"And that's how you can sculpt a face with a toothpick, un," Deidara says, showing me the face of delicate, beautiful, young woman in a white piece of clay.
I feel so uneducated; dumbfounded.
It's like I'm a four year old being told how babies are made. How babies are really made.
"How'd your's come out?" He asks. With a embarrassed chuckle, I show him my lump of a face. It's a oval that has two dots with circles around them for eyes and a triangle as a nose. For a mouth, I scribbled a small 'u.' It sort of resembles Lee…
"Well…" He started. I was prepared for the worst. "It's very geometric, and shapes are the basis of a lot of sculptures. If you smooth some things out and add a little depth, you could have an abstract creation right here, un."
"Really? It's nothing compared to yours though…" I say softly.
"Well, we all start somewhere. I knew nothing about art once, too, un."
"That's nice way to put it," I state. Eagerly, I ask, "Do we blow them up now?"
"You read my mind," he smirks.
I toss him my clay and he smushes it with his and let's his mouth hand infuse it with chakra. Out pops a bird and it darts away into the sky.
I start counting down, "Five, four, three, two, one!"
"KATSU!" We shout simultaneously. A fireball with a boom that shook the ground explodes in a spectrum of all the warm colors.
I jump up and punch the air, "Woohoo! Man, that was great!"
"Looks like I have a little protégé, un," Deidara suggests.
I look at him smiling, "It would be so cool if I had that jutsu. Could you really teach me?"
"'I'm afraid not. This a special jutsu that I got from a secret scroll. But I'd be more than happy to teach you about art and explosives."
"Sounds like a plan. The only thing I know about explosives are paper bombs. How do I make something like the stuff you do? How do I make explosions huge and destructive?"
"I'll show you a few tricks-"
"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait, you slackers," Sasori said, appearing out of no where.
"Tobi would know Sempai's explosions anywhere!" Tobi squeaked.
"Is this what you've been doing all day?" Sasori interrogates.
"Well… yeah! We got assigned the country area. Everyone here wouldn't know what the current fashion trends are. I haven't seen one person with a piece of jewelry on, un," replies Deidara.
"Well while you're getting a sun tan the others and I could only find a hotel to stay. Tons of girls were wearing rings on chains today. I got dirty looks every time I glanced at the them, like I was some pervert. And with this goof around me it looked like we both had some sort of problem."
"You'll get used to it. I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while, un."
"Me too…"
Sasori sits down next to Deidara, and Tobi climbs the tree we we're sitting under. It's around four thirty, almost dinner time. I'm assuming I'm in charge of dinner duty again, so I think of a place to eat in advance. If they don't like it, we're going back to the barbecue dive we went to yesterday.
"So, are we meeting the others' someplace? Or are they coming here?" I ask, sitting on Deidara's other side.
"I'll pop a few small explosions to signal them," Deidara says, crafting more birds, "They should all be winding down by now, un."
His birds look like fireworks this time, and within ten minutes, everyone was around the tree.
No one had any luck. "Good," I think, "That means they didn't run into Ino."
It looked like everyone slacked off a little. Konan went shopping, she was carrying some bags. Hidan was slightly drunk, I'm guessing because he and Kakuzu went to a bar. Zetsu… he seemed to have spent his time in a field somewhere because he had a bouquet of interesting flowers. Itachi looked as bored as ever, and so did Kisame. Today must have been really slow for everyone.
Pein assembles everyone and we form a circle. The plan is to split up again and find dinner in all different places. After that, we're supposed to get a taste of Konoha night life and scout the town and it's nocturnal inhabitants. Around ten o'clock we meet at Ikchiraku's Ramen.
I have a feeling that tonight is going to be crazy…
Deidara and I grab a quick bite to eat and stop by my house again. I check in with my parents and they acted like Deidara was my new boyfriend already. They practically shooed me out. I felt them watching us from a distance, cooing and awing as we walked away together. I just hope Deidara didn't pick up on their enthusiasm.
We stop at park and sit for a while. Nothing's interesting here. Parks are for families and such, now that it's night time, families are at home and younger people are at the clubs. It might be a Sunday, but since tomorrow is holiday; everyone's on vacation and it feels like a Friday and Saturday night combined. Deidara doesn't seem like he wants to search for the ring at all, and of course I don't want to either. In fact, I want to avoid that topic at all costs. I might lie a lot, but it doesn't mean I like too…
He yawns, "Man, it's still so early but I'm so tired. We need to move; do something to wake me up. Sasori's going to bug me even more if he find out we're slacking again, un."
"Well, we can go downtown and see if there's anything interesting," I suggest.
"What's interesting?"
"Well… "
"Okay, think Nene. Deidara is a guy and guys like…guys like girls…but… Deidara is an artsy guy! What do artsy guys like? Where can I take him that he'll have fun at? Where can I take him that he might be attracted to me?"
"We can… just look around?" I suppose unsurely.
"Mmm… yeah I guess," He says, standing up, "Lead the way," he smirks.
I grin at his beautifulness and I feel like I'm floating while walking towards downtown. I'm almost sure that everyone who looks at us thinks we're a couple. They either think we're cute or hate us because they want a boyfriend as good looking as Deidara.
Wait. I just thought of him as my boyfriend. This is bad; if I let how infatuated with him show, he might be turned off forever. I need to remember what Ino said to me in her many pep talks about boys… how to attract them…
"Nene, you need to make yourself look like a million bucks. First impressions last, so make sure you look awesome wherever you go. You never know who you're going to meet!"
Okay, Deidara's first impression was me sleeping in a tree. When I woke up I was hot headed and snappy. Not good. The second time he saw me in a bikini. If that was his first impression… who knows what could have been.
What else did Ino tell me…
"When you tell a guy how you feel, that means you think you can trust him. If he likes you, he should give you insight and advice. If he doesn't, he'll look uncomfortable and might leave."
I guess I can test this out…
I open my mouth about to ask him something about Shikamaru, remembering that he was snooping earlier this day, but Deidara beats me to it and asks, "Hey, you want to get a drink?"
"Guys like bars, I forgot! If I drink he'll think I'm tough… right? He'll think I'm brave or something!"
"Uh, sure! I haven't had a good drink in a while!" I say almost too excited. Again… I lied!
"I didn't think you were the one to drink, un," He teases.
"Pfft, no way. Ino's thrown tons of parties before. I think you can tell how wild they were knowing her."
"Yeah, I think I can picture one. I'm having a tough time imagining you taking shots though, un."
My face flushes, "Well… you'll just have to see for yourself!"
…
The most I've ever drunk was campaign…
We get to a casino with flashing lights and loud music. Right when my butt touches the seat at the bar, I feel my stomach do a flip. I had such a small dinner, and I've barley drunken before. I'm going to be falling all over the place… and then Deidara's going to have to help me around. Maybe there's an upside to this…
Deidara orders the drinks, "Cheers," he says and we clink glasses. I can see him look at me still sipping his drink. I look back at him and keep drinking mine too. I won' let him lose. We finish our drinks.
"Can you imagine me drinking now?" I ask grinning.
"Now I can," He laughs, "I guess you're not as girlie as I thought you were, un."
"Girlie?" I ask perplexed as he orders more drinks, "What do you mean by that?"
"It's just that, when I first saw you, you were asleep in the forest," He chugs his drink down. I copy him, and nearly choke; it's so strong. He continues, "You looked so gentle and small, a good girl, you know, un."
"Yeah… you thought I wasn't a ninja…" I say pouting.
"That was Hidan. You woke up when he opened his big mouth. I knew the first second you woke up, but you were pretending to sleep, so I knew you were on guard, un." He gulps down another drink. I follow.
"So, you're saying you were watching me before the others?" I question.
"Eh… maybe…" he winks.
I laugh and so does he.
"HE WINKED AT ME!" I think in joy. I'm pretty sure that the alcohol is making me happier than I should be already.
"S-so would you say that y-your first impression of me was good?" I hiccup, "Or bad?"
"Good. You were spunky, un."
I laugh and hiccup again. I take another sip of my drink.
"So where did you go when you ran away?" he asks.
Something clicks inside me. I went to the river and found Hidan's ring. I can't tell him that, but the alcohol is making it so hard not too.
"I…I…I went to-"
"Excuse me, but Nene really shouldn't be drinking," A familiar voice interrupts.
"Shikamaru?" I exclaim, "What are you hic doing here?"
"You know this guy?" Deidara asks.
"Yeah, he's a really good friend of mine! Shikamaru, this is Deidara. Deidara, Shikamaru."
They just nod at each other and lock eyes for minute. I think it's a guy thing, but overall I don't what they're doing. I'm too dizzy to care.
"I'm going to take Nene home, Deidara. Her parents aren't going to be happy about her being drunk."
"If Nene doesn't say anything it's fine, un."
Shikamaru drags me out before I could speak up. I'm so confused.
When we're far away, Shikamaru turns me around and grabs my shoulders. "Nene, you shouldn't be with those guys," he says sternly.
"What? W-why not? They're really cool and fun to be w-with!" I retort.
"No, listen, they suspect you! They think you might have the ring. I heard this morning when you went back inside your house."
"Shikamaru, hic, it's nice that y-you're worried, but I can handle my self! Why w-would they suspect me if they stayed in my house hic last night?"
"Didn't you just see what happened in that bar? That guy tried to get you so drunk you'd just spill your entire story!"
I push Shikamaru away, "I can't believe you'd say that! Deidara is my friend! He likes me and I like him!"
"Nene-"
"Shikamaru, go away! Stop telling me this! …Y-you're just jealous!"
"Jealous!?" he exclaims, "Nene, I'm trying to warn you! You're being used!"
I can feel tears in my eyes. I want to run away, but I can't stand. Everything is spinning, and I feel my self falling.
"I'm never getting g drunk again," I think as I tumble on the ground and hit my head.
'SMACK!'
"Nene, wake up!" Ino shouts into my ear. She slaps in the face again.
"Owww…. Ino, stop you're giving me a headache!" I moan.
"I think you're just hung over," Choji states.
I sit up, my head slightly spinning. I'm in Ino's room, and so are Choji and Shikamaru. "Hung over? I don't drink…"
"Well now you do. Deidara bought you some drinks last night. You were having a good time until someone showed up…" Ino says, directing her speech towards Shikamaru.
"I saved her butt, Ino. You would have had all those guy in your house looking for that ring if I didn't pull her out of there."
"Having tons of hot guys in my house is bad? Please, I wouldn't let them leave Konoha so soon. The ring isn't even in my house!"
"Guys…?" I ponder, wondering what they're talking about, until suddenly everything comes back in a huge wave.
.
Get dinner.
Scout the town.
Meet at 10.
.
"Oh my gosh!" I shout, "I was supposed to meet everyone last night at Ichiraku's! And I had to go home! My parents are probably-"
"Don't worry about it," Ino says casually, "I went to your house last night asking if you could sleep over. Your parents said you weren't home but if I could find you, they were totally fine with it. I said, 'She's probably with Deidara; I'll go get them.' They shouldn't even know you were drinking."
"Okay…Thanks… that's one thing down, but what about the others? The guys? Where are they? I don't even know what hotel they stayed at or if they found anything!" I worry.
"Psh, relax, like I said, I wouldn't let them find it so easily."
"Yeah… you also said it's not in your house!" I panic.
"Yeah, where did you hide it , Ino?" Choji prompts.
Out of nowhere, Konan appears at Ino's window. We all jump, surprised and scarred. Our cover was almost blown, again!
"Nene, I'm glad you're sober. Everyone came to the hotel drunk last night," she says relieved.
"Oh, wow! That's crazy… I thought there'd be more to do at night besides go to bars…" I say shakily.
"… You're eyes are red," she points out, "Heh, I didn't think you were the one to drink!" she says teasingly, giving me a 'I'm impressed' look.
"Heh… that's what Deidara said…" I say blushing.
"You and Deidara, huh?" She raises an eyebrow and grins at me,
"Ino, fellas, I'm going to take Nene now if you don't mind."
N/A Not the best date, but it was something! Don't drink kids :P Hope you liked this chapter XD Let me know what you think!
