you're doing here."
"Didn't I already say? I'm here to save you. Since you went ahead and got yourself captured, Orochimaru had to hire me to retrieve you. But if you think I'm still putting up a charade, then I'll go about my business and leave you here. You seem like you're enjoying your stay."

"No, wait-" As much as Deidara appalled the idea of having to cling to this woman for support, he had to admit that this would probably be his best opportunity to escape this damn gang! Its just that... something didn't feel right. Why would Orochimaru hire her of all people? It wasn't just that Tayuya wasn't trustworthy, but her background certainly wasn't all that colorful either. Whats more, she seemed like she could care less whether or not he went with her. 'Something's up...'

"Well? You coming or not? I haven't got all day." She turned around. "Though of course, if you choose not to, it wouldn't make me none. My job would be much easier if you didn't come back at all! Or is there some other reason holding you back?" Her tone of voice was sharp and auspicious. It was almost as if she was hiding something; something of ill intent. Whatever that was, she was keeping it hidden well. Just what you would expect from a fellow rival assassin.

"Tch." Deidara grimaced. "Really? He couldn't have sent someone else? Well, I guess there was just no one else he could find." He mumbled as he walked forward. "Fine, lets get out of here.
"Yes." Tayuya nodded as she allowed Deidara to start walking forward. A smirk played across her rosy lips as she held a dagger behind her back. 'Foolish Deidara. Once I get rid of you, Orochimaru will-' Just as she prepared to lunge the weapon through the assassin's back, something appeared in front of her.

"What the hell?" She guarded against its attack and hopped back.
Deidara turned around. "What now?" His face changed completely when he looked off into the distance to see Sasori stepping from the hideout's hidden stairway. "Sasori!" he growled.
The man frowned. "Have you forgotten who you belong to, Deidara?" He glared, and for a moment his chocolate brown eyes were tinted with a furious red to match his hair.
"I don't belong to anyone!" Deidara snapped. "And I certainly don't belong to you!"

Tayuya watched the males argue. While she had no clue who this Sasori was, it was obvious that he was a member of the Akatsuki. She gripped the dagger tighter in her hand, pissed that she had missed the perfect opportunity. "Deidara, lets go! I don't want to run into anymore of your friends."
"Hmph! He is not my friend! Just ignore him and lets go."
Sasori curled his fingers. "I don't think so."

Deidara's body suddenly tensed; he could feel every muscle being pulled. "Wh-what?!" Without warning, he attacked Tayuya, who quickly dodged.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" she snarled.
"I-its not me! My body is-" his eyes widened and he looked at Sasori. "You! Stop it!"

Sasori waved his arm, and Deidara charged at Tayuya again. The woman agilely jumped out of the way of his attacks, and landed on a tree branch behind her. "Traitor!" she bellowed.
"No, its not me! My body is being controlled!"
'Controlled?' Tayuya looked at Sasori. It wasn't definite, but she could tell that the red head obviously had some play in what was going on. 'I see.' In that case, this just might work out to her advantage. "Yeah right!" She countered. "Making up a lie just so you can stay with the Akatsuki and get rid of Orochimaru?" She hopped down from the tree. "Well, I'll be sure to delay him the message!" she grinned before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"What? No! Its not like that!" Deidara attempted to defend himself, but it was already too late. Not only was his chance to escape gone, but now Tayuya believed that he was betraying Orochimaru. Things just couldn't get any worse. Rage formed in his veins, he balled his fists and charged at Sasori. "You!" he brought his hand up, "This is all your fault!" He intended to land a punch, but it was stopped by Sasori's puppet.

"Its all your fault!" he landed continuous punches to the puppet, attempting to get to the red head, but it was for naught.
Sasori only slightly turned his head in a nonchalant manner. "You should know your place. Did you really think escaping me would be possible? Furthermore, didn't you find that situation a little suspicious?"
"What?" Deidara stopped hitting the puppet. "What are you talking about?"
"That woman. Tayuya, wasn't it? Didn't she seem a little off for someone who was coming to your rescue?"
"Tch! Who cares! I would have gotten out of here if it weren't for you! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here in the first place! I wouldn't have to deal with any of this!"

Deidara fell to his knees. "I'd still be getting paid, I'd still be creating art." His fist pounded the ground. "Why did you have to save me?! Why?! Why didn't you just let me die instead of going through all this hell?!" He picked up his head and glared at the red head with tears of anger, hurt, and question in his azure blue eyes. He couldn't take it anymore; he was tired of all this complicated mess that had nothing to do with him. He was nothing but a toy in this gang. Just something to be used and abused. "Answer me, dammit!" He screamed again.

Sasori groaned, putting a hand on his forehead. This little childish act was irritating him, yet he couldn't help but feel pity for the blonde. "Listen..." he said. "The reason I... just.. I can't tell you right now! I need you to trust me. I promise I'll get you out of this gang myself and explain everything. Right now, I just need you to-"
"Trust you?!" Deidara barked. "Why the fuck would I trust you!?"
"Because-"
"I'd rather die than listen to you!"
"You can't die!" Sasori yelled, but just as quickly he found himself becoming silent again. He calmed down. "Listen to me! You possess something special. And if I don't find a way to solve Master Pein's ailments then-"
"I don't give a damn about him! And I don't give a damn about you! I fucking hope you and him and everyone else in this fucking freaked up gang dies! It'll make my job a hell of a lot easier!"

Deidara reached into his pocket and before Sasori could say something further, it was already too late. An explosion went off and the entire area was covered in smoke. Everything within radius was caught in the shockwave; even a few trees were uprooted. 'Damn!' Sasori's eyes were closed as he coughed from the dust; his puppet barely managed to protect him from the explosion. By the time the smoke cleared, it was too late. Deidara had made a quick getaway. 'That brat! He's just put himself into more danger! I have to-'

"Sasori!" A stern voice sounded.
Sasori felt his heart stop when he turned around. 'Oh no...'
Pein frowned as he approached the man, demanding an explanation. "What is the meaning of this?"
"..."

~:::~

"I see. So Deidara has betrayed me." Orochimaru frowned, slamming his hand on the nightstand next to him. Kabuto quickly caught a glass that fell over.
"Please be calm, Orochimaru-sama." he urged.

Orochimaru pushed Kabuto out of the way as he stood up from bed. He paced towards the door, and exited out to the hallway; Tayuya and Kabuto followed behind him. "How dare he turn on the person who saved and offered him so much!" He hissed and openned the doors to his laboratory. Angrily he pushed all the test tubes on the observation table to the floor. The glass shattered and unknown liquids spilled amongst the tiled surface. "I want him dead! No, I want that whole Akatsuki group dead!"
"Orochimaru-sama-" Kabuto was silenced with a quick slap to his face.
Tayuya smiled. "As you wish, Orochimaru."

"W-wait." Kabuto hesitantly spoke up.
Orochimaru frowned. "Kabuto, I do not want to hear it!"
Kabuto got on his knees, keeping his head low like that of an omega wolf. "Please, Orochimaru-sama, just hear me out. I think Deidara could still be of use to us. I have discovered something that may benefit your health greatly, however, I cannot be sure without confirming it."
"Hm?" Orochimaru lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean by this?"
"I've conducted some research, and I believe Deidara may be the key to what I am missing. And I think this is also why the Akatsuki may have captured him in the first place. But I cannot confirm this without him being alive."
"And you believe that you'll gain this information from him?"
Kabuto smirked, adjusting his glasses. "But of course!"
Orochimaru thought for a moment, before sighing. "Alright. You have my intrigue, Kabuto." His gaze flickered to Tayuya. "You heard him. Return Deidara to me alive."
"What?!" she bit her lip. "Even after he's betrayed you?!"
Orochimaru hissed. "Do not talk back! Do as I say!"
"Y-yes..." she reluctantly replied.

Without another word, she left the lab and slammed the door behind her. She stormed down the hallway, grimacing. 'Oh I'll return Deidara to you alright. But not alive!'