Stars After Sunset

[8]

Thank you to Yoonmin_CHIPS  for giving me motivation to write something.

IT'S AUGUST 21st SCHOOL STARTS IN SEPTEMBER AHHHHHHHHHHH

***

When Deidara was told she wasn't likely to so much as even twitch for quite a while, he didn't know what to feel. Sad? Angry? Regretful at the fact that he couldn't do anything to save her? He didn't really know anymore, mind shrouded in to much of a haze as it tried to comprehend the situation. But one thing rang loud and clear.

It was quiet, unusually and unsettlingly so. Where was the constant snark he was so used to? A remark here and there to lighten things up, or just the sound of her shuffling about and fidgeting as he became restless. A brilliant smile, shining true. Where had it gone? Without it, his life seemed so dull. Not even his explosions could come even close to replicating it. It was like someone turned off the lights in his life, leaving him with no idea what to do and where to go.

Playful bickering and lighthearted banters used to fill up the void that was present. Now, it was only silence.

And that was when it finally registered. The light switch wouldn't be flicked back to on, not for a while, at least.

***

Having Hoshiko in his life was something he would shamefully admit to having taken for granted. She cooked, did the laundry, dealt with the bills when it all seemed like gibberish to him, went grocery shopping -- the list went on and on. It was like the mother he never had to raise him. And what he repay her with? Jack shit. All he did was whine, complain, and make fun of her. When was the last time he had done something for Hoshik --.

His train of thought cut off immediately. When had he stopped referring to her as his sister?

God, he really was a terrible brother, wasn't he?

***

He remembered. Alone in his room and trapped in his thoughts, all there was to do was think and remember.

So, he remembered.

A hand reached up to knock on a door, then hesitated. She stood there, seemingly rethinking her course of action. Finally, steeling her nerves, she knocked. God, when had she started to become nervous talking to her own brother? Ridiculous. A faint "come in" was heard, and she opened the door, quickly plastering a smile on her face.

"Ne, Deidara-nii, do you want to watch a movie?" She asked.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm working on a new sculpture." Deidara replied, not even glancing up from his latest project he was working on.

"Oh, okay then. Next time, I guess." She cheerfully said, brushing the blatant rejection off, and closed the door.

It was only now did he notice her smile falter a bit, and how forced and unnatural it looked sitting on her face so uncomfortably. How many times he had brushed her off in the same way, until there came a point where he hadn't even realized she had stopped asking.

He remembered.

"Deidara, wake up." She called, gently shaking his shoulder.

Groaning, Deidara complied and dragged himself up until he was sitting. The sun filtered through his open window, doing nothing to help how humid it already was in his room. Scratch that, Iwagakure was always like this. He had long given up of trying to find ways to combat the heat.

Hoshiko stood there looking relatively unbothered by the heat and how early it was. "Your mission starts in an hour."  She informed, taking her hand off his shoulder now that he was awake. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Make whatever you want, un. Get out, I have to change." He told her, yawning as soon as he finished replying. She took one last glance at him, then turned to leave. He paid her no mind as she did so.

It was 6 o'clock sharp in the morning. Never once did he take into consideration that she had night patrol until 3 AM, and woke up just for the sole purpose of taking care of him and abandoning the rest of the hours of sleep she could've had.

Now, as he recalled the memory, Deidara had a reason as to why she always looked so tired. He should've noticed. Why didn't he?

Why wasn't he there for her?

***

Onoki sighed as he looked over the mission contents, then glanced back up at Deidara.

"I'll be frank with you. This is the first cross-village mission that's been commissioned in years. Under absolutely no circumstances are you to fuck this up." He deadpanned, seeing absolutely no reason to be subtle about his doubts.

"Nice to know you have faith in me, fence-sitter." Deidara drawled, seemingly having developed a dry sense of humor with hints of similarity to Hoshiko, Sasori, and Itachi as well, surprisingly. "Don't worry about it. I'm already familiar with Itachi and Sasori, and if Shisui's anything like the rumors say about his personality, I don't think we'll have any trouble getting along, un."

Other than the fact that Itachi's a stoic asshole and Sasori's lost most of his marbles and is mainly built of sarcasm, yeah, I think it's all good if I can hold back from breaking Sasori's nose.

Ok then, this probably isn't going to go well. Shit.

***

Itachi and Shisui sat across from Deidara in a tea house, all three of them waiting for Sasori to show up. Deidara was mildly concerned, but didn't outwardly show it. Sasori didn't like to be kept waiting, and he didn't like to keep other people waiting. Although it was still early, it just didn't sit right with him. Then, he heard his voice.

Along with someone else's he hadn't heard in about 4 years.

"No, but seriously, what the hell happened to your hair? That's too much to be called bedhead."

"Back off. Touch my hair and I delete your kidneys."

"Um, rude."

A hand pushed aside the bolt of cloth hanging from the entrance of the tea house, and two people stepped in.

One of them was Sasori, and the other one...

"Hoshiko?" Deidara questioned in disbelief. All he could do was stare. Hoshiko sighed and cast a glare at Sasori that was more done with everything than scathing.

"Traitor." She accused, a sidelong glance fixated on the grinning redhead beside her.

"What? I had a job to do." He shot back, knowing he had won for once.

And Deidara was still staring.

"What... what the fuck? The hell's going on here?" He incredulously asked, clearly lost.

"I came back from hell. Yippee kay yay. Get the champagne poppers, people." She dryly explained. Then realized just how easily her words could give him a heart attack.

"Wait. Crap. No, not like -- ugh."