Chapter 2
The journey out to the village Sasori had marked down was less than eventful. They had gotten lucky with the weather, not needing to bunker down for any amount of time and by sheer luck the pair hadn’t run into any kind of obstacles along the way. The Puppet Master knew this place was pretty isolated but he didn’t think it was going to be this barren of shinobi. He supposed that was good, all things considered, but that also had his hopes of finding his lost scroll dwindling. If people rarely came out this way then the odds of what he was looking for being out here were harshly reduced. Even still, there was no turning back now. He had dragged Deidara all the way out here for a reason and Sasori wasn’t about to waste both their time by not following through with his search.
Judging by his map, Sasori guessed they were only about another day’s walk from the village. If they kept this pace up they could probably make it there by sunrise tomorrow, that is if his partner didn’t need to sleep. Sasori gives it some thought as he looks over at his partner from inside Hiruko. The explosives expert looked annoyed, though that could easily be attributed to the fact Sasori had woken him up rather early. His partner didn’t really like walking around when he could easily create something out of clay that could fly them both somewhere, but Sasori was always against it. Mostly because the Puppet Master hated the idea of flying while settled inside Hiruko.
Come on Sasori, live a little!
Those words rang out in his head, causing the red head to stop in his tracks. He shook his head, trying to dispel the idea that was forming, but to no avail.
“Danna? Why’d you stop, hm?” Deidara’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts, and Sasori gave a small sigh from inside Hiruko. He was going to regret this idea.
“Make one of you clay birds, we can fly the rest of the way.”
“Huh? But I thought you hated flying, hm? Why-”
Sasori didn’t let his partner finish talking before he suddenly sealed Hiruko away, standing before the teen with an annoyed look on his face. “I do hate flying, but unless you want to sleep out in the open again tonight with a high risk of rain suddenly pouring down on you in the middle of the night then I suggest you just fly us the rest of the way to the town.” The shut up any retort his partner seemed to have. Though it didn’t stop him from looking a bit shocked at the fact Sasori had actually sealed away Hiruko for once. It was incredibly rare for the Puppet Master to show his true face, even around his own so-called teammates. Despite all that, he just couldn’t handle the idea of flying while still hidden inside Hiruko. Especially not with Deidara’s flying skills.
Now, the younger boy wasn’t a terrible flier, as a matter of fact Sasori would go so far as to say the blonde was practically an expert at maneuvering his creations through even the tightest spaces. The issue was that Deidara was reckless with his flying. If he had a passenger the blonde took no regard for how said passenger would be able to handle his erratic flying patterns. Sasori learned that detail the hard way. The very first time he’d ever agreed to letting Deidara fly them both somewhere the blonde nearly caused him to fall off the dragon-like creation several times. Not to mention they were hundreds if not thousands of feet above the ground. Had Sasori actually fallen off he was sure both his body and Hiruko’s body would have been shattered into pieces. Deidara could skillfully navigate through the densest woods, but he had no regard for his potential passengers. Hopefully this time Sasori won’t need to dig his fingers into the clay just keep himself from falling off.
The red head gave his partner a stern look, waving his hand impatiently. “Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you actually going to do what I said?”
Deidara snapped out of his daze, still shocked over the fact that Sasori had actually come out of hiding for this. “Right, hm!” He couldn’t help but smile slightly. Flying was one of his favorite things to do with his creations, but with Sasori’s complete aversion to the idea he rarely got the chance to do so unless they were in battle. Deidara made quick work out of creating a large bird-like creature for them to fly on, his excitement a little too clear in his body language.
“Don’t get all excited, brat. The only reason I’m doing this is because I don’t want to hear you complain if we get caught in a rainstorm.” Sasori’s voice was stern as he climbed onto Deidara’s clay creation. It was more than big enough for the both of them, but that didn’t mean Sasori felt comfortable.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Danna. Just tell me where to go, hm.”
Right, Sasori hadn’t actually given him any kind of direction just yet. The Puppet Master pulls out his map again, pinpointing where they were before pointing east. “The town shouldn’t be more than a few hours east of our current position. So long as you-”
“A few hours? Come on, Danna. You should know how I fly by now, hm!”
“Wait, Deidara don’t-!” Before he could stop his partner, Deidara had them soaring up into the air and jetting towards their destination. Sasori nearly lost his balance on the take off alone and with the harsh winds now pushing against his body he had no choice but to kneel down and grab hold of the clay beast. Why did he think this would be any different from the first time he let his partner fly them somewhere? “You idiot! I almost fell off!”
Deidara’s laugh was nearly drowned out by the winds. “Come on, Danna! You knew what you were getting into when you asked me to fly, hm! Just hang on and we’ll be back on the ground in no time!” The blonde smiled back at his partner before focusing back on the open sky before them. Deidara was going to have his fun while he could, even if it made Sasori a little cross with him later on.
While Deidara looked like he was having the time of his life, Sasori was left to cling to his partner’s creation as if his life depended on it. The heavy winds blowing his hair all over the place, the movement of the clay creature’s wings making it impossible to sit still, and Deidara’s cocky attitude about the whole situation just made Sasori’s regret even larger. If he still had a stomach Sasori was sure he’d be nauseous right about now. Honestly, it’s feelings like this that make him believe Sand Ninja in general just weren’t meant to fly.
Don’t be so closed minded, Sasori! You never know what kind of amazing things could be out there!
Once again, her voice rang clear through his mind. Little things she’d said to him in the past that still managed to come to the surface even now. With a short huff of breath, Sasori opened his eyes. When had he closed them? Taking in the sight before him, he took notice of the dark grey clouds rolling in from the west. His assumption about rain that night was correct. If they hadn’t taken off now there was no doubt in his mind that the two would have gotten stuck in a downpour.