Dang, I didn't imagine my story being so successful. According to the reviews, you guys seem to really like it. Though I'm doing this to satisfy my need for storytelling, I admire all the things you guys are saying and that really encourages me to keep on creating so thank you, my lovely readers. As always, thank you so much!
Also, apologies for the long wait yet again. My life has been super busy for the past few months, it's honestly kind of overwhelming. Plus, I'm working on another story I've mentioned about. Still debating on when I should post it. And no, it's not a Naruto fanfic, lol. Still, I hope you guys will enjoy it once it's out. It's only a matter of time.
Anyways, time to treat you guys with a chapter… Chapter 33, that is.
Chapter 33: Stuck in the Dark (Part 7)
Katsumi's POV:
Once I felt a soft bump—indicating that we had landed—I jumped off of the large bird, landing gracefully on my feet. Both Deidara and Tobi followed suit then the blonde rotated and made a hand sign. A moment later, a puff of smoke appeared where the bird stood and after a while once the smoke disappeared, the blonde's creation was no longer in sight. I watched as he slowly moved forward, bent down, and picked up a small object laying on the ground. He turned around and held out his hand, showing me the same bird now in a miniature form. Smiling at my interested reaction, he clenched his fist then opened it, revealing the same substance used to make the bird now in a blob state.
"Since you're so high on you art, I'm assuming this stuff is some sort of clay, right?" I guessed assumedly, glancing at him.
Deidara nodded. "It's a special clay that is significant for my jutsu, hm." He explained briefly, putting the piece of clay back into one of his pouches.
The blonde then started walking towards the entrance that led to the town "we" intended to visit. Both Tobi and I quickly marched to catch up to him until I was waking next to his shoulder while his partner followed closely behind us.
"I've never seen a jutsu like it in my life." I remarked in acknowledgment. "It must be some sort of kekkei genkai."
"Not really; it's more of a kinjutsu." He corrected huskily, looking ahead at the apartments and houses. "However, I wasn't born with it nor did I obtain it at a young age, hm."
"Then, how?" I asked doubtfully, not putting two and two together.
The blonde suddenly threw me a cocky smirk with eyes showing nothing but pure, strong pride.
"I stole it." He answered proudly as his smirk stretched into a wicked smile.
I flinched in disbelief, before frowning skeptically. "Like hell, you did!"
"Hell yeah, I did!" The blonde argued, frowning at me with disapproval. "Don't believe me? Ask the old man, Ōnoki, hmph!"
"Huh?" I scrunched my face confusingly, not comprehending who he was talking about.
"He's talking about the current Tsuchikage." Tobi informed abruptly.
I then parted my lips in comprehension as I glanced at the boy, mutely thanking him.
"Why did you steal a kinjutsu when the Tsuchikage made it clear it was forbidden by locking it away?" I then questioned him warily, sharpening my look at the blonde.
I assumed this jutsu of his was forbidden considering that his village's Kage got involved and stated that no one was allowed to go near it. Of course, some of the villagers brushed that order aside.
"I dunno. Mostly because it symbolizes my view in art... and it made me a lot stronger than ever before, hm." He answered with carefreeness, shrugging his shoulders.
I rolled my eyes at his answer. "No wonder they reclassified you as a rogue ninja." I muttered to myself bluntly.
"That's part of the reason, hm." He responded with a scoff; apparently he heard my little comment.
As I was taken back by his incredible hearing sense, I felt Tobi's presence moving up to my side.
"Basically, Deidara over here blew up half of the Hidden Stone Village." He chirped brightly, sounding as if he was proud that his partner did such a crime.
Then again, borrowing someone's weapons supply without asking was likely a huge, no-no crime to the man-child.
I didn't know why this information didn't occur to me until the last minute when I gawked at him with disbelief.
"Why the f**k did you blow up your village!?" I snapped in disapproval, punching his arm as emphasis of how displeased I was.
Deidara pouted at me as he rubbed his arm in pain. "Blame old man, Ōnoki! It's his damn fault, insulting my art, hmph!"
I huffed in annoyance, dismissing the blonde's petty attitude as the three of us began entering the town. As we slowly walked down the street, I pulled my hood over my head while making sure it covered parts of my face. As I did so, I received a weird look from the blonde while the Tobi skipped ahead of us.
"What?" I snapped defensively, adjusting my hood. "I don't want someone recognizing me..."
"Whatever you say, hm." He grunted nonchalantly. "But to be frank, who exactly will recognize you? The Leaf Village is literally miles and miles away from here."
"Still, you can't be too careful." I huffed stubbornly.
The blonde shrugged dismissively. "Whatever, where do you wanna go first?" The blonde asked me abruptly.
I shrugged unsurely at him. Just when I was about to response, I flinched to see Tobi just standing in front of me, inches away from my face.
"I'm starving!" He whined childishly.
"Well, I guess we can grab a bite before we do anything." I insisted unsurely, glancing at the blonde for an answer.
"Yeah sure, hmph." He nodded excitedly.
"Then, it's settled." I concluded firmly, returning the nod.
"YAAAAYYY, I know what we should get~!" Tobi sang joyfully, clapping his hands and hopping excitedly. "Sweet and sour... DUMPLINGS!"
With that, he raced down the streets with incredible speed as a trail of dust followed behind him—emphasis of how fast he was traveling for mere dessert.
"Should we chase after him?" I asked in confusion, glancing up at the blonde.
"Meh, just leave him be." He replied indifferently. "It's harder to catch up to him when he's super excited."
"I can see that." I scoffed amusedly, eyeing at the dust floating in the air from a distance.
Kabuto's POV:
"Hello, gentlemen." A female clerk greeted friendly with a big smile on her face as we entered the inn. "How may I assist you?"
Before I gave the blonde my response, I side-glanced at Sasuke who stood there eyeing me suspiciously.
"I'll investigate the inn from the inside." I instructed him quietly, not wanting the hotel clerk to hear anything. "Meanwhile, you search around the outside."
The Uchiha boy took in my instructions, yet he stood there reluctantly. I couldn't blame him; I would be suspicious too if someone asked a favour like that out of nowhere. But we needed the clerk to ID certain guests in order to confirm information from Hana's sources. The issue was that Sasuke was standing right bloody there and if anyone of us remotely mentioned about you-know-who, the boy would become just as rowdy, just as brash, just as hyper, and just as explosive as his blonde, knuckle-headed "friend".
Getting him to search outside of the inn was just the thing to keep him busy, until he finally decided to start walking.
After one blink and an annoyed huff from him, Sasuke finally took his leave and walked out of the inn. I slowly started moving towards the main desk, not taking my eyes off of the raven's back until I was certain he was nowhere in sight nor hearing distance. This goal was achieved when he casually turned to his right, seemingly started to "look for clues".
After sighing with relief, I finally gave the poor woman my attention with an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that."
"Oh, don't mention it." She waved it off brightly. "As I was saying, how may I help you?"
"I was actually wondering if you could help me... find something..." I responded lowly, leaning over towards the clerk to prevent anyone from hearing anything except her.
I was prepared for her to jump back and order me to get out of the property. But no, she didn't do that. In fact, she wasn't remotely uncomfortable; she let out soft giggles. I cocked an eyebrow at her curiously, waiting for her to clarify her perspective of this.
"I'm gonna assume this 'something' you're looking for is actually someone..." She remarked amusedly as her smile stretched wider. "I'm also gonna assume that you and that boy who just left you are ninja."
Hearing her hypothesis made my brows twitch in disbelief. This mere human being with no chakra reserves whatsoever instantly figured out that I was a shinobi. But how was that possible? A blonde, cheery, friendly inn clerk that wasn't a day over twenty-five.
"My dad's side are mostly trained ninja, so yes, I have come into contact with some in my life." She briefly explained. "I also know that whatever mission you're on, it's classified information and it must be completed as soon as possible."
I stood there in mute, still trying to process what had just happened and taking in what she had just said to me.
The blonde then gave me a wink. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I won't say a word about this to anyone..."
"How did you come up such a theory without anyone of us saying a word?" Hana blurted curiously, ignoring the fact that she blew her cover as my pet dove.
It didn't matter at this point. 'I mean, she already knows that we're shinobi meaning she probably guessed Hana was a summoning...'
"Well, who else comes into an inn, asking for something other than a room for two?" She asked rhetorically, still keeping her friendly smile while dismissing the fact she was giving an answer to a dove.
Well, she does make a good point.
"Besides, this town isn't all that big; literally everybody knows everybody." She continued suggestively. "I didn't recognize you guys and there isn't any better reason for you being here than working on a mission."
Those were solid points the girl made. She might be a young, part-time clerk, but she had the potential of a genius.
"So, who are you looking for?" She inquired intriguingly.
After a few blinks and a cough to clear my throat, I parted my lips.
"We're looking for two rogue ninja in particular and we heard that they were in this area, settling in this very inn." I briefed vaguely.
I didn't want to give this stranger any more significant details than I already had—maybe innocent, but still a stranger nonetheless.
"Can you give me a brief description of their appearance?" She asked politely.
"One of which is very tall, possibly carrying a large sword on his back, and has abnormal blue skin. The other one is shorter with crimson-coloured eyes, most likely." I described broadly, avoiding the suspect's as much as possible.
The female clerk paused for a moment, pouting hardly in thought to recall such description of those two guests. Meanwhile, Hana and I stood there anxiously in front of her, hoping that she could possibly link two and two together. After a long moment of waiting and thinking, the girl popped out an 'aha' face then smiled brightly at me.
"Were they wearing robes that were the same?" She asked me eagerly.
"Yes, most likely." I nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, I did see them." She beamed happily. "I remember. I was working a shift about two days ago, and I checked those two into this inn. Although, I didn't their faces clearly... they were wearing weird, identical hats..."
"Which room?" Hana asked hastily.
We gave the clerk a brief moment to look over the records of guest checking in and out of the inn. She glanced back at me and then she leaned over, searching for something in the desk's shelves.
"It appears that they stayed in Room 315." She answered slowly, pulling out a key for said room. "What's more, they didn't even stay in that room for one night. The time span from checking in to checking out was about two and a half hours."
I gratefully took the keys and immediately started walking towards the flight of stairs, but not before I nodded a thanks to the clerk who responded with a friendly grin. With that, I started walking towards the stairs, until a certain question stopped me on my tracks.
"If you don't mind me asking..." The clerk remarked nervously, then gulped down the nervousness. "Why are you looking for these rogue ninja?"
I tried to come up with a simple answer that could give the blonde a better idea of my goal. However, my brain wasn't up to it so I decided to do something that I normally wouldn't do... I was going to let my heart answer the question for me. So I side-glanced at the clerk over my shoulder and gave her a sharp, but determined look that emphasized how I felt deep inside.
"They stole something from me... something that's most precious to me..." I grumbled lowly with gritted teeth. "And I'm going to take back what's rightfully mine..."
The girl behind the desk looked a bit stunned at my response, but then she placed an understanding smile; she was encouraging me to go after what was precious to me.
"I hope you do get what's yours back." She commented hopefully, slightly bowing his head. "Good luck."
I couldn't help but smile lightly at the kind blonde who went out of her way to assist us as much as possible despite bending some rules in her job.
"Thank you." I simply replied, then immediately started walking up the stairs.
As I hiked up, from step to step, I heard the small dove cooing for my attention.
"What you said back there..." Hana trailed off anxiously.
I paused my steps and glanced at the white bird sitting on my shoulders blankly. After a long moment of exchanging expressionless stares, I dropped my eyes to the ground while pushing up my glasses to prevent them from falling.
"Yeah…" I answered softly. "…I've felt this way ever since I started developing feelings for her. She made me feel something that no one could... she made me feel human..."
"Kabuto..."
"After everything that has happened to her, I thought—no, I know I could make her feel human as well." I continued as I clenched my fist. "I want her to know... she's not alone... she never was alone. She belongs with someone who genuinely cares about her... she belongs with someone that she could call home..."
After hearing my speech, I felt a bit awkward of how silent the dove was so I hesitantly looked at Hana from the corner of my eye to see if her expression had changed.
"Sorry, that sounds too possessive..." I sighed regretfully, averting my eyes.
"Nonsense, Kabuto... I understand what you're saying completely..." She dismissed assuredly. "I would never think you're possessive... I see this more as an emotional attachment if anything..."
I nodded in agreement then I slowly proceeded in walking up the stairs again. As I did so, there was a question in my head that was begging to come out.
"Why are you so kind to me, Hana?" I questioned roughly, furrowing my brows ahead. "We don't really know each other, and I know you're aware of my deeds..."
"Well..." Hana cooed unsurely, looking away. "Let's just say... someone gave me a better insight of you, Kabuto..."
I eyed the sensitive dove suspiciously, wondering who this certain someone was that opened the bird's min about me a little.
'Katsumi...' The first name to pop in my mind who could've done such a thing.
With that, my lips subconsciously curved up into a soft smile as I let myself succumb to my thoughts.
'In spite of the things I've done for so long... you still see me in a different light. You changed this dove's mind about me to the point where it sees me with respect.' I thought blissfully while my eyes started to get glossy from heavy emotions.
'I never felt like I deserve anything or anyone except for Lord Orochimaru... but then you showed me that I indeed deserve more than what's given. You taught me to fight for what I cared about the most... and that's exactly what I'm doing right now...'
Katsumi's POV:
"Ah, aCHOO!" I sneezed abruptly with a high pitched noise, startling the two man sitting on the table across from me.
Both Tobi and Deidara paused their chewing and stared bafflingly at me. Meanwhile, I gave myself some time to recover from a sneeze that literally came out of nowhere. No sniffle, cold, dust, or allergy. Just when I was about to excuse myself, a tissue held itself out in front of me caught my eyes. I guided my eyes from the tissue, to the wrist then up the arm until my eyes met a familiar face.
"Bless you, hm." Deidara smirked in amusement, holding out the tissue for me to take.
I rolled my eyes at the look he gave me then I gratefully took the tissue out of his hand. "Thanks."
"That came out of nowhere." The blonde commented dryly, taking a bite of one of his dumplings as I blew my nose. "Legend has it that when a person suddenly sneezes, it means that someone is talking or thinking about you—one or the other, I'm not sure, hm."
Literally that myth was one of the few myths I heard from almost everyone I had conversed with. Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Itachi, Kabuto, Orochimaru were just the select few that I could name off the top of my head. I wasn't a complete doubter of this myth mainly because on more than one occasion, it coincidently happened. However I wasn't a complete hippie. Besides, a lot of people I was close with could be talking and/or thinking about me right at this moment.
"I wonder who would be talking about Katsumi…" Tobi thought the same aloud, tapping his dumpling stick on his orange swirly mask. "Maybe… it could be her… boyfriend…?"
"TOBI!" Deidara snapped angrily, smacking the boy upside the head.
Apparently, the blonde hit him so hard, he knocked the man-child off of his seat and onto the ground. As Tobi stargazed at the stars that were orbiting around his head, I sat there with my cheeks—or hell, my whole face—turning bright red from the boy's prediction.
Speaking of which, why the hell did the blonde reacted so badly to the idea of me having a boyfriend?
"When will you gain a damn filter, hmph!?" Said blonde hissed fumingly as his partner lifted himself off of the ground until he was in a sitting position.
"What's the matter with that, partner? How could she not have a boyfriend?" Tobi asked shakenly as he carefully pat his head which was his partner's target. "She's super pretty."
"Uh, thanks, Tobi…" I spoke up awkwardly, still as red as a tomato.
"Idiot, don't say things like that in front of her!" Deidara snapped impatiently, glaring daggers at the boy who returned to his seat. "The point of taking her out is to make her feel better, not scare her off!"
"I don't know, Deidara." Tobi hummed playfully, crossing his arms as he adjusted himself in his seat. "Maybe there's something more you're not telling us."
"Like what?" The blonde grumbled in response.
The immature Akatsuki member remained silent, causing the anticipation between Deidara and me to grow.
"How about the fact that you want Katsumi for yourself!" He exclaimed mockingly, giving no types of f**ks about his partner's pride. "Face it, partner! You're just a jealous, lovesick pup—!"
Tobi was instantly cut off by his partner putting him in a tight, firm headlock while forcing the poor boy on the table inches away from me. I heard the man-child choking and gagging, desperate for air as he gripped on the blonde's forearm, trying to pry himself out of his hold. But because of his surprising amount of strength—and the fact that he was piss angry at his "comrade"—he had an iron hold on him and was refusing to let go until he either learned his lesson or suffocated him to death.
I wasn't sure if I should beg for mercy, or b***h slap both of them for being nothing but brainless fools. But instead, I did the most out-of-character thing in any situation like this…I laughed. Not just a mere 'tee-hee' laugh, but I drowned myself into mad fits of laughter. I don't know if it was because this overall was hilarious to watch, or because I was in such an awkward position in this situation, I reacted by dying of laughter. But I did. I laughed so hard, it started to bug my midsection, so I held it very tightly as I continued to holler.
Apparently, it got so bad, I got the attention of not only the two Akatsuki members—who long stopped their battle of gaining dominance with each other since I'd started laughing—but almost everyone in the tiny dumpling shop turned their attention towards our table located at a near corner.
"What the hell is so funny, hmph!?" Deidara hissed defensively.
I couldn't even attempt to answer his question because my laughter prevented me from saying one single word properly. So he resorted in waiting—as he still kept his hold on Tobi—until my laughing subsided which took a good five minutes. Even after all that, I had to give myself a bit more time to catch my breath and let my stomach recover from that hell of a laugh. After one big exhale, I looked up at the two with a wide grin on my face.
"Sorry about that." I sighed apologetically, still trying to contain begging giggles. "It's just the sight of you trying to murder your own partner and you pressing the buttons on a ticking time bomb… I couldn't hold it in any longer."
Remaining in their positions, Deidara and Tobi exchanged clueless looks then both gave out a heavy sigh while I allowed the small giggles to come out. Until I let out all of the laughter in me, the blonde finally released his grip on the boy's neck while he coughed and breathed deeply, absorbing as much air as possible until his lungs were satisfied.
"On a serious note, you guys have to get along better. It'll be unnecessarily harder to complete simple missions if you [Tobi] don't think before you act slash say and you [Deidara] impulsively blowing up on him out of mere instincts." I advised genuinely, switching my attention between the two. "Teamwork is crucial in ninja missions and each of your strengths and weaknesses complement each other, making you stronger. Take advantage of that power… or expect a funeral for the both of you…"
"Don't worry, Katsumi!" Tobi chirped in glee. "Deidara and I will try to get along better!"
"Yeah, whatever, hmph." Said blonde grumbled underneath his breath as he looked aside with folded arms.
"Good." I nodded in approval.
"Now that that's settled, I'm gonna head to the bathroom." Tobi notified happily then he skipped towards said location.
"Hope he flushes himself down the toilet, hmph…" The blonde muttered coldly, glaring at the boy's back once he was out of hearing distance.
"Hey, I just told you to take it easy on him." I interjected quickly, frowning at him.
"Try scolding me after you've lived with someone as unbearably annoying and aggravating as him." The blonde remarked hardly, ignoring what I had just said.
Correction: I indeed lived with someone like that. I'll leave it at that.
"Still, he's your partner and when push comes to shove, he'll save your butt when you need a hand." I insisted nonchalantly, leaning back on my seat.
"Well, it's not really my fault that we mix like water and oil. And to be frank, it isn't Tobi's fault either." He replied with a gruff. "We haven't been partners for a while. In fact, Lord Pain put us together as recently as last month, hm."
"Really now." I commented interestedly, looking at him intently.
Deidara smirked at my reaction then he nodded. "You see, Tobi's our newest member of the Akatsuki and around the same time, my previous partner was killed by your fellow Leaf ninja. Since one of the top rules in this organization is always act in pairs and I didn't have a partner, Tobi was assigned to be just that, hmph. And the rest is history…" He explained flatly, stealing a sip from his drink.
"Aw, that sounds so cute." I purred playfully, grinning sarcastically to which the blonde didn't take too fondly.
"Shut up, hmph!" He snapped hastily.
I chuckled at his reaction while shaking my head.
"So what was your previous partner like?" I asked conversationally, picking up a stick filed with a trio of dumplings.
"My man, Sasori? Well… you can say he was my polar opposite, hm. He very much had so much pride in his art an embraced it like myself. However, our personalities and ideology of art differs greatly." He described lightly, placing his cup on the table.
"Sasori… as in 'Sasori of the Red Sand', right?" I remarked assumingly as I chewed half a dumpling.
Deidara confirmed with a slow nod. "He believed that art lasts for eternity and that true beauty is how long it could last as generations go by. Kind of stupid if you ask me, hm." He explained lowly.
"Then, I guess that means he has a soft spot for museums." I joked, gulping my food down.
Deidara shrugged. "I'm not sure if that's the case. All I know is that he and I are respected artists who do nothing but create and express what art is to us, hm."
"You seem to have a soft spot for him, Deidara." I analyzed gently, avoiding any nerve that could set him off. "Were you guys like… close?"
The blonde let out a laugh, throwing me off guard.
"No, we were never 'close'. At the very most, we see each other as acquaintances and—very much so—as art rivals." He chuckled amusedly, shaking his head.
"Still, I would imagine that you at least miss him once and a while."
"After being partnered up with that doofus, I sure as hell miss that shell of a guy." He scoffed bluntly, playing with one of the empty dumpling sticks. "The dude was hollow, yet he carried much more common sense than Tobi, never mind intelligence, hmph."
"Hollow?" I repeated that specific term, eyeing him confusingly. "I'm not following."
Knowing that I didn't comprehend what he meant, Deidara glanced up at the ceiling while holding his chin in thought. He hummed deeply to himself as we both sat there in pure silence.
"Let me put it this way: he was a live, hollow puppet." He disclosed straightforwardly.
Hearing that simple, blunt description caused me to choke on a dumpling piece. After a moment where I cleared my airway, I snapped a look at the blonde who had an amused look on his face.
"That's a d**k thing to say about an acquaintance, don't you think?" I questioned sarcastically.
"Don't believe me? Ask any Akatsuki member or that Granny of his, although she's sort of dead at the moment." He encouraged smugly.
I threw an unpleasant stare at him for insensitively mentioning the latter.
"It's true, he literally modify his entire body into a wooden puppet, hm…" He persisted calmly.
"But… why?" I inquired puzzlingly.
"Along with his theory about 'eternal art' and 'true beauty', he's also obsessed about immortality like Orochimaru." He briefed in bore, slumping in his seat. "He wanted to defy the odds in living pass the life span of a human. Reason being? Well, if I had to guess… I think it has to do with the fact that being immortal relates with his idea of art. Plus, the longer he lived, the more human puppets he can create, hm."
"Human puppets?" I repeated appallingly as my eyes widened. "As in, puppets made out of… humans…?"
"Uh… duh?" The blonde responded, looking at me as if I had no brain.
My jaw dropped at his collected expression for something as horrible and unethical as making human beings into wooden toys. Seeing my disgusted facial expression made the blonde roll his eyes.
"Don't worry, he doesn't make them when they're alive." He assured calmly, then placed a smirk on his face. "He kills them then makes them into puppets, hm."
"How is THAT any better!?" I gawked incredulously.
"They're already put out of their misery and they wouldn't feel anything so what's the big difference?" He asked dryly.
"You people are disgusting!" I exclaimed accusingly.
Deidara huffed at my insult. "Not all of us makes human puppets, hm." He remarked matter-of-factly.
"But you're telling me this as if we're talking about how amazing the weather is today!" I countered in disagreement.
"Which—by the way—is awfully amazing, hm. No sign of a storm coming any time soon…" He trailed off playfully, which irked me more than it should.
"Deidara, I'm serious!" I spat exasperatedly.
"I don't really see the problem here. For god's sake, I'm an S-rank criminal." He stated bluntly, crossing his arms. "Making puppets out of humans is nothing compared to the stuff I've witnessed."
"And I thought Itachi was heartless…" I muttered to myself.
"At least Sasori didn't kill his parents, hm." He witted impulsively, then gaped in disbelief for what he had just said without forethought.
I averted my eyes, refusing to let him see how I felt about that comment of his.
"That was out of line." He quickly recovered; his voice covered itself with guilt.
I shook my head. "No, just forget it…"
"Still, it was insensitive of me for mentioning it carelessly, hm…" He insisted sympathetically.
Hearing this brought out a chuckle from within as I received an odd, confused look from the blonde because of this.
"You're an S-rank criminal slash murderer, like you said." I pondered quietly, slowing glancing at the male sitting in front of me. "Yet… you feel bad for bringing up my deceased parents…"
"Well… I guess it's because I'm trying hard not to provoke an Uchiha. I already learned my lesson the last time I irked said clansman, hm." He commented smugly, smirking entertainingly at me. "And… I'm trying to bond with someone for once… and from what I'm seeing, you're a cool and collected person… you're the most bearable person I've ever communicated with…"
I eyed Deidara warily as he threw a friendly smile at me. Just today, we got to know each other a bit better—though, it was me who got to know the male a bit more rather than the other way around—and now we were acting as if this "friendship"—if you could even call it that—was alive for months up to a year. Not only that, it was the blonde who was more than happy to open himself up to me without knowing a single thing about me—excluding the stuff I briefed about while making breakfast which also happened f**kin' today. It was hilarious that he was being friendly and chill with me because before this morning, he saw me as a spoiled little kid that happened to be busted by her big brother and now she had to be punished by bringing her to his house of heartless humans. Need I remind you that he distasted me because I was a goddamn Uchiha? Yet, he was now acting as if I were his childhood friend that he hadn't seen for so many years.
I wasn't saying that he was a person I didn't like—if anything, I happened to oddly enjoy his company at the moment since being kidnapped—but I was more concerned of how he transitioned from seeing me as a his moral rival to a good pal. And how f**kin' fast it took for that to transpire.
What was he expecting from me anyway? What was it that made him interested in me so suddenly?
'Is there more than what I'm seeing in the back of his head?' I wondered hardly in thought, masking my suspicion with a blank face. 'Or am I just looking into it too much?'
"So, uh..." The blonde trailed nervously, averting his bright blue eye.
I huffed out a smile at his sudden newfound shyness. "What is it now, blondie?"
"Do you... um, have one then, hm...?" He asked me in a shaky voice.
I cocked an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"Have what?" I questioned puzzlingly, squinting my eyes at him to emphasize the fact that I wasn't following his question.
Deidara then groaned in frustration, annoyed with himself for being such a coward and not asking upfront. He gather all the courage he had within him and stared at me hardly as I sat across from him, intently with blank onyx eyes.
"Do you have a boyfriend or not, hmph?" He queried flatly with his eyes shining with a stronger bright blue than before.
I did nothing but subconsciously stretch my eyes in surprise. Not because Deidara asked such a personal question, but because he looked like he really wanted to know the answer from me. It made me feel weird and uncomfortable not necessarily because I was ashamed nor embarrassed to tell him I do have one. It was the fact that I most likely had to tell him who this person was. It was more than clear to me that Orochimaru and Akatsuki were friendly as much as Itachi and Sasuke were friendly. By which I mean, they f**kin' hated each other. And because they held a grudge against the snake and possibly anyone who was loyal to him—aka Kabuto—they would feel their petty wrath too for associating with him. And because Kabuto was very loyal to "Lord Orochimaru" and I was involved with the bookworm and somewhat associated with the snake, I probably would receive some of their shade too.
I was starting to get the feeling that I would've been thrown in a dirty cell and treated like chicken s**t if I wasn't Itachi's younger sister—who probably was one of Pain's favourite subordinates.
My point was this: if I were to tell the blonde that my boyfriend was the bookworm, he would either laugh his ass off as if I was joking, feel disgusted that I went so low to fall for a "heartless, psychotic, emotionless, narcissistic nerd", or say nothing and tell his Leader, by which I would get busted and pay the price for opening my mouth as a result.
I wasn't quick to assume that Deidara would do such a thing because he was actually cool and honest and surprisingly friendly—which was new coming from a criminal in the bingo books. However, he was so loyal to the organization and especially to his master—despite him being forced to join—I wouldn't bet on my lucky stars that he would keep it for my safety.
Regardless the fact that he was nice and friendly to me, I highly doubted that he particularly cared about me. If anything, he would probably be a bystander, witnessing my suffering then he would check on me to see if I was alright. Besides, I was getting the feeling that it I did confirm his suspicion, he was going to take it personally as if I straight-up insulted him. So telling him was a lose-lose situation.
"Why so curious, Deidara?" I asked slyly, resting my cheek on my hand with my elbow on the table. "Whether I tell you or not shouldn't affect you in the very least."
Deidara smirked amusedly at me then shrugged. "Don't get your hopes up, Uchiha. I just wanna know if Tobi was right about you having a boyfriend, hmph. You're not even my type, to be honest..."
"Why do you care if Tobi was right or not when you literally dismiss everything else he's saying?" I questioned with a scoff, raising an eyebrow.
"Calm down, okay?" He assured lowly. "I don't catch feelings, especially for a girl, hm."
"You rather die sad and alone, then?" I assumed bluntly, containing a laugh.
"Like hell I'm sad! I'm happy riding solo for the rest of my life, hm." He proclaimed proudly without any shame. "And I'm not gonna die a simply death; if I'm gonna leave this world, I'm leaving it with a bang."
I gave up trying to contain myself and finally allowed myself to laugh. Meanwhile, the blonde sat there, watching me almost pissing myself with a big smile on his face.
"I'd like to see that firework show!" I giggled loudly, earning confused and unpleasant looks from other people.
"Like I said before: art is an explosion, hmph!" He remarked cockily with a confident clenched fist.
"Well, I guess in your art form. Not everyone sees what you see, blondie." I commented critically. "Then again, I like s**t being blown up as much as you do, so..."
"I like the way you think, Katsumi." He smirked approvingly as I was taken back by him finally using my first name. "I think this friendship will work out better than I thought, hm."
"Oh, so we're friends now, huh?" I commented sarcastically, faking my shocked expression.
Deidara was about to counter my friendly "insult", but we were interrupted by the loud sound of a door busted open. The blonde and I jumped by this abrupt noise and we—along with other people in the tiny shop—turned to the source of the noise which was none other than the man-child, Tobi.
Sadly, we literally forgot that the boy was with us too.
We couldn't process what was going on nor why the meddling child was over-expressive because he dashed towards us—particularly me—and roughly grabbed my hand, yanking me off of my seat. Deidara was too stunned to yell at his partner for acting stupid again so instead he just sat there frozen while watching me fly out of my seat. Luckily, I regained my balance, preventing myself from falling flat on my face. I wasted little time to glare irritably at the hyperactive child for pulling such a stunt while cutting off circulation to my hand thanks to his god-awful strong grip on my wrist.
"What the hell, Tobi!?" I hissed displeasingly, resisting the urge to scare him off by activating my Sharingan. "The f**k's wrong with you?"
"I'll explain later! Please, we need to get out of here NOW!" He exclaimed worriedly as he looked back and forth between the door he exited and me.
"What the hell did you do now, Tobi, hmph!?" His blonde partner snapped coldly.
"Please, not NOW, Deidara!" Tobi cried in a begging voice.
After one last glance at the door, he didn't seem to give a damn if either of us would willingly leave because he instantly started taking towards the entrance/exit of the shop. Meanwhile, I was running after him by force—thanks to his iron-like grip on me—as I tried my damn hardest to keep up with him. Otherwise, I would be forced to kiss the dirty, filthy ground. With the little chakra I had semi-access to, I sensed Deidara's presence following suit just behind us as we were finally greeted by the sunlight. The fact that we were no longer in the dumpling shop—and the fact that we were safe from whatever we were f**kin' running from—didn't satisfy Tobi because he proceeded to sprint down the busy streets, swerving past disturbed and confused local civilians that were once minding their own business until they saw three random strangers running for their lives.
Beads of sweat started to form out of my pores as I parted heavily from lack of chakra and the high level speed I was forced to travel at just to keep my balance. As I was huffing and puffing, Tobi continued to run at an incredible speed without any difficulty or even exhaustion present anywhere on him.
"TOBI, SLOW DOWN, HMPH!" I heard the blonde demand solidly as he chased after his quick partner.
At this point right now, I prayed that I didn't have any bad karma coming to me at a time like this because injuring myself for something as stupid as this without chakra on top of that, the last thing I needed was to get the case of the ouchies when I don't have enough chakra and no one who had the basic knowledge of first-aid.
'Maybe being cooped up in Itachi's room wasn't such a bad thing, now that I think about it...' I thought to myself, wondering why I allowed myself to be thrown into this mess.
So, this chapter ended up being a bit more fillerish than I would like it to be. Sorry for the abrupt ending, but this chapter would've taken forever to finish if I didn't stop it here. Plus, anticipation increases with endings such as this one. The last thing I want is to take a year to complete one chapter.
With that said, I should probably start on the next chapter right now. I'll try my hardest to get it done as soon as possible to make it up to you guys. Fingers crossed!