Chapter 9
As the sun began to set on their third day of traveling to the Hidden Cloud, Deidara landed his creation safely to the ground with a slight yawn. The Artist Duo had to take a bit of a detour from their direct route towards the Cloud Village due to spotting a platoon of shinobi below them, no doubt being dispatched on some kind mission. Sasori didn't want to take any risks and instructed the blonde to fly off to the west instead. They had plenty of time to get to the village after all, and his partner wanted to be more cautious than usual. He couldn't really complain all that much, though he wasn't the biggest fan of sleeping outside in the middle of nowhere.
"Tired already?" Sasori asked, genuinely concerned for his partner for once. Deidara had been waking up earlier than usual, which he was grateful for as it got them closer to their destination faster, but he didn't want the teen to overexert himself. Not at Sasori's expense.
Deidara merely hummed in response, pulling out a few snacks that he'd picked up during one of their stops. He needed to eat before he tried to let himself sleep. Going to bed hungry always had him waking up in a terrible mood. Though, Sasori was right. He was pretty tired, and it was his own fault really. He's been waking up early and flying them pretty late into the night just to get them closer to their destination. Even now, the sun had set at least two or three hours ago and they only just now landed. If Sasori allowed it, he might have to sleep in tomorrow morning.
"You've been doing a lot more than usual, it's no surprise you're wearing yourself out." The red head used a stern tone, trying to show he wanted the other to ease up a bit. He still wasn't used to showing he cared about other people, not without Mayumi around to rat him out, but he was working on it. Slowly, but he was still working on it again. So while Deidara ate, Sasori took it upon himself to start building a little fire pit for the other. It didn't get too cold during the nights in the Land of Lightning, but it was still nice to have a source of warmth. Of course, he had to be careful when lighting the damn thing. Having a body made entirely of wood made him a walking fire hazard, and Sasori wasn't exactly in the mood to end up as kindling tonight.
Deidara watched in appreciative silence as Sasori built them a little fire. It was nice, seeing his partner show that he still had the capacity to care about others. Up until recently, Deidara was convinced that the Puppet Master was nothing but a cold hearted bastard. That the other had nothing he truly cared for other than his creepy human puppet collection, yet that whole perception of him was shattered into pieces just barely a month ago. In less than a month, Deidara had learned more about his partner's past than anyone else had in the entire time Sasori has been part of the Akatsuki. It was so surreal, yet it gave him some much needed insight on who his partner really was. In a way, he and Sasori were more alike than either would really like to admit.
"Hey Danna?" Deidara mumbled out before another yawn slipped past his lips. "I know you don't really like talking about what happened, but… I was curious, how did you two end up being so close?" Maybe it was the tiredness that had him asking, but Deidara just couldn't seem to keep the question to himself.
Sasori looked up in surprise, not expecting Deidara to ask about her in his current state. "Shouldn't you be getting some sleep? Not bugging me about my past?"
The blonde merely chuckled. "Come on, it can't be that long of a story, hm. I just wanna know how Mayumi managed to get you of all people to care so much about her that you'll scour the world to find her missing body again, hm."
The red head scowled, lightly kicking at Deidara's leg out of spite. "Go to bed, brat. I'll tell you in the morning." He wasn't about to keep the other up any later. Or at least, that's what he thought.
"Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I won't stay up out of pure spite, hm." It was a childish thing to do, but it was the hill Deidara had chosen to die on for tonight. He wanted to know more about his partner's relationship with Mayumi. Deidara had only assumed that Sasori was in love with her, and it was a fair assumption all things considered. The red head never spoke about anyone so highly before, and calling her his masterpiece? Another person being his masterpiece? There had to be more between the two than just growing up together and being close friends.
Sasori gave a short huff of annoyance. Why did his partner have to be so stubborn? Couldn't the other just go to sleep like a normal person and wait until the morning to get an answer? Pretty ironic that Sasori was the one who wanted him to wait instead of the other way around. "I'm not going to repeat myself if you fall asleep halfway through."
"I won't fall asleep, hm!" For someone who had been yawning just moments earlier, Deidara seemed deceptively energetic all of a sudden.
"Sure you won't." Sasori rolled his eyes before pulling out his precious photo. The day captured within the image still fresh in his mind, but it certainly wasn't the day Deidara wanted to hear about. Not yet at least. "I said before that Mayumi and I were complete opposites. She was loud and outspoken while I was more quiet and reserved, and it was that very fact that seemed to bring us together in the first place."
The day they met felt like a lifetime ago. Sasori being only six years old at the time and Mayumi being five, yet it was as if they had lived in completely separate worlds before that day. "She was so excited to meet new people, and I was no exception to that fact. When she first saw me with my grandmother I vividly remember just how quickly she'd run up to me just to introduce herself."
Hi there! The name's Mayumi, and you must be Lady Chiyo's grandson, yeah? Hi Lady Chiyo! Granny Mira said you'd be coming by today!
The energy Mayumi gave off was enough to make anyone jump. It was like the girl had no off switch, she just kept going and going until someone finally told her to stop. Sasori had been a little intimidated at first if he was being honest. "She may have been smaller than me, but I'd lived my whole life at that point in a relatively calm household. I'd never met someone so energetic before. It was a bit much to take in all at once. Especially since Mayumi didn't exactly know what 'personal space' was just yet." The Puppet Master let out a light laugh as he remembered how quickly he'd hidden behind his grandmother. Mayumi had gotten so close to him so quickly, and was so loud, he didn't know how to respond other than giving her a quiet hello.
Aww don't tell me I scared ya that easily! Aren't boys supposed to be tougher than that?
"She was blunt and a real chaotic kind of girl, the type most adults weren't sure how to deal with at first. But the more time you spent with her, the more you realized that she was like that because it would put a smile on others faces. Her wild nature was only the surface of who she was." Sasori couldn't help but smile at all the times Mayumi would do something erratic completely out of the blue around him just so she could see him laugh. The way her eyes would light up the second she got him to start giggling, it was like that's all she ever needed in the world. Hearing him laugh or seeing him crack a smile, it would practically make her shine as bright as the sun itself.
There's that smile I love so much! You look so much better when you smile, Sasori! Come on, show it to me one more time!
That was only the start of their interactions though. The two of them crossed paths the more Mayumi started to work with Granny Chiyo, after that it was as if all the pieces simply fell into place. "My grandmother didn't even have to request Mayumi be the one to deliver her orders because after a while, Mayumi would just tell the others that she was going out on a delivery. And practically everyone knew who she was delivering to. Eventually, we started to hang out even when we weren't working." Those days, Sasori remembered how truly happy he was to have her around. Being a recluse and having trouble connecting with others his age left Sasori a bit lonely as a child, but not with Mayumi around. When she was there with him, it was like she could read him as easily as she could an open book. He could rarely ever hide how he felt when she was around him, and in a way that was probably a good thing. It's probably one of the reasons they were able to become so close.
"She could see right through you, hm." Deidara's voice sounded heavy. He was clearly struggling to stay awake, yet it didn't seem like he was going to give in just yet.
Sasori smiled, looking up at the star dotted sky. "Yeah. No matter how hard I tried to keep my emotions from her, Mayumi would dig them up and make me face them head on. She made me face things I didn't want to think about, letting me break down only to help me back up once I let everything out."
Bad things happen, Sasori! And when they do you can't just sit around and let yourself fester in anger or sadness or resentment! You have to get back up and move forward, because if all you do is let these things eat away at you then you'll be nothing but a rotting shell soon enough!
How ironic those words were now. "You know, before I joined up with the Akatsuki, I used to say to myself that if Mayumi had lived… I would've stayed with the Sand Village." Sasori noticed his partner's head perk up slightly from the corner of his eye. "If she had lived… I would probably still be a Sand shinobi. You and me? We could have been enemies." Now that was a thought. The two of them fought enough as teammates, lord knows how bad they would be as enemies. It was a thought that had Sasori chuckling lightly. "Can you imagine? I probably would have killed you by now with how much you would've annoyed me." He heard Deidara laugh beside him. A quiet laugh that devolved into another tired yawn. Such a stubborn guy his partner was being right now.
"Danna… you really loved her didn't you, hm?"
The comment caught Sasori off guard a bit. It wasn't like he had been hiding it, but he hadn't actually said anything outright. Admitting it and knowing it were two completely different things in his mind. If Sasori admitted that he felt that deeply for Mayumi, it gave others a weakness to exploit. But, this wasn't just anyone he was talking to. This was Deidara, his partner, and someone he admittedly trusted with his life. If he could tell anyone, it was the guy that had offered to help aid him in his search the second he found out about it. Sasori let a smile form on his face, staring down at the photo still in his hand.
"She's the best thing that ever happened to me… more than anything, I lo-" A sudden snore cut him off, and Sasori almost wanted to burst out laughing when he looked over at his now sleeping partner. Deidara was leaned back against his clay creation, his head slumped over to the side as he let out another light snore. The Puppet Master simply shook his head, holding in a small bout of laughter that threatened to escape. "You idiot. I told you I wouldn't repeat myself if you fell asleep." Sasori let the other sleep. After all he's done so far, Deidara deserved the rest. And later on, when the sun began to rise, Sasori decided that just this once, he was okay with waiting for his partner to wake up. No matter how long that took.
If only Deidara had stayed awake just a bit longer, he would have heard Sasori admit his feelings for the girl known as the Sand Village's 'Desert Rose'.