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Description
A knock on the door woke Deidara up with a start.  At first he thought he had imagined it and was about to turn over to lose himself to sleep once more when the knock came again, this time a bit more persistently.  Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and mumbled something incoherent.  The bed was so warm.  Bit of pity to leave it.

He slipped out of the covers and shuffled over to the door just as another knock echoed through the room.  A groan came from over his left shoulder and he looked just in time to see Sasori turn and shove one of his pillows on top of his head to block out the sound.

When the blonde opened the door, he saw Itachi standing there, fully dressed, holding a steaming cup of coffee.  The black haired young man looked Deidara up and down with an air of disapproval at his lack of clothing then stepped into the room without further ado.

“Un…?”  Deidara trailed off, quite unsure as to what this was all about.

“As I suspected,” Itachi murmured, more to himself than the other, at the sight of the ‘headless’ puppet master.  “Here.”  He handed the blonde the mug and made to leave when Deidara spoke up.

“Erm, I don’t like coffee…” he trailed off uncertainly.

The red eyed man rose a black brow and stared passively at the sculptor before bothering himself to reply.  In a tone as unemotional as Sasori's, he answered, “Good, because it isn’t meant for you.  When you can finally get Sasori out of bed, tell him Sir Leader wants him.”  With that, Itachi left, leaving Deidara utterly confused.

Well, if Leader-sama wanted Sasori's audience, then it was probably important.  From what he could tell, Itachi had told him in his own indifferent, condescending manner that he had get his partner up right now.  Eh, couldn’t be too hard – why could the other have done it?

Setting the cup down on the bedside table, he turned to face the wad of blankets and pillows that was the red head.  Reaching out tentatively, he touched where he presumed his partner’s shoulder was and lightly shook it.  No response.  He shook the other harder.  Nothing.  Honestly, how could he not feel that?  Resolved to get him out of bed no matter what, he called out his partner’s name once before repeating it a bit louder.

Damn!  What the hell was wrong with him!  He decided to lift up the pillow that covered the other’s head.  When it began lifting off, a muffled groan emanated from under the fabric and the arm on top tightened its grip.  By now, the blonde was thoroughly irritated.  Any other time, he might have found it relatively amusing that this surly character was obviously not a morning person, but right now, he was losing patience quickly.  Deidara began shaking the pile of blankets vigorously and saying loudly, “I know you can hear me, now get up!”

He was rewarded for his efforts by a pillow to the face.  Caught off guard, he toppled to the floor.  That was it!  He picked himself up angrily and was full set on jumping on the bed to push the other out when he saw the welcome sight of his partner standing up on his own.

As happy he was that the red head had finally risen, he was a bit concerned about Sasori appearance.  The half-lidded eyes looked tired from more than just lack of sleep and the shadows under them were darker and deeper than ever.  His skin was also a paler shade than it ought to be.  Red hair was disheveled and sticking up in odd places, and it seemed like he was swaying on the spot with a vacant looked on his face.

It was a bit unnerving.  Did he always look like this in the morning?  Then he remembered.  Reaching over to the table, he offered the hot coffee to the puppet master.

As the puppeteer downed the scalding, bitter drink, Deidara vaguely recalled that the day before, Sasori had had nothing but coffee as soon as he got up and had wasted no time in getting it.  Whatever floated his boat.

Deidara allowed a few minutes for Sasori to saunter slowly into the bathroom and brush his teeth and splash water on his face before he decided to mention Itachi’s reason for visiting.

The red head rubbed his eyes at the news.  “Hn,” he mumbled in a sleepy voice.  Leader-sama generally didn’t call anyone to his chambers unless it was important and had to be addressed immediately.  Damn, it would have been nice to sleep a little longer.  He had been up all night finishing that puppet after all.

Without another word, he ambled out of the room, leaving the blonde alone and looking after him with an utterly perplexed look on his face.

Eh.  With a shrug, Deidara dressed and made his way down the stairs.

It must have been really early or something.  No one was out in the kitchen yet.  Although the black haired young man had brought up the coffee, he was also absent from the scene.

Feeling rather deserted, Deidara resolved himself to just get some cereal out again this morning.  Vaguely, he wondered what the leader wanted with Sasori and not him.  Since they were partners, shouldn’t they both be involved in plans now?

Well, whatever, Sasori better plan on letting him in on the secret.  Deidara stirred around the last few pieces of shredded wheat with his spoon.  Who would have thought they would have had western foods here?  He hadn’t thought of that yesterday…well, anyway, it was good enough to fill him up.

His eyes began wandering around the room when they fell on a small notepad and a pencil.  Oh yeah!  That’s right, weren’t they plan on going to the village later on today?  Maybe he could make a list of what he needed that day.

After clearing his dish, he picked them up and started jotting down ideas.

About an hour later, the red head entered the front door with the closest to a smile on his somber face.  Though his countenance wasn’t exactly any different and he sauntered through the hallway as cheerlessly as ever, there was a certain silent pleasure in the air surrounding him as he walked up to there room again.

Yes, that meeting, though called a little earlier than he would have wanted, went rather well.  Sasori moved about their empty room going through his belongings.  Hmm…seems like he did need socks, just like he had thought the night before.  Oh well, he had a list of things to do today, including shopping, so that wasn’t so much so much a problem.  Satisfied he had covered all necessary objects, he grabbed up a bundle still left on Deidara’s unused work station, and left.

On the way downstairs, he stopped at Hidan and Kakuzu’s room and knocked on the door softly.  A sleepy Kakuzu opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth.  Perfect.  There wasn’t a way he could argue like this.

Within five minutes he was able to coax the stitched up immortal to part with a sufficient amount of money.  The red head walked, in even better spirits, down into the kitchen to find Deidara doodling on his finished list.

“Come on, brat.”

Deidara was startled out of his daydreaming and looked up to see the puppet master holding out a bag of gold.  “Un?”  he asked in his usual monosyllable.

“Are we going to the village or not?”  Sasori inquired, his good mood already starting to slip away.

“Oh, un.  But what’s this for?”  Taking the bag with a unsure hand, he looked at Sasori with his innocently clueless face.

Sasori felt that odd twist in his stomach again at the naïve blonde.  He could have sworn the blood would have rushed to his face if it could.  How odd.  But that couldn’t possibly be right.  Eh, it had been a long time, so he wasn’t really sure how it felt anymore.  In any case, he retained his stoic expression and answered quite simply, “Do you want free money or would you rather use your own?  Kakuzu was kind enough to actually give us something to spend, but its up to you.”  He shrugged and turned to go.

“No, wait, un!”  the blonde cried out as he leapt out of his seat with a force that almost sent the chair flying.  There was no way he was going to be left behind.  He needed that toothbrush and the shampoo dammit!

Sasori chose to remain silent as they strolled out of the entrance cavern.  His brown eyes made a small dart towards the door Deidara had yet to see the interior of and his lips curved into the tiniest of smiles.

Deidara missed the small change in expression and decided instead to break the silence.  “So, un, where is the village?”

Brought instantly out of his reverie, the red head led the way out the main entrance and out into the forested land.  “The closest village is Amegakure.  These headquarters are here mainly because Leader-sama is the leader of that town.  Therefore, its safe for us to wear our cloaks in the shops without arousing suspicion.”  With that, he handed over the bundle he had been carrying until then.

Only then did the sculptor realize he had been holding onto his cloak the whole time.  “Oh, un, arigatou, I kinda…forgot.”  He mumbled the last part with a blush.  It was so hard to remember to put on that red cloud adorned coat every time he left the house.

With a swish of the black fabric, he donned the surprisingly lightweight garment.  Hmm….nice and loose around the middle with super long sleeves.  His fingertips didn’t even extrude from the ends.  And, he thought as he finished snapping it up, I'm really going to have to get used to these tall collars.  They're kinda troublesome.

After traveling on what seemed like a predestined yet unmarked course for a while, they came upon a trail in the forest and the two started down it, the red head leading the way without a word.

When Deidara was about to ask how much longer it would be, they passed a dense thicket and were suddenly out of the woods.  A tiny village lay nestled in a narrow valley in between the cliffs and forests that seemed so common in this area.  It looked like almost ever other town he had visited.  There were little shops here and there, what looked like an inn, stands outside that sold food, and a restaurant or two.  The only thing that struck him as ood was the diversity of people that walked around.  From what he could see by the headbands a few of them wore, there were more people from other lands and villages than the Land of Rain itself.  And many of them had slashed their headbands just as he had done when he had left Iwagakure.  It almost seemed like a hidden village of missing-nin.

Not seeming to be phased by any of this, Sasori plowed forward to the front gates.  A few people watched curiously as the two of them walked by, but most took no notice of the conspicuously garbed figures.

Only when they had gotten to the single inn, The Leaping Shadow, did the puppet master finally decide to turn his attention on his partner once more.

“You have until two o’clock to do whatever you want here.  That includes getting supplies that you need and something to eat if you want it as well as seeing whatever sights you might be interested in.  We meet here at that time.”  With that, the puppeteer turned and left Deidara standing there.

He couldn’t say he was happy with his partner’s treatment of him so far today, but it wasn’t as if it was going to get any better than this, so he let it drop.  Instead, the blonde wondered for a moment whether or not this Amegakure had a convenience store.  So far on his list, he had accumulated a total of about five or six things, give or take a few – most of which would probably only be found in one.
He couldn’t remember seeing one on their way in, so he continued down the main street, pausing every now and then to examine store windows.

Sasori walked into the tools and supply shop near the entrance of the village.  Automatically, his hand felt his stomach for a moment, then his back, prodding and feeling.  Everything seemed okay for now, but either way, he was running out of oil to keep puppet joints in good condition.

He slipped a hand into the other bag full of money he had gotten from Kakuzu.  Hmm…with this much, he may as well go on a spree.

When he finally walked out of that particular store, he had almost completely used the allowance.  Now all he needed was…socks and some rice flour he had been asked to pick up.  The red head set off down the street to pick up his final necessities.  Vaguely, he wondered what his blonde partner was doing at the moment.  Honestly, he had best not be wasting that money.  You could never tell how irresponsible kids would be.

Deidara flopped down outside the inn with a sigh.  He couldn’t see Sasori anywhere, so he assumed he hadn’t finished yet.  That gave him some time to go through his stuff and make sure he got everything he would need.

“Lets see,” he muttered, opening the first bag.  His hand touched the toothbrush and toothpaste.  Good, because sharing stuff like that was really gross.

A new brush that he saw in a store window had caught his attention too, so he had bought it to replace his old beat up one.  And of course, it was part of a brush comb set, so he had to buy both.

He had also purchased a few bottles of nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner.  With a look at the label again, he grinned, quite pleased that he had found ones meant specifically for blondes.

He also had a assortment of clothing that he thought he might need later on.  And finally, in its own, heavy bag, was what had used up most of his spending money.  The supply store down at the far end had a display of fairly reasonable, good quality clay.  Of course, he had seen better, but as of now, he was a bit short and needed to fill up as soon as possible, so he had bought the lot.

With a sigh, he wondered how much longer there was until the puppeteer showed up.  His blue eyes wandered around, looking for any sight of the other on the streets, when they stopped, gaze fixated on the stand just outside the building across the street from him.  A sudden idea hit him and he abandoned his post to spend the last of his money.

At exactly two o’ clock, Sasori sauntered up to the steps of the inn and saw Deidara, surrounded by bags, drinking what looked like green tea.  Just as he thought, wasting money.   Perhaps he could go to Kakuzu just to see what he would do to the blonde when found out money had been spent needlessly.

Before he could say anything, however, the sculptor held up another cup and handed it to Sasori.  The surprised red head merely stared at the drink with a confused look on his face.

Seeing his bewilderment, Deidara laughed and pointed to the cup saying, “I got you some coffee with the rest of my money, un.”

The puppet master continued to stare at it for a few moments to cover up his surprise before he looked down at the blonde seated on the curb and allow a tiny smile to cross his features.  Maybe he wouldn’t talk to Kakuzu after all.

Deidara beamed back up at him and he realized he had actually smiled to show appreciation.  Dear lord, what was this world coming to!?  He dropped the expression on his face and took a sip of coffee as he turned to go.  “Come on, brat.”

Deidara’s smile fell almost as quickly as had his partners and he sighed, following the red head towards the entrance of the town.

“Now, you best have spent that money wisely,” said Sasori, a bit annoyed with himself for sounding like a mother scolding her child.  They turned onto the path through the thick woods.  “We have a mission tomorrow, and you need to be well prepared.”

“Oh, yeah, un!  Good thing I bought that clay, un!”  came the enthusiastic reply.  Finally, a mission!  Now he could prove that he wasn’t some annoying kid incapable of anything.  And maybe he could gain some respect from his partner, too.

The two strode along in silence until they returned to the headquarters.  Sasori decided not to tell him what Leader-sama had said.  This was, more or less, Deidara's initiation test.  If he succeeded in pulling off the mission and working well with his assigned partner, he would be accepted into the Akatsuki with no further questions.  But, if he should fail to cooperate with or proved to be incapable (because there was no way Sasori would allow a mission he was a part of fail), he would be kicked out on his butt or, as a more likely result, be killed.  So, the red head couldn’t give up hope yet.  Either way this turned out, he might actually get good results.  So, the test would be fruitless if the sculptor knew its purpose.  With that information, he would work harder than he would have initially and altogether skew the results.  After all, Sasori wanted a partner that was more than competent at all times.

As soon as they stepped in the front door, Sasori dismissed Deidara and immediately went upstairs to unpack and prepare for the next day.  The blonde followed him to their room and continued up to the trap door after tossing most of his stuff on his bed.  If boring old Sasori was going to stay indoors all day, he was going to enjoy the sunshine outside.

Opening the final bag containing his new clay, the sculptor smiled happily and took out a hunk, working it with his nimble fingers.  If they were going on a mission tomorrow, he ought to make most of his clay ready for use.  Yesterday’s match between the two had involved the longest chakra infusing process ever because he hadn’t prepared it ahead of time.  If he could put some of his chakra in all his clay beforehand, it would be faster and easier to make the explosives during battle, thus saving energy and time.  Well, this might take a while, he thought, kneading the clay between his hands.  Good thing I ate before we left Amegakure.  And, his gaze drifted to the bag, I have snacks.  I don’t think Ill eat dinner tonight.

Sasori gave Deidara’s mess a rather disgusted look and turned away.  Only if that wasn’t cleaned by that evening would he really get mad.  Instead, he turned his attention to his bags.  Eh, the rice flour could be taken down any time, so he set it aside.  His new preferred hand-soap (lemon scented furniture cleaning solution) was put in the bottom cabinet in the bathroom and his new tools and oil were laid out on his work station.

Hrm, he didn’t exactly need the tools, but with the money he had, why not replace everything with newer and more reliable instruments?  Well anyway, with the mission coming up tomorrow, he ought to prepare himself for possible attack.  Choosing out two particular scrolls, he brought them to his desk and got to work.

It was starting to get dark when Deidara finally deemed himself finished with the clay.  Picking up the now heavier feeling bag, the exhausted Iwa nin made his way down the stairs.  It didn’t seem like those snacks had lasted him as long as he had hoped.  Either that, or that infusion process took more out of him than he had anticipated.  The blonde dropped his stuff off at the door if his room and proceeded to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat – preferably something he could carry back upstairs with him.

A few leftover egg rolls in hand, Deidara trudged back up the stairs.  Damn, that was tiring with so little chakra left.  When he entered the room, the first thing he heard before he could latch the door closed was a strange metallic sound as if rough steel was rubbing against wood.  The sounds of snaps on clothing reached his ears a second later and he turned to face the sounds.

The only thing he saw was Sasori working at his desk with his back turned.  Still, didn’t those weird noises come from his direction?  It was worth a look.  Quietly, so as not to disturb his irritable partner, the sculptor crept up behind him and looked over his shoulder at the piece he was fiddling with at the moment.

It was, with no other way to describe it, a metal wing.  Ending on one end in a ball joint that seemed to attach onto something else, a long, probably steel, pole extended about a half meter out to be finished off with five, long, curved blades that looked as sharp as knives.  Each blade was attached to the pole so they could revolve and that, by the looks of things, was what he was having troubles making them do at the moment.

Sasori took no notice of the blonde until he spoke just beside his ear.

“What's that for, un?”

Personally, he found it to be a rather stupid question.  What else did he work on at this desk?  However, he replied shortly, “A puppet.”

Deidara was in awe as he looked at the shiny, flawless metal.  “Really, what kind of scary puppet uses something like that, un?”

Sasori scowled a little.  Scary was overdoing it just a bit.  His voice was the tiniest bit quieter as he responded, “My masterpiece.”

“Oh, un.  Its very nice, did you make it yourself,”  the blonde asked eagerly, completely unaware he had just slightly offended his partner.

“I make all my work, brat, I told you already.”  With and exasperated sigh, he continued oiling up the joint and testing it, every now and then prodding the section with a strange shaped tool.

None of it really made any sense to the blonde and Sasori seemed quite determined to not illuminate the matter, so he instead decided to just take a super fast shower and finally brush his teeth with his spiffy new toothbrush!

When he returned, ready to go to slip under the covers of his bed, he saw the red head, dressed in his pajamas and cleaning up the work station.  The wing-thing was nowhere to be found.  Apparently it was finally fixed during his shower or tooth-brushing escapade.

“Ne, Sasori no danna?  Can I see your masterpiece?”  It was worth a shot.  Anyway, he wanted to see what sort of puppet would actually classify as a ‘masterpiece.’

“No,” came the quick, uninterested reply.  “Not unless I have to show you will you see it.”  With that, he finished cleaning and sauntered to his bed with a yawn.

A little disheartened, Deidara moved to his bed, picked up the remaining pile of purchases and put them on his desk.  He'd clean up later – whenever they got back from that mission.  With a happy sigh, he sprawled out on the bed and pulled the covers over him in some sort of weird cocoon.  As he turned to switch off his bedside lamp, he caught sight of the red head already smothered in blankets, breathing deeply.

“Night, danna,”  he said softly.

He was almost sure he heard a faint murmur of reply.

Description
A knock on the door woke Deidara up with a start.  At first he thought he had imagined it and was about to turn over to lose himself to sleep once more when the knock came again, this time a bit more persistently.  Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and mumbled something incoherent.  The bed was so warm.  Bit of pity to leave it.

He slipped out of the covers and shuffled over to the door just as another knock echoed through the room.  A groan came from over his left shoulder and he looked just in time to see Sasori turn and shove one of his pillows on top of his head to block out the sound.

When the blonde opened the door, he saw Itachi standing there, fully dressed, holding a steaming cup of coffee.  The black haired young man looked Deidara up and down with an air of disapproval at his lack of clothing then stepped into the room without further ado.

“Un…?”  Deidara trailed off, quite unsure as to what this was all about.

“As I suspected,” Itachi murmured, more to himself than the other, at the sight of the ‘headless’ puppet master.  “Here.”  He handed the blonde the mug and made to leave when Deidara spoke up.

“Erm, I don’t like coffee…” he trailed off uncertainly.

The red eyed man rose a black brow and stared passively at the sculptor before bothering himself to reply.  In a tone as unemotional as Sasori's, he answered, “Good, because it isn’t meant for you.  When you can finally get Sasori out of bed, tell him Sir Leader wants him.”  With that, Itachi left, leaving Deidara utterly confused.

Well, if Leader-sama wanted Sasori's audience, then it was probably important.  From what he could tell, Itachi had told him in his own indifferent, condescending manner that he had get his partner up right now.  Eh, couldn’t be too hard – why could the other have done it?

Setting the cup down on the bedside table, he turned to face the wad of blankets and pillows that was the red head.  Reaching out tentatively, he touched where he presumed his partner’s shoulder was and lightly shook it.  No response.  He shook the other harder.  Nothing.  Honestly, how could he not feel that?  Resolved to get him out of bed no matter what, he called out his partner’s name once before repeating it a bit louder.

Damn!  What the hell was wrong with him!  He decided to lift up the pillow that covered the other’s head.  When it began lifting off, a muffled groan emanated from under the fabric and the arm on top tightened its grip.  By now, the blonde was thoroughly irritated.  Any other time, he might have found it relatively amusing that this surly character was obviously not a morning person, but right now, he was losing patience quickly.  Deidara began shaking the pile of blankets vigorously and saying loudly, “I know you can hear me, now get up!”

He was rewarded for his efforts by a pillow to the face.  Caught off guard, he toppled to the floor.  That was it!  He picked himself up angrily and was full set on jumping on the bed to push the other out when he saw the welcome sight of his partner standing up on his own.

As happy he was that the red head had finally risen, he was a bit concerned about Sasori appearance.  The half-lidded eyes looked tired from more than just lack of sleep and the shadows under them were darker and deeper than ever.  His skin was also a paler shade than it ought to be.  Red hair was disheveled and sticking up in odd places, and it seemed like he was swaying on the spot with a vacant looked on his face.

It was a bit unnerving.  Did he always look like this in the morning?  Then he remembered.  Reaching over to the table, he offered the hot coffee to the puppet master.

As the puppeteer downed the scalding, bitter drink, Deidara vaguely recalled that the day before, Sasori had had nothing but coffee as soon as he got up and had wasted no time in getting it.  Whatever floated his boat.

Deidara allowed a few minutes for Sasori to saunter slowly into the bathroom and brush his teeth and splash water on his face before he decided to mention Itachi’s reason for visiting.

The red head rubbed his eyes at the news.  “Hn,” he mumbled in a sleepy voice.  Leader-sama generally didn’t call anyone to his chambers unless it was important and had to be addressed immediately.  Damn, it would have been nice to sleep a little longer.  He had been up all night finishing that puppet after all.

Without another word, he ambled out of the room, leaving the blonde alone and looking after him with an utterly perplexed look on his face.

Eh.  With a shrug, Deidara dressed and made his way down the stairs.

It must have been really early or something.  No one was out in the kitchen yet.  Although the black haired young man had brought up the coffee, he was also absent from the scene.

Feeling rather deserted, Deidara resolved himself to just get some cereal out again this morning.  Vaguely, he wondered what the leader wanted with Sasori and not him.  Since they were partners, shouldn’t they both be involved in plans now?

Well, whatever, Sasori better plan on letting him in on the secret.  Deidara stirred around the last few pieces of shredded wheat with his spoon.  Who would have thought they would have had western foods here?  He hadn’t thought of that yesterday…well, anyway, it was good enough to fill him up.

His eyes began wandering around the room when they fell on a small notepad and a pencil.  Oh yeah!  That’s right, weren’t they plan on going to the village later on today?  Maybe he could make a list of what he needed that day.

After clearing his dish, he picked them up and started jotting down ideas.

About an hour later, the red head entered the front door with the closest to a smile on his somber face.  Though his countenance wasn’t exactly any different and he sauntered through the hallway as cheerlessly as ever, there was a certain silent pleasure in the air surrounding him as he walked up to there room again.

Yes, that meeting, though called a little earlier than he would have wanted, went rather well.  Sasori moved about their empty room going through his belongings.  Hmm…seems like he did need socks, just like he had thought the night before.  Oh well, he had a list of things to do today, including shopping, so that wasn’t so much so much a problem.  Satisfied he had covered all necessary objects, he grabbed up a bundle still left on Deidara’s unused work station, and left.

On the way downstairs, he stopped at Hidan and Kakuzu’s room and knocked on the door softly.  A sleepy Kakuzu opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth.  Perfect.  There wasn’t a way he could argue like this.

Within five minutes he was able to coax the stitched up immortal to part with a sufficient amount of money.  The red head walked, in even better spirits, down into the kitchen to find Deidara doodling on his finished list.

“Come on, brat.”

Deidara was startled out of his daydreaming and looked up to see the puppet master holding out a bag of gold.  “Un?”  he asked in his usual monosyllable.

“Are we going to the village or not?”  Sasori inquired, his good mood already starting to slip away.

“Oh, un.  But what’s this for?”  Taking the bag with a unsure hand, he looked at Sasori with his innocently clueless face.

Sasori felt that odd twist in his stomach again at the naïve blonde.  He could have sworn the blood would have rushed to his face if it could.  How odd.  But that couldn’t possibly be right.  Eh, it had been a long time, so he wasn’t really sure how it felt anymore.  In any case, he retained his stoic expression and answered quite simply, “Do you want free money or would you rather use your own?  Kakuzu was kind enough to actually give us something to spend, but its up to you.”  He shrugged and turned to go.

“No, wait, un!”  the blonde cried out as he leapt out of his seat with a force that almost sent the chair flying.  There was no way he was going to be left behind.  He needed that toothbrush and the shampoo dammit!

Sasori chose to remain silent as they strolled out of the entrance cavern.  His brown eyes made a small dart towards the door Deidara had yet to see the interior of and his lips curved into the tiniest of smiles.

Deidara missed the small change in expression and decided instead to break the silence.  “So, un, where is the village?”

Brought instantly out of his reverie, the red head led the way out the main entrance and out into the forested land.  “The closest village is Amegakure.  These headquarters are here mainly because Leader-sama is the leader of that town.  Therefore, its safe for us to wear our cloaks in the shops without arousing suspicion.”  With that, he handed over the bundle he had been carrying until then.

Only then did the sculptor realize he had been holding onto his cloak the whole time.  “Oh, un, arigatou, I kinda…forgot.”  He mumbled the last part with a blush.  It was so hard to remember to put on that red cloud adorned coat every time he left the house.

With a swish of the black fabric, he donned the surprisingly lightweight garment.  Hmm….nice and loose around the middle with super long sleeves.  His fingertips didn’t even extrude from the ends.  And, he thought as he finished snapping it up, I'm really going to have to get used to these tall collars.  They're kinda troublesome.

After traveling on what seemed like a predestined yet unmarked course for a while, they came upon a trail in the forest and the two started down it, the red head leading the way without a word.

When Deidara was about to ask how much longer it would be, they passed a dense thicket and were suddenly out of the woods.  A tiny village lay nestled in a narrow valley in between the cliffs and forests that seemed so common in this area.  It looked like almost ever other town he had visited.  There were little shops here and there, what looked like an inn, stands outside that sold food, and a restaurant or two.  The only thing that struck him as ood was the diversity of people that walked around.  From what he could see by the headbands a few of them wore, there were more people from other lands and villages than the Land of Rain itself.  And many of them had slashed their headbands just as he had done when he had left Iwagakure.  It almost seemed like a hidden village of missing-nin.

Not seeming to be phased by any of this, Sasori plowed forward to the front gates.  A few people watched curiously as the two of them walked by, but most took no notice of the conspicuously garbed figures.

Only when they had gotten to the single inn, The Leaping Shadow, did the puppet master finally decide to turn his attention on his partner once more.

“You have until two o’clock to do whatever you want here.  That includes getting supplies that you need and something to eat if you want it as well as seeing whatever sights you might be interested in.  We meet here at that time.”  With that, the puppeteer turned and left Deidara standing there.

He couldn’t say he was happy with his partner’s treatment of him so far today, but it wasn’t as if it was going to get any better than this, so he let it drop.  Instead, the blonde wondered for a moment whether or not this Amegakure had a convenience store.  So far on his list, he had accumulated a total of about five or six things, give or take a few – most of which would probably only be found in one.
He couldn’t remember seeing one on their way in, so he continued down the main street, pausing every now and then to examine store windows.

Sasori walked into the tools and supply shop near the entrance of the village.  Automatically, his hand felt his stomach for a moment, then his back, prodding and feeling.  Everything seemed okay for now, but either way, he was running out of oil to keep puppet joints in good condition.

He slipped a hand into the other bag full of money he had gotten from Kakuzu.  Hmm…with this much, he may as well go on a spree.

When he finally walked out of that particular store, he had almost completely used the allowance.  Now all he needed was…socks and some rice flour he had been asked to pick up.  The red head set off down the street to pick up his final necessities.  Vaguely, he wondered what his blonde partner was doing at the moment.  Honestly, he had best not be wasting that money.  You could never tell how irresponsible kids would be.

Deidara flopped down outside the inn with a sigh.  He couldn’t see Sasori anywhere, so he assumed he hadn’t finished yet.  That gave him some time to go through his stuff and make sure he got everything he would need.

“Lets see,” he muttered, opening the first bag.  His hand touched the toothbrush and toothpaste.  Good, because sharing stuff like that was really gross.

A new brush that he saw in a store window had caught his attention too, so he had bought it to replace his old beat up one.  And of course, it was part of a brush comb set, so he had to buy both.

He had also purchased a few bottles of nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner.  With a look at the label again, he grinned, quite pleased that he had found ones meant specifically for blondes.

He also had a assortment of clothing that he thought he might need later on.  And finally, in its own, heavy bag, was what had used up most of his spending money.  The supply store down at the far end had a display of fairly reasonable, good quality clay.  Of course, he had seen better, but as of now, he was a bit short and needed to fill up as soon as possible, so he had bought the lot.

With a sigh, he wondered how much longer there was until the puppeteer showed up.  His blue eyes wandered around, looking for any sight of the other on the streets, when they stopped, gaze fixated on the stand just outside the building across the street from him.  A sudden idea hit him and he abandoned his post to spend the last of his money.

At exactly two o’ clock, Sasori sauntered up to the steps of the inn and saw Deidara, surrounded by bags, drinking what looked like green tea.  Just as he thought, wasting money.   Perhaps he could go to Kakuzu just to see what he would do to the blonde when found out money had been spent needlessly.

Before he could say anything, however, the sculptor held up another cup and handed it to Sasori.  The surprised red head merely stared at the drink with a confused look on his face.

Seeing his bewilderment, Deidara laughed and pointed to the cup saying, “I got you some coffee with the rest of my money, un.”

The puppet master continued to stare at it for a few moments to cover up his surprise before he looked down at the blonde seated on the curb and allow a tiny smile to cross his features.  Maybe he wouldn’t talk to Kakuzu after all.

Deidara beamed back up at him and he realized he had actually smiled to show appreciation.  Dear lord, what was this world coming to!?  He dropped the expression on his face and took a sip of coffee as he turned to go.  “Come on, brat.”

Deidara’s smile fell almost as quickly as had his partners and he sighed, following the red head towards the entrance of the town.

“Now, you best have spent that money wisely,” said Sasori, a bit annoyed with himself for sounding like a mother scolding her child.  They turned onto the path through the thick woods.  “We have a mission tomorrow, and you need to be well prepared.”

“Oh, yeah, un!  Good thing I bought that clay, un!”  came the enthusiastic reply.  Finally, a mission!  Now he could prove that he wasn’t some annoying kid incapable of anything.  And maybe he could gain some respect from his partner, too.

The two strode along in silence until they returned to the headquarters.  Sasori decided not to tell him what Leader-sama had said.  This was, more or less, Deidara's initiation test.  If he succeeded in pulling off the mission and working well with his assigned partner, he would be accepted into the Akatsuki with no further questions.  But, if he should fail to cooperate with or proved to be incapable (because there was no way Sasori would allow a mission he was a part of fail), he would be kicked out on his butt or, as a more likely result, be killed.  So, the red head couldn’t give up hope yet.  Either way this turned out, he might actually get good results.  So, the test would be fruitless if the sculptor knew its purpose.  With that information, he would work harder than he would have initially and altogether skew the results.  After all, Sasori wanted a partner that was more than competent at all times.

As soon as they stepped in the front door, Sasori dismissed Deidara and immediately went upstairs to unpack and prepare for the next day.  The blonde followed him to their room and continued up to the trap door after tossing most of his stuff on his bed.  If boring old Sasori was going to stay indoors all day, he was going to enjoy the sunshine outside.

Opening the final bag containing his new clay, the sculptor smiled happily and took out a hunk, working it with his nimble fingers.  If they were going on a mission tomorrow, he ought to make most of his clay ready for use.  Yesterday’s match between the two had involved the longest chakra infusing process ever because he hadn’t prepared it ahead of time.  If he could put some of his chakra in all his clay beforehand, it would be faster and easier to make the explosives during battle, thus saving energy and time.  Well, this might take a while, he thought, kneading the clay between his hands.  Good thing I ate before we left Amegakure.  And, his gaze drifted to the bag, I have snacks.  I don’t think Ill eat dinner tonight.

Sasori gave Deidara’s mess a rather disgusted look and turned away.  Only if that wasn’t cleaned by that evening would he really get mad.  Instead, he turned his attention to his bags.  Eh, the rice flour could be taken down any time, so he set it aside.  His new preferred hand-soap (lemon scented furniture cleaning solution) was put in the bottom cabinet in the bathroom and his new tools and oil were laid out on his work station.

Hrm, he didn’t exactly need the tools, but with the money he had, why not replace everything with newer and more reliable instruments?  Well anyway, with the mission coming up tomorrow, he ought to prepare himself for possible attack.  Choosing out two particular scrolls, he brought them to his desk and got to work.

It was starting to get dark when Deidara finally deemed himself finished with the clay.  Picking up the now heavier feeling bag, the exhausted Iwa nin made his way down the stairs.  It didn’t seem like those snacks had lasted him as long as he had hoped.  Either that, or that infusion process took more out of him than he had anticipated.  The blonde dropped his stuff off at the door if his room and proceeded to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat – preferably something he could carry back upstairs with him.

A few leftover egg rolls in hand, Deidara trudged back up the stairs.  Damn, that was tiring with so little chakra left.  When he entered the room, the first thing he heard before he could latch the door closed was a strange metallic sound as if rough steel was rubbing against wood.  The sounds of snaps on clothing reached his ears a second later and he turned to face the sounds.

The only thing he saw was Sasori working at his desk with his back turned.  Still, didn’t those weird noises come from his direction?  It was worth a look.  Quietly, so as not to disturb his irritable partner, the sculptor crept up behind him and looked over his shoulder at the piece he was fiddling with at the moment.

It was, with no other way to describe it, a metal wing.  Ending on one end in a ball joint that seemed to attach onto something else, a long, probably steel, pole extended about a half meter out to be finished off with five, long, curved blades that looked as sharp as knives.  Each blade was attached to the pole so they could revolve and that, by the looks of things, was what he was having troubles making them do at the moment.

Sasori took no notice of the blonde until he spoke just beside his ear.

“What's that for, un?”

Personally, he found it to be a rather stupid question.  What else did he work on at this desk?  However, he replied shortly, “A puppet.”

Deidara was in awe as he looked at the shiny, flawless metal.  “Really, what kind of scary puppet uses something like that, un?”

Sasori scowled a little.  Scary was overdoing it just a bit.  His voice was the tiniest bit quieter as he responded, “My masterpiece.”

“Oh, un.  Its very nice, did you make it yourself,”  the blonde asked eagerly, completely unaware he had just slightly offended his partner.

“I make all my work, brat, I told you already.”  With and exasperated sigh, he continued oiling up the joint and testing it, every now and then prodding the section with a strange shaped tool.

None of it really made any sense to the blonde and Sasori seemed quite determined to not illuminate the matter, so he instead decided to just take a super fast shower and finally brush his teeth with his spiffy new toothbrush!

When he returned, ready to go to slip under the covers of his bed, he saw the red head, dressed in his pajamas and cleaning up the work station.  The wing-thing was nowhere to be found.  Apparently it was finally fixed during his shower or tooth-brushing escapade.

“Ne, Sasori no danna?  Can I see your masterpiece?”  It was worth a shot.  Anyway, he wanted to see what sort of puppet would actually classify as a ‘masterpiece.’

“No,” came the quick, uninterested reply.  “Not unless I have to show you will you see it.”  With that, he finished cleaning and sauntered to his bed with a yawn.

A little disheartened, Deidara moved to his bed, picked up the remaining pile of purchases and put them on his desk.  He'd clean up later – whenever they got back from that mission.  With a happy sigh, he sprawled out on the bed and pulled the covers over him in some sort of weird cocoon.  As he turned to switch off his bedside lamp, he caught sight of the red head already smothered in blankets, breathing deeply.

“Night, danna,”  he said softly.

He was almost sure he heard a faint murmur of reply.