Chapter 10
Arriving at the Hidden Cloud was more stressful on Sasori than it really should have been. After taking a whole week to get here, and making sure their transformations were perfect, the Artist Duo finally made it to their destination. The Hidden Cloud village was right in front of them, and it was going to be their base of operations for some time to come. Sasori felt his mind start to race with thoughts. What if they were found out? What if they couldn't find the shinobi they were looking for? Or worse, what if he was already dead? If that happens then Mayumi's trail ends here and Sasori is thrown back to square one. The Puppet Master shakes his head, trying to dispel these thoughts and keep a tactical outlook on this. They made it this far and that's what mattered most right now. The pair just needed to keep a low profile as they searched for their target. This kind of thing should be a cake walk to them. After all, they were S-Class criminal ninja. How hard can it be to keep up a search while undercover?
Sasori tugged lightly on Deidara's sleeve to get his attention before he spoke quietly. "You remember our plan, right?"
The blonde, now disguised as a brunette man with brown eyes and short hair, gave a solid nod. "We're traveling painters who are just visiting the Hidden Cloud for supplies and inspiration for our next pieces, hm. My name is Juzo and I'm 25 years old. Your name is Sho and you're 27. Uhh, that's everything, right, hm?"
Sasori nods, glad that his partner remembered the most important details. So long as they keep their stories straight, things can go smoothly. He didn't expect anyone to question them immediately, but the longer they stayed in the village the more the locals would want to know about them. It was only natural to have a solid explanation to give them once the pair get to that point.
As they walked into the Hidden Cloud, Sasori couldn't help but notice the stares some of the guarding shinobi gave them. Clearly they weren't used to getting visitors, but no sensible ninja would attack a supposedly unarmed civilian. He had to remember that he was disguised. Right now he wasn't the red headed Puppet Master known as Sasori of the Red Sand, he was just a simple blonde haired, green eyed painter. Just a random nobody. To keep up appearances, Sasori gave one of the guards a smile and waved a simple greeting. He had to act friendly, had to keep up the act of just being a simple traveler, and that meant getting very far out of his comfort zone. Sasori has been so out of touch with expressing emotions that he almost thinks this mission of his might be impossible.
"Excuse me, my friend and I just arrived here and we were just wondering where the nearest Inn might be?" Deidara's chipper voice had Sasori's head snapping towards his partner. The other was speaking to a young woman. She couldn't be older than her mid-twenties if Sasori was guessing correctly, and she certainly didn't look like a shinobi.
"Oh my, you two must have traveled pretty far if you made it all the way here!" She seemed surprised, but still gave them a smile. "If it's an Inn you're looking for then you'll want to head down the main road and take a left at the green building with the blue lotus sign on it. Ignore any of the drunks that might be wandering out of it at this hour, they're harmless. After that, you'll just want to keep following that road and you should find one of the better Inns here in the Hidden Cloud." The woman seemed happy to help, even going so far as to hand Deidara what one could only assume was a business card. "If you ever need fresh foods, feel free to come to my shop!"
The bomber smiles, matching the woman's friendly attitude. "Thank you very much! My partner and I will be sure to stop by once we've settled in! My name is Juzo, and the quiet one is my partner, Sho. Now what can we call you?" It was strange, seeing Deidara be so overly friendly with someone. Though in the end, it helps them keep a better profile. The friendlier they act the better chance they'll have at staying under the radar.
"My name is Reira, and it's a pleasure to meet you both! I'll have to get going now but I hope you two enjoy your stay here in the village!"
The pair waved goodbye to the woman and started to make their way down the road, following Reira's directions. Sasori was still on edge, being surrounded by unfamiliar territory and having to keep himself from looking suspicious. It felt like he had to remind himself every few minutes that he was disguised. That no one was going to take one look at him and know who he was. He needed to stay calm, because despite his stone faced appearance, Sasori was more nervous than he's ever been before. He was used to looking in small little villages that were easy to get rid of once he was done, not this. Not having to infiltrate one of the five biggest villages in the land without causing so much as a single stir. Of course, he'd rather drop dead than ever admit that fact.
The pair came up to the building with the lotus sign, just as Reira had described. It was obviously a bar, though it looked as though it was closed at the moment. No one stumbling out as she had said might happen, yet it seemed a few people were heading inside. No doubt the workers preparing for later on. If it turned out to be a popular spot, Sasori might have to mark it down as a place they'll need to frequent. Drunk people always have tales to spill once they're given a listening ear. That mental note aside, the pair continue down the road, following Reira's directions and soon enough Sasori spots a clearly marked Inn. It's in a rather nice area, he notices, so no doubt they'll have to pay a pretty penny to stay. Kakuzu was certain to have their heads for this trip later on. That is if he even stuck around long enough after all of this is over.
The Artist Duo nods to each other, silently agreeing that this is where they were going to be staying for the duration of their time here in the Hidden Cloud. It was nice enough as they walked in, the clerk was friendly, and the rates for an extended stay weren't nearly as high as Sasori initially thought. The clerk informed them that this specific Inn had a lot of tenants coming and going, so they shouldn't expect to know most of their neighbors, if they even interacted with them at all. Honestly that just told Sasori not to bother with anyone who stays here. If they came and went as fast as a wheel can turn then there was no use in even making an attempt to be chummy with anyone here, save for those who work at the Inn.
"It's rare we get visitors who are intent on staying longer than a couple of days. May I ask why you're staying here in the Hidden Cloud for so long?" The clerk asks, clearly just curious about the duo.
Without missing a beat, Deidara responded with that same odd cheerfulness from earlier. "My partner and I are traveling painters, but we've run a bit low on supplies. We figured if we're going to stock up here, we might as well stick around and draw in some new inspiration from the village and its surroundings." He sounded so confident in his words, really taking in the new role he's designed for himself. It was so strange, for some reason, hearing Deidara speak like this.
The clerk looks excited as he pulls out a set of keys and hands them off to Deidara. "You two must have seen a lot in your travels! Any idea where you'll be headed after you're all finished here?"
Deidara seems to freeze for a moment, a bit caught off guard by the question at first, but he quickly recovers. "Not sure just yet, but I'm sure we'll figure it out by the time we have to get going." He chuckles a bit before thanking the clerk and leads the way to their new temporary 'home'. Entering the room, it was much more spacious than most Inns they've been to. Clearly this place was on the more upscale side of business, having so much space to use as they please. It was almost like a miniature apartment, though the only room that seemed to be separated from the rest of things was the bedroom. Which was fine, it meant Deidara could sleep in peace and privacy while Sasori stayed awake like usual. It also meant he didn't have to be so painfully quiet while the other slept.
Without a second's hesitation, Deidara dispels his disguise and all but drops down across the couch. "Well, we made it inside, hm. Now all we have to do is track down one single shinobi based solely off the description that an old guy gave us when he saw said shinobi five whole years ago, hm." It was silent in the room for a moment. "We're gonna be here a while, aren't we, hm?"
Sasori sighed, dropping his own disguise as he sat next to his partner. "Yeah, a long while." He leans back against the cushion, staring up at the ceiling as his thoughts begin to calm. "With any luck, the guy's appearance hasn't changed too drastically. But the issue is the fact he's a shinobi. The worst case scenario is that he's dead and we lose the trial. Best case scenario? He's still alive and we manage to find him within a reasonable amount of time and move on to the next stop in our search."
"Our search, hm?" Deidara smiles up at Sasori, a devilish gleam in his eyes. "When did this become our search, hm?" His smile doesn't last long as Sasori all but smothers him with one of the couch pillows.
"Shut up, brat. You say some of the dumbest things, I swear."