Hello, everyone! I'm beginning to see a pattern in the recent chapters where a new follower appears after every new upload...that's okay! Welcome to the family! :3 Another short author's note! Enjoy Chapter 29 and R&R, onegai!

Black.

That's all he saw.

Numb.

That's all he felt.

Silence.

That's all he heard.

All of his senses were dull. If he tried focusing on one particular sense, he would get a glimpse of what it was, but it would vanish in the next second.

Was he still alive?

He wasn't too sure on that one.

He couldn't hear his heartbeat, much less feel his lungs rising and falling as they took in oxygen.

But if he was dead…shouldn't he see a light?

All he was seeing was darkness.

Maybe he was in Hell. Maybe he wasn't meant for the high road, considering everything he had done to himself.

Or maybe he was in that dimension that was between Heaven and Hell. The nothingness. Where there was nothing and no one but him, forever floating in a sea of black, devoid of all senses. Maybe he was there because he had so many unfinished tasks back on Earth that were permanently left unfinished because he had decided to take his own life.

To be honest…if he had no way of making it to Heaven, he would much rather choose Hell.

At least then he would be feeling something, besides nothing at all.

Beep.

What was that?

Beep.

There it was again.

Beep.

Ugh…make it stop; it was annoying him and giving him a headache.

Beep.

His eyelids twitched suddenly, clenching slightly as a bright light peaked through the cracks.

What the hell…?

Beep.

The sound seemed to be coming from the left side of him. There shouldn't be any noise where he was at, or any light while he was thinking about it.

So maybe he was in Heaven?

…No, Heaven wouldn't have such an annoying noise accompanying his arrival.

So what was it?

Beep.

It almost sounded like –

Beep.

A heart monitor.

What the - ?

Slowly, he willed his eyelids to spread apart, allowing more light to shine against his irises. It was harsh and unwelcoming, but he needed to know where he was at.

He opened his eyes more, vision clearing to the point where he could finally make out lights overhead which were covered in frosted glass. A fluid sack was attached to a stand, the IV traveling down and into the crook of his right arm, while a blood sack was attached to the other. When he tried to swallow, his throat felt raw and cracked.

And that's when the pain flooded his sensory system.

His stomach felt full, yet empty, all at the same time, almost as if there was a hole in his abdomen. His chest ached with a pain he couldn't quite describe, he just knew it hurt. There was a horrible stinging sensation in his wrists and when he gazed down at them, he wasn't surprised to see them bandaged with clean, white gauze. He was dressed in a normal, blue hospital gown, the bed's sheets matching his ensemble. A T.V. was mounted up in the right corner of the room, showing a grainy image of a news reporter talking about the latest peak in stock market sales.

To his left was the heart monitor machine, the rhythmic beeping signaling that his heart was beating normally, though it hurt to breathe, but he was happy to just be breathing at all.

Further past the machine were the windows that looked out into the hallway, where nurses and doctors rushed around each other in frantic harmony, a few gurneys hurriedly pushing through as well.

He was all but too familiar with this scene.

A movement to his right had him turning to gaze at the disturbance, only to find a nurse rummaging through a drawer. She stood up suddenly, as if she felt someone staring at her, and swiveled around to show a pair of gleaming brown eyes. "You're awake sooner than we anticipated."

"Where am I, un?"

God, his voice was raspy.

"You're in the hospital," the nurse, with a nametag that read Tsunade, explained, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. "You've only been out for about six hours or so."

"What happened, un?"

"Well, that's a little hard to explain," Tsunade remarked, reaching for the clipboard attached to the end of the bed. She flipped through the pages. "It seems you indigested a fairly large amount of alcohol and medication last night, as well as attempted suicide. When you finally arrived here, you weren't breathing and your heart had almost stopped beating. You were also suffering from severe bleeding, which needed to be stopped immediately. After we got that under control, we began blood transfusion and gastric lavage."

"So my stomach was pumped, un?"

"Yes, sir, it was," she went on. "We had very little knowledge of the medication you took and didn't have the appropriate antidote to counteract the effect of the drugs, so our only option was to pump your stomach before your body soaked it up. Your alcohol consumption was distressful as well. You were suffering from alcohol poisoning, which is another factor as to why we had to pump your stomach immediately. To be frank, Mr. Hayashi, you are incredibly lucky to be alive at the moment."

"H-How did I get here, though, un?" Deidara asked. "I don't remember much, but I remember being alone."

"If it hadn't been for that young man waiting in the lobby, you most likely would not be here right now."

"What young man, un?"

"The one with the red hair."

Sasori?

Is that who she's talking about?

Sasori saved him?

But how did he - ?

"He came rushing in with you on his back. Seemed as if he had carried you all the way here. Unfortunately he passed out before he could explain things further."

Panic swarmed the blonde's body. He jerked upright to a sitting position. "Is he alright, un? Please tell me he's okay."

Tsunade stood and gently pressed her hand against his shoulder, urging him to lie back down, which he complied. "He's perfectly okay. He suffered from a mild asthma attack and-"

"Sasori has asthma, un?"

"Yes, but that is as far as I can go into detail about Mr. Akasuna's medical state. Confidentiality agreements prevent me from explaining further, though I gather you would appreciate the knowledge," she explained. "But when he awoke shortly after his spell, he was able to inform us of what had occurred, as far as what medication you had taken. After that was when we proceeded with the gastric lavage."

Deidara didn't say anything.

Just allowed the words to soak into his mind.

Sasori was okay.

Sasori had saved him.

But how had he known about his condition?

"We took the liberty of calling your family, Mr. Hayashi," Tsunade interrupted his thoughts and he gazed at her with wide eyes. "You what, un?"

"We called your family."

"Why would you do that, un?"

"Mr. Hayashi, it's your family. They have a right to know-"

"Please call me Deidara, un. I swear, every time you say 'Mr. Hayashi', I feel like you're talking to my father."

"My apologies, Deidara. We felt it was right to call your family, considering they are related to you and deserve to know why you wouldn't be going home for the holidays," Tsunade explained.

"What day is it, un?"

"December 24th; Christmas Eve."

"…Shit, un," he raked a hand through his mess of blonde locks, ignoring the intense stinging. "Who did you call?"

"Just your parents and your cousin, Ino Iwa," she replied, standing up and making her way over to the door. She gave him a warm smile. "Would you like to see any of them?"

"…Just Ino for now, un," he murmured, averting his gaze. He heard her exit the room and disappear down the hallway. Within the next few minutes, the sound of running footsteps echoed against his eardrums and the door opened to reveal his cousin. Her platinum blonde hair was in a messy bun, pale blue eyes wide as she gazed at the man on the bed.

"Deidara…" she said weakly, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "Thank God you're okay! I was so worried about you."

"Ino, please let go, un. It's still hard to breathe," the blonde gasped out, feeling her limbs crushing him. She released her grip, wiping at the tears that refused to stop. "Sorry," she took a sit in the unoccupied chair, "I was just…I was scared when I got the call. I knew something had happened when you refused to answer my calls. I tried up to three times a day, leaving voicemail after voicemail in the hopes that you would return at least one message. But when the mailbox became full, I began to lose hope."

"And that's when you stopped calling me, un," he accused, slightly glaring. Ino gave him a flabbergasted expression. "No! I never stopped calling! I continued to call you, Dei!"

"That's horseshit and you know it, Ino, un," he retorted. "I never heard the phone ring after a while."

"That's because you were in a damn alcoholic stupor!" Ino yelled, eyes blazing with anger, which had Deidara shutting his mouth tight. "I started reaching out to Hidan in the hopes that he could get a hold of you, but with no luck! He kept asking me what was going on with you, considering you never thought to explain the original incident, though he's your best friend, and I had to lie to him! Honestly, Dei, what happened to you to cause you to do this to your - ?"

"It's none of your goddamn business, Ino, un!"

"IT IS MY BUSINESS WHEN YOU TRIED TO KILL YOURSELF, DEIDARA!" she yelled. "Whatever happened to you to cause you do this within less than three weeks must've been emotionally traumatizing. So forgive me if I want to know what caused you to want to kill yourself and overdose on your medication!"

Silence followed her words, a silence that one could easily cut with a knife. It was so quiet that Deidara could hear the blood flowing through his ears. Ino sighed, sitting back down, gaze sincere and empathetic. "Was it Sasori?"

"What, un?" he looked her.

"Was. It. Sasori?" she emphasized. The blonde clenched his jaw, averting his gaze. "Like I told you before, it's none of your business, un."

"Did you all have a fight?"

"…"

"Deidara, please talk to me."

He let a few seconds pass by before responding. He looked at her face. "Yes, we did, un. I never told him about how when HelioTech became partners with Iwa Stratos, he would lose his job. He found out because he read the folder you had given me that had the contract inside, un. He accused me of lying and didn't give me a chance to explain anything. He walked out of the penthouse, but not before he slapped me and told me he hated me and never wanted to see me again, un."

"Dei, I'm sorry, but I'm still confused," his cousin remarked, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. "I don't understand why that could have affected you so much. I mean, he's just your roommate and friend, so that shouldn't-"

"Wouldn't really call him a friend if I've had sex with him, un," he mumbled under his breath.

But it was still loud enough for Ino to hear.

She blinked a few times. "W-What did you-?"

"I HAD SEX WITH HIM, ALRIGHT, UN?!" he screamed at her, eyes blazing with rage. "I am in love with a man named Sasori Akasuna! The night of the party is when we did it, un! It was the morning after that he found the contract and told me he hated me! And after that, he never called or texted me, un! It was like he never even existed in my life! How else was I supposed to feel when the person I was in love with hated me and walked out of my life, un?!"

"Deidara…you're gay?"

"IS THAT THE ONLY THING THAT FUCKING MATTERS TO YOU, UN?!" he shrieked, skin stretched taut against his throat from the anger. "If I must repeat myself, I will! I AM IN LOVE WITH A MAN NAMED SASORI AKASUNA, UN! And I don't care what you think, what my uncle thinks, and I surely don't give a rat's ass about my own father's opinion, either! I'm fucking tired of trying to please him and you and disappointing my mother for falling into a family she tried to get away from, un! I'm tired of fucking trying so goddamn hard to receive acknowledgment from people! So to answer your stupid, ignorant, and goddamn pretentious question: I am in love and have made love with another man, un. And if that makes me fucking gay, then so fucking be it. Because I don't give a flying fuck what people think anymore, un. It's my life; my fucking rules."

He lay back, not even realizing he had sat up during his rant.

Well…it hadn't been the way he had wanted to tell Ino that he was in love with Sasori.

But at least it was out there, along with a few other thoughts that had been eating away at his mind for the past few weeks.

And such, his cousin just sat there, allowing the words to sink in, fill her brain with understanding. She sighed, averting her gaze. "Deidara…I…I don't care…what your sexuality is. I never did."

"Then why the hell were you trying to set me up so goddamn much before and during the party, un?"

"You never told me, Dei!" Ino countered, defensiveness lining her voice. "Had I known, I would've backed off. Or maybe even possibly have helped you. But I don't care about what you are. I'll accept you no matter what. Though I know your dad won't approve-"

"Like I said, I don't give a flying fuck about what my dad thinks, un," Deidara growled, clenching his hands into fists, hating the stinging in his wrists. "I'm tired of trying to please him. He could disown me for all I care, un. Though I don't have a job anymore."

"Actually you do," his cousin smiled widely. "My father has decided to allow you to keep your job. He understood you were going through something that needed to be fixed. Though the time you've taken off hasn't been paid leave."

"I don't care, un," the blonde sighed, relief allowing his shoulders to slump. "I'm just happy both Sasori and I can keep our jobs."

"And I'm happy for you both," Ino said serenely. She sighed, face growing serious. "But what are you going to do about your parents? They're waiting to see you."

"They're not who I want to see next, un."

"Then who is it?"

Deidara gave a small smile. "Do I have to say, un?