Reality Check: A Deidara Love Story

Chapter 21: The Reason

Sasori swore he had never seen the Akatsuki run so fast as they each flashed to his side, each and every one having had heard Rai's scream emit from the basement. Deidara especially had been the fastest, literally appearing in a split second as if he had just teleported with Tobi's jutsu - only a hundred times faster.

"Rai!" Deidara screamed, immediately thundering down the steps. He had darted downstairs so quickly, his feet had barely touched any of the carpeted balconied steps. The others followed suit right away, all tensed and readied with their weapons and jutsus at hand.

Once they'd reached the bottom, they squinted into the darkness, the entire floor unlit by any lights. Raspy, choked laughing echoed from within the darkness - along with Rai's nervous panting. It seemed labored and hoarse, drawing up rigid shoulders from the blonde who searched the blackness with his dazzling eyes fervently.

"Rai!" he cried again. Managing to find the light switch, Kisame flipped it upwards, flooding the room in a blinding light. Everyone squinted their eyes and refocused their dialated pupils, many pairs of eyes widening as they fell upon four people that were placed at the farthest end of the long, empty room.

Orochimaru held Rai in his arms, his arm wrapped tightly around her torso, locking her arms to her sides with a kunai held close to her throat.

"Orochimaru?!" the Akatsuki chorused, obvious shock lacing their mixed voices.

"Oops," the black-haired man drawled, laughter shaking his bony shoulders. "Looks like I didn't shut the girl up in time."

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" Deidara seeyhed, running forward - but he was stopped as Orochimaru pressed the sharp blade of the kunai against Rai's throat, pulling out a whimper as it drew a few beads of blood. Clenching his fists tightly, Deidara burned with intense anger and hatred, prepared to rear up again at any second. The others joined his side, each baring their teeth, their eyes flashing dangerously.

"Oh, no," Orochimaru chuckled. "It seems this girl here is much, much more special than I thought. Isn't it too bad? If you dare come any closer, her body will end up in two pieces!" He laughed again, but the raspy hiccups had turned into heavy coughing.

"Don't even fucking think about it," Sasori spat, his chakra strings aimed directly for Orochimaru's body.

"Oh, puppet boy, you don't intimidate me the slightest."

"Do not forget, I am here also," Itachi growled, his eyes burning with the Sharingan.

"I do not fear your little Sharingan anymore, Uchiha. After all, after working with Sasuke for so long, I know more about deflecting it than you think. You said yourself that even the strongest jutsu - be it an ocular prowess - has a weakness."

Orochimaru licked his lips, the saliva coating his white skin in the clear liquid as he ran the tip of the blade against his arm, making a deep gash that immediately began to ooze with red liquid. He raised it upwards and dripped the blood onto Rai's face, the liquid dropping onto her forehead before drizzling down her face. It trickled down her neck and soaked into the lining of her apron, staining it in a permanent mark.

Rai froze as she felt the warm liquid touch her skin, some trickling over her eye as they widened in fear, her entire body becoming paralyzed. Her shivering stopped - and it felt as if her heart did too.

"B - b - blood..." she hyperventilated, before her voice was eliminated entirely. Orochimaru cackled, amused at the reaction he'd gotten from the helpless girl. Deidara's skin drew goosebumps as he saw the fear escalate in Rai's horrified eyes, glazing over with a sheen of blankness.