Chapter 3
Sasori's luck today just wasn't on his side. Not only did he regret letting Deidara fly them the rest of the way to the village, the blonde flying as reckless as ever, they still got caught in a sudden rainstorm. Even with the speed at which Deidara had them soaring through the air, the pair still ended up getting soaked by the heavy rainfall. Sasori wasn't too thrilled about having to dump water out of his body parts but his partner was even more upset thanks to the temperature drop that came with the rain. Lucky for him, the Puppet Master couldn't feel the cold as quickly as Deidara could. While the blonde was still entirely human, Sasori could only "feel" things like the weather with his core. It was both a blessing and a curse because while he won't freeze or overheat to death, it still ate up chakra to keep his core warm or cool enough to function. If he let his core get too hot or too cold, he'll enter a hibernation-like state and be left completely vulnerable and like hell he's willing to let that happen any time soon.
The pair finally landed outside the small town and despite wanting to scout the place out first, the two seemed to have the same idea and simply made a mad dash to the nearest Inn they could spot. Rushing into the building, and effectively scaring the poor woman who sat at the front desk, the artist duo were left dripping wet, with Deidara panting for air and Sasori looking like he was contemplating every single life decision he's ever made.
The Puppet Master calmly walked up to the front desk, giving the woman a small bow of his head. "I apologize if we startled you, but the rain caught us by surprise. Do you have any rooms available for us to stay in until the storm blows over?" The woman gave him a slow blink, still a bit in shock it seemed. After an awkwardly long moment of silence, she seemed to finally snap out of her stupor.
"Oh! R-Right, um, allow me to check my records first!" The poor woman scrambled to pull out a stack of paperwork, frantically looking through each piece so she could give them an answer. After muttering a few colorful words under her breath a smile forms on her face. "Ah! Here we go! We have several rooms still available actually, it seems like this rain caused a few guests to cancel. Did you need one room or two?"
"Just one." Sasori was quick to hand over the payment for the room and take the key before all but dragging his partner up the steps. His body felt way too heavy, the water trapped inside his limbs making sloshing noises as he walked. His soaked cloak wasn't helping either. It was irritating. So much so that as soon as they were both inside the room with the door shut, Sasori damn near ripped the black and red piece off his wooden body and threw it in some random direction. He heard the soaked piece of fabric hit the floor with a wet smack and sighed. "I can't stand the rain."
"You and me both, hm." Deidara chimed in, following Sasori's lead and stripping off his own soaking wet cloak. At least they were in a warm, dry room now, but the younger boy knew that they were going to get an earful from Kakuzu later once the money hungry member of the Akatsuki learned of their spending. "So much for avoiding the storm, hm." He mumbles, more to himself than to his partner, as he grabs his ponytail and twists the water out. What a total mess.
Sasori only gives the blonde a small grunt in response, sitting in the nearest chair so he can start to empty out his body of water. The process was more of a chore than anything else. Detaching each limb, watching as all the rainwater poured out of the openings, then reattaching them back to his body. It was all such a hassle, and all because he miscalculated how far away the storm was from them. Maybe if he'd let Deidara fly just a little faster they would have gotten here faster, but what's done is done. No turning back the clock, not in this instance at least. Finally getting the last of the water out of his body, Sasori leaned back against the chair with a sigh just as a loud crack of thunder sounded outside. This storm definitely wasn't going to a short one.
Deidara sat on the floor of the room, rummaging through all his clay bags to make sure none of it had gotten ruined by the water. It wasn't like it was hard for him to get more, but if his current supply got ruined well, it would take a hell of a lot longer to replenish his stock without his usual means of transport. That and he was sure that Sasori would bitch him out for 'being unprepared' despite the both of them being caught off guard by the rain.
As he let Sasori 'rest' quietly, Deidara continued to mindlessly go through his clay bags, absently rolling a small ball of the white clay in one hand. He was almost finished checking everything, his eyes wandering over to where he and Sasori tossed their soaked cloaks, thinking about how long it was going to take for them to dry at this rate. He wondered for a moment, before something catches his eyes. Something small, but with a bright color that contrasted so jarringly with the dark wood floor it was impossible not to see it. Deidara reached over and picked up the small photo. At first he thought it was something left by a previous tenant or even the innkeeper herself, but one good look at the photo had Deidara's eyes widening in shock.
The photo was old, so much so that it was kept in some sort of plastic covering to prevent further deterioration. A good thing too, considering it was coated in water. But what really caught him off guard was who was in said picture. Deidara saw his partner, in classic Sand Shinobi attire, standing next to a girl in a long red dress. What's even more strange to the bomber is that Sasori was smiling. The Puppeteer was truely and genuinely smiling. They pair were standing in front of some kind of building and the girl next to Sasori looked so excited. She had long red hair, probably longer than his own hair if he thought about it, and emerald green eyes that seemed to shine even though he was just looking at a picture.
"Hey, Danna?" He heard his partner give a small grunt in response, clearly not in the mood to talk, but Deidara just had to know. "Do you have a sister or something?" No sooner had the words left his mouth Deidara felt a horrific sense of dread spread down his spine. The younger artist was hesitant to turn around, slowly turning his head only to be met with his partner giving him the deadliest glare he's ever seen. "I'm sor-"
"Where did you find that?" Sasori's voice was low, the Puppet Master practically growling out his words.
"I-It was on the floor, hm! Next to your cloak! I swear!" Deidara has never seen Sasori so angry before. Come to think of it, he's never really seen Sasori truely angry, period. It was always just mild annoyance or agitation when they argued over things. But this? This was something else. This was the type of anger you'd see in… well in anyone that wasn't his usually stoic partner! Deidara swallowed heavily as he watched Sasori stand from his seat. When the other started walking over to him, he was sure that this would be the end. Sasori was actually going to kill him. Only, his death never came.
Instead, Sasori snatched the photo from his hand and gave him another hard glare. "Don't fucking touch what doesn't belong to you, brat." And that was it. There was no yelling, no threats to his life, not even a threat of being turned into a puppet. Sasori just took the picture and went back to his seat. Deidara was left stunned on the floor of their shared room, fear still coursing through his veins as he watched Sasori's face carefully. The other was clearly still angry, but there was something else in his eyes. Something Deidara has never seen before. Was that… sadness?
"Da-"
"I don't have a sister." His student response caused Deidara to jump slightly.
"What?"
"Don't make me repeat myself, brat. I don't have a sister. I'm an only child." Sasori kept his eyes focused on the photo. If he still had a heart he was sure it would be aching right now, seeing her smiling face again. Even if it was an old photo.
"I mean… you two do have similar hair colors. It's not every day you see people with red hair, hm." The bomber relaxed slightly, no longer feeling like his life was in immediate danger.
"Just because we both have red hair doesn't mean we're related. It was just pure coincidence."
There was a pause. Silence stretching on for what seemed like ages. Was he not going to elaborate? Is that all Deidara is going to get out of him? The blonde decided to take a chance and press just a bit more.
"Who was she then, hm?" Once again there was just silence. Sasori seemed intent on ignoring his question now. At least, that's what it seemed like to Deidara. The two stayed locked in a tense silence, neither wanting to give in to the other's stubbornness. He knew it wasn't his place, but Deidara was young and curious. Seeing his usually stoic and serious partner look so happy and carefree, it would make any of the other Akatsuki members curious. Though, it seemed like he wasn't going to be getting the answers he wanted tonight. Just as he was about to give in, Sasori spoke.
"Her name is Mayumi. She was… is, someone very important to me."