Chapter twenty-three

Well my dad and my pig of a brother were both being such ***holes. They actually told me to stop writing in quizilla and fanfiction.net were breeding places of retards. *Pfft* Yeah right . . . At least my mom supported me. I love my mom. ^_^

So because I was so pissed at them, I decided to write more chapters. Yeah, enjoy it while my anger at them lasts. Okay, rant is over now, sorry for the delay. Please enjoy this chapter!

Story Start:

You closed your eyes and waited for his response. But instead of a sharp retort, you were met with silence. Curious, you opened your eyes and lifted your head up. Sasori was sitting still, with his right eyebrow raised. You cocked your head to the side. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Are you mad at me?" you asked him nervously.

He shook his head slightly and replied, "No, why would I be?"

You just gave him a timid smile and shrugged. He sighed and turned his gaze to the ramen cups on the table. You followed his gaze and widened your smile. Then, he reached over to one of the ramen cups and opened it. Steam rushed out and he immediately retracted his hand.

"It hurts," he commented while gently rubbing his hand.

"Be careful next time," you said while opening your own ramen cup. Steam gushed out and unfortunately; your hand also met the same fate as Sasori's hand.

"You were saying?" he mocked, a smirk adorning his face.

You just rolled your eyes and began to eat the noodles. They were piping hot! You dropped your chopsticks and stood up while rapidly fanning your mouth with your hands. He just laughed at your pain, which made you glare at him. But this made him laugh harder.

"Shut up!" you told him after you had cooled down your mouth.

He quieted his laughter down and proceeded to smirking at you while you ate. You just ignored him and turned your attention back to your food, while thinking of a way to get back at him. As you were thinking, the fishcake (the swirly thing in ramen) slipped out of your grasp. You had been holding it to tightly. You looked straight ahead and tried hard to stop your laughter.

The fishcake had landed right at the middle of Sasori's forehead. The said male was now glaring at full intensity. You knew you should be worried, but an angry puppeteer with a fishcake stuck to his forehead was not really something you worried about.

He angrily took off the fishcake and growled. You bit your lower lip to stop laughing and instead focused on eating your ramen. As you were enjoying your meal, something hot and wet hit your forehead. There was now a long ramen noodle stuck to your forehead!

You glared at Sasori who was now smirking at you. But before you could take off the noodle, something grabbed you and pinned you to the floor. You looked up to see the swirly mask of Tobi.

"Pirika-chan!" he exclaimed, before eating the noodle stuck to your face. Your eye twitched at that. Not only was it unsanitary, it was unnerving as well! Pushing your agitation aside, you asked him,

"Is there something you need Tobi?"

He nodded and said, "Would Pirika-chan go on a date with Tobi?"

You just stared blankly at him. Was Tobi serious? "What did you say?" you asked him, wanting to be sure, and at the same time hoping that he wasn't.

"Would Pirika-chan go out with Tobi?" he asked you again.

"I'm sorry but I have to say no," you answered, not wanting to get his hopes too high.

"Why not?" he asked you, increasing pressure on your shoulders. Then you saw a glimmer of red in his eyehole; which made you shiver, where had you seen that before?

Before you could answer, he got off you almost immediately. You were surprised by that, why would he get off so quickly? Then you saw a faint blue string connecting Sasori's fingers to Tobi's body.

"Don't do that," he warned Tobi, glaring at him.

He let him go, and the orange-masked lad left the room angrily. Why was Tobi like that? What had gotten into him? Sasori walked over to you and held out a hand to help you up. You grabbed it and a spark went through you. It felt nice. However, the nice feeling went away when he let go of your hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked you worriedly.

You smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm just a bit sleepy now," you answered.

He nodded and led the way back to your room. The two of you walked in silence, both immersed in your own thoughts. And in your case, you were arguing with the voice in your head.

'Just grab his hand and tell him how you feel!' the voice said.

'Are you insane? That won't work! Besides, it might ruin our friendship!' you argued back.

'That is true, but you'll never know if he feels the same way if you just keep on being friends! As for the insane part, go ask Kureno' replied the voice.

'Who's Kureno?' you asked.

'The voice in Sasori's head,' she answered.

'Wait, Sasori has one too?' you inquired.

'Yes! And now you have to tell him how you feel about him!' ordered the voice.

'Why should I?' you asked.

'Because the love expert Hana is ordering you to do so!' she replied.

'Wait that name sounds familiar. Did I meet you from somewhere?'

'Duh! You met me in a dream! I was the woman who was painting those two angels and the woman with Kureno!'

"We're here," announced Sasori, breaking you away from your thoughts.

You shook Hana's voice out of your head, which earned you a slight headache. He opened the door and you ran over to Deidara's bed. You heard a soft chuckle and saw him walk over to his own bed.

"I'm so sleepy!" you exclaimed while snuggling onto Deidara's pillow. You closed your eyes to sleep, but you were hit by something soft and warm. You opened your eyes to see something yellow and fluffy draped over your face. You took it off and saw it was a towel. Sasori was also standing by your bedside, with his arms crossed.

"I know you're sleepy but you have to clean your body before you go to sleep," he ordered while tossing you your old cloak.

You caught it and before you could ask him anything, he added, "There are already some clothes in the bathroom."

"Shouldn't you take a bath before me? After all, you hadn't taken a bath in like four years," you suggested, not wanting to take a bath yet.

"Ladies first," he insisted while attaching chakra strings on your body. Then, he made you walk out of the room before letting go. He slammed the door right after you left. You just rolled your eyes and walked towards the bathroom.

Sasori's POV

You sighed. She was as childish as before, if not more so. You walked over to your bed and lay down. After four years, you were now able to enjoy your bed. It felt so soft and warm. Your eyes began to close . . .

'You know, Pirika slept in your bed,' commented Kureno.

You jolted awake. Leave it to the dumb-a** voice in your head to interrupt your nap. You sighed and grabbed fistfuls of your sheets.

'Why don't you ever shut up?' you angrily asked him.

'Hey, I kept quiet while you were eating!'

'Why didn't you stay quiet?'

'Because you need to tell her how you feel!'

'Who?'

'Pirika! You have to tell her before it's too late!'

'Too late for what?'

'I can't tell you! But you have to tell her!'

'Look, I can't just come up to her and say, "Hey you know what Pirika? I love you!" I would look like an idiot if I did that!'

'Just trust me. It will work, besides, I'm confident that she likes you too,'

Before you could reply, the door swung open. Pirika stepped inside, one hand holding her cloak, and the other one drying her hair. She was wearing a long-sleeved nightgown, which made you salivate a little because the nightgown had slits that provided you a view of her legs.

She threw you the towel and said, "Your turn!"

You just stood up and walked over to the door, but before you left the room you heard her call out, "Hey, don't use the shampoo in the violet bottle unless you want your hair to smell like Deidara's!" You smiled at her warning and left the room.

(I don't really know how to narrate his bath so we'll just skip to after his bath, okay? ^_^ *dodges knives thrown by Sasori fangirls*)

You opened the door to your room and went inside. Pirika was already sleeping on Deidara's bed. You just walked over to your bed and lay down. You closed your eyes and tried to go to sleep, but you couldn't. You tossed and turned, but it didn't really help. In the end, you opened your eyes and stared at the rocky ceiling above you.

'Can't sleep too, huh?'

You just nodded your head and sighed. After all, it had been four years since you last had a wink of sleep. You had forgotten how to do so.

'It's not that you forgot how to sleep. There's another reason why you can't sleep'

'And that reason is?'

'Obviously, you want a teddy bear to sleep next to!'

'I don't need a teddy bear. Besides, there aren't any teddy bears here in the Akatsuki base anyway,'

'Sure you do! And Pirika's right over there!'

'Please. She's my best friend! I can't do that to her!'

'Suit yourself. If you don't want to do it, I'll just go over to Pirika's mind and tell her how you feel!'

'You can actually do that?' you asked, amazed.

'Yes! Want me to do it now? That way, if she doesn't feel the same way, she'll just think she's crazy!'

'That isn't a comforting thought'

'Yeah, yeah. Look, just carry her over to your bed and use her as a teddy bear!'

'What if she wakes up?'

'She won't! Now just go and carry her!' ordered Kureno.

"Fine," you answered. But you weren't going to carry her. You had other plans. You sat up and faced her. Then you attached chakra strings onto her sleeping form. Gently, you made her stand up.

'Wow. I have to admit, you are a creative one'

'I am an artist after all'

Next, you made her walk towards you. Even though you were hailed as a great puppet master, you were still nervous. What if she woke up while you where controlling her? What alibi did you have? You pushed these thoughts aside and continued to control her.

You had managed to make her walk towards you. Now she was standing right in front of you. You cut the chakra strings and caught her in your arms. Then, you laid her onto your bed and lay next to her. You hugged her close and breathed in her scent. She smelled like strawberries, which turned you on. Then you pulled back a little and took a look at her face. She had a calm expression on, which made her look so beautiful, but you preferred her happy expression.

'Sha-la-la-la-la my oh my the boy's too shy' sang Kureno, hopelessly out of tune.

'He's gonna miss the girl!'

You just ignored his singing and ran your hands through her soft locks. You felt her hug you as well, which made you a bit nervous. Was she waking up? You glanced at her face again and saw that she was still asleep.

"I wish that I could hold you like this, even when you're awake," you told her softly while kissing her cheek.