Atopos - I think I should put this somewhere (because my mind wasn't with me when I put my first three stories here), but I only write for pleasure - obviously - so I don't want anyone thinking that I own these shows. Do you honestly think the person who owned Naruto would be sitting in their bedroom with a laptop instead of making this reality? ... I didn't think so...

Pure Hatred

Tobi knew that it wasn't a nice thing to say that you hated someone or that you wanted to kill someone in a spectacular fight. However, after spending time with the other Akatsuki members, he found out there could be worse things in the world. He also discovered that he could hate someone and he could dream of killing that person over and over again. Yet you couldn't kill the dead or wish the memory of them away from someone's mind. No matter how hard he thought about this, though, Tobi still despised Sasori for everything.

There were a lot of reasons for this hatred on Tobi's end. He had seen the puppet master around the hideout a few times before his death. Sasori – like other members – didn't like socializing in his spare time. His idea of fun was working on a new 'masterpiece' in the silence of his workshop or bedroom. None of this bothered Tobi at all, but this young-looking killer had one thing Tobi loved more than anything else in the world; the blond Deidara.

As soon as Tobi laid eyes on Deidara, he knew where his loyalties were. He wanted the teenager for himself. Yet this was something Sasori had beaten him in, much to his disappointment, but that wasn't why he hated Sasori to the point where he wanted to be the one who killed him.

Sasori was used to being alone, and Deidara was one who needed to know someone was there for him. He was still young, so he liked pats on the back, and playful hugs, and high-fives, but Sasori ignored him. Tobi watched as Deidara slipped into an abyss of desperation. Deidara wanted some kind of attention, and was willing to do anything to get it.

That was when Tobi began to notice the bruises and scars that lined Deidara's body. There were pains that wracked his body when they trained and the bags under his eyes showed that he was awake all night. Most of the Akatsuki took advantage of this by fighting him, pushing him to the limits during their practices. Couldn't they see that they were hurting a young child? Probably not since Sasori was willing to do these things with him. None of them worried, none of them cared.

It all stopped when Sasori was murdered. Deidara spent so much time alone that Tobi knew it would be impossible to get close to him ever again. He had been tricked by his partner. Deidara became stronger than he was before, but he was now alone in the world, even though he was surrounded by teammates. Despite all his injuries, Deidara fell further into his hole by creating more sculptures with stronger bombs. Tobi now realized that Deidara was prepared to kill himself for the sake of his danna, something Sasori would probably never do for the blond.

"Sempai?" Tobi muttered softly, approaching Deidara who was standing outside in the rain two weeks after Sasori's demise. Deidara had taken to being as far away from the hideout as he could be. "Are you alright, sempai?"

Deidara's head fell and he turned around slowly. Tobi had seen his new partner cry so many times over the past couple days that it no longer scared him. "I keep thinking he's going to come back, un."

It didn't hold his usual strength, so Tobi knew that this was going to be one of the last conversations they had on that bastard. "Sempai shouldn't worry about that. Sempai still has a lot of people who worry about him."

A small chuckle escaped delicate lips, so Tobi was drawn to them. "I…loved him, un. He always said that perfect art would last on into the future and look at him. Danna was killed straight off."

"Yes, but like his art, you live on while he's dead," Tobi said cheerfully. "If Sasori-san wanted to prove that art lives on forever, I think he succeeded by letting you live while he died."

Deidara raised an eyebrow at that. "What the hell are you talking about, dumbass?"

Tobi giggled. "You are the art that everyone's after, sempai. You might not see it, but Tobi does. Sasori-san didn't treat you right, sempai, and Tobi wants to show you what it's like to be loved."

The blond took a step back, then seemed to rethink it. He walked over to Tobi, standing just under his chin. "You want me to get over Sasori-danna, don't you, un?"

Slowly, Tobi nodded. In his mind he could hear all the reasons why. 'He had hurt this boy', 'He had practically raped this boy', the reasons kept going on and on until they formed a chant in his head.

Deidara sighed, "Maybe you're right. I should stop letting him control me, un."

Tobi watched sadly as Deidara limped away from him towards the hideout's entrance. It was going to take a long time before Deidara could really forget that damned puppet. After it happened, Tobi would be able to show the young Deidara what it really was like to love and be loved.

- Atopos