Muted Love

Chapter 18

Hey guys! So I know I said I was discontinuing Muted Love but I was, in a way, commissioned to continue the story as is so, here it is! So the story will continue on, sorry bout all the change ups guys!

oOooOooo

"And can you believe my mom said that to me?!" Sakura screeched at Sasuke.
'Go away!' Sasuke signed.
The group walked into the building, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke taking the lead.
"Oh Sasuke, you're so silly!" She giggled, slapping his shoulder lightly.
Kiba and Suigetsu rolled their eyes at each other. Into made a gagging noise causing Karin to laugh loudly and Naruto snickered.
The pinkette turned her head sharply to glare at the blonde. "What is your problem?"
Ino gave her a shrug. "You. You weren't invited, and yet, you're here."
"Woah." Deidara walked down the hall and his eyes widened at the group of people in front of him. "Hello, un! Welcome to-, wait." Blue eyes squinted as he got closer then widened in recognition. "Naruto? Sasuke?"
"Hey Deidara!" Naruto smiled brightly at him. "These are our friends!"
Sakura coughed loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "And I'm Sasuke's girlfriend, Sakura."
Deidara gave her a confused look. "Girlfriend?" He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke. "But weren't you two on a date just the other day?"
Naruto let out a strangled yelp while Sasuke glared dangerously at Deidara.
"What?!" Everyone but Ino screeched, giving the pair bewildered looks.
"You guys didn't see this coming?" Ino crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow in questioning.
"And you did?" Karin glared at her.
"I mean, just the tension with Sai there the other day was obvious enough."
Sakura turned and looked at Naruto.
The blonde made eye contact before giving her a superior smirk. He then lightly grasped onto Sasuke's arm. 
Her eyes narrowed darkly. She took a step towards Sasuke, reaching for his arm. The raven quickly moved out of the way.
"Whatever. It was just a date. Not like you two are officially going out."
"Don't mind her." Suigetsu piped up.
"Yeah, she's crazy and delusional." Kiba chimed in.
"O-kay, un." Deidara glanced back at Naruto and Sasuke, utter confusion on his face.
Naruto gave him a helpless look and a shrug, the raven only shaking his head. "Anyways, we're here to check out the galleries."
'I'm going to work in my studio.' Sasuke signed before walking away.
"Wait, Sasuke, I'll go with you!" Sakura called out.
Sasuke turned to glare at her. 'No. Leave me alone.' He then turned to continue walking, disappearing out of sight. 
Sakura sucked her teeth, giving a disgusted look to Naruto. "Look what you did."
Naruto snorted. "What I did? I didn't do anything." He couldn't help but to take the bait.
"He's so ashamed that his date with you was exposed. Now he can't even be seen in public with you." Sakura sneered at him.
The blonde let out an exasperated sigh before taking in a deep breath. He faced the rest of the group, choosing to ignore Sakura. He smiled at them. "You guys ready to see some art?"
"Yeah. And then I want more information on you and Sasuke." Kiba demanded.
Naruto laughed sheepishly. "We'll see."
The group began to walk down the hallway. Deidara placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, causing the smaller blonde to pause and face him. "You okay?"
"I don't have to go with you guys, right, un?" Deidara asked almost timidly.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, confused by Deidara's odd behavior. "No, you don't have to go. Is everything okay?"
"I just don't want to be anywhere near her, un." He pointed down the hall where Sakura was standing behind the group, her arms crossed. She glanced at the two blondes before glaring.
They jumped in fright as she began to make her way towards them. "Oh shit. I gotta go, there's some important paperwork that needs to be done in the back." He quickly fled, going behind the desk and into the back room.
Naruto glared at the closing door. "Asshole." He hissed out.
"Natto." Sakura stood in front of him.
Naruto rolled his eyes. The pretending not to know his name game was starting to get old. "Yes, Sarada?" He responded with a fairly sweet tone of voice.
Sakura gave him an odd look. "My name is Sakura."
"That's not what I said?" Naruto played dumb but was internally cackling.
She waved him off. "Whatever." She gave him a smug look. "I just wanted to let you know since Sasuke won't be joining us, because of you," her eyes looked him up and down. "I'm just going to leave."
"Really?" Naruto smiled brightly, a hopeful glint in his eyes. She gave him a glare. "Alright, bye. See ya." He waved as he walked past her to join up with the rest of the group.
"Alright guys, ready to go?" Naruto announced as he stood in front of them.
"Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
"Let's go then!" Naruto led them to the first gallery.
He showed them each gallery and studio that Sasuke showed him. They even got a chance to meet Kisame.
They reached Sasori's studio where Naruto immediately encouraged someone to ring the bell, nervously eyeing the door.
Karin scoffed at Naruto's behavior and stepped closer to the door. "I don't know why you're acting so scared. There's nothing to be afraid of." She pushed the button and stood impatiently. 
The door opened and her gaze went down before a loud scream left her mouth and she quickly scrambled backwards.
Kina and Suigetsu burst out laughing, holding onto each other to keep from falling over. Ino hid her own snickers behind her hand.
Naruto gave her a mocking smile. "I don't know why you're acting so scared. There's nothing to be afraid of, Karin." He snickered. "It's just a puppet."
"A puppet?" Karin questioned, trying to catch her breath.
"Hey, is everyone okay, un?" Deidara stepped into the doorway, looking at them with concern. "Where's that pink-haired, annoying one?"
"She left once she realized Sasuke really wasn't joining us." Ino answered.
"Oh." Deidara looked excited. "I can show you guys the rest of the galleries then. I f you want me to."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! That would be awesome!"
"Okay then! Take a look inside Sasori's gallery. I'm going to let him know I'll be guiding you guys." He walked back into the room, leaving the door open for them to enter.
After looking around at the different puppets, Deidara led them out the door and to the next room.
"This next one is Hidan's, he does weapon sculptures." Deidara opened the door for then to go in.
"Woah! Look at this!" Kiba shouted excitedly. "This is a battle axe made from used batteries!"
"No way!" Suigetsu ran up next to him and looked in awe.
Naruto looked around to see a bunch of different types of weapons made from different mediums.
"A glass sword?" Ino questioned the piece she was staring at.
Karin walked up next to Ino and also studied the piece. "Seems kind of counterproductive." She shrugged and continued walking.
"So Hidan and Kakuzu are on vacation so their studios are locked, un. But we could move onto Kakuzu's next." Deidara said as the group finished looking around the room.
"So what's Kakuzu's art style?" Suigetsu asked, keeping pace with the older blonde.
Deidara laughed to himself before giving Suigetsu a smirk. "Oh, you'll see."
"I bet it's going to be something super cool!" Kiba began to talk excitedly. 
"Like what?" Ino questioned, raising her eyebrow in amusement. 
Kiba tapped his chin. "Like...all dog sculptures!"
Naruto let out a loud quick laugh. Karin sneered at the brunette. "I think that's just you."
"Here we are!" Deidara announced. He pushed open the door. "You guys ready?"
The group hurriedly entered the dark room. Deidara let the door close behind them, engulfing them in pitch black. There was a soft glow as they heard the click of a light switch. The glow slowly grew brighter and soon they could see the floor was glittering in a gold color.
"Wait a minute," Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Is this all-"
"Money?!" Karin interrupted with a screech.
"Yes it is, un." Deidara grinned, amused at the group's reactions.
"Why would you use money as a medium?" Suigetsu was seriously questioning the sanity of this Kakuzu guy. He raised an eyebrow at a small framed picture of George Washington made out of dollar bills.
Deidara shrugged. "The guy is obsessed with money."
"So wouldn't it make sense to not use it so wastefully?" Ino asked, looking at the floor. The floor alone looked like it was made from all pennies.
"Could you imagine how much this whole room is worth?" Karin looked around fondly at each piece of work, a glimmer in her eyes. 
"That's the thing," Deidara began to answer Ino's question. "He worships it. This is like his temple in a way, un. And it's also a security blanket. If he's ever in a financial pinch, un, he can just come here and take from it."
Naruto nodded approvingly. "Smart man."
"Ready to see the last room, un?" Deidara asked. He didn't wait for an answer as he walked towards the door. After opening it, he looked over his shoulder, satisfied that they were following him. "Whoever is last, make sure you turn off the light, un. Kakuzu doesn't want his electric bill to be high."
Kiba scoffed. "He's worried over money?"
"He just doesn't want to spend it uselessly."
They walked to the end of the hallway where a lone door stood.
"Here we are, Tobi's studio!"
They walked in, only to be seemingly entering into another world. The walls, ceiling and floor were painted in a way that made it seem like they were in space.
"Woah." They all awed in unison.
"This is so cool." Karin was the first to break out of the mesmerizing trance and took another step further into the room. She stepped towards a glowing globe that appeared to be floating in midair. She reached out to touch it, only for her fingers to go right through it. "Huh?"
"Do you like my illusion art?" A voice echoed throughout the room. Everyone but Deidara looked around the room wildly, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. 
A childlike giggle came from the unknown source. "No luck in trying to find me, I'm not in the room! I'm Tobi by the way!"
"If you're not here, then where are you?!" Karin demanded, stomping her foot childishly.
"Nice try, but it's a secret." The voice got quite with each word until it was practically a whisper. 
"He changes the layouts of his illusions every few months, un." Deidara explained. "The last room was 'Under The Sea'. You should've seen it, un! There was a giant Great White swimming above you at all times."
Suigetsu's eyes lit up at Deidara's description. "That sounds like heaven."
"Only you would think so." Karin commented with a smirk.
"You say it like it's a bad thing." He deadpanned.
Karin bristled at the lack of a response and turned her head with a huffy.
"Hey, it's just another excuse to make sure we come back again, right blondie?" Kiba threw his arm around Naruto's neck and pulled him closer to himself.
"Hell yeah! I had fun." Naruto grinned brightly at them.
"We all did." Ino said as they made their way back to the lobby. 
"Yeah, it was fun, un!" Deidara chimed in. "Especially when whatever her name is left."
"Don't worry, we don't normally hang out with her. Karin just wanted to one-up her but clearly it backfired." Kiba glared at the red-head who stuck out her tongue at the brunette.
"Good." Deidara smiled at them.
They reached the lobby and Deidara said his goodbyes, heading back to hangout with Sasori.
"Now, let's go get Sasuke and we can discuss this date that happened the other day." Ino gave Naruto a smirk. "Come on, let's go guys!"