Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

The Art of Emotion	By : DeviousDevil Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1166 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off this fiction.

Chapter List
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Enjoy ~ :D

The club was deserted, as it always was during the day. All the chairs and stools were stacked on top of tables along the walls. The speakers hung mutely from the ceilings while the colored spotlights remained off. Behind the bar the neon light that read 'Red Dawn' was turned off. The only sign that anyone was there, was the fact that a door near the back was ajar, and talking could be heard.
"Alright," Pein sighed as he lowered himself onto the couch, a very comfortable couch. As one of the co-owners of the club, he had –as well as the rest of the Akatsuki- made sure that their private room was decked out with the highest quality furniture and booze. They had bought and created 'Red Dawn' for their own personal entertainment, and the back room gave them both privacy and comfort when it was actually open to the public.
Zabuza sat on the opposite end of the couch as Pein, while Itachi took a recliner near Zabuza's end of the couch. Kisame sat in a round, beanbag-like chair across from the couch, which was filled with water and fake fish. Sasori took a seat in a chair similar to Itachi's, but it didn't recline, which was situated near Pein's end of the couch. However, a side table separated his chair and the couch. He liked his space. They all had their own spot and they liked it that way.
"So, what's up?" asked Pein after everyone was situated.
"Nothing," responded Zabuza.
"Yeah, I'm seriously getting bored," whined Kisame, "My cousin Suigetsu says that Sound is being relatively calm."
Itachi merely 'hmed' in agreement; he wasn't one to whine, but he too was becoming bored with life. It was sad, really; they were the four richest teens in Konoha, but they couldn't find something to entertain themselves.
"Any ideas on who bombed our table?" asked Pein with a hint of hope.
This seemed to make everyone sit slightly taller, but when none of them spoke they all slumped in their seats.
"None," said Zabuza.
"Hey, what about that religious kid?" asked Kisame.
"He is the only one who we've been messing with lately," agreed Pein.
"No," Itachi shot down the idea almost instantly, "He's too stupid, and he would take pride in such an act. The person who did it, does not wish to be discovered."
Sasori remained silent; he didn't really care about either topic. He was content with just working on his artwork, and he really didn't want anyone to join Akatsuki anyway. His attention was partially drawn to the ring on his right thumb. He couldn't stop fiddling with it, probably because he wasn't used to wearing it yet.
"A friend of his?" suggested Zabuza.
"Tobi is his only friend that I know of, and there was nothing mechanical about that explosion," droned Itachi. "That, and I doubt he has an evil bone in his body. The most I've ever seen him do is sneak up on people and yell 'boo'. "
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Hey, what's that other kid's name? The one who sits with Tobi? Gaara?" inquired Kisame.
"Hmmm, I don't believe I'm too familiar with him," mused Pein while resting his chin on the tops of his hands. "Isn't he your cousin, Sasori?"
Sasori looked up in response to his name, but remained silent seeing as he hadn't heard the question. When everyone just stared at him, he raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Isn't Gaara your cousin?" Zabuza kindly repeated the question for him, "Could he be the one who blew up our table."
Sasori shrugged before turning his gaze back to his ring. "I doubt it, "he answered after a moment, "Gaara isn't very social, and if he does make friends, he usually doesn't care enough to do anything."
When no one spoke after him, he looked up. Seeing that all eyes were still on him, he added, "Beside, if it were Tobi or Gaara, they would hardly need to hide themselves. They have just as much money and power as Itachi and I, being from the same family and all. And of course, as I previously stated, they have the family factor."
Still no one spoke, and it was in that silence that Sasori noticed they weren't just staring at him, but his hands. He had been fiddling with the ring subconsciously while he spoke.
"What's that you're messing with?" asked Pein curiously. Normally, Sasori just sat still doing nothing, or he'd work on carving something. However, he appeared to be enraptured in something else altogether.
"Hm? You mean this?" Sasori lifted his hand so that the ring became more visible.
Pein reached across the little table that separated them to grab Sasori's wrist and pull it closer for inspection.
Sasori glared instantly, he hated to be touched. It had to do with the fact that he could barely register the sensation of touching; being touched only reminded him of that. However, Pein ignored him as he twisted his arm this way and that; not at all worried about hurting him.
"Intriguing, very unique," concluded Pein after his examination. "Is it really woven together, or is it just carved to look like that?" he inquired. He pulled Sasori forward to the edge of his seat so that he could pass his arm off to Itachi so the others could see it.
Sasori narrowed his eyes but gave into the pulling.
"I don't know," shrugged Sasori. "I would assume woven. I don't think the artist had the ability to heat it to the point of carving into it."
"Artist?" asked Itachi.
"Yeah, the brat in my Advanced Art class. He chose jewelry as his objective, and he gave it to me. Something about him never being able to wear it because 'art is fleeting'," scoffed Sasori. "Idiot, everyone knows art is everlasting; otherwise, what's the point?" grumbled Sasori.
Itachi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "It wouldn't happen to be this 'brat' would it?" Itachi grabbed his book bag from where it sat by his chair and pulled out a file. He tossed the file on the coffee table which sat in the middle of them before opening it to reveal a picture of a blonde adolescent in which only one, blue eye was visible.
Sasori nodded, pulling his hand back to his side now that everyone was done starring at it.
Pein leaned forward curiously, wanting to see who exactly had made Sasori's ring. He was unable to recall ever seeing the boy in the picture before.
"Why do you have a file on him?" asked Kisame.
"Who is he?" asked Zabuza.
Itachi flipped open the folder, but his eyes quickly narrowed in suspicion.
"What's wrong?" asked Kisame.
"There's only one page…" mumbled Itachi, who quickly checked his bag to make sure none had fallen out. "My source never fails…" Itachi stared down at the paper. But, it seems that all the information fits on one page…" So he began to read aloud, "Iwa Deidara, age 17, expelled from two schools previous to KHS in the past year. Reasons are not listed. However, it almost appears as if someone went back and deleted that information," frowned Itachi before he continued, "Parents died three years ago in a car crash. He lives off of government funds, but he works part time at a small jewelry store located on Shinobi Street. Moved to Konoha from Suna because it was the next closest town where he could go to school without moving too far.
"Lives in a two room apartment on the corners of Chunin Avenue and Kage Boulevard, which includes a bathroom and one large room that I assume is divided into a bedroom and kitchen." Itachi passed the sheet to Pein so he could read it himself. "There isn't much before his parent's death, and the blank spot where it should list why he was expelled is rather cryptic. It also doesn't say which schools he came from; however, I believe there are only two high schools in Suna."
"That's true," informed Sasori.
"There's nothing else?" inquired Pein.
"No, but I have his medical records," Itachi shuffled through the papers again before handing a new one to Pein.
"Your resources never cease to amaze me," praised Pein.
Itachi scoffed, "That was the easy part, after all, my family owns every major hospital on this side of Japan. My source for school records at least has to hack the system."
Pein passed the previous page around for the others to see before beginning to read aloud from the boy's medical records. "Iwa Deidara, born in Iwagakure on May 5th." Pein paused in his reading as he looked at something interesting. "Hm, it says here he was born with an unknown birth defect which stumped all his doctors. However, it doesn't say what it is. It almost looks like it was removed, just like the information about his past schools."
Itachi's eyes narrowed upon hearing this as he frowned. He didn't like having partial information. It meant he had been unable to attain something he wanted, and an Uchiha always gets what he wants.
Pein shrugged it off before continuing, "His hospital records were transferred to Suna Hospital when he was ten years old. Hmmm, let's see… admitted to the hospital for severe burns starting at the age of eleven all the way until he was fourteen, with the number of visits steadily declining in number. The causes of the burns are not listed. Also at the age of fourteen he was admitted to the hospital because of a car crash."
"The one that killed his parents?" asked Zabuza.
"Most likely," said Sasori while he looked at other parts of Deidara's file. "The sheet from before said he's 17 and his parents died three years ago, that would make him 14."
Pein nodded in agreement before continuing, "Injuries included: the bones in his left arm were shattered and had to be replaced with synthetic bone. It took five separate surgeries and a total of 36 hours to remove all the bone fragments. His right arm was nearly severed at the shoulder, but was fixed up before amputation became mandatory."
At the mention of amputation, everyone in the room stilled, and no one could help but glance at Sasori who sent each of them a glare, which if possible, would have killed them on sight. "Continue."
No one argued.
"Glass became imbedded in his left eye which they had to remove. It says he was transferred to a specialist in false and biomechanical body parts, but doesn't go into further detail," concluded Pein. "It says he made a full recovery and other than coming in for regular exams and physical therapy every three months, he hasn't had any medical problems."
Sasori glowered at the mention of the boy's eye. Sure, everyone stares at him at the mention of amputation which didn'toccur, but at the mention of the boy losing his eye, no one so much as looked at Itachi.
"Hey, doesn't he let his hair hang in front of his left eye?" asked Kisame curiously.
"I'm honestly surprised you can remember that as well as relate it to what we just read," mused Itachi.
"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" argued Kisame.
Sasori scoffed and rolled his eyes at the childish comeback.
Zabuza grinned; his pointed teeth making it look feral. He took his bandages off when it was just the five of them.
Pein just ignored the comment as it was a part of an everyday argument between Kisame and Itachi.
"Was there anything else?" asked Pein.
"Only records of his parent's bank accounts which have been conjoined and used to pay for his schooling," concluded Itachi as he reorganized the file.
"Why are we reading this again?" asked Sasori with a sigh.
Itachi smirked at this, "Because we are all getting bored, and I thought he might make a nice new source for entertainment."
"What about that Jashin-freak?" asked Zabuza.
"We can't really get rid of him," shrugged Itachi, "He is friends with my cousin. If we tried, Tobi would just find a way to counteract it. And if we did it secretly, he'd annoy the hell out of me for days, and I don't feel like putting up with that."
"Eh, who cares about that loser?" shrugged Kisame, "He's getting boring anyway. All he does his cuss us out, and all we ever do is hide his cross and push him around. It's getting old."
"That's why I thought the new kid would be a nice change," stated Itachi, "It appears to me that he knows we're feared, but he doesn't understand why. It also seems like he's got some spirit which could use some crushing. If we plan it out and don't simply go after him like we've done with all the others in the past, it could last a few months. Maybe even until the end of the school year." Itachi waited as the others pondered his words. Pein was the first to speak.
"Hn, do you think it's possible to get him to make us rings to match Sasori's? I think it could make a good replacement for our cloaks," Pein pondered.
"It is cool," added Kisame as he glanced at Sasori's ring.
"Wouldn't that be a little hard if he's our next target?" asked Zabuza, "After all, if we're making his life miserable, I don't think he'd want to make us a new Akatsuki symbol."
"Not necessarily," shrugged Itachi, "Like I said, if we plan it out right, it could last until the end of the school year. He doesn't have to know we plan on using him in the beginning. We could feign friendship to begin with and use that to get him to make us the rings, and then begin the rest of our plan."
"Which is?" asked Kisame.
"I don't know yet. It'll depend on his response to the first part of the plan, explained Itachi.
"Sounds interesting," nodded Pein, "A new Akatsuki symbol as well as something to liven up the school year. How do you propose we approach him?" Pein inquired.
Sasori frowned as he listened to Pein and Itachi talk. He didn't particularly like this plan. Not that he cared about the boy. What he didn't like was Pein using his ring as a model for Akatsuki's new symbol. He liked it because it was unique. He was actually hoping Deidara would refuse them, but no one had ever escaped a plan developed by the Akatsuki, and Sasori doubted Deidara would be any different.

Deidara sat behind the desk at his part-time job. It was almost 8:00, which meant: closing time. He just had to finish changing the battery in one last watch, a job his boss decided to give to him during slow hours. It was a pain in the ass, but after he was positive his boss was upstairs in the live-in portion of the shop, he could easily slip off his gloves and use his extra appendages to help. Rather unbelievable, especially since tongues, lips, and teeth aren't known for being strong and precise, but he guessed it had something to do with the muscles in his hands. Once the gloves came off, he could easily change the battery in nine watches in less than five minutes; a record, even for a master jeweler.
The shop was owned by a woman named Kurenai. Her husband had died the previous year, leaving her with a newborn son. She had happily employed Deidara when he saw her help wanted sign. She needed someone to run the shop whenever she had to run upstairs to take care of her child. Not that the shop was very busy in itself. It was rather small actually, with only two long, glass cases on either side of the room displaying jewelry. The main desk where Deidara always sat to man the shop was strategically placed in the center on the back wall with the door to the back room behind it. She tried to keep Deidara busy, but he still found time to focus on his artwork, regardless. And now, he could work on jewelry while asking Kurenai for suggestions.
She had been ecstatic at the news and even offered to display a few pieces in the shops window, if they were good enough.
After finishing changing the battery in the last watch, Deidara pulled out his latest creation: a necklace. So far all he had was part of black rope, made from fine cotton threads to make it soft. He was weaving it by hand to make it more of his own creation. So far he'd woven two inches worth. It was hard work; after all, there were probably over 50 threads that he had to weave evenly. He didn't know what he was going to do with it when he was finished, but it was going to be cool. He was probably going to have much more artwork by the end of the school year than anyone else, seeing as he kept making pieces outside of school, but once he starts something he can never stop.
A jingling sound alerted him to presence of a customer.
He frowned; it was two minutes until 8:00. Who could possible walk into a jewelry store at that hour? Looking up, he had to grip the counter to keep a surprised gasp from coming out of his mouth. Itachi.
He was very tempted to go upstairs and find Kurenai so that she could deal with him, but he knew how tired she had been today. The other boy looked around before his eyes landed on Deidara.
Deidara tensed immediately, preparing for anything that the Uchiha could possibly throw at him; however, as the boy came closer he felt himself relax. It wasn't Itachi, the boy was a head shorter than Itachi, and his hair was styled differently. His bangs were straightened while the back was spiked up. It actually reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite place it. He was younger too; actually, he looked more like Tobi if he thought about it. Tobi didn't have scars under his eyes like Itachi, nor did the boy in front of him.
The boy stopped in front of the counter, his coal black eyes piercing Deidara's very soul. Deidara couldn't help but stare back. It was uncanny how much Uchiha's looked alike, and if this boy wasn't an Uchiha, then Deidara wasn't an artist. It was a little strange though that the boy's eyes were black while Tobi's and Itachi's were red. Although, he now knew that was because their eyes had been mechanically modified, but didn't all Uchiha's get the disease? Tobi said it was hereditary.
"I was told you could help me," said the boy after a moment, realizing that the blonde wasn't going to do anything but stare.
His words made Deidara start slightly, but he quickly smiled. "We were actually about to close, but I suppose I could help you… um?"
"Sasuke," replied the boy, "Uchiha Sasuke."
Deidara nodded, his suspicions confirmed. "Well, what can I help you with, Sasuke? Un."
"My friend, Nara Shikamaru, told me that you would be able to help me. He said you were an artist and would have a good eye for something like this." Sasuke stood stiffly, looking around the room. From his body language Deidara could tell he didn't go into jewelry stores very often.
"How did Shikamaru-san know-," but Deidara stopped. If it was the boy in Tobi's class, then it was likely Tobi had told him where he worked. Sasuke shrugged in answer despite Deidara stopping the question midway.
"I have to find an anniversary present for my… partner," stated the boy, looking even more uneasy.
Deidara's smile never faltered, "Could you tell me what he looks like?"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in shock before returning to normal. He looked the blonde over carefully before pulling a picture of his boyfriend out of his pocket and handing it to the other boy. He waited to see if perhaps the blonde had misunderstood the situation and accidentally said 'he' instead of 'she', but upon viewing the picture the blonde never hesitated.
Deidara scanned the picture; it was obvious who the boy's 'partner' was. The blonde haired boy was hanging from Sasuke's shoulder in the picture smiling. He looked very energetic. Deidara placed the picture on the counter before grabbing a key from the register and walking towards one of the jewelry displays. "Any price range? Un," questioned Deidara as he began unlocking one of the cabinets. Looking up he saw the other boy scoff and roll his eyes.
"No."
Deidara smiled, he didn't think so, but it was part of the job to ask. Rapidly and professionally, he pulled out a cloth and began to set out everything that was turquoise or topaz that would match the blonde's eyes. He avoided anything that looked too girly or earrings until he had placed what he considered to be all the possible options on the counter. However, despite the variety, he couldn't help but think the energetic; blonde from the picture wouldn't look good in any of them.
Sasuke seemed to think the same since he was frowning while looking at all the pieces.
Deidara tried to think what would match the boy when he himself was not familiar with the boy's personality. He appeared rather simple, to put it nicely, unlike the black haired boy in front of him. Thinking back to all the pieces they had at their disposal he remembered something. "One sec, un."
Sasuke looked up questioningly, but the blonde was already gone so he simply shrugged before leaning against the counter and looking at the jewelry with lost hope.
Deidara moved to the back room where his book bag sat. He had made it long before he started considering his jewelry art, and so he often carried it with him to wear. However, it had never quite been a perfect fit for him. When he thought about it, the blonde in the picture had hair and eyes similar to his own, but with slight shade differences. He was sure it would look perfect on the boy. Finding what he was looking for he walked out from behind the counter toward the Uchiha. Once he was close enough he held out what he had retrieved, "Here, un."
He watched as Sasuke stared at the necklace curiously, but at the same time with a look of absolute contentment. "It's perfect," he said.
Deidara smiled happily. The necklace was very simple. A black, nylon rope with blue sea-glass suspended from it, accented with two mother-of-pearl chips on either side.
"How much?" asked Sasuke.
"Nothing, un," smiled Deidara. "It's not even part of our collection. I made it myself, so it doesn't even have a price. Just take it; it's a bunch of fake stuff anyway."
Sasuke looked at the boy carefully. "You're sure? I could pay you for it."
"It's not worth anything, the gem is false, and the stones aren't worth ten dollars," insisted Deidara.
Sasuke just stared at him, before looking at the necklace with a conflicted look on his face.
Upon analyzing the Uchiha, Deidara realized the boy's pride wouldn't let him take the necklace for nothing and sighed. "Look, un, if you really want to give me something then let's just say you owe me a favor, 'kay?"
Sasuke hesitated a moment before nodding and placing the necklace contently in his pocket. He turned to leave, but faltered slightly. "How will you contact me if such a time arises?" he inquired.
"I'll ask Tobi for your number, I'm assuming you're related?" It was a hypothetical question, but Sasuke nodded anyway.
"Cousin," supplied the dark-haired boy.
"How are you related to Itachi?" inquired Deidara.
He noticed Sasuke stiffen slightly, but he kept all signs of emotion of his face with practiced ease.
"Brother," answered the boy after a moment.
Without another word the boy strode from the shop with his prize in his pocket.
Deidara frowned, but shrugged it off while grumbling. "Arrogant, egotistical bastards." With the exception of Tobi of course. Deidara walked silently to the door the other boy had just left from before flipping the 'open' sign to 'closed' and locking the door. "That ought to do it," he mumbled to himself, wearily. Putting away all the jewelry he had taken out, he relocked the cabinet before going into the back room to retrieve his back pack. After returning all the things he had thrown out when looking for the necklace, he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder before leaving through the back door and locking it as well.
It was a quiet walk to his apartment. Thankfully, though, it wasn't far from the shop, only about a mile. It was surprising, though, how quickly the nice neighborhood with the jewelry store turned into the slums. Thankfully he lived on the edge that bordered the middle class. There was less crime here; still crime, but less of it. His apartment was located, ironically, above an alcohol store. You would think this would be more dangerous, but honestly, the only people who went in a specialized shop for alcohol, simply wanted good alcohol. Whereas all the drunks were on the other side of town, getting smashed in bars. The guy who owned the store leased the apartment to him for almost nothing since it always smelled like alcohol, and it wasn't really made for living in. This gave him a little extra money left over from government checks which went towards food.
There were only two rooms, but there was a bathroom, and that was all Deidara needed to work with. He had brought his sofa-bed from his old apartment, and he already owned a mini-fridge since he hadn't been able to afford a big fridge at his old place. The first bit of extra money he had gotten from the government went towards a hot plate, normally used for camping, and a microwave from Goodwill. He was set. He had a ways of making food, sleeping, and relieving himself. Granted, the bathroom didn't have a shower, but that was why he always took one after gym at school. He also took advantage of the fact that Home Economics was his third period this semester –only because they said he already took too many art classes- and snuck clothes in the laundry room along with table cloths. It saved him a trip and the money for the Laundromat.
Once he arrived at his door step, he realized he had left his key inside his apartment. Rolling his eyes at his carelessness he reached for the handle before jerking upward and pushing in. The door swung open magically. He really needed a bolt. All the lock did was give the illusion that his apartment was fortified.
He dumped his book bag on the floor before closing the door. Walking toward his 'kitchen', he grabbed a chair that he kept in the corner and jammed it under the door handle. He felt safer during the night since he knew his door didn't lock properly. It was the only purpose for the chair really, seeing as he didn't have a table. He sat on the floor to eat, along with everything else. He didn't have counters since the room was made for storage so everything else rested on the floor.
His sofa-bed was pushed into the far back corner, permanently pulled out into a bed. It wasn't the comfiest thing in the world, but it was a step up from 8when he was sleeping on the floor two years ago.
Going into the bathroom, he took the bowl and cup from his breakfast out of the sink and placed them on top of the toilet so he could wash his face and brush his teeth. He took off his gloves as well so he could let some cold water run into the hand he had burnt earlier that day. After doing so he quickly washed the cup and bowl before carrying them to the kitchen and placing them on top of the mini fridge with his other cup, a plate, and a set of silverware. He never had company, so he saved money and only purchased enough for himself.
Yawning, he trudged toward the couch and collapsed on it, making the springs creak in protest. It wasn't long before his mind slipped into unconsciousness.
The next morning Deidara woke up at 5:00 so he could eat, get ready, and still have time to walk to school. Seeing as class started at 7:00 –an ungodly hour if you ask him- and it took him an hour to walk there, he usually arrived at 6:45. The school was almost three miles away, which was annoying, but doable.
He was a little late this morning, but he still got there before 7:00, barely.
Sighing, he took his seat. He had to force himself to not take off his gloves and play with the papers from the scrap box located conveniently next to his table. He couldn't let anyone associate him with origami; especially not when he was planning to prank the Akatsuki some more. That thought alone brought a smile to his face; however, he promised himself to only do it when they mess with someone, otherwise he might overdo it. Also, he was a little worried that they might blame Konan. She was the one who taught him origami when he first started at KHS. She came t school three days in a row, each day with a different paper flower. He had finally just asked and she had been more than happy to teach. She was in his Advanced Art class, and origami was her chosen project.
"Hey, brat,"
Deidara glanced up automatically, seeing as the person speaking was right next to him. He frowned when he saw who it was, but looked questioningly at the other boy all the same. Why was Sasori here before class started? As far as he knew, he was the only one who sat in here until the bell rung.
"Here," said Sasori gruffly before shoving something at his chest.
Deidara automatically clutched at the object, but looked at Sasori inquiringly as he watched the redhead sit in the seat in front of him.
"It's in exchange for the ring." It didn't look like the boy was going to explain anymore so Deidara simply voted to examine the object that he was absently holding against his chest.
It was a bird! It looked familiar…
"I noticed the symbol engraved on the inside of my ring," Sasori seemed to answer his silent question.
That was why it was familiar! It was similar to his artist signature, a bird! And its wings moved up and down if he played with it! It was a miniature puppet! Deidara smiled slightly at this, "Thanks, un, but you didn't have to give me something in exchange."
Sasori just glared at him before pulling out the same head he had been carving the day before.
Deidara sighed exasperatedly, but he kept the bird. He could tell this was a similar situation to the previous night. Like Sasuke, Sasori had too much pride to just take the ring. Granted, Sasori's ring had real gems and metal, but Deidara wasn't going to tell him that!
"Well, thank-oof!" Taken by surprise, Deidara was slammed into the ground harshly.
"Deidara-sempai!"
"Tobi" said Deidara, a bit too sweetly, "Must we do this every morning?
"Tobi's a good-boy!"
Deidara rolled his eyes, automatically going to rub his head when he realized that his head hadn't smacked into the floor for once. Tobi had wrapped his arms around his head and somewhat cushioned the fall. Probably because of the incident from the day before. Deidara smiled a bit at this, "Yes Tobi, good boy."
"Yay! Tobi's a good boy!" In a surge of excitement the boy jumped up and down, consequently knocking the wind out of Deidara.
Sasori glowered slightly at Tobi's yelling. He also found the way Tobi's hands had entwined with the blonde's hair annoyingly intimate, not that he cared. He simply didn't want to be the one to explain to Itachi that the blonde might be Tobi's boyfriend.That would definitely ruin Itachi's plans.
"Okay, off!" With a huff Deidara managed to push the ecstatic boy off his stomach, and like the day before, reached his hand out to grasp the arm that he knew was waiting to help him up. He was surprised when not only was his hand grasped, but his other arm was gripped firmly by the elbow, and he was pulled up by both arms. It was then he noticed that Sasori had stood up and had gone to help him at the same time that he reached for Gaara. Which, of course, resulted in a stare off between the two redheads.
"Hello, cousin," Sasori spoke, his face devoid of emotion.
Gaara simply narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but he nodded in return.
Deidara felt a little uneasy, standing between the two boys. It was almost like he wasn't even there. "Haha, okay, yeah," he said finally, attracting both of their attention and making him feel slightly more nervous. "Thanks guys, un."
Gaara nodded before grabbing Tobi by the back of the shirt and dragging him toward the door. "See you at lunch, Deidara-sempai!"
Deidara smiled and waved before realizing what the boy said and shouting after him, "Stop calling me that! We're in the same grade!" He huffed in annoyance when he realized Tobi was too far away to hear him. Returning to his seat, Deidara retrieved his fallen puppet before looping an extra hair tie around it so he could attach it to his book bag like a keychain. Once he was sure it wasn't going to fall off, he turned back to the table. It was then he noticed that students had begun filing into the room.I guess class has started, un.
He quickly pulled out a sketch book from his bag. He almost went for the black rope he was making, but he didn't want to finish it without knowing what he was going to do with it. Turning to a new page, he became enraptured in all sorts of designs, and not just ones involving black thread. It was amazing; all the ideas he was coming up with. He was even designing a bejeweled hair piece for Haku, that way he wouldn't have to remember to bring a hair tie. He even thought of asking Tobi if he could design him a mask.
"Hey."
Deidara didn't mind sketching either. He was quite good at it as well, but he didn't consider it 'his' type of art. After all, there was nothing fleeting about it, but it was necessary. He used sketching to design his fleeting art pieces, as well! Then when he was done, he could use the paper for origami in make them vanish in an explosion of color! That had been a nice little extra he discovered after learning origami.
"Brat!"
Before Deidara realized what had happened, his sketch book had been taken, and he'd been hit upside the head with it.
"What? Un!" snapped Deidara as he looked at an equally irritated Sasori.
"I hate being ignored. Almost as much as I hate being left waiting," growled Sasori.
"Well, forgive me, Sasori-danna, if my life doesn't revolve around you, un!" replied Deidara as he snatched his sketchbook back. "Now, what did you want?" Deidara asked as he flipped through his book to find his place.
Sasori frowned at being given only half the boy's attention, but decided to ignore it. "Meet me outside the cafeteria before lunch."
"What?" Deidara looked up perplexed.
Sasori smirked smugly when he noticed he had the blonde's full attention now. "I said meet me outside the cafeteria before lunch, brat."
"Why?" asked Deidara utterly confused before it quickly turned to anger, "And why do you do you call me that! We are in the same grade! We're probably the same age too!"
Sasori knew for a fact that he was older since he knew Deidara was 17, and he was 18, but he wasn't going to tell him that. That could lead to questions as to how he knew that, so he simply shrugged. "Just meet me; I need to tell you something."
"And you can't do that here? Un," inquired Deidara with a raised eyebrow.
"It'll take too long," said Sasori simply, "and I don't like to talk while I'm working."
With that said, the redhead turned his full attention back to the head he'd been carving.
Deidara couldn't help but notice both pupils had been cut out and filled with the small onyx stones he had given the boy yesterday. He smiled to himself, knowing he'd been helpful in saving the artwork, whether it was fleeting or not, before turning back to his sketchbook.

His day had been relatively normal, other than Sasori asking him to meet him, although, gym was a little… different. They were playing dodge ball, the worst game in history to play with Kisame and Zabuza, especially since they actually had an excuse to hit people. He had somehow ended up on Zabuza and Kisame's team instead of Kankuro's, which meant he was neither sore nor bruised in anyway. Though Zetsu, who was normally chosen for their team, seemed a little put out and had tried his best to injure Deidara. Fortunately, after the teacher got tired of Gaara 'stepping out of bounds', and getting out, he told him to 'get his ass off the court and sit on the bleachers'.
After that, Gaara sat to the side and rolled the balls that had flown into the bleachers back into the game, and he made sure to roll them directly under Zetsu's feet whenever he was throwing. Sometimes, having your friend sit out every day had its perks.
Home Economics had been the only class where nothing changed, but even that had been a good class. He had managed to sneak three different outfits into the washing machine before class ended.
So now he was waiting by the cafeteria door for Sasori, wondering what he could possibly need to tell him. He was beginning to get irritated though. Didn't Sasori hate to be kept waiting? Then why the hell was he taking so freaking long!
"You waited."
Deidara nearly jumped out of his skin when the very boy he was waiting for came up behind him.
"God, don't do that," huffed Deidara. His face pulled into a pout as he crossed his arms and stomped his foot. "Now, what did you want?"
Sasori smirked at the childish display before responding. It was, dare he think, cute? "Follow me."
Deidara looked at him curiously before following behind the boy as he walked into the cafeteria. It took a moment to realize he was being led toward the Akatsuki table. He immediately became wary. Honestly, he would have bolted in the other direction, except that would only arouse suspicion. There was no way Akatsuki could have linked the bomb from the previous day to him so easily… right?
When they reached the table Sasori took a seat next to Itachi, but Deidara couldn't help but notice the seat to Sasori's right was conspicuously empty. Akatsuki had plenty of room to spread out, but they had purposefully sat close enough together to leave a spot open.
Deidara, however, remained standing, which caught Sasori's attention since he turned around to face him. "Sit."
"No, thank you," said Deidara stiffly while crossing his arms. "What did you want to tell me?" He couldn't help but glance over at his own lunch table in hopes that Tobi would come running over and get him out of this somehow. Unfortunately, it appeared that Hidan, Tobi, and Gaara had yet to notice his absence. Although by the looks of the gossiping crowd, it wouldn't be long before they heard he was over at the Akatsuki table.
"Please sit," it was Pein who spoke this time. His tone was rather pleasant, which surprised Deidara because he looked very… unpleasant? He wasn't sure how to describe it. The guy had piercings all over his face! Pein seemed to sense his unease and attempted to smile, but that only freaked Deidara out more. "I wanted to ask you something," continued Pein, oblivious to Deidara's discomfort.
"I don't have to sit down for you to ask me something," responded Deidara sharply. There was no way he was going to sit next to Zabuza. He was the scariest one out of all of them, and it didn't help that he appeared to be glaring at Deidara. Not that he could tell of course, what with all the bandages. Trying to pacify them before Zabuza decided to force him into the seat he added, "Beside, people are already talking. If I sit down there will be an uproar."
"Very well," conceded Pein when it became apparent the blonde had no intention of sitting with them. "Then I'll get straight to the point. I couldn't help but notice the ring Sasori was wearing yesterday and today, as well for that matter."
Deidara looked on inquiringly, becoming interested in where the conversation was going.
"I was wondering if you could perhaps make more? We have recently decided to ditch these cloaks of ours, and I thought that rings would make a great new Akatsuki symbol," explained Pein.
Deidara threw cursory looks at the black cloaks with red clouds decorating them. They were a little strange to wear; especially, when the five boys in front of him were extremely rich. It also appeared that the cloaks were getting old because a few had begun to fray around the edges.
"Do you think you would be able to do that?" inquired Pein, snapping Deidara out of his examination of their cloaks.
"No," said Deidara without hesitation. He couldn't help but notice that all eyes were now on the Akatsuki's table, which meant that word had spread he was over here. It would be a matter of seconds before Tobi showed up to help him, or so he hoped.
Pein seemed to frown at this, but quickly forced a smile. "Why not?" he asked causally, but Deidara could hear the slight strain.
"Because," huffed Deidara, "I made that ring as a piece of art, un! If I make replicas it wouldn't be unique anymore. Now if you'll excuse me-"
As he turned to leave his lower arm was caught in a firm grip, which brought him to an abrupt halt. Looking back, as a shiver of fear raced down his spine. Zabuza was holding his arm.
"Perhaps you could at least think about it?" asked Pein, acting as if Deidara wasn't being held against his will. "We can easily buy them from you, directly. I'm sure you make jewelry for that store you work at, right? You only get part of the profits then, correct?"
Deidara stiffened at this. How the hell did they know where he worked?
It was then that Tobi decided to make his entrance. "Dei-sempai! Come on! Hidan brought brownies! You're going to miss them!" Tobi spoke in a cheerful voice like always, but his body language was all wrong. He stood firmly next to Deidara, his eyes on Pein, and he tugged at Deidara's other arm as if that would dislodge him from Zabuza's grip.
Deidara was beyond coherent to Tobi's pleas. He felt threatened by Akatsuki, and he didn't like being threatened. Years of living in the bad side of town were beginning to kick in.
It was like a switch had been thrown.
He had worked hard to suppress his explosive personality, but there was a very thin veil between his sense of calm and sense of defense. And Pein had just torn it away with one little hint of knowledge. Because knowledge is power.
"Deidara-" Tobi's second attempt at pulling Deidara away was cut short when Deidara calmly pulled his arm from Tobi's grip and gently pushed the boy aside.
"Not now, Tobi." Deidara's eyes never left Pein's. With one quick, effortless twist he freed his wrist from Zabuza's grasp and slapped the other boy's hand away from him.
The entire cafeteria froze, and Akatsuki watched with mild surprise as they sensed the change in Deidara's personality. Pein looked particularly intrigued.
"Now," began Deidara in a sickeningly sweet voice, "First thing first, I do not make jewelry for sale. I make it for art!" He locked eyes with Pein, and though he was being himself, he tamed his attitude with a will of steel. He did not want to make a big scene in the middle of the cafeteria. "Also, I am sorry to say I don't particularly care for working with expensive materials. I am not a master jeweler. Sasori-danna's ring is made from genuine white gold, amethyst, and onyx. It took me over two weeks to make it, and it was a pain in the ass!"
Pein seemed perplexed at Deidara's unconscious use of Sasori's nickname in public, but Deidara didn't notice.
"Second, I do not appreciate you stalking me, asking about me, pulling my personal file, or however the hell you know where I work." Deidara growled, his tone changing from dismissive to threatening in a beat. "And third, even if I was willing to make another ring of that quality, I only make things when they interest me! You and your friends and your requests do not interest me. The only reason I gave him the ring, was because I could see he appreciated the artistic value, as you clearly do not. Also why I'm standing here right now is because Akasuna just happened to be on my good side today!" snapped Deidara. Without another word Deidara whipped around, grabbed Tobi by the upper arm and began dragging him toward their table.
Tobi who was, for once, shocked into silence by the abrupt change in Deidara's personality, waved lightly in the Akatsuki's general direction out of habit.
The Akatsuki were too shell-shocked to react at first.
Itachi was the first to break the silence and it was with a chuckle. "I told you he'd be interesting," he mused.
"Why that little-" Kisame began to rise from his seat but was stopped firmly by Zabuza who, although very pissed, knew that charging after the blonde would ruin their plan.
After getting over the surprise, Pein smirked in amusement. "This might be more fun than you originally thought, Itachi. I think there's more fire in him than you planned, but this might set us back a little bit in the plan," he said while pondering the changes they'd have to make.
Sasori didn't know what he was feeling. It had been years, since the 'incident', that one person had brought forth this much emotion from him. Not that he didn't hide it well, his face was the epitome of a statue.
Irritation, surprise, calm, and he couldn't erase the feelings of happiness, warmth, or hurt; although, those three emotions were minuscule in comparison to the others. All were emotions that he had categorized in the back of his mind, for when he had to interact with other people, but he'd never had a reason to feel them.
And he'd only truly noticed the blonde the day before. He had been very content when Deidara said 'no' to crafting the other Akatsuki members' rings. Although, he had been somewhat worried about Pein's reaction, and if he would force the blonde to make them, but even then, the blonde surprised him.
He would never admit, or even acknowledge, that he felt a little hurt at being called by his last name, or that Deidara had only given him the ring on a whim. No, he was definitely not hurt. It was to be expected after all. They clearly did not get along; of course Deidara had given it to him on a whim. He hadn't even known Sasori when he started making it!
"He does, however, appear to like Sasori."
Sasori, having been lost in his own thoughts, snapped his head up to stare at Pein while raising an eyebrow at this. "I highly doubt that."
"Well, was I mistaken in thinking that wooden thing hanging from his bag was made by you?" inquired Pein. "It looks like something you made," he said thoughtfully, "And then there's that lovely nickname he gave you." Pein chuckled on the last part before asking, "Where did he get 'danna' from, Sasori? Is he of interest to you Sasori? Because you know, if he is we will back off. It's very rare that you take a liking to anyone…"
"It was in exchange for the ring," dismissed Sasori before referring to Deidara's nickname for him, "and hell if I know, but I guarantee you, he only does it to annoy me," said Sasori with a slight shrug. "And I certainly have no interest in him." He didn't mention that the nickname didn't actually annoy him at all.
"Since you don't have an interest in him, we could use this to our advantage." Itachi jumped into the conversation.
"How?" inquired Zabuza
"Sasori," said Itachi as he turned his head to look directly at said boy, "You will befriend him."
Sasori scoffed at the ridiculousness of the idea. Out of everyone in the group, he was the last person anyone could hope to make friends with. He hated people in general. He preferred to be alone with his puppets.
"Actually, I think that could work, Sasori," cut in Pein. "You just have to put in a bit of effort."
Sasori shot him an icy glare. "And what if I don't want to?"
"Just think of it this way," shrugged Pein, "The quicker you get him to hang out with us, the sooner you can quit trying. Just gain a bit of his trust, set up a day for us to attempt to gain his trust, and then you can go back to your art. You know Itachi won't leave you alone until his little game begins."
"Fine," Sasori sighed before laying his head down on the table wearily, trying to think of the quickest, and most effective way to gain the blonde's trust. What am I getting myself into? He never questioned the slight throb of emotion that briefly crossed his mind, in fact, he pushed it aside as easily as swatting a fly. An emotion mostly referred to by many as guilt.
Deidara ignored the stares as he dragged Tobi back to their normal table. Most of them were awe-inspired stares, while the rest looked pitying.
It wasn't until he and Tobi had sat down at their table that he realized what exactly he had done.
He had just played with fire, and now he was praying he wouldn't get burned.
"Shit! That was fucking awesome! You looked fuckin' bad-ass, staring Pein down like that," cheered Hidan almost as soon as he sat down. "And the way you just slapped Zabuza's arm away, damn! You have more bravery in your pinky than half these shit-heads have in their entire fuckin' body." Hidan said referring to the students who were now whispering amongst themselves about what just happened.
Deidara promptly slammed his head into the table while muttering 'dammit'.
"What's wrong, Dei-sempai?" asked Tobi, his childlike innocence returning now that they were out of danger.
Deidara cursed mentally as he pulled at the hair hanging on the left side of his face, a habit he had developed whenever he was upset, "Dammit, fuck," cursed Deidara into his arms. "What have I done? I cannot get in trouble again." he groaned.
Gaara, Hidan, and Tobi all looked at each other perplexed, but with a mix of curiosity.
"What do you mean?" asked Tobi gently.
Deidara sighed before shifting his head so that his chin was resting on his arms, and he could look at them. "Nothing, it doesn't really matter, un," assured Deidara.
"Quit avoiding the fucking question and answer it so we can all quit worrying," growled Gaara, shocking everyone at the table. It was true he rarely spoke, but it was surprising to see how adamant he was about this particular subject. Not to mention Gaara just used the word 'worry' in reference to himself. The world may very well end.
Deidara groaned; burying his head back in his arms.
"I don't wanna talk about it, un!" he grumbled just loud enough so they could hear him.
"Speak," commanded Gaara, his glare intensifying.
Hidan glanced back and forth between Deidara, not entirely understanding what was going on. All he knew, was Gaara was not his friend. He was Tobi's and Deidara's, and even though he could be dense, Hidan could sense that there was more to the conversation than met the eye. Hence, he decided to make a graceful departure. "Well, fuckers, I'm gonna go see if the cafeteria ladies have any damn chicken bones." He said as he quickly left his seat, quickly tagging on an excuse about needing something to give Jashin.
Neither of the three of them, not even Tobi, noticed his departure.
When Deidara refused to acknowledge his demand, Gaara allowed a smirk to settle on his face. "Tell us, or I'll let it slip to Sasori that you are the one who blew up that thing on their lunch table, yesterday."
At mention of yesterday's prank, Deidara bolted up in his seat, "No!"
"I think he mentioned yesterday during a family dinner that the Akatsuki are out to destroy whoever dared to embarrass them," continued Gaara. No, this was a complete and utter lie, Sasori never spoke at dinner unless directly asked, but Deidara didn't need to know that.
"You can't!" Deidara looked at Gaara pleadingly, hoping that perhaps he could wriggle his way onto Gaara's merciful side.
"Then talk." Gaara and Tobi stared at him expectantly.
The blonde sagged forward in defeat. He forgot. Gaara doesn't have a merciful side.
"Fine," he sighed, "What exactly do I have to tell you guys?"
"Whatever you are a comfortable-" Tobi was cut off abruptly by Gaara who glared at him.
"Everything," deadpanned Gaara.
Deidara glanced around, noticing that quite a few people kept staring in his direction. Probably wondering why the Akatsuki had singled him out.
"Fine," he relented. Tobi had accepted his eye, which he would probably be forced to share with Gaara, or else, Tobi might mention it. That didn't mean he had to tell them about his hands! "Can we just… go to the library or something?" pleaded Deidara in a quiet whisper. "I don't want anyone to overhear," he said before mumbling, "On the off chance that Akatsuki decides to try and blackmail me."
Gaara nodded in agreement, and he was the first to stand up and head toward the library. Tobi waited patiently for Deidara to stand up and follow them.
Deidara couldn't help but hear some murmurings from his fellow students as he passed. Certain words stood out to him, but he couldn't fully hear them.
"…what did he do?... pissed them off somehow... something to do with the explosion yesterday?"
The last statement made him want to smile ruefully. If only they knew.
A few moments after they left, the white-haired male returned to their abandoned table, looking around confusedly. "Where the hell did those little bastards go? They fuckin' left me!"

Tehe, glad I gott this out here. I've been stalling since I'm almost out of pre-written chapters.
Beta'd by: CantHelpThisSmile
Until Next time ~ ;D
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The Art of Emotion