Bursting Red

The village of prayer was a glorious land of wealth and religion. Temples lined the streets and each temple held more worth in it’s gold trim than I had ever had the luck to behold. Even the streets were paved lavishly, my shoes didn’t kick up dirt or tread a single unstable rock the entire way to the hotel. I focused my attention on the back of Deidara’s head, his long, blonde tresses gleamed gold in the bright afternoon sunshine and it was temptation to grab a hold of. He was tired and today we had a lot still left to do, things I was having a terrible feeling about.

“How much farther Deidara-kun?” I asked absentmindedly to him, he half way turned his head towards me and growled lowly. He was not in an answering type of mood and I cast my eyes down as my own shoulders grew surly. Suddenly everything didn’t seem as appealing. And he constantly wondered why I pestered him to get more sleep, if only he knew just how awful he was to be around when he was tired and frustrated. It was as if every medicine available to man just suddenly disappeared and someone had let loose a bout of flesh eating bacteria, is was literally that upsetting.

A pretty exact analogy of his mood swings if I said so myself.

“We’re not going to a hotel.” He said sharply, turning his attention back to me. When I raised my hands in silent defense and tried a small smile on, he narrowed his eyes even more than before. “We are out of money until this next job gets finished, yeah?”

Nodding, I hid the rising panic in my throat as I saw him eyeing the pendant on my neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had snatched it straight off and waved it about like an auction. “I understand.” He huffed aloud and turned back on his heel and with a quiet sigh from myself, I followed quickly. The sun was beating down heavily and my exposed back was beginning to burn. I didn’t want to say anything however. Luckily, we reached a temple that he found suitable and pushed through the heavily carved oak doors. The insides were a cool dark and from the back rooms I could hear a muttering prayer.

“Anyone there?” Deidara called out suddenly, that annoyed tone still evident on his sharp tongue.

“Yes, yes, coming. How may I help you?” A robed man came forward out of a back room, his hands held in prayer and a smile on his chubby face. He looked like a nice person and I desperately wanted Deidara to cool his tone.

“We need a place to stay for the night, hm. Do you have any spare space for us to sleep? I will pay kindly come tomorrow.” The temple man looked doubtfully at Deidara but when he glanced at the sweet smile I was trying to smother him with he nodded heartily.

“Of course, the children of god are always welcome when they need us. Come, let me show you where you may stay. I must apologize, it’s not much but it’s better than the streets.” His good mood was contagious and suddenly I didn’t feel so low. He was a good man and for that I hoped I could find something more than just money to give him when we left. Deidara eyed me curiously and when I turned my head he rebounded with a mischievous grin, eyes closed and nose scrunched up childishly. Respect for the silent halls were all that was stopping me from giggling out loud. His hand found mind and the scruff of the cheap bandaging tickled my sensitive skin. The priest led us to a small room laden with an old cot and some hand me down furniture necessities. It was no hotel room but it was something regardless.

“Ah, domo arigato. This is perfect, really.” I placed my hands together and bowed happily, trying to make up for the light sneer on Deidara’s face. The man didn’t seem to notice Deidara and instead bowed back at me politely. He said his good byes, told us he would bring by a meal for us later, and then left us to our bidding. When we were in the room alone the blonde shinobi sat down on the bed and huffed loudly.

“This is terrible. We should have found somewhere else hm.”

“Deidara-kun, I think it was very kind of him to let us stay, really it‘s not that bad.” He cast me a dry but sharp look and I dug my heel into the wooden floor with a stutter on my tongue. When I remembered a question that had been burning in my brain, I quickly turned my eager face back towards my shinobi and shyly smiled. “What is your mission this time?” It was no surprise he perked up, I was showing interest and with that, he was happy.

“Well, well. I can’t quite tell you now, as interested in it as you are, hm.” He took up the cot by stretching his arms out with a wide yawn and my face fell in dissapointment. It must have been bad or either he was just toying with me.

“Why not?”

“You would get mad and probably not talk to me. And I am in desperate need of your attention so let’s avoid the angry part and move straight to the attention part, yeah?” He wasn’t budging…or having any sort of respect and so I turned my head away with a small huff. I might have been shy but I wasn’t shy enough to let slide blatant rude remarks like so. “Aw, Nezumi-kun. I didn’t mean it like that.” He grumbled tartly. Scooting over he patted a spot next to him. I would have walked away but he caught me with that smirk of his and had me over in record time. How I hated those smoldering looks, it was nothing but a nuisance. “I just miss this is all.”

“As do I.” If I could spend my entire life locked up in his arms, I would have said I lived rightfully. There was no place like this place and in it I felt safe and loved. Isn’t that what everyone wants deep down inside? We stayed like that until I heard the steady rise and fall from his chest that meant he was sleeping. Which was good, I hoped he would wake in a slightly better mood next time. I slipped from his grip and walked over to the wall where a small bookshelf lie in wait for my lusting fingers. I had been a good time since I read a book and my brain was melting over the very idea. To my dismay, every book was based on religion if it wasn’t a holy book to begin with. Flipping through each one diligently, it was almost a relief when a light knocking sounded on the door. “Come in.” I said quietly, hoping whoever it was could still hear me. The door creaked open and that joyous man walked through carrying a tray fit for two.

“I apologize my lady, we don’t have much but I gave you what I could scrape up.” He handed it to me and between my two hands the tray was heavy. It didn’t look like much but what was there looked solid enough to fill even Deidara’s stomach.

“Domo, this is more than I could have asked for.” Setting the tray down I smiled brightly at the red cheeked priest. His eyes wandered from me to Deidara and soon followed them back to meet my own aqua eyes. “Something wrong?”

He shook his head with almost too much exuberance. “Nothing dear, nothing at all. If you need anything else don’t be afraid to ask.” He gave me a quick pat on the shoulder but not even that could help the grey mood I suddenly settled back into. He turned but before he could leave entirely, I stopped him with my words.

“Deidara-kun is not that bad sir. In fact, he saved me time and time again. He really is quite noble and I hope his tone and reactions don’t give you the wrong impression.” The priest chuckled lightly and then turned towards me with crinkled eyes.

“If you say so dear, I don’t doubt he is something to indeed brag about and as long as he cares for you and prays every now and then I have no question in my mind that he is a noble and courageous man.” With a final bow he left me to my own, still simmering in an ugly gloom. Deidara shifted and moaned, falling back into a constant breathing pattern. With nothing else to do I picked at the bread and butter in front of me finding that I wasn’t so much hungry but anxious for the day to end and keep moving. My mind flitted back to those three shinobi I had ran into in the last village. The ones after Deidara (apparently not after me as they didn’t so much as recognize me last time). What were we running from, or better yet, how long would we be running?

“Nezumi-kun? How long have I been sleeping?” I glanced up and smiled as he peered at me through one eye, the other tightly clenched shut. He sat up and threw his arms over his head and stretched at full length, yawning lazily.

“Only about two hours maybe. Do you feel better?” Nodding, he slouched forward, grumbling something about how the bed was made of stone. He inched forward and peered down at the plate in front of me. “Eat up, it’s not much but you’ll need it.” He stole the seat next to me and picked up his own bread, staring at it before putting it back down with his tongue sticking out childishly.

“I’d rather not, un.” It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t that bad. Curious, when did he ever get a chance to be so picky. I snorted to myself and he looked at me in confusion. “Besides, we need to be getting ready.”

“For what?” I asked, stuffing another piece of bread into my hungry mouth. He eyed me with disgust before standing up and unbinding his hands. A bad sign, usually. I watched the dampened gauze bandages fall to the ground and a peek of a slick tongue could be seen from behind his fingers. Suddenly I found myself unable to eat anymore. “I thought we were sleeping here tonight?”

“No. We need to be on the move as soon as possible, with those nin looking for me we don’t have time to stay all night, hm.” He turned suddenly on his heel and faced me with a serious longing on his face. “Come on, we’re leaving now.” I stood up and brushed myself off, grabbing the shoulder bag that housed mine and Deidara’s things and threw it over with a dedicated look on my face. He hand circled my wrist and I had to bite back on my lip to stop from cringing noticeably.

“Wait, we don’t have any money to pay the temple.” I said, remembering Deidara’s promise earlier. Not only that but these were good men who deserved something at least. The blonde boy cast a sad look in my direction before pulling me out the door and sticking his other hand deep within the pouch he held his clay in.

“They won’t need it where they’re going.”

He wouldn’t dare, I thought with a cold panic flooding my head. Not this. He removed his hand from his pouch and held it up to his face, a subtle smile following as he eyed the many little spiders he held. He dropped them to the floor and they scattered. “Deidara-kun, what are you doing! This is your mission?! How could-” He snapped his hand over my mouth and hissed at my narrow eyes. Thank Kami on my part the mouth on his palm stayed closed.

“Please, don’t say another word. Nezumi-kun do you want to eat tomorrow, do you want to sleep in a bed?! Then I advise you keep that pretty little mouth shut for once!” His eyes softened once he caught sight of my wide, tearful eyes and he kissed my forehead gently. He knew he had a nasty temper. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Try to understand onna, things have to be this way.” He removed his hand from my mouth and I looked away, nearly ashamed at myself. He took my silence as it was and tilted his head to follow him down the dark hall.

“Ah, do you two need something, a glass of water perhaps?” We both snapped our heads in direction of the voice and my heart dropped as I saw the priest walking forwards with a stack of old holy books. He must have saw the pity in my eyes for he grew stiff and smiled nervously. “Anything?”

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, it was the least I could do. Deidara glared down at me and yanked me behind his back as some sort of shield. He stood defensively and clenched his hands repeatedly. When the priest caught sight of this he stepped back but was immediately halted by Deidara’s sharp tongue.

“We’re leaving, hm. Stay here and I’ll try to keep things clean.” three small spiders gripped the edges of the man’s robes and climbed upwards, unnoticed by the priest. When Deidara caught sight of this he smirked and stood up straight, shaking his head. “For the most part anyway.” His hand creeped around my wrist once again and he yanked me around to flee towards the doors. He drew two fingers from his free hand up to his face and the unmistakable curve of his mouth told me this was it. I couldn’t help but shout out, my hand extended towards the priest and the last thing I saw before the building shattered with flame was the shimmer of a single tear dropping from the old priest’s face to the aged oak floor.

The impact of the explosion shook the ground and the tremors took my foothold away, I was snatched from his grip as I collided roughly with the torn up street. I felt the blood seeping out but I didn‘t bother worrying about that. I felt cold and numb…alone. Deidara skidded to a halt and with a angry cry he ran back towards me, firmly wrapping his hand around my forearm and pulling me up in a daze. “What do you think you’re doing onna!” Stumbling forwards, he pulled me to an alley across the way. With dead eyes I glanced upwards and was met with a single drop on my cheek.

It was beginning to rain, lightly, not enough to touch the fire though.

I didn’t cry, I didn’t move, I could hardly even breathe. So this is what it felt like to be completely empty, I thought flatly. Deidara stood tall next to me, looking over at his ‘masterpiece’ with an undeniable swelling pride.

Good men, innocent men, died by his hand and I could do absolutely nothing to stop it. The man I loved, destroyed everything for a petty check. It was sickening. Slowly, I forced my legs to withstand my weight as I stood and I placed my eyes on the wreckage that collided with the darkening grey horizon. It was beautiful, it was terrifying and I hated it. I hated everything. With my hand outstretched I caught a hold of a burned piece of parchment on it emblazoned in gold leafing were the words ’like a child, we run’ and I crushed them, tightly enclosing them in my moist palm. “Where has your honor gone?” I asked quietly. I received no answer so I turned my head and caught sight of the boy still staring admiringly. “I don’t know you anymore Deidara-kun.” Maybe I never truly had.

“Don’t say that Nezumi. You’re getting used to it, un.” I didn’t even notice him speed around me, his voice was cold as he spoke over my shoulder. It caught me off guard and I snapped my heads up towards the sky, lips quivering. “This is art, my art. Of all people you should be able to understand.” He breathed down my neck and my own breathing patterns hitched up. I hated that excuse. I always would and always had. I had dropped my hands and they hung loosely by my hips until his fingers creeped around them and turned me around to face him. His face was dirty as mine was, and he looked almost surprised to see I wasn’t crying yet. He tilted his head and the blonde hair that normally hid his face slid back to reveal two bright eyes. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something. Whatever it was he stared and it was a rare moment when I couldn’t tell if he was angry or interested.

“Deidara…Please.” It was an odd feeling, suddenly, I felt older. Like I wasn’t so naïve anymore, not so blind and I could see the terrors of what was around me. But that only made it harder. Despite everything I still managed to love him…but I could finally figure out what that other pressing feeling was.

Hate.

I hated the person he had become, the blood lust that filled his eyes whenever he lit up the world. I loathed every ounce of mangled passion he had in him. This wasn’t art. This wasn’t beauty. And this sure as hell wasn’t perfection. “Don’t be scared Nezumi. I won’t ever hurt you.” I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt him wipe away at the wet spot on my cheek. “Why are you crying, un?” I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t even stand to have him touch me in this state.

“I miss the way you were!” I didn’t get angry. I never got violent or loud, I was always too shy, too timid to raise my voice. But I did this time and he stepped back startled by my outburst. Mt legs shook as I stumbled away from Deidara, threatening to collapse. “I hate this! I hate who you’ve become Deidara! What happened to you…” I brought my eyes back to his face and when I saw the unrelenting annoyance that painted his features I cried harder. My knees gave way and I crumpled in the ashen dirt beneath me. Everything hurt. My heart, my body, my brain. But I couldn’t stop crying.

He said something I didn’t hear and then he got down on one knee and looked me over, a pleading softness touching his eyes. “I promise you though, we won’t live like this forever. Now come on, un.” Before I knew it we were floating again, surrounded by the grey, stormy sky. He asked me what I was thinking and I said the first thing I could think of. I was tired of lying and holding back. He needed to know.

“Deidara-kun, I love you. I love you more than life itself but right now, I can’t stand you. You’re a monster and I know you don’t love me back.” My eyes glossed over and all I could see was the endless sky. I waited for him to say something more but all he asked was how that was so. “You need a heart to love, something I really don’t think you have.” He was quite for a long while until he found my hand and clenched onto it like he always did when we were flying.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about Nezumi-kun.” He said confidently and I had to close my eyes and block him out. He would never understand, and in that moment I nearly regretted following him out my window that night we fled.

---------------------------------

“Well? Did you figure out where they were headed now?” Kisame spoke to the plant-like man that slipped through the walls.

“I already told you, he’s off to collect his pay from a village near here.” The missing-nin of the mist glanced over at the black half and shrugged. He didn’t remember ever hearing Zetsu say that. “If you leave now you can get there before they do.”

“They?” Sasori snapped his head at the creature, eyes narrowed and hissing. “What do you mean they?” Itachi and Kisame also looked at Zetsu expectantly, waiting for his answer.

“You didn’t know, I’m not surprised.” The white half grinned and spoke soon after, “It seems he has a little pet that follows him around, and if I’m not mistaken you’ve already met her.” Itachi placed his cup down and stared at the creature, then as if something clicked in his mind he closed his eyes and nodded.

“That frightened girl that ran into Kisame.” He met Kisame’s hard stare before the blue tinted ninja growled unhappily and placed his cup down with more force than necessary.

“The one in the yellow dress? Dammit and here we could have already been heading back to the base if I had known that sooner. So she’s still following him huh?” Zetsu nodded and started to slowly slink back into the wall.

“He looks quite attached, almost like he’s in love with the child. You should see the way they talk to each other it‘s disgusting.” The three ninja stood and prepared to leave to the neighboring village where Deidara would go. Not one of them wanted to be out here looking any longer than necessary. Angering the leader wasn’t a smart idea. “I’m sure he’d come willingly if he knew her life was on the line.” With that being said Zetsu slunk away completely and left the three Akatsuki members to their own.

“So do we kill her?” Kisame asked, swinging his sword over his back and grinning madly. Sasori looked up and no sooner turned away uninterested.

“If he won’t come nicely. It’s his choice in the end.”