paixaorpg | Can I Get an Iced Coffee? [Active]

Entry tags:

Can I Get an Iced Coffee? [Active]

Character(s): Haku, Deidara, and Zetsu
Content: Zetsu meets Haku and Deidara
Setting: Cafe Ersesat [H4]
Time: Late Afternoon/Early Evening
Warnings: Zetsu eats people and Deidara gets his kicks from blowing them up. =3

Haku had guided Deidara to Cafe Ersesat, more than happy to help the other shinobi around the city. It had been a while since he had been among helpful and relatively friendly people, and even longer since he had been among his own kind--among ninja. He was grateful for that, especially now that he had his memories back. Even after all of his adventures here, the effeminate shinobi still felt that sometimes, he needed to be working for someone, like he had before. It was a difficult feeling to shake.

Haku looked over at the other shinobi across the table. He hadn't ordered anything yet, being unsure of what he wanted. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry, just not quite sure what he wanted right now.

"Most places like this are easy to find on the map," Haku told Deidara. "I've used it a bunch, and traversed most of the city by rooftop. It's easier to move upon them, and there's no one to really bother you while you go."

Haku offered a small smile. Yes, it was quite nice to have good company.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Deidara had fiddled with his journal a bit on the way there (only stopping to pull off a very fake tree branch to use as money--no use wasting actual money) and while they were sitting down. He had found Zetsu through the journals, and before he knew it he was meeting the other Akatsuki member. He told himself it was to gain favor when they got back, and to have an ally here. It might have been because someone familiar would make him feel better, but he wouldn't admit that even to himself.

Deidara had been quick to order, and was taking rather large bites of a sandwich.

Deidara swallowed and grinned back. "Traveling above a city is much quicker than moving through it," the explosives expert agreed--although he meant flying.

"I think we're going to be getting company. A coworker of mine, un." Deidara considered his fellow shinobi for a moment before deciding that when Zetsu showed up, it would be obvious he remembered nothing anyway. Maybe Haku knew something about it. "Have you heard of amnesia happening in the city, un?"

Zetsu had put away his journal and set off soon after his conversation with Deidara. What else did he have to do? The man--plant--person--thing--knew next to nothing and nobody at this point, and even familiar scenery wasn't much of a comfort or help. It only stood to reason that the most effective course of action was to go find Deidara, since the man seemed so much more experienced than he was....

He found Cafe Eresatz easily enough--Zetsu was fast concluding that whoever and whatever he was, his sense of direction was impeccable--but found himself worrying that Deidara would be harder to spot--after all, a disproportionate amount of people here were blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and a picture only helped so much without memories. There certainly wouldn't be any explosions in a restaurant, and it might be hard to see handmouths from a distance, if he even could at all.... Meanwhile, he knew he himself was unforgettable. He wore such a distinctive-looking robe, had hair and eye colors--not to mention skin colors, both of them--he'd yet to see on anyone else, and of course his leaves....

Which were, naturally, held mostly closed around his shoulders and head to help protect and hide him. Still, there was enough space to peer out through the saw-toothed fronds, so he hurried into the cafe to look around. A sea of blonde-haired people, one black-haired head.... and that blond ponytail right across from it looked somewhat familiar, and the high black collar beneath it.... Zetsu made his way over, voice subdued. "Deidara-san?"

Haku nodded to Deidara. He didn't mind more company. Not at all. In fact, the more the merrier.

"I don't mind," he told the other shinobi. The effeminate boy wondered what this friend would look like. Surely, he wouldn't be entirely too strange... But with shinobi, you couldn't be too sure. Some of them were quite weird.

"Amnesia?" Haku nodded. "It has been going around the city. I recently got over a bout of it myself. Does this coworker of yours have it?"

Haku glanced up upon hearing Deidara's name, eyes widening slightly as he took in the sight of Zetsu. This was Deidara's coworker? He was... he was... kind of scary looking. No worse than many of the shinobi he'd seen in the Land of Water, but still.

"He does," Deidara said, setting aside his sandwich momentarily in favor of his drink. "He said something about medicine...?"

It occurred to Deidara that he might want to warn Haku about Zetsu's rather interesting appearance, but before he could do that, he heard his name. With the straw still in his mouth, he turned.

Ahh, there he was--there was no mistaking Akatsuki's spy--which may have seemed counterintuitive unless you knew what he could do. He set his drink down and grinned.

"You got here fast, Zetsu-san," Deidara said cheerfully, and then gestured to Haku. "This is Haku-san, un."

Perhaps more of an explanation was in order, to both Zetsu and Haku, but Deidara was rolling with it so far.

"You really can't remember anything, Zetsu-san, un?"

((Third time's the charm~? Sorry for spamming your inbox; I fail at comments right now.))

Zetsu looked away as Haku's eyes widened, trying not to feel too uncomfortable as he took a seat; he knew he looked weird, after all. He looked weird even to himself. So why should other people thinking the same thing bother him? It wasn't like he could help looking this way, could he? Maybe he could, but if he knew how to be normal, he certainly didn't remember it right now. Pity; he would've appreciated it right now, with how self-conscious he was feeling around so many normal people.

"I spent yesterday looking around this part of the city." He offered by way of explanation, leaves parting a little wider as he nodded politely to Haku. "A pleasure to meet you, Haku-san. Nothing before yesterday." He shook his head at the question, frustrated with himself. He knew it wasn't his fault--he couldn't change body chemistry, after all, and he had to eat--but still, it was maddening. Especially now that he apparently had a coworker with whom he should have been familiar. Deidara probably thought he was a fool for this, didn't he? Maybe he really was.

"Medicine?" Haku considered the thought. "It might work, but I don't know that it won't go away on its own. It did with me."

Haku shook his head, pulling the look surprise from his face. He hadn't meant to make Zetsu uncomfortable, but obviously he hadn't masked his shock swiftly enough. The poor man probably didn't appreciate people staring at him for something he couldn't help. He offered Zetsu a smile.

"The pleasure is all mine," Haku told him. The effeminate shinobi was sure that, even with out Deidara's assurances, he would have been able to tell that the two were connected. They wore the same cloak, and Haku was sure it was more than just coincidence. "Deidara-san has told me that you've been afflicted with amnesia?"

Deidara was a bit frustrated, but mostly relieved to find Zetsu. It was even better that the amnesia did seem to go away--Zetsu back to his old self would be even better. The plant shinobi was rather oddly self-conscious, which was not something he'd expected, but then again, it wasn't as if Zetsu could remember anything of what he was.

"I wonder if I could try to trigger your memory, un?" he wondered, half to himself and half to Zetsu.

He would have to be careful what he said, though. He didn't know enough about Haku to speak entirely freely, and explaining that Akatsuki was composed of S-ranked nuke-nin who were all considered dangerous criminals might not go over well.

Zetsu nodded in response to Haku, feeling rather trite somehow; he couldn't really say much more on the subject, could he? He was a fine little parrot, able only to echo the other two's sentiments without really contributing anything but confusion himself. Freakish. Stupid. Helpless. Clueless. Useless. Worthless.... "You could try, I guess.... It probably couldn't hurt." At least, as far as he knew. But once again, he knew nothing, including the fact that he was a dangerous criminal. Maybe if he were lucky, it would work, and Deidara would hit on something right away.....

Haku listened to them. Having someone there to trigger memories would certainly be more helpful than trying to sort things out all alone, and with luck, it would help Zetsu. The worst that it would do would probably be nothing.

"I'm a medic," Haku told them both. "If something were to happen, I could probably fix it." It didn't occur to him, however, to use chakra to try and sort out the amnesia. After all, he hadn't had the chance to do so for himself.

If Deidara were to actually mention the Akatsuki and the fact that they were all S-Class nuke-nin, it really wouldn't have bothered Haku. He, too, was a nuke-nin, though from a different village than Deidara, and he assumed Zetsu, too. It would have been a marvelous thought, to know that nuke-nin were coming together to look out for each other.

He slurped noisily at his drink, tilting the chair back onto two legs, considering. He didn't know all that much about Zetsu, really--to think he knew more than Zetsu himself did at the moment was a strange one. Maybe he could start with the basics.

"You're a shinobi in Akatsuki," Deidara began, his chair rocking rhythmically as his foot shifted up and down. "That's where you got the cloak from. Ring, too, un." Deidara showed Zetsu his own and finished off his drink. "I don't know how long you've been a member... Longer than me, un."

He paused again. Explaining all this was very strange, and he wasn't sure where to start and stop. "Maybe a bit on the members? Or I could try to tell you more about yourself, though I don't know how much I'd be able to help, un."

Don't ask about them and they won't ask about you, that was the ex-Iwa nin's motto.

"A medic?" That was an interesting thought; he hadn't known he--or was it she?--was a doctor from first glance. The curiosity and mild confusion prompted Zetsu to lean towards Haku a bit, pulling in a few slow, deep breaths through his nose and mouth, smelling and tasting the air. Definitely a he, he decided after a moment; whatever else Haku smelled like, at the heart of things, he did have a masculine scent.

He watched the rocking without comment, nodding in passive acceptance and considering the ring with softly glowing eyes, before glancing down at his own hands and cloak. The same as Deidara's, naturally, though the ring wasn't the same color, and had a different character on it.... on a different finger, too. Presumably those things held some sort of significance. So odd to think that he was Deidara's senior, when he knew even less than nothing.... He was as helpless as a civilian, really. At least he had instinct.... which would probably amount to trying to eat anyone who attacked him with his leaves. The shinobi simply spread his two-toned hands, helpless. "I don't think it matters. Anything could help."

Haku seemed surprised by Zetsu's movement and froze, unmoving while the plant-nin smelled him. The effeminate shinobi gave Deidara a look that asked 'Does he always do this?' He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding as Zetsu leaned back.

"If nothing else, you've found a friend, Zetsu-san, someone who knows you and can help you out. It's more than I had when I had amnesia."

Deidara could only offer a little shrug and a grin for Haku--Zetsu's habits could definitely come across as strange, although Deidara suspected the plant nin's amnesia was making him far more obvious about it.

Back and forth, back and forth, Deidara's foot pushed his chair up and down quickly as he considered. Deidara really didn't know much about any of the members, but talking about them all at once would make it sound like he had more to say. But what to say and how to say it?

"Tobi's my partner," Deidara began; might as well start with his own partner. "He worked with you before he became a proper member, un. He's covered in this metal clothing and he has an orange mask with one--hold on, un."

The chair's four legs hit the floor with a thunk as Deidara pulled out some clay and began working swiftly to mold the form of the newest Akatsuki member. He held it up.

"That's Tobi, un. He tries to be helpful but he ends up messing up a lot." Deidara sighed, half a smirk on his face. "Always wants to be a 'good boy'. Any of this seem familiar?"

Deidara tried to make his smirk say that it didn't matter either way, so Zetsu shouldn't worry about it--it must suck not to be able to remember things like that... Though maybe not ever knowing about Tobi would be a good thing.

"I'm sorry to hear that.... how did you recover, then?" Zetsu blinked at Haku, obviously sympathetic--a somewhat odd expression for the spy who so often held himself aloof and apart from his peers. To not have anyone you knew to help you through, to not have a doctor who knew how to work with this type of impairment, to have nobody and nothing.... it sent an icy pang through his heart, but it also made him stop to consider just how incredibly lucky he was right now. Weird or not, how many other people in this condition had the sort of resources he had right now? He should feel grateful....

Zetsu listened attentively to the description, glowing yellow eyes fastened on the man who he logically knew ought to be his friend, or at least a familiar acquaintance. He also knew that the description and clay visage should be familiar. They almost were, he thought. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking? Either way, he couldn't dredge up anything concerning Tobi beyond what he'd been told and shown. "Nothing." He shook his head, frustrated and discouraged in spite of himself. What did it say about him that be wouldn't have been able to recognize his own former partner?

Haku offered Zetsu a small smile. It really didn't bother him that he had sorted things out on his own. Sure, it had been lonely, and he had been so confused, but that was to be expected. Especially when Repliku had wanted to just leave him with Gaston... Haku took care of himself from there. No one ever wanted to be considered a burden on anyone else, and that was how Haku had felt at the time.

"Don't be. I worked through it, and I have my memories back now. That's what matters, right?"

Haku watched Deidara sculpt the clay, curious as to what the Iwa-nin was doing. He had never seen someone so adept at working clay before. He had also never seen anyone that looked quite like this 'Tobi' did. But perhaps, that was a good thing? After all, he had never come into contact with the Akatsuki before this. And maybe it was with good reason.

He considered again, and then remembered the list of members Zetsu had put up on the message board in the journals. If Itachi was from a different time, maybe Zetsu was, too? The clay Tobi was squished, and he began reshaping it.

"That list you made... Most of them are dead, but you seemed to think they were alive, un," Deidara said as the clay began once more to resemble a human form. "Maybe you'll remember them better."

And who better to start with than Deidara's former partner? A clay Sasori revealed itself, covered in a cloak, but posed with a clay puppet and clay chakra strings.

"Danna--Akasuna no Sasori--was my first partner," Deidara said, nudging the sculpture toward Zetsu for the plant-nin to inspect. "He used puppets. Usually walked around inside of one. Danna was really cranky and a total control freak. He thought art was eternal--look where that got him, un."

He'd been less annoying than Tobi, though. He looked up at Zetsu to see if that triggered anything.

"I suppose it is." Zetsu concluded. Still though, being alone was just.... uncomfortable. He sort of wanted to stay alone and not trouble anybody, but he did get lonely.... Friendly company was important, even if it was scarce. "Maybe...." He listened intently once again, frowning. Had he really thought dead people were still alive? Maybe his memory wasn't very good even when he was normal, anyway, or maybe he was just crazy....

Danna. Akasuna no Sasori. Short, controlling, cranky, artistic, puppets, strings..... blood and polish and chemical smells, the bitter tang of the occasional trace of poison. Empty glittering glass eyes and shimmering syrupy preservative. Screams and begging and the sound of tearing muscles and the steady drip-drip of blood into bowls. Small, steady, skillful hands, sweeping lines of pure bright blue, dozens and dozens of puppets twirling and dancing, perfectly lifelike, as if each and every one of them weren't capable of killing you a half-dozen ways before you could draw breath.... Red. red hair and eyes. and a face that rarely changed, only when he allowed it.

The sensory memories hit him first in a suffocating rush, and he closed his leaves as much to hide in as to hold him steady, leaning his head against the interlocking fronds to ensure that he wouldn't fall over from pure dizziness and a sudden, intense headache. The headache subsided after a few seconds, leaving behind a dull throbbing behind his temples as a testament to the force with which the memories had come rushing back, once the amnesia broke.

A moment to compose himself, and Zetsu let his leaves open again, spread a fair bit wider at this point. The shinobi inside them was sitting up, more confident and alert than before, expression once again neutral to the point of implied apathy. Still, he regarded Deidara with obvious recognition now--he was pretty sure he had spoken to Haku over the journals before, too. And that left the question of Sasori again.... His eyes drifted back down to it, trying to reconcile what was now certainty that the puppetmaster was alive, with Deidara's information. "How did he die? And the others?" Memory or not, it was still news to him.

Haku watched and listened, feeling almost like the odd man out at the moment. He had nothing to share with these ninja, beyond the fact that he had met Deidara at the gate and that they were all ninja, all nuke-nin. Of course he didn't recognize the people that Deidara was sculpting. That was to be expected. However, it was disappointing at the same time.

The effeminate shinobi didn't miss, actions, nor the results that came from them. He couldn't help smiling to see that the plant-nin was more alert, more confident. It spoke volumes to Haku, telling the medic that Zetsu had regained his memories. Especially because he could see the recognition in those yellow eyes.

"If Zetsu-san believed those people to be alive, isn't it possible that they still are for him?" Haku asked. Wouldn't sharing how they died mean that he would have the capability of stopping those deaths? He wasn't sure, but that seemed like it wasn't such a good idea. Changing things like that. "Are you sure that you'd want to know? And wouldn't knowing mean that you'd have the capability of changing it, even if you weren't supposed to?"

Yes, Haku was trying to contribute to the conversation so that he didn't feel like the odd one out anymore. That was something he hated.

Deidara watched Zetsu's reaction curiously, and then grinned when he saw the change in the way the fellow Akatsuki member carried himself. There was definite recognition. This was much better, although the previous openness in Zetsu's expressions had been rather interesting. He mashed the clay back into a shapeless blob and kneaded it in his hands as he thought.

"I don't know how much it'd change," Deidara said after a moment. "I wasn't there to see anyone die, un. I don't really know what happened to Hidan and Kakuzu..."

He hesitated to explain Sasori's death, however. Zetsu was the one who had told him about it, and certainly if any death could be altered by knowledge it was that one.

"If you could change a death, would you?" Deidara posed the question in general, stretching and mashing the clay slowly.

"They are." Zetsu confirmed, readily enough. "Or were. We hadn't spoken with them too long before we arrived here." It made him wonder if any of the others were here.... He would have to put out a search again, and this time include Tobi in it. The supposedly dead members.... he would keep them on, just in case. "Yes on both counts." He regarded Haku and Deidara with a guarded smile, an almost cunning expression, voting to turn the question on its head. "Would either of you?" Two-toned hands laced themselves together on the table.

"It's all contextual, you know. Earth, plants, animals, people.... you trade some amount of life for the equivalent to keep everything in balance, even if it isn't immediately obvious how." Silent amusement glittered in his eyes as he looked at Haku, even as the Grass-nin waxed faintly philosophical. "If we believed in fate, then it would bother us considerably to be sitting with you, Haku-san. As for changing a death.... we like to think of it as changing a life, instead. We've already set up the framework to change two, even if you decide not to say anything."

Indeed, with the information Itachi had now, chances were very good that Sasuke might be able to be spared his trauma. And where would that lead, an altered Team 7? Itachi no longer being hunted, possibly even having his younger brother as a subordinate or fellow member? Orochimaru probably not having a ghost of a chance at obtaining the sharingan? He knew that even someone with vision as powerful as his couldn't pretend to see the future, but what he could guess at, he liked. Why not change things to make them more personally beneficial, when you didn't really care who else it hurt in the process?

For Nature's sake, without Sasuke around, Haku might even have survived that fight. What implications might that have?

Haku considered Zetsu's words, running them over in his head as he drew their meaning back to the things that had happened in his life so far. Would he change something if given the means to do so? Probably, and for mostly selfish reasons, at that. To protect those precious to him, that was what he had always said he would do. Would saving a life, changing the situation to circumvent a death, follow along those lines? Or would it be a disservice to the person he saved? That he didn't know, and it begged more consideration. But now was not the time.

"I don't know," Haku answered finally. "To do so, to change a life, would be a selfish action, and the consequences could provide unforeseen complications in the future. I'm not sure that it would be fair to save someone from death only to make them suffer in their extended life." He looked at the table. "It would be a very hard decision to make, in general."

He offered a small, quiet laugh. "Fate's subjective, isn't it? Some believe, some don't. And yet we all keep going, keep living and walking the paths we walk, unaware of whether or not it is our own choice. And if we're all puppets controlled by some unseen puppeteer, then who's to say that interactions such as ours aren't planned, that is isn't fate?"

The effeminate shinobi didn't know if being here would change his life when he returned. He supposed, however, that it would. After all, as far as he knew, he should have died. It wasn't really possible to live through a Raikiri to the chest, especially not to the heart... and yet here he was, living, breathing, and interacting with other ninja, other nuke-nin. Although it had been pushed to the back of his mind for the longest time, Haku was now reminded of how he really wasn't supposed to be here, wasn't supposed to be alive. And circumstances had changed that, had allowed him to wake up here, not a scratch upon him. But now, he had the problem of what to do when he returned home.

"And maybe, there are circumstances that occur and draw people from paths that they were meant to follow." He spoke quietly. "There are people here who were probably supposed to die... I ought to know. I'm one of them."

Deidara considered as he molded his clay into a rope and twisted it around itself. Change death if he could? Well... "That would depend on how the death happened, un."

Deidara was an artist after all. Far be it from him to deny someone an artistic death. Suitable irony was another good reason not to mess around with things. And sure, the complications of changing the way things turn out, but that would happen either way once they got back.

"Nothing happens the same way twice," Deidara said, twisting the clay into almost a wound rope. "Being here and saying anything at all to anyone else means things aren't going to work out the way they might, un."

Deidara believed in one thing: art. Art was a bang. There was that single moment where you knew what was happening, but then it never happened again. There was inherent instability in life. If he changed a death because of what he said, did it really matter? So they'd die a bit later--they'd still die eventually, because nothing can last forever.

"Sure, I'd do it if I had reason to," Deidara said, and mashed the clay together as he spoke. "Why not? They'll just die later, un. No real harm done."

Then he'd explain Sasori's death. Really, why not? "Danna... Two swords through the heart, un. Held by a couple of his puppets. I wasn't there when it happened--you were the one who found him." Deidara gestured to Zetsu. Deidara had gone to see the scene himself later, but that didn't need to be brought up.

No harm could ever really be done in the long run--eventually everything would stop anyway. But he had to admit, he was curious... He looked to Haku.

"You were supposed to die?"

Zetsu nodded thoughtfully; weren't most actions selfish, to some extent? Even altruistic actions could sometimes selfishly be attributed to making yourself feel good, or to honoring the memory of a loved one.... very few people preformed random acts of senseless kindness. "Every action causes consequences.... that, at least, makes it no different from any other deed undertaken." Zetsu had to laugh too, smiling at the comments about Fate and puppeteering--it reminded him entirely too much of Sasori--and a bit of Neji too, actually. Either way, he was willing to bet Sasori would be flattered to be compared to Fate-as-puppeteer, even if it was only in the privacy of Zetsu's mind.

"Ah, but isn't that the bind? You can't know. So if nothing is planned, then there are no grand schemes of destiny to meddle with, ones that would be changed from the way they were 'supposed' to be. And if everything is planned, then this meeting, this discussion probably was too. Even being pulled into Paixao would likely be part of the plan--who's to say we aren't here for a reason, that our knowledge isn't 'supposed' to make things turn out differently and for the better?"

"That's true." Zetsu could easily agree with Deidara on that one; the death could easily be exactly what the person wanted, and who would be cruel enough to deprive someone of a fittingly chosen end? Nothing was ever the same thing twice, either.... something always happened. The color of the leaves changed, the flowers bloomed and wilted, even the cast of light on something as timeless as one of Sasori's puppets would never quite imitate itself fully again. And just as life and death were inherently mutable states, so too were the choices made about them, and their impact on others. Just as malleable as the clay Deidara was working with.... it was all a matter of give and take, of shaping and subjective opinions. An art, not a science. Who was to say whether these changes wouldn't make things better? Or worse?

He took in the circumstances of Sasori's death soberly, considering this; it was chilling to think someone else could control Sasori's puppets like that, could get so close to him and presumably catch him off-guard or off-balance or whatever had happened.... Who could possibly do such a thing? Disregarding the ethics of such a situation, the question applied on a purely practical level. Who was good enough to possibly be able to take down Sasori? "Who did it, do you know?" Wasn't Sasori supposed to last forever?

He nodded, expression still serious--though this time, there was a subtle undercurrent of sympathy, maybe even compassion. "We know, Haku-san." A glance to both, expression a bit softer than usual. Here, at least, was an example of a death that could possibly have been fixed, but no interventions had been taken. "You wouldn't have seen us, but we saw you--we watched you die. You and Zabuza both." A fairly long pause, almost as if he wasn't sure he wanted to say it; he did regardless though, tone distant from immersion in the memory. If he didn't police his vocal tones and facial expressions so well, he might even have seemed a bit wistful. "It was beautiful."

Haku listened, and Haku watched, looking almost sheepish as he called attention to himself. It was an uncomfortable thought, to think that Zetsu had seen him die, and it drew up memories of Kakashi's hand plunging through his chest. Harder still, to hear the plant-nin claim it to be beautiful. The effeminate shinobi couldn't help but shudder, looking at the table as he tried to push those images from his mind. He might have been here for a few months, but he hadn't forgotten what happened just before his arrival. And his recent bout of amnesia seemed to dreg up the images faster and clearer than they came up before. He didn't even give a second thought to the fact that he had a confirmation that Zabuza died on the bridge.

"I don't want to think about it," he murmured, knowing it was his own fault for broaching the subject in the first place. Haku crossed his arms over his chest, almost protectively, as if afraid that Kakashi might show up out of nowhere to repeat the process once more. He knew it was a foolish notion, knew equally well that the blow had been meant for Zabuza. That didn't make it any easier to deal with, though. When did it ever?

Haku sighed. "If I'm supposed to be dead, then what happens when I go back?" Because that was going to happen, right? He was either going to return to the shinobi continent, or he was going to stay here... right?

Deidara thought for a moment. "A girl with pink hair and some old hag, un." Something Deidara still didn't understand. Then again, he hadn't really thought about it much. There were better things to concern himself with.

Deidara wondered about Haku's question longer than he should have. It wasn't that he was pondering the exact thing to say, it was that he was suddenly of the opinion that the tone in which Haku had asked was very... Grey-purple. Not only that, it felt soft and cool. Utterly unable to understand just what was happening, he pushed a glass of water--it felt blue-- toward the young shinobi.

The general chatter of the cafe, only moments before easily dismissed as background noise, was now immensely distracting. Colors flashed in his mind with each rise and fall of the tones, and he was feeling all manner of strange things. His grin faded into a frown, his clay frozen in one hand.

Something was wrong.

Shudder, soft voice, averting the topic.... Zetsu nodded silently, willing enough to let the matter rest. He could tell the signs of emotional disturbance well enough, could smell the fact that the shinobi was upset even without having to lean forward to do so. It had been beautiful--in the nobility of the sacrifice, in the admittance of caring, even in the gorgeous liquid spray of light as the lightning hit home.... Everything about it had been a memory to keep and hold, to drink in and savor. It was unfortunate, but it hadn't been his affair to meddle in, so he had contented himself with appreciating the nuances of its meaning and expression.

"Itachi and ourself have considered that, actually." Zetsu admitted. "We're not exactly sure what will happen. Our speculations are that we would either return the instant we were displaced--in which case, you would do well to invest in some kind of protection or fast-acting healing--, or we might return the length of time we've been gone after we were displaced. Or alternatively, those of us leaving together might potentially end up in each other's time--we're not sure whether that means we would have to deal with two of ourselves, though." He'd let Haku make his own judgments about the possibilities; he wasn't sure if any of them would happen, himself.

A girl with pink hair and some hag..... that must mean Sakura. Sakura and some older woman..... Tsunade, perhaps? But Tsunade usually wore a genjutsu to hide the effects of her aging.... So it could be someone else, potentially. Still, the thought of Sakura defeating Sasori--Sakura, of all people! A child who by all rights should have faded into obscure mediocrity, simply because of who and what her teammates were.... Oh, the girl had potential and power, his eyes could register that easily enough. They couldn't help but do so. She had those in abundance, and she had gained the attitude she needed to excel.... but the circumstances surrounding her made it seem almost absurd that she would advance so far as to fall someone as.... awe-inspiring, at times, as Sasori.... Tsunade really must outdo herself training that one, when the future plays itself out. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

His eyes immediately swiveled towards Deidara as he noticed the change in expression and movement, the subtle shift of scents as the blond man's mood changed; the spill of yellow light intensified accordingly, small spots of brightness visible on the table in front of him as he looked Deidara over for signs of injury or illness, or even poison. ~Deidara-san? What's wrong?~ He let the telepathic question ease itself into his teammate's mind, unwilling to voice his concerns aloud. Still, though, he was already looking around the restaurant with his full range of vision, assessing potential escape routes and good cover to hide in and attack from. If Deidara had been hurt.... well, they might need it. But what he was starting to think was just that they should get out of there, and take Haku with them.

Haku murmured his thanks for the water, taking a long sip as he considered what both Deidara and Zetsu were saying. Pink hair? He knew of a girl with pink hair. She had been on the bridge... What was her name again?

"Are you talking about Naruto-kun's teammate?" he asked. If the girl was capable of taking down Deidara's former partner, well, then she must have gotten more powerful than the last time he had seen that team. She must have found someone precious to protect.

The thought of being sent back to the exact time from which he left was not comforting to Haku. Not in the least. In fact, it made the effeminate shinobi shudder again. He didn't want to feel Kakashi's hand plunging through his chest again.

"I think, if I have to die again, I'd rather not go back." Really, who would want to? The second option sounded well enough, to go back further into the future for the same amount of time that he had spent here, and he wasn't sure about the last. Did that mean he could end up in someone else's time? What would he do, then?

Sleek black cat ears drooped on Haku's head, a matching tail flicking beside him on the chair. Both the ears and tail went unnoticed by the medic who was too caught up in his thoughts. Their sudden appearance could only be explained by the water he had just drunk. After all, it was the only thing that had changed since he had arrived at the cafe with Deidara.

The telepathic message, something Deidara should have been used to, nearly made him pass out.

There were the words, sure, but then a burst of colors followed it--colors within colors, as he heard and saw and felt the words in a way only telepathy could make possible, and yet there was more than that. The tone had a color, the words had their own colors--the syllables, specifically. And then there was the velvet-steel feeling, and still everything around him swirled in sound, color, and sensation.

He gripped the table a bit harder than he would have liked, and a handmouth protested against its tight hold on the edge of the table. The feeling of the table added only an orange feeling to his already confused brain, and he pulled his hand away as if bitten.

~I don't know,~ he replied thinly, and then a glance at Haku turned into a much longer stare.

Cat ears. And a tail. Deidara's gaze fell to the water. What the hell was in this food? "The hell...?"

"That's right. Haruno Sakura." Zetsu confirmed; the name came to mind easily, considering how much time he has spent watching her teammates--and thus, by extension, her as well. He could only shake his head at Haku's comment--he certainly wouldn't have wanted to die a second time when it would have been preventable, and he would have known what to anticipate. That was just a morbid thought.... well, perhaps Hidan might have enjoyed dwelling on it, but he certainly preferred not to--

Ears. Cat ears, and a tail. Zetsu took in several slow, deep breaths to focus more intently on the air currents he was pulling in, mouth and nose buzzing inside with chakra to enhance his already considerable senses. Not a genjutsu--the new appendages not only seemed solid enough, but had their own place in Haku's chakra system, as well as carried a very distinctly feline scent. And there was more, this time from Deidara--he could taste and smell the confusion, the bright-bitter musk of adrenaline.... This was not something he liked, not at all. Especially not coming from a teammate.

Zetsu reached into a pocket, dropping a few shining silver leaves onto the table to pay for whatever the two had ordered; the water glass was picked up next, a cloth napkin tied securely around the top to prevent spills; that went carefully into a pocket too, to examine for poison or some other kind of toxins--maybe another sort of additive, even. "We're leaving. Now." The tone was blunt and uncompromising as he stood and reached out to take Deidara's arm; Zetsu wasn't willing to show overt concern in public, even with some kind of chemical reaction obviously affecting the two.... Still, he was a dutiful Akatsuki, nad it was his intention to get Deidara the hell out of the café so they could figure out what was wrong and how to solve it. If Haku came.... well, fine. He'd welcome additional company, especially to help figure out what had happened.

Haku watched Deidara, concern etched on his face as he noted the nuke-nin gripping the table harder than seemed normal. Was there something going on? He shifted uncertainly as he drew both Deidara and Zetsu's attention. It wasn't something that he had anticipated, not really, and it was naturally discomforting. Deidara's exclamation was surprising, and yet really had no idea why he would speak so.

Haku looked up at Zetsu as he spoke, knowing the tone for what it was. Something was wrong. He had heard Zabuza speak so enough times to know that something was very much wrong. Puzzled as he was by the fact that Zetsu had grabbed the glass of water, he was more concerned with the fact that the plant-nin was leaving with Deidara. Haku didn't want to be left alone again.

"Wait for me!" he told them, pushing his own chair back and getting to his feet. Black tail swishing behind him, Haku took a moment to orient himself before joining the two Akatsuki members. His balance was off, different. It was... better. Like he had something extra to keep him on track. And how very strange that thought was.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Can I Get an Iced Coffee? [Active]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject