There was a continuous beeping noise in the background; like that of a machine that seemed to be matching the rhythm of his beating heart. Everything was black and his body felt heavy as lead. He couldn't move and his bones felt broken. Somehow he was breathing, but it even hurt to do that and faintly he could feel something warm and wet pooling around him. But out of everything he felt, it was the pain. So much pain...

Then the feeling of something cold and long pricked him. A stinging sensation went through the vein of his arm before blending in with the rest of the pain. He didn't know how to describe it, but it felt as if the insides of his body were twisting and contorting. His bones felt like mush and his muscles were melting. It was unbearable and he wanted to scream, but couldn't. There was something in his throat pumping air through him. He was being kept alive and forced to deal with it.

He could suddenly hear a voice in the background. They were very faint and unrecognizable, but he managed to make out a few words. What? Something about a discovery? He didn't know what the person in question was talking about, but suddenly his body felt light and all the pain faded away. 'What is this? Whats happening?' He felt like something was genuinely taking away all the discomfort and healing him from the inside. Thats when he heard the voice again.

"...ent 637."

What? He couldn't make out all of what the person was saying. He very slowly opened his eyes, only to have a blinding light attack his pupils. However, the face of a person seemed to be looking down at him. What, a person? All he saw after that was a flicker of brown followed by a simple smile on the person's face before a loud clap of thunder made everything shatter.

He gasped, eyes opening and breathing roughly. Was he dreaming just now? But about what? ...it was no use. Just as quickly as he tried to think about it, the dream had vanished from his mind. Another roar of thunder sounded off. The blood that had previously soaked his body for the past couple of days had dried, but he still felt the disgusting stickiness that lingered as the air outside from the rain remained moist. His body still hung up on the wall, thin and weary. It looked as if he would decay away any minute. Well, if he could that is.

He shivered, feeling a sharp pain tingle through his muscles. However, there were no cuts or open wounds. They had miraculously healed when he fell unconscious. It didn't take Tayuya long to notice this as when she came back the day after she had captured him, she went into a raging frenzy. Grasping the whip in her hand and demanding to know who had healed him. But Deidara himself couldn't even answer that question. All he remembered was passing out and waking up to his body restored to normal. Save for the blood, there was no evidence that he had been tortured at all. And of course, this made Tayuya even more upset, and she opted to give the blonde fresh whips that were sure to stay. She cracked the weapon so hard against his flesh, he swore he feel it cutting right down to the bone. Doesn't that damn thing ever get dull? Well, whatever. In the past few days, he had gotten used to the pain, almost looking forward to the woman coming back again just so he could get it over with. There was nothing good about this situation, but there was nothing he could do to escape either.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Deidara could see raindrops falling reflectively against the moonlight followed by the appearance of a shadow. He knew all too well who it was.

"Still alive?" she chuckled, walking in with a lantern. She set it down and made herself comfortable in a chair, eying the blonde with a devious smirk. Of course she had her whip with her, but it was hooked to her side this time and not in her hand. Her dull brown eyes looked intently at the near broken man with a bit of subtlety and satisfaction.

"Should have known you would be." She said, crossing her legs as she leaned back in the chair. "You're persistent in staying alive, you know that?"
Deidara didn't respond.
"Hey, listen to me." she frowned and threw a kunai at Deidara's tied up hands. It managed to piece through both his palms and that got a reaction out of him as he grunted and glared sheepishly at her. But she only smiled. "I thought I had killed you and got rid of you that day! I thought I finally got my revenge, but of course Orochimaru still clung to you like a piece of gold and fixed you right back into working style." Her eyes lowered to the ground in thought. 'Did he do some kind of experiment on him? Is that why his body can heal so fast?' She growled. 'But why? Whats the point of keeping him alive?!'

Deidara finally picked up his head in interest. "Wh-what do you mean 'that day'?" He muttered dryly.
"Hmph. So now you want to talk?" She flicked a strand of hair from her face. "Well since I plan on killing you myself eventually, I guess I'll go ahead and tell you a little story!" Another grin made its way on her face. "You remember? The day you were told to assassinate Zabuza the first time, but failed."

Deidara was silent. He hated remembering that pathetic event all because of something stupid that could have been avoided.
"Well, I was the one who warned him that you were coming!" She giggled.
His eyes widened. "What?!"
"Thats right, Deidara! When you thought you would be able to take him out alone with no threats, you foolishly went into his hideout, getting yourself surrounded by his men and tackled! You might have done some interior damage to his little schemes, but I thought for sure he had taken care of you! Your body was completely broken!"
"Th-that incident was because of you?!"
"Thats right!" she smiled. "After they were done with you, he tossed you away like a piece of trash. I knew for sure you weren't going to live, but once again you proved me wrong! I don't know how it happened or why you came back, but you should have died!"

A deep frown appeared on her face as Deidara remembered the event. It was one of the missions assigned to him by Orochimaru. Because of increasing gang activity around his hideout, he feared that his plans and experiments might be found out and he ordered Deidara to take Zabuza out. Well not only that, but there was a reward for killing him as well! Deidara accepted the mission and had planted bombs around the location as a counter measure before he went inside and got ambushed. He was able to set off the explosion, but Zabuza still managed to get his hands on him and beat him until he could no longer move. Deidara couldn't remember anything after that other than waking up in Orochimaru's hideout.

"When word got out that you were still alive, Zabuza made it his goal to get rid of you after all the damage you inflicted to his gang and scheme. But even then, he went ahead and got himself killed anyway. And I paid him so much money, too." She sighed. "Oh well. Now that I have you in my hands, I don't need the help of anyone else." She smiled and stood up. "Maybe tonight I should just finish you." She pulled the kunai out of Deidara's hands. "Lets try something different. This time I wont give you enough time to heal!"

Using the kunai, she stabbed Deidara in the arm; he winced. "Oh, did that hurt? But I'm only getting started." She pulled it out and this time stabbed him in the side of his stomach. Deidara groaned, trying to hold back his voice. Not getting the reaction she wanted, she stabbed him in the chest. He coughed up blood and frantically began to pull at his hands. At this, she grinned. "Deidara, you should know its pointless by now. Just give up and die." Arms, legs, stomach... anywhere she could, thats where the kunai struck. Its sharp tip had little to no trouble slicing and pushing through the flesh. Holding back his voice had become impossible as he yelled and muttered for her to stop. But she only laughed and continued before suddenly stopping.

Deidara's head hung low and he breathed harshly, but blood kept pouring from his body and mouth. His blonde hair was dyed crimson and even his blue eyes had lost their shine. He was literally teetering on death itself. Tayuya smiled and aimed the weapon straight for his heart. "Now to finish it!"

Things suddenly seemed to go in slow motion as Deidara looked up. So this is where things really end? For whatever reason, he smirked. How many times had he cheated death? Looked like things had finally caught up with him. He took one final breath, welcoming death as the kunai pierced through his chest. Everything in that moment seemed to flash white.

"Wh-what?"
Deidara opened his eyes to see Tayuya in front of him, trembling. Her hand was still gripped to the kunai and he could feel his heart beating against the very tip of it. Suddenly her trembling hand snatched away, almost as if something was pulling her back. Wait. Deidara's eyes widened. It couldn't mean...

Lightning flickered on another shadow in the room. It was brief, but Deidara knew who it was. The person stepped into the light of the lantern; red hair, familiar brown eyes, and a deep scowl on his face.

Tayuya growled. "You! How did you find this place?!"
Sasori shrugged. "Well, with all the screaming and strong smell of blood in the air, I just followed my senses."

Even in a situation such as this, he still held that same damn nonchalant manner. And even so, Deidara couldn't help but to feel a slight tinge of relief upon seeing him. What a bittersweet reunion.

"I will not let you interfere!" Tayuya charged at Sasori, but her attack was blocked by his puppet appearing in front of him. She jumped back in surprise.
"Whats wrong? Not a fan of dolls?" he said with an amused tone.
At that, Tayuya only laughed. "Quite the opposite. In fact, why don't we play together?" She pulled out a silver flute and pressed it to her lips.

Deidara's eyes widened. Wait, wasn't that the same flute she used to put him to sleep. It'll be an even bigger hell if the red head went ahead and collapsed on the spot. Deidara tried to warn him, but his voice was raspy and dry, so any words he attempted to speak were inaudible. However, as the melody continued to play, he didn't feel drowsy like he did before. Why? He listened carefully before realizing that she was playing a different tune. 'This is...'

Suddenly a loud crash sounded through the room as a very large figure appeared. It had completely destroyed the wall and Sasori quickly darted back, covering his face as he waited for the dust to clear. In the after-wave, the lantern fell over, but it still illuminated enough light to reveal just what had made its presence. His eyes widened when he saw the figure.

Tayuya smiled and put a hand on her hip as she gestured to the being with her other. "This is my doll." The being was a very large, human-like creature with long hair covering its face wielding a giant club in its hand. It looked like something straight out of a child's nightmare and its heaving body stood next to Tayuya. With another grin, she simply said, "Play nice!" And the large demon-like creature charged towards the puppet master.

Sasori just barely managed to dodge the giant club that smashed into the ground; water and mud from the still pouring rain splashed up. The whole battlefield was a giant slip and slide, yet Sasori managed to make his maneuvers look flawless. But he couldn't afford to relax just yet. In an instant, the club-wielding demon came at him again. He ducked and the weapon swung above his head, breaking a tree in half.

"Haha, its useless! Just give up!" Tayuya said, putting her lips back onto the flute as she continued to play.

'I have to get rid of that flute somehow...' Sasori curled his fingers, and sent his puppet after Tayuya. The woman was too smart for that however, and backed away. While she still continued to play her flute, she dodged each attack that the puppet attempted to land with its sword. It was an endless process of left and right as she kept moving. When she backed up against a tree, she jumped and the puppet's sword was lodged into it.

"Looks like your little toy is no match for me!"

Sasori narrowed his eyes, jumping out of the way of the demon's attacks. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to take this thing and Tayuya down. He needed to think.
"Just give up!"

Nothing but the sound of thunder, trees snapping, and water splashing was heard. Even in such circumstances, however, Sasori continued to fight. He moved into his next position. Now completely ignoring the large summoned demon, he went after Tayuya instead.

"Didn't I say it was hopeless?" She ran backwards. "Have you forgotten?"

The demon suddenly jumped between her and Sasori. It swung its powerful, muscular arm down. That was the opening he was waiting for. Skillfully, he leaned backwards and slid on the ground, right between the monster's legs before its weapon struck. "What?!" Tayuya was taken aback by this maneuver when she suddenly remembered about his puppet. She managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time, but that was when Sasori slid past her and snatched the flute from her hand. "No!" she screamed.

Once he was a safe distance away, Sasori stood up. He took the flute in his hands and snapped it in half like a twig. The giant human-like creature she summoned made a screeching noise as it melted into the ground, disappearing from view. Sasori tossed away the broken pieces of flute. "Now, you are defenseless."

Tayuya could only stand there in shock. How? There was no way this man was able to take out her monster. Her strategy was fool-proof! There shouldn't have been not one single glimpse of a flaw. Deidara was still watching the two of them from the missing wall of the lodge he was held captive in. It may have been difficult with the dark and rain hindering his view, but he was still able to make out the battle. It actually kind of pissed him off. Sasori always seemed to know what to do at the right moment and when to initiate.

Tayuya growled. "No! I'm not letting it end like this!" Suddenly she turned around and started running back towards the building. She took out another kunai and charged at Deidara. "Hahaha! I'm sending you straight to hell before I die!"
Deidara squirmed against the wall as the woman continued coming dead at him. He looked to Sasori who only stood there. 'What the hell are you doing? Stop her!' His pale blue eyes pleaded.

"Hmph." Sasori simply brought his hand up. There was something shiny between his fingers. He flung it and Tayuya stopped dead in her tracks. Her arms dropped and she fell to her knees. Her voice was shaky and her eyes were unfocused. With a flicker of lightening, she dropped dead on the ground; a shuriken was sticking out from the back of her head. It was over.

Deidara let out a small sigh of relief. It was then that the adrenaline in his body wore off and he remembered the position he was in. The fresh stab wounds all over his body pulsated and he winced, closing his eyes to bear with the pain. Blood trickled down his abused body and he started to feel drowsy again. There was no way he was going to survive if he kept losing blood like this; he began to wonder why Sasori was coming to rescue him in the first place, why he cut the rope to his hands, and why he carried him in both of his arms just like he did once before.

"You're always making trouble for me, brat." He said, in that familiar nonchalant tone.
Too weak to respond with something witty, he allowed the red head to carry him; his limbs hung like a rag doll while his face was pressed against the man's chest. He could hear his heart beating followed by the rain. With these sounds mixed together, he once again found himself losing vision as a familiar darkness filled his mind.