Strings of Detonation

Cracks in the Shell

Morning light filtered weakly through the mist, the forest floor damp with last night’s storm. Deidara stretched with a groan, rolling his sore shoulder before tossing a half-finished clay bird into the air. It exploded harmlessly above the treeline, scattering crows into the gray sky.

“Che. Never gets old.”

Sasori was already on his feet, cloak drawn tight, expression unreadable. He hadn’t sat near the fire all night—he never did.

Deidara smirked. “Don’t you ever get sick of being so damn serious, Danna? One laugh won’t kill you.”

Sasori’s gaze flicked toward him briefly. “You mistake discipline for seriousness.”

“Yeah?” Deidara hopped to his feet, brushing dirt from his cloak. “Then what do you call refusing to admit you’ve got a soft side, hm?”

Sasori didn’t move. His face was a mask. “Pointless.”

Deidara grinned wider, sensing an opening. “C’mon. You saved my ass back there, you kept the fire going last night, you even—” He stopped abruptly, eyes glinting as Sasori’s expression tightened for just a fraction of a second. “Ahhh. There it is. A crack.”

Sasori’s jaw twitched. “You talk too much.”

“Maybe.” Deidara stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough to sound less like teasing, more like probing. “Or maybe you don’t talk enough.”

The silence that followed was thick, heavier than the mist curling around them.

For a heartbeat, it looked like Sasori might respond—something in the way his fingers twitched near his puppet case, not in defense but in hesitation.

Deidara tilted his head, hair falling loose. His grin softened, not mocking this time but curious. “What are you so afraid of saying, Danna?...”

Sasori turned sharply, cloak snapping as he started down the trail. “We’re wasting daylight.”

Deidara blinked, then let out a low whistle, following with hands tucked behind his head. “Touchy. I’ll take that as a ‘you don’t hate having me around.’”

No reply.

But Sasori’s stride was just a little too fast, a little too sharp—like a man walking away from something he didn’t want to be seen.

Deidara only smirked wider. He’d found the crack. All he had to do was keep pressing.