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Description
The empty gym would seem, to someone only glancing into it, as empty and as silent as tombstone- yet in reality the faint murmur of the young blond’s breathing echoed throughout the airy gym.

Deidara lay curled up on the gym floor, His mind still reeling from the punch in the face he had been “given” by Uchiha Itachi. He hadn’t attempted to get up yet- he still felt sort-of dizzy, plus there was something weird in his mouth and he didn’t know if getting  up would make it worse.  Gawd...Itachi’s punches really f*cking hurt, he thought to himself.

A couple more minutes went by until Deidara finally attempted to get up. He straightened his back, before clambering clumsily to feet.  He delicately placed his fingers on his check, prodding it very slightly-yet it still hurt like f*ck, making him gasp in pain. His mouth tasted funny - like there was something inside there, so he opened it and-

“Holy Shit, un!” Deidara cried, blood flowing from his mouth. Itachi’s punch must have been so powerful it caused the blond to bleed from the mouth. He tried to get the blood out of his mouth, but whatever Itachi had damaged wouldn’t stop bleeding, constantly filling his mouth with crimson liquid.

Deidara tried to spit it out, but that made him worse, as his hands and arms were covered in his blood.  He whimpered when he saw much there was there, before running swiftly out of the Gym, and straight into the men’s toilets.

“Damn...” He gasped, blood still thinly trickling out of his mouth. The blond stared at his reflection in the mirror of the toilets, wincing slightly and wishing he hadn't tired to stand up to Itachi, when he noticed his eyes attempting to fill up with tears. He blinked them away furiously,before cleaning away all the dried blood on him, as well as trying to stop the flow of fresh scarlet substance.

The next few days went very slowly for both Sasori and Deidara, with Sasori being stuck in hospital, and Deidara having to endure school without a friend or anyone to talk to.

When finally on the Monday morning of Deidara’s second week of being at Suikoden highschool, Sasori walked in the homeroom Deidara felt much better than he had been feeling all week. He hadn’t seen he red-haired puppeteer after seeing him in hospital, and felt sort-of nervous seeing him again.

“Hi...” He said to Sasori shyly, turning around in his seat to face him.

Sasori walked towards his desk slowly, his eyes half lidded. Che, let the hell commence. It was awful being stuck in Hospital for a whole week but school sucked even more. Deidara was watching him intently- seemed like at least one person was pleased he was back.

As Sasori took hi seat, he saw Deidara turn round to face him. He was watching the blond when suddenly he noticed...something.  Sasori frowned; It seemed to him that there was something a little...odd or different about the blond.

“What’s wrong, un?” Deidara asked the puppeteer, tilting his head to the left slightly, worried by Sasori’s lack of conversation. Was the red-head watching him? It seemed like he was, and it made the blond feel even mere, shy and uncomfortable.

Sasori was still trying to figure out what was wrong with the blond, when the said sculptor titltedd his head to the side, revealing a black and red mark on his face, which would normally be concealed by his fringe.

The puppeteer’s eyes widened in shock at the blonds’ bruise, unable to keep his eyes at their normally half-lidded state. “Deidara, how did you get THAT?!” he demanded, his voice rising slightly.

Deidara blinked, before seeing Sasori pointing at his cheek...oh yeah. The bruise Itachi gave him.

“Oh, that. I got punched, un...” He said timidly, gingerly pressing the bruise.  “...while you were away.”
The blond felt uncomfortable looking Sasori in the eye, so he averted his own cerulean eyes toward the floor.

The puppeteer’s scarlet eyes widened even more, as well his jaw dropping opening in shock. Punched? Why, why on earth would anyone wan too punch Deidara? He had only been in the school for a week. He didn’t like how the said blond added “while you were away” it made him... “feel” guilty. Like it was to do with him, or even, he got hurt because of him.

Sasori leaned in closer towards the blond, reaching across his desk to where Deidara sat. “Why? What happened?” He asked him quietly, trying to meet Deidara in the eyes. “Who did it to you?"

Deidara only noticed when Sasori said something to him that he was much closer than before. The blond shifted his eyes back to the redhead, feeling more uncomfortable- if it was even possible- then he did beforehand.

“It was Itachi, un. “ The blond replied nervously, feeling like he was telling tales like a snitch. He watched the red head’s frown at Itachi’s name, yet still not taking his eyes off him. It looked like he would have to tell the redhead what happened.
“Well, first off he called you a puppet freak, and then he said i was on your side, un. And that doesn’t even make sense, un, you don’t have a side, but anyway he said that I was trying to...trying got turn you good un...”

Deidara gazed at Sasori, terrified he would react weirdly to the “change him” part.  He was embarrassed enough having to tell Sasori all this, but there was some details he would have to tell him that he’d rather not.

Turn him good?...That was odd. The red-head didn’t really understand it, seeing as he didn’t think the blond would do anything like that. Still, whether Deidara was trying to change him or not, was something for another time.  Besides, he wanted to know more about the blond’s injury.

The class’ homeroom teacher was late, yet again, so Deidara had more time to explain fully what happened to him, to Sasori.

“Itachi will hate you forever now, for kicking him.” Sasori told the blond, before laughing at the blond’s raised eyebrows “But...nice way off getting him off you.” He laughed.

The blond smirked, before feeling a shooting pain centred around his bruise. “Ow...” he groaned, flicking his fringe forward so it covered the left side of his face again. Despite hurting like f*ck, the bruise itself made feel like he looked...a prat, or really ugly, but mostly he felt ashamed of it.

Sasori had heard the blond’s re-count and now he “felt” really angry. Not with the blond- not with the blond AT ALL- but mainly with himself and Itachi. Himself, because he had a feeling that if he was there at the time, Deidara wouldn’t have got hurt, And Itachi for being the sh*t-head he was.

Sasori turned his eyesight back to the blond, who was now brushing his long, fair hair with his fingers. He closed his eyes, and they became flooded with a image of the smirking Itachi, making Sasori clench his fists in frustration.

The Uchiha was not going to get away with hurting Deidara. Sasori would see to that, most definitely.

The puppeteer leaned forward, to try and get the blond attention, opening his mouth a little, about to speak to the blond when their teacher hurried into the noisy homeroom- silencing everyone with non-subtle “Shhs’!”- causing Sasori to sink back into his cold wooden chair, his mind plotting wildly.

For most of the day, it was seemingly normal. Well, as normal as one can be. Most teachers were now drilling the students about final exams- that would be taking place in December.

Deidara bit his lip worriedly- he was the cleverest person in the world, but he wasn’t dumb either his grades were nearly all C’s - but he didn’t much about everyone else had been doing, He didn't know most of the stuff those he had been going to the high school since freshman year did.

He tried to talk to Sasori during their Biology lesson- yet the redhead seemed strangely distant. The blond tried to read the puppeteer’s expression, but to no avail.

“Hey...i dun understand question 3, un. What have you got?” He asked Sasori, pointing to his textbook with a finger. He titled his head to try and spy on Sasori’s book, when the said redhead scarlet eye’s shifted from his textbook to  glare at him, eyebrows raised.

“Cheat.” He sneered at the blond, yet passing his workbook over to Deidara.

“Heh” The blond giggled, happily and steadily copying the redheads answer down into his own book. He looked back up at Sasori, his cheeks blushing slightly. “Thanks, danna, un.”

After passing the blond his book, Sasori’s red-eyes found and never left those of Uchiha Itachi. The weasel was standing on the over side of the biology room, tapping his pen irritably on his desk. Sasori frowned, the mere sight of the Uchiha made him boil up in un-accountable anger. He had to do something to get back at Itachi soon; otherwise the sheer hate for him might just kill him.

Sasori was startled at the blond’s thanks; seeing as it brought him more back to the present. It also caught the attention of Uchiha Itachi, whose red eyes stared at the two boys with intense hatred. Sasori faced Deidara again and smiled sweetly, telling the blond “Sure thing.”, before  glancing back at the Uchiha with half lidded eyes, the faint flicker of a devious smile playing on his lips.

Lunch came and went- Sasori spending it working on a miniature puppet and Deidara eating alone in the lunch hall- and so did the lessons afterwards. Still- Sasori hadn’t paid much attention to them, as per usual.

As the afternoon dragged on, Deidara became panicky. Facing the Uchiha again in P.E later, especially after last week, wasn’t something he was oh-so-happily-head-over-heels for, to put it in the least negative way possible. He was really f*cking dreading seeing the Uchiha again- what if he punched him again?! It hurt really badly still, even though the bruise had a week to heal up; so what would it be like if he got punched again? Most probably worse than before.

Finally the last lesson of the day-P.E- arrived. Deidara tried to get changed as fast as he could-yet he was still the last person in the changing room, his hands shaking as he changed. It felt like he had a tight knot in his stomach, eating away at him. He glanced at Sasori, who had already changed, was idly viewing his teal painted nails, waiting for him. When he was ready, he hesitantly walked over to Sasori.

“Um...Danna” He began timidly.

“Hmm?” the red-head replied, gazing at the blond, and his panic stricken hurt face.

“I’m...” He tired to continue, but the only progress he made was a deepening blush. Damn it, Deidara, just get over with already! He told himself angrily. “Do you think Itachi will try...anything again, un?” He asked, eyes on the floor, feeling like a little kid.

The puppeteer was a little touched by the blond then; his eyes softened, as well “feeling” like he wanted to hug the blond or something. Mainly, Sasori thought, due to the sculptor’s worried face.

Determined for his sad expression to disappear, Sasori placed his hands on the lower part of Deidara’s arms and made sure he had eye contact with the blond.
“Don’t worry, dei.” He told the blond softly, smiling. “He won’t. I’ll see that he doesn’t.  And if he does try to...I’ll protect you. Okay?” He let go of the blond’s shoulders and walked out of the changing room door, still smiling.

Feeling like the tight know in his stomach had vanished; Deidara grinned to himself and followed Sasori out of the door.

It appeared that during P.E, the will be playing volleyball until Christmas break. Despite many outburst of “That’s a fucking GIRL’S sport!” “Whut happened to Basketball?!” and “You DICK...” the coach continued with the planned lesson of Basket, as it turned out that only the basket ball team would get to play. This meant they all received dirty glares from the rest of the class, of which Deidara received the most.

“i dunno how that f*ggot made it...” a teenage boy muttered to whoever next to him, pointing at Deidara. The person next to him looked up at Deidara, sneered, and then replied with a nod and blunt; “Yeah...the f*g.”

The said blond tried to ignore them both, turning his back on them, but he felt like their eyes were burning into his back. His face felt like it being drained of colour- and his body feeling more and more week. Out of all the insults thrown at him over the years, he found “f*ggot” the one he hated most. He crossed his arms, as well as hiding his face under glossy fair hair.

Sasori wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings; the shouting’s of the class didn’t seem to bother him. He was bored, and basically just standing around aimlessly. For him, School was a complete waste of time. It wasn’t as he wanted to go- if he didn’t go he wouldn’t get money put into a bank account from the government so he could live off it.

But then the redhead remembered he did have something worthwhile to do, such as protect Deidara from Itachi. He smirked; it seemed he was turning into the blond’s personal bodyguard. The blond himself, however, didn’t seem in the mood for smirking, or smiling for that matter. When Sasori had glanced at him, he still had his eyes fixed on the floor, his teeth biting into his bottom lip. Judging by what he could overhear, Deidara seemed to be offended by the two idiots behind him...hmm.

He was about to attempt to say something to the troubled blond, when their gym teacher blew his whistle, silencing the commotion off the P.E class.

“Right...” The gym teacher wheezed, as if it was an effort just talking. “Get into fours, and play in doubles. I doubt I’ll have remind you of the rules-  You should all be able to remember them from last year, so jump to it, you sissy’s.”

Deidara blinked for a moment or two, as everyone else was attempting to join up into groups and causing commotion once again. He couldn’t help feeling slightly lost among it all. Out the people here, he would pick Sasori to be paired up with and maybe some members of the basketball that he could stand, like Konan and Kakuzu, or Zetsu and Pein, yet it seemed it seemed they were already paired with others.

He glanced at Sasori, who didn’t seem bothered and was just sighing out of lack interest. Deidara turned away from the redhead, craning his neck to see if he could anyone else partner-less.

Sasori hadn’t yet thought of a way to get back at Itachi- he had visions of beating the Uchiha to a bloody pulp- but as much as he would like to do that, he had reason to believe Itachi was stronger than him. He had to be tactical about it; otherwise the Uchiha would get the better of him and Deidara. He was still racking his brains for ideas when a finger tapping on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.
The very last person he wanted to see, Uchiha Itachi, was now standing right beside, a bored looking Kisame standing a few feet away from the weasel.

“Sasori, shall we work together? Me and Kisame, against you and Deidara? ” Itachi asked shrewdly, the sound of his name causing the blond to whip back round to face him and Sasori again. “It’s not as if...You have much choice...ne?” He finished his voice dark.

At first Sasori was about to refuse to the Uchiha, when he figured he could use this to his advantage, and grinned slightly.

Deidara gulped, Itachi was standing right there! It seemed that the blond had a bigger fear of the weasel than he thought he did; his heart now hammering in fear. The only thing worse than Itachi being so close, was the fact that he was going to be his opposition in volleyball. He turned to Sasori, trying frantically to signal to him it was a bad idea, and that the redhead should tell him where to stick it, but felt horrified when he saw the red-head’s grin.

The puppeteer narrowed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. “Sure, Itachi. You can even serve first.” He told the smug Itachi, picking up a spare volleyball off the floor and chucking it towards the Uchiha.

The Uchiha caught the ball, and threateningly grinned in taking his position on the court.

Deidara couldn’t believe that the red-head had said yes...all respect the blond had gained for the redhead seemed to instantly vanish. As he positioned himself unwillingly a few feet behind the puppeteer, he couldn’t stop about him. Didn’t the redhead say just ten minutes ago that he would protect him? Some way of protecting him, letting the enemy join them. Damn that Sasori...

Sasori saw the blond looking at him in disbelief, and made sure he had eye contact with the blond before he did anything else. He turned his head backwards to look at the sculptor, and mouthed a message at him, before turning around to face Itachi, with Kisame standing further back on their side of the court.

Deidara was about to have a mini break down when he saw the Uchiha getting ready to serve until he noticed Sasori. What was he trying to tell him? “Don’t ...doubt...me...” Deidara paused for a fraction of a second, before nodding at the redhead. Maybe Sasori had said yes for a reason? He would have to just wait and see.

The Uchiha threw the ball up into the air, before pounding viciously it over the net. The Uchiha’s serve was remarkable- it soared straight past Sasori, and was speeding through the air at Deidara. The puppeteer turned his head abruptly, eyes widened following the ball, Itachi smirked and Kisame just opened his jaw in disbelief.

Deidara was terrified, he automatically screamed “f*ck” inside his head, shielding his face with his hands cupped, bracing for impact when-
None came. Almost falling over in shock, the blond gazed at his hands, amazed to se that he had caught the ball. “Thank f*cking god for that...” He breathed under his breath.

The Uchiha frowned in irritation, whereas the Puppeteer smiled at the blond. Even he had to admit, the catch was impressive.  He was sort of proud of him, in a way. Plus, Itachi’s face looked like he had just been slapped around the face with a wet fish.

“You’re supposed to hit the ball back, not catch it, f*cktard.” Itachi spat at the blond, clearly furious.

With that, Deidara threw the ball back at the fuming Uchiha, Kisame looking bemused waiting for him to serve.  He hit the ball similar in the way he had just previously had done, yet this time both Sasori and Deidara were ready. The puppeteer jumped up and hit the ball straight back and Itachi and Kisame- Kisame then sending it back to Sasori and Deidara.

Deidara ran forward, grinning at the red-head, before deflecting the ball. He had respect again for the redhead, as it seemed the Redhead was still going to try and stop Itachi form hurting him.

Kisame too had run forward and managed to send the ball flying at Sasori- yet he tripped. He yelled out, swearing at himself for being clumsy, taking Itachi’s attention away from Sasori and Deidara for just the right amount of time.
Sasori caught the ball and as Itachi was yelling at Kisame “For being a stupid-clumbsy-idiot!”, not paying attention to the puppeteer.
Sasori smirked, almost praying he got the next part right- as jumped up and aimed.  Sasori threw the ball upwards and whacked it in Itachi’s direction as powerful as he could.
Unfortunately for the weasel, Sasori’s aim and throw had been one of the best he had ever done, soaring straight over the net- and colliding with the unsuspecting Uchiha’s head.

“Fuck!” the weasel violently cried, moments after he had been hit by the volleyball. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he clutched his hand to the side of his head, trying to ease the pain away. Kisame tied, without succeeding, to try and see if Itachi was alright, but couldn’t as every time he tried he doubled up in laughter, gaining dark scowls from the Uchiha himself.

The rest of the P.E class he saw what happened, and it happened to be all to their delight. Sasori could distinctively hear Hidan saying “The F*cker deserves it” before he too doubled up in laughter.

Deidara could hardly believe what had just happened as he stared awestruck at the trembling Uchiha. His eyes widened slightly, before he gazed at Sasori, who was leaning back slightly, his arms crossed and was also shaking his head.

“Sorry Itachi...I think my aim was a little off.” He told the infuriated Uchiha, catching the blond’s eye and grinning, his devious smile causing Deidara’s face to go with embarrassment before he returned Sasori grin with one of his own.

His danna was right; He shouldn’t doubt him, especially when he said he would do something- and he was actually doing it.  The thought of that made the blond almost explode with happiness and made him laugh slightly to himself.

The rest of the P.E lesson that followed, was without doubt, the best one the both the blond and redhead had ever been in. Whenever they had the ball, they either hit it straight back or onto the extremely pissed off Uchiha, causing him to be battered again and again with the volleyball.

At almost the end of the lesson, Sasori managed to directly hit the floor beneath Itachi- causing it to bounce upwards and hit the ferocious Uchiha in the crotch. The most rewarding part of that day so far, for Sasori and Deidara anyway, was watching Itachi writher in pain as they fell about laughing at him from the other side of the court.

The changing room was yet again almost completely empty. The blond however, wasn’t in there, as he had already left. Sasori had urged him out the room, saying he should go home ahead of the puppeteer and that he would catch him up later. Deidara left in high spirits, even skipping part of the way back home.

Sasori however lagged behind because he wanted to see Itachi again- he needed to make a pint to the Uchiha. Itachi had been admitting to the nurse’s office, apparently to have a “Rest.” Sasori made his way there, standing outside the door leaning on the door frame itself. He could see everything form a little crack in the doorframe, and now all that was left was to do what he hated the most. Wait.

An opportunity arrived for Sasori to talk to the Uchiha when the nurse who was “keeping an eye on him” slouched out of the office for coffee. He ducked inside the Nurse’s office quickly, shutting the door swiftly behind him.  Itachi saw him immediately, and scowled. Sasori just laughed darkly at him, re-crossing his arms.

“You do remember the bruise on Deidara’s cheek, don’t you Itachi?” Sasori began, speaking quietly but sinisterly. “The one YOU gave to him.”

The Uchiha sniggered at the redhead, before answering him. “How...Could I forget?” He chuckled.

Sasori frowned, standing even more firmly. “You know, you’re an asshole.” He told the Uchiha, before continuing. “I want to let you know in advance, hurt the blond ever again, and you most definitely will regret it.”

“Is that so? I have to questions, then.” He told Sasori, frowning angrily. “What makes you think that YOU can make me regret anything?! And also...Why the hell do you care about that f*cking blond so much?!”

Sasori glared at Itachi, before sighing and making his way over to door again, turning his back on Itachi. “I only wanted to warn you in advance, so i can maybe stop myself from...”

“From what, you asshole?!”

Sasori turned his head very slightly, so that the Uchiha could only see some of his eye- on the whole making him look even more sinister.

“Stop myself from killing another person, namely you. I will still kill someone, and especially someone who will hurt Deidara. Don’t doubt me, you jackass, because like you and others before and like you, you’ve heard the rumours, and they are most defiantly true. I have killed before, and won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“...”

“I care about the blond...” He told Itachi, turning the door handle and opening the door slowly. “Because he cares about me, and he actually appreciates my existence, and also because of something you would never understand, even if you asked and I explained.”

The puppeteer walked away from the weasel and down the corridor to an exit, in his mind feeling weirdly calmer. It was, at least, until he noticed the calendar pinned up near one the exits he was walking past. The calendar marked the month the November of 2007, and automatically his eyes moved towards a certain date. The date he was looking at with intense hatred, was the date for tomorrow.
It was Wednesday November 21st, namely Akasuna Sasori’s 17th birthday.

Description
The empty gym would seem, to someone only glancing into it, as empty and as silent as tombstone- yet in reality the faint murmur of the young blond’s breathing echoed throughout the airy gym.

Deidara lay curled up on the gym floor, His mind still reeling from the punch in the face he had been “given” by Uchiha Itachi. He hadn’t attempted to get up yet- he still felt sort-of dizzy, plus there was something weird in his mouth and he didn’t know if getting  up would make it worse.  Gawd...Itachi’s punches really f*cking hurt, he thought to himself.

A couple more minutes went by until Deidara finally attempted to get up. He straightened his back, before clambering clumsily to feet.  He delicately placed his fingers on his check, prodding it very slightly-yet it still hurt like f*ck, making him gasp in pain. His mouth tasted funny - like there was something inside there, so he opened it and-

“Holy Shit, un!” Deidara cried, blood flowing from his mouth. Itachi’s punch must have been so powerful it caused the blond to bleed from the mouth. He tried to get the blood out of his mouth, but whatever Itachi had damaged wouldn’t stop bleeding, constantly filling his mouth with crimson liquid.

Deidara tried to spit it out, but that made him worse, as his hands and arms were covered in his blood.  He whimpered when he saw much there was there, before running swiftly out of the Gym, and straight into the men’s toilets.

“Damn...” He gasped, blood still thinly trickling out of his mouth. The blond stared at his reflection in the mirror of the toilets, wincing slightly and wishing he hadn't tired to stand up to Itachi, when he noticed his eyes attempting to fill up with tears. He blinked them away furiously,before cleaning away all the dried blood on him, as well as trying to stop the flow of fresh scarlet substance.

The next few days went very slowly for both Sasori and Deidara, with Sasori being stuck in hospital, and Deidara having to endure school without a friend or anyone to talk to.

When finally on the Monday morning of Deidara’s second week of being at Suikoden highschool, Sasori walked in the homeroom Deidara felt much better than he had been feeling all week. He hadn’t seen he red-haired puppeteer after seeing him in hospital, and felt sort-of nervous seeing him again.

“Hi...” He said to Sasori shyly, turning around in his seat to face him.

Sasori walked towards his desk slowly, his eyes half lidded. Che, let the hell commence. It was awful being stuck in Hospital for a whole week but school sucked even more. Deidara was watching him intently- seemed like at least one person was pleased he was back.

As Sasori took hi seat, he saw Deidara turn round to face him. He was watching the blond when suddenly he noticed...something.  Sasori frowned; It seemed to him that there was something a little...odd or different about the blond.

“What’s wrong, un?” Deidara asked the puppeteer, tilting his head to the left slightly, worried by Sasori’s lack of conversation. Was the red-head watching him? It seemed like he was, and it made the blond feel even mere, shy and uncomfortable.

Sasori was still trying to figure out what was wrong with the blond, when the said sculptor titltedd his head to the side, revealing a black and red mark on his face, which would normally be concealed by his fringe.

The puppeteer’s eyes widened in shock at the blonds’ bruise, unable to keep his eyes at their normally half-lidded state. “Deidara, how did you get THAT?!” he demanded, his voice rising slightly.

Deidara blinked, before seeing Sasori pointing at his cheek...oh yeah. The bruise Itachi gave him.

“Oh, that. I got punched, un...” He said timidly, gingerly pressing the bruise.  “...while you were away.”
The blond felt uncomfortable looking Sasori in the eye, so he averted his own cerulean eyes toward the floor.

The puppeteer’s scarlet eyes widened even more, as well his jaw dropping opening in shock. Punched? Why, why on earth would anyone wan too punch Deidara? He had only been in the school for a week. He didn’t like how the said blond added “while you were away” it made him... “feel” guilty. Like it was to do with him, or even, he got hurt because of him.

Sasori leaned in closer towards the blond, reaching across his desk to where Deidara sat. “Why? What happened?” He asked him quietly, trying to meet Deidara in the eyes. “Who did it to you?"

Deidara only noticed when Sasori said something to him that he was much closer than before. The blond shifted his eyes back to the redhead, feeling more uncomfortable- if it was even possible- then he did beforehand.

“It was Itachi, un. “ The blond replied nervously, feeling like he was telling tales like a snitch. He watched the red head’s frown at Itachi’s name, yet still not taking his eyes off him. It looked like he would have to tell the redhead what happened.
“Well, first off he called you a puppet freak, and then he said i was on your side, un. And that doesn’t even make sense, un, you don’t have a side, but anyway he said that I was trying to...trying got turn you good un...”

Deidara gazed at Sasori, terrified he would react weirdly to the “change him” part.  He was embarrassed enough having to tell Sasori all this, but there was some details he would have to tell him that he’d rather not.

Turn him good?...That was odd. The red-head didn’t really understand it, seeing as he didn’t think the blond would do anything like that. Still, whether Deidara was trying to change him or not, was something for another time.  Besides, he wanted to know more about the blond’s injury.

The class’ homeroom teacher was late, yet again, so Deidara had more time to explain fully what happened to him, to Sasori.

“Itachi will hate you forever now, for kicking him.” Sasori told the blond, before laughing at the blond’s raised eyebrows “But...nice way off getting him off you.” He laughed.

The blond smirked, before feeling a shooting pain centred around his bruise. “Ow...” he groaned, flicking his fringe forward so it covered the left side of his face again. Despite hurting like f*ck, the bruise itself made feel like he looked...a prat, or really ugly, but mostly he felt ashamed of it.

Sasori had heard the blond’s re-count and now he “felt” really angry. Not with the blond- not with the blond AT ALL- but mainly with himself and Itachi. Himself, because he had a feeling that if he was there at the time, Deidara wouldn’t have got hurt, And Itachi for being the sh*t-head he was.

Sasori turned his eyesight back to the blond, who was now brushing his long, fair hair with his fingers. He closed his eyes, and they became flooded with a image of the smirking Itachi, making Sasori clench his fists in frustration.

The Uchiha was not going to get away with hurting Deidara. Sasori would see to that, most definitely.

The puppeteer leaned forward, to try and get the blond attention, opening his mouth a little, about to speak to the blond when their teacher hurried into the noisy homeroom- silencing everyone with non-subtle “Shhs’!”- causing Sasori to sink back into his cold wooden chair, his mind plotting wildly.

For most of the day, it was seemingly normal. Well, as normal as one can be. Most teachers were now drilling the students about final exams- that would be taking place in December.

Deidara bit his lip worriedly- he was the cleverest person in the world, but he wasn’t dumb either his grades were nearly all C’s - but he didn’t much about everyone else had been doing, He didn't know most of the stuff those he had been going to the high school since freshman year did.

He tried to talk to Sasori during their Biology lesson- yet the redhead seemed strangely distant. The blond tried to read the puppeteer’s expression, but to no avail.

“Hey...i dun understand question 3, un. What have you got?” He asked Sasori, pointing to his textbook with a finger. He titled his head to try and spy on Sasori’s book, when the said redhead scarlet eye’s shifted from his textbook to  glare at him, eyebrows raised.

“Cheat.” He sneered at the blond, yet passing his workbook over to Deidara.

“Heh” The blond giggled, happily and steadily copying the redheads answer down into his own book. He looked back up at Sasori, his cheeks blushing slightly. “Thanks, danna, un.”

After passing the blond his book, Sasori’s red-eyes found and never left those of Uchiha Itachi. The weasel was standing on the over side of the biology room, tapping his pen irritably on his desk. Sasori frowned, the mere sight of the Uchiha made him boil up in un-accountable anger. He had to do something to get back at Itachi soon; otherwise the sheer hate for him might just kill him.

Sasori was startled at the blond’s thanks; seeing as it brought him more back to the present. It also caught the attention of Uchiha Itachi, whose red eyes stared at the two boys with intense hatred. Sasori faced Deidara again and smiled sweetly, telling the blond “Sure thing.”, before  glancing back at the Uchiha with half lidded eyes, the faint flicker of a devious smile playing on his lips.

Lunch came and went- Sasori spending it working on a miniature puppet and Deidara eating alone in the lunch hall- and so did the lessons afterwards. Still- Sasori hadn’t paid much attention to them, as per usual.

As the afternoon dragged on, Deidara became panicky. Facing the Uchiha again in P.E later, especially after last week, wasn’t something he was oh-so-happily-head-over-heels for, to put it in the least negative way possible. He was really f*cking dreading seeing the Uchiha again- what if he punched him again?! It hurt really badly still, even though the bruise had a week to heal up; so what would it be like if he got punched again? Most probably worse than before.

Finally the last lesson of the day-P.E- arrived. Deidara tried to get changed as fast as he could-yet he was still the last person in the changing room, his hands shaking as he changed. It felt like he had a tight knot in his stomach, eating away at him. He glanced at Sasori, who had already changed, was idly viewing his teal painted nails, waiting for him. When he was ready, he hesitantly walked over to Sasori.

“Um...Danna” He began timidly.

“Hmm?” the red-head replied, gazing at the blond, and his panic stricken hurt face.

“I’m...” He tired to continue, but the only progress he made was a deepening blush. Damn it, Deidara, just get over with already! He told himself angrily. “Do you think Itachi will try...anything again, un?” He asked, eyes on the floor, feeling like a little kid.

The puppeteer was a little touched by the blond then; his eyes softened, as well “feeling” like he wanted to hug the blond or something. Mainly, Sasori thought, due to the sculptor’s worried face.

Determined for his sad expression to disappear, Sasori placed his hands on the lower part of Deidara’s arms and made sure he had eye contact with the blond.
“Don’t worry, dei.” He told the blond softly, smiling. “He won’t. I’ll see that he doesn’t.  And if he does try to...I’ll protect you. Okay?” He let go of the blond’s shoulders and walked out of the changing room door, still smiling.

Feeling like the tight know in his stomach had vanished; Deidara grinned to himself and followed Sasori out of the door.

It appeared that during P.E, the will be playing volleyball until Christmas break. Despite many outburst of “That’s a fucking GIRL’S sport!” “Whut happened to Basketball?!” and “You DICK...” the coach continued with the planned lesson of Basket, as it turned out that only the basket ball team would get to play. This meant they all received dirty glares from the rest of the class, of which Deidara received the most.

“i dunno how that f*ggot made it...” a teenage boy muttered to whoever next to him, pointing at Deidara. The person next to him looked up at Deidara, sneered, and then replied with a nod and blunt; “Yeah...the f*g.”

The said blond tried to ignore them both, turning his back on them, but he felt like their eyes were burning into his back. His face felt like it being drained of colour- and his body feeling more and more week. Out of all the insults thrown at him over the years, he found “f*ggot” the one he hated most. He crossed his arms, as well as hiding his face under glossy fair hair.

Sasori wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings; the shouting’s of the class didn’t seem to bother him. He was bored, and basically just standing around aimlessly. For him, School was a complete waste of time. It wasn’t as he wanted to go- if he didn’t go he wouldn’t get money put into a bank account from the government so he could live off it.

But then the redhead remembered he did have something worthwhile to do, such as protect Deidara from Itachi. He smirked; it seemed he was turning into the blond’s personal bodyguard. The blond himself, however, didn’t seem in the mood for smirking, or smiling for that matter. When Sasori had glanced at him, he still had his eyes fixed on the floor, his teeth biting into his bottom lip. Judging by what he could overhear, Deidara seemed to be offended by the two idiots behind him...hmm.

He was about to attempt to say something to the troubled blond, when their gym teacher blew his whistle, silencing the commotion off the P.E class.

“Right...” The gym teacher wheezed, as if it was an effort just talking. “Get into fours, and play in doubles. I doubt I’ll have remind you of the rules-  You should all be able to remember them from last year, so jump to it, you sissy’s.”

Deidara blinked for a moment or two, as everyone else was attempting to join up into groups and causing commotion once again. He couldn’t help feeling slightly lost among it all. Out the people here, he would pick Sasori to be paired up with and maybe some members of the basketball that he could stand, like Konan and Kakuzu, or Zetsu and Pein, yet it seemed it seemed they were already paired with others.

He glanced at Sasori, who didn’t seem bothered and was just sighing out of lack interest. Deidara turned away from the redhead, craning his neck to see if he could anyone else partner-less.

Sasori hadn’t yet thought of a way to get back at Itachi- he had visions of beating the Uchiha to a bloody pulp- but as much as he would like to do that, he had reason to believe Itachi was stronger than him. He had to be tactical about it; otherwise the Uchiha would get the better of him and Deidara. He was still racking his brains for ideas when a finger tapping on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.
The very last person he wanted to see, Uchiha Itachi, was now standing right beside, a bored looking Kisame standing a few feet away from the weasel.

“Sasori, shall we work together? Me and Kisame, against you and Deidara? ” Itachi asked shrewdly, the sound of his name causing the blond to whip back round to face him and Sasori again. “It’s not as if...You have much choice...ne?” He finished his voice dark.

At first Sasori was about to refuse to the Uchiha, when he figured he could use this to his advantage, and grinned slightly.

Deidara gulped, Itachi was standing right there! It seemed that the blond had a bigger fear of the weasel than he thought he did; his heart now hammering in fear. The only thing worse than Itachi being so close, was the fact that he was going to be his opposition in volleyball. He turned to Sasori, trying frantically to signal to him it was a bad idea, and that the redhead should tell him where to stick it, but felt horrified when he saw the red-head’s grin.

The puppeteer narrowed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. “Sure, Itachi. You can even serve first.” He told the smug Itachi, picking up a spare volleyball off the floor and chucking it towards the Uchiha.

The Uchiha caught the ball, and threateningly grinned in taking his position on the court.

Deidara couldn’t believe that the red-head had said yes...all respect the blond had gained for the redhead seemed to instantly vanish. As he positioned himself unwillingly a few feet behind the puppeteer, he couldn’t stop about him. Didn’t the redhead say just ten minutes ago that he would protect him? Some way of protecting him, letting the enemy join them. Damn that Sasori...

Sasori saw the blond looking at him in disbelief, and made sure he had eye contact with the blond before he did anything else. He turned his head backwards to look at the sculptor, and mouthed a message at him, before turning around to face Itachi, with Kisame standing further back on their side of the court.

Deidara was about to have a mini break down when he saw the Uchiha getting ready to serve until he noticed Sasori. What was he trying to tell him? “Don’t ...doubt...me...” Deidara paused for a fraction of a second, before nodding at the redhead. Maybe Sasori had said yes for a reason? He would have to just wait and see.

The Uchiha threw the ball up into the air, before pounding viciously it over the net. The Uchiha’s serve was remarkable- it soared straight past Sasori, and was speeding through the air at Deidara. The puppeteer turned his head abruptly, eyes widened following the ball, Itachi smirked and Kisame just opened his jaw in disbelief.

Deidara was terrified, he automatically screamed “f*ck” inside his head, shielding his face with his hands cupped, bracing for impact when-
None came. Almost falling over in shock, the blond gazed at his hands, amazed to se that he had caught the ball. “Thank f*cking god for that...” He breathed under his breath.

The Uchiha frowned in irritation, whereas the Puppeteer smiled at the blond. Even he had to admit, the catch was impressive.  He was sort of proud of him, in a way. Plus, Itachi’s face looked like he had just been slapped around the face with a wet fish.

“You’re supposed to hit the ball back, not catch it, f*cktard.” Itachi spat at the blond, clearly furious.

With that, Deidara threw the ball back at the fuming Uchiha, Kisame looking bemused waiting for him to serve.  He hit the ball similar in the way he had just previously had done, yet this time both Sasori and Deidara were ready. The puppeteer jumped up and hit the ball straight back and Itachi and Kisame- Kisame then sending it back to Sasori and Deidara.

Deidara ran forward, grinning at the red-head, before deflecting the ball. He had respect again for the redhead, as it seemed the Redhead was still going to try and stop Itachi form hurting him.

Kisame too had run forward and managed to send the ball flying at Sasori- yet he tripped. He yelled out, swearing at himself for being clumsy, taking Itachi’s attention away from Sasori and Deidara for just the right amount of time.
Sasori caught the ball and as Itachi was yelling at Kisame “For being a stupid-clumbsy-idiot!”, not paying attention to the puppeteer.
Sasori smirked, almost praying he got the next part right- as jumped up and aimed.  Sasori threw the ball upwards and whacked it in Itachi’s direction as powerful as he could.
Unfortunately for the weasel, Sasori’s aim and throw had been one of the best he had ever done, soaring straight over the net- and colliding with the unsuspecting Uchiha’s head.

“Fuck!” the weasel violently cried, moments after he had been hit by the volleyball. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he clutched his hand to the side of his head, trying to ease the pain away. Kisame tied, without succeeding, to try and see if Itachi was alright, but couldn’t as every time he tried he doubled up in laughter, gaining dark scowls from the Uchiha himself.

The rest of the P.E class he saw what happened, and it happened to be all to their delight. Sasori could distinctively hear Hidan saying “The F*cker deserves it” before he too doubled up in laughter.

Deidara could hardly believe what had just happened as he stared awestruck at the trembling Uchiha. His eyes widened slightly, before he gazed at Sasori, who was leaning back slightly, his arms crossed and was also shaking his head.

“Sorry Itachi...I think my aim was a little off.” He told the infuriated Uchiha, catching the blond’s eye and grinning, his devious smile causing Deidara’s face to go with embarrassment before he returned Sasori grin with one of his own.

His danna was right; He shouldn’t doubt him, especially when he said he would do something- and he was actually doing it.  The thought of that made the blond almost explode with happiness and made him laugh slightly to himself.

The rest of the P.E lesson that followed, was without doubt, the best one the both the blond and redhead had ever been in. Whenever they had the ball, they either hit it straight back or onto the extremely pissed off Uchiha, causing him to be battered again and again with the volleyball.

At almost the end of the lesson, Sasori managed to directly hit the floor beneath Itachi- causing it to bounce upwards and hit the ferocious Uchiha in the crotch. The most rewarding part of that day so far, for Sasori and Deidara anyway, was watching Itachi writher in pain as they fell about laughing at him from the other side of the court.

The changing room was yet again almost completely empty. The blond however, wasn’t in there, as he had already left. Sasori had urged him out the room, saying he should go home ahead of the puppeteer and that he would catch him up later. Deidara left in high spirits, even skipping part of the way back home.

Sasori however lagged behind because he wanted to see Itachi again- he needed to make a pint to the Uchiha. Itachi had been admitting to the nurse’s office, apparently to have a “Rest.” Sasori made his way there, standing outside the door leaning on the door frame itself. He could see everything form a little crack in the doorframe, and now all that was left was to do what he hated the most. Wait.

An opportunity arrived for Sasori to talk to the Uchiha when the nurse who was “keeping an eye on him” slouched out of the office for coffee. He ducked inside the Nurse’s office quickly, shutting the door swiftly behind him.  Itachi saw him immediately, and scowled. Sasori just laughed darkly at him, re-crossing his arms.

“You do remember the bruise on Deidara’s cheek, don’t you Itachi?” Sasori began, speaking quietly but sinisterly. “The one YOU gave to him.”

The Uchiha sniggered at the redhead, before answering him. “How...Could I forget?” He chuckled.

Sasori frowned, standing even more firmly. “You know, you’re an asshole.” He told the Uchiha, before continuing. “I want to let you know in advance, hurt the blond ever again, and you most definitely will regret it.”

“Is that so? I have to questions, then.” He told Sasori, frowning angrily. “What makes you think that YOU can make me regret anything?! And also...Why the hell do you care about that f*cking blond so much?!”

Sasori glared at Itachi, before sighing and making his way over to door again, turning his back on Itachi. “I only wanted to warn you in advance, so i can maybe stop myself from...”

“From what, you asshole?!”

Sasori turned his head very slightly, so that the Uchiha could only see some of his eye- on the whole making him look even more sinister.

“Stop myself from killing another person, namely you. I will still kill someone, and especially someone who will hurt Deidara. Don’t doubt me, you jackass, because like you and others before and like you, you’ve heard the rumours, and they are most defiantly true. I have killed before, and won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“...”

“I care about the blond...” He told Itachi, turning the door handle and opening the door slowly. “Because he cares about me, and he actually appreciates my existence, and also because of something you would never understand, even if you asked and I explained.”

The puppeteer walked away from the weasel and down the corridor to an exit, in his mind feeling weirdly calmer. It was, at least, until he noticed the calendar pinned up near one the exits he was walking past. The calendar marked the month the November of 2007, and automatically his eyes moved towards a certain date. The date he was looking at with intense hatred, was the date for tomorrow.
It was Wednesday November 21st, namely Akasuna Sasori’s 17th birthday.