Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Akatsuki or any of the characters/concepts featured. All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Everyone has a very peculiar friend.

Sai was that friend.

He sat across from Sasori, his face set in a smile. He didn't speak and he didn't move; he looked like a literati painting.

The two boys were currently taking the bus home together and, even though Sasori had known Sai since the very first day of school, he still found such an expression to be deeply unnerving. Sai had never been the best at social interaction; his true feelings were never obvious and his mannerisms rarely matched his words. He was a bit like a computer in that sense, always set to default.

'You shouldn't listen to them,' he said, suddenly, moving to adjust the lapel of his blazer. 'They have no idea what they're talking about.'

Sasori stared at him for a moment. Then he gave the hood of his jacket another anxious tug forward, ensuring that his face could not be seen. It was his shroud; the one thing that kept him hidden in public. He knew exactly what Sai was talking about and it made his gut churn. 'You don't understand,' he muttered.

'Yes, I do,' said Sai. 'I have eyes; you're most certainly not ugly, Sasori. Have more confidence.'

Sasori shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. That statement made him seem like an insecure teenage girl. His cheeks burned with shame. 'Then why do so many people tell me otherwise?' he asked.

'Young people are cruel,' answered Sai, simply, and his tone put an end to any further discussion.

Sasori sighed and turned to look out of the window. The buildings of his neighbourhood rushed by, dull and grey, whilst the sun set behind them. The sky was a lovely mixture of yellow, and red, and the darkest of purples, and light streamed through the gaps between the houses, bathing the bus compartments in an orange glow.

But even as the warmth hit his cheeks, still Sasori did not smile. He knew Sai was trying to help, but he also knew that his opinion would never be swayed.

He was ugly.

At the very least, he was unattractive enough for people to constantly point it out. Whether those people were of a good or bad nature was irrelevant; they were simply telling him a truth that he'd had known for a long, long time. It was something to be accepted. He wasn't strong, he wasn't tall, and he wasn't overly masculine. In fact, he held very few characteristics that were intrinsic to manhood; his luck had been very poor when it came to genes, and he certainly wasn't the robust hunk that society favoured. Instead, he was stick-thin, pasty, short, and his eyelashes meant that he had an androgynous look about him.

There was also another feature that needed to be taken into account.

He gripped his hood tighter and his eyes darted from side to side. He knew he was acting like a paranoid fool but he couldn't stop himself. He had to routinely scan his environment, to make sure he wasn't being judged or scrutinised. It was a curse he had to live with; he couldn't stand being watched.

Sai noticed this act of nervousness, but kept his lips firmly pressed together. He disliked bringing up the subject more than once; focusing on negativity wasn't exactly a morale booster.

'Excuse me, hm.'

The two boys looked up to see another young male, likely no more than twenty years of age. He was trying to make his way through the aisle of the vehicle, presumably to find another seat.

Sasori cringed.

The first thing he noticed was an absurd amount of long, blond hair. The second thing he noticed was that this person was the embodiment of everything he despised.

Thick, black kohl lined one of the man's eyes, the other being concealed by his woefully lopsided fringe. Sasori wasn't entirely sure if he had meant to style it that way or not but it looked dreadful regardless, and so thick with product. His skin was tanned and his outfit consisted of fitted jeans and a very revealing fishnet shirt. Sasori could see his nipples beneath the material. It was shameful; he'd been blessed in appearance yet he had still resorted to lewd fakery. He looked like a male stripper; it was an insult to the decent people who hadn't been so lucky.

'Excuse me,' he repeated, gesturing to the bus aisle.

Sasori looked down and noticed that his school satchel was blocking the man's path. Suddenly a little embarrassed, he scooped it up and held it in his lap. The number of homework assignments and text books made this difficult, but he tried to make the motion seem as graceful as possible.

The blond stranger gave his thanks with a nod and smile. He then made his way to the back of the bus, sitting down on the opposite side of the vehicle and only a few seats behind Sasori and Sai. As he passed, the smell of smoke seemed to follow him.

Sasori immediately turned to his friend, his expression one of both shock and disgust. 'Did you see his clothes?' he whispered, outraged.

Sai's brow furrowed. Unlike a normal boy of sixteen, Sasori disliked the "player" image. This was fine but he always felt the need to express his opinions, even in public. 'You need to get used to it; it's what people wear nowadays.'

'I can't. I have little hope for humanity if people like that are allowed to breed. I'm ashamed of my generation.'

'You always think like that; no wonder you're so depressed. Stop being such a pessimist.'

'Sai, I'm being truthful. That's what life is like. It isn't my fault if everyone else is too ignorant to see how pathetic we're becoming,' grumbled Sasori. 'The human race is deteriorating.'

Sai didn't reply; he couldn't think of anything to say to that. Even if he did manage to think of a valid argument, Sasori would counter it with a testy comment and start ranting about everything wrong in the world. He was intelligent, cynical, and stubborn beyond belief; winning any dispute would be nothing short of impossible.

At this point the bus had lumbered to a stop, opening its doors to welcome the newest passengers. A group of students boarded, their shirts scruffy and their ties undone. There was something about the way they held themselves that suggested nothing but arrogance, and one of them held a pack of cigarettes in his left hand. They began to make their way to the far end of the bus, so as not to be caught messing around by the driver.

To do that though, they had to pass the two boys.

Sasori saw them coming and sunk further into his hoodie. He begged fate not to let them notice him. Sai looked down at his feet, the same desperate plea running through his mind.

But fate can be a cold, cruel mistress, and they were spotted instantly.

As the students passed, Sasori bore the brunt of their oral onslaught. 'Is that the butters kid you were talking about?' whispered the female of the group. Her bleached hair had been put up in a bun, creating a shell-like structure that sat upon her head, and her pink lipstick seemed almost neon. She also wore fake eyelashes.

One of the boys snickered. He wore a backwards baseball cap and a single diamanté in his left ear. 'Yeah,' he said. 'Faggot.'

Sasori heard this but remained silent. He didn't want to provoke them, or get in trouble for that matter. He felt a burning sensation well up behind his eyes and calmly raised a hand to cover his face. Crying wasn't something he did often; it was contrary to his character. Nevertheless, he couldn't risk anyone seeing him in such a state; not only would he look worse but he would also attract unwanted attention.

Sai opened his mouth to say something but soon closed it again. He was powerless in this situation, and stepping in would only divert the flow of insults towards himself.

'Fucking pussy,' said the boy. He tapped his cigarette packet with his fingers, almost tauntingly.

'Hey.'

The cluster of teenagers turned to face the voice. Sasori slowly lifted his head, keeping his hand in place.

It was the blond stranger from earlier. Up until now he'd been listening to music; headphones were dangling loosely around his neck and the song could still be heard, an unidentifiable buzz emerging from the speakers. It was most likely a dubstep track.

'Would you mind keeping it down, hm?' he asked.

The boy's face contorted. 'Piss off.'

'I would but I'm on a moving bus, you dumb fuck,' said the blond, now looking back down at his iPhone. It was suspiciously expensive-looking for someone of his attire. 'Stop pissing about, hm.'

The posse of students looked taken aback. They were unsure of what to do; they could take on anyone from their school, beating them down either physically or verbally, but a member of the public? That was a completely different playing field. Slowly, grudgingly, they backed away, like a pack of dogs that had been cheated out of their sport.

Sasori watched them depart. They took their places at the back of the vehicle, sitting down with their eyes glued to their phones. They were probably using Facebook. Sasori had never seen the point of social websites; to him they were just tools that people used to stir shit up and post pointless information; things like what soap opera they were watching, what foods they were eating, and where they were going on holiday. They seemed to think of themselves as celebrities, that the universe revolved around them and that everyone needed to know what outfits they thought were cute.

Pushing this thought aside, Sasori looked to his saviour and scowled. People like that were normally stupid, egotistical, bratty individuals; they held no concern for others. They were only interested in sex, money, drugs, and alcohol. So why had this one come to his aid? It was unlikely that he cared. A more believable explanation would be that he hadn't wanted his music to be interrupted…

The stranger sensed that he was being watched. He straightened up and flicked his long hair, as if to show it off, and he sent Sasori a sidelong, heavy-lidded glance. His eyes were a rich, forget-me-not blue.

Bewildered and disturbed, Sasori scooted closer to the window, his eyes wide. Having never received a look like that before, he found it quite rude and disconcerting, and it made his face hot. He frowned and turned back to Sai, only to be met with an irritatingly stupid phrase.

'You judge too soon, Sasori. Not everyone is as cruel as you think. Have more faith.'

Sasori snorted derisively. Faith in what? A single good deed couldn't compensate for a lifetime of bad decisions. That blond had probably dropped out of school with zero qualifications, and there was also a good chance he'd abandoned his pregnant girlfriend. That was his type; reckless, flirtatious, and irresponsible.

By now the bus had arrived at its next stop. Sai rose from his seat, gathering his rucksack and black umbrella as he did so. 'I'll see you tomorrow,' he said.

Sasori gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He watched his friend leave, and then turned to stare out of the window once more. It would be quieter now but he secretly preferred that; social interaction was strenuous and he loathed having to pretend to care about other people's business. Moreover, it wouldn't be long until he came to his own stop.

In fact, it only took another twenty minutes, which was good as he hated waiting.

Sighing, he stood and hauled his satchel onto his shoulder. The weight caused his small frame to lean a little to the right and made movement tough. Fortunately the bus stopped directly outside his house and he wouldn't have to carry his belongings far; otherwise he'd end up with a painful stitch. He made his way to the exit, one hand holding his hood in place.

'You dropped something, hm.'

Sasori turned to see the stranger, who motioned to the floor.

A book had fallen from Sasori's satchel. It was an art book, thick and slightly gnarled around the edges; a sign that it was well-used. Dots of paint were scattered along the front cover, along with a few pencil markings, and a splodge of red partially covered the name tag.

Sasori hastily bent down to pick it up, muttering a "thank you" under his breath as he did so.

The stranger nodded and watched the young boy step off of the bus. Without fully realising it, and as sometimes happens, he memorised the location of Sasori's house, as well as several other trivial details. The roof needed re-shingling. a wooden birdhouse had been placed on the front lawn, and flowers had been planted here and there. A post-box resided outside the building, its paint peeling due to age.

His eyes wandered to one of the windows. Two silhouettes could be seen and, judging from their aggressive body language, they appeared to be in an argument. Shrugging it off as a family quarrel, he plugged in his headphones once more and smiled, enjoying the rays of sunlight.

It was none of his concern.

The bus set off again, and he began to nod his head in time with the beat.

I've had this in mind for a long time. It's going to be quite...personal for me in some ways, and I wanted to share it with you. I decided a while ago to take all my negative thoughts and feelings, and turn them into something positive, something that can be enjoyed. The result was this. :)

I'm going to try and stop the major OOC in this one. XD

I do hope you liked it. :)

Love ya. :D