Title: Lockdown
Rating: T
Warnings: Major AU, minimal cussing, and violence.
Pairings: None. No romance, I can't write romance. Maybe some hints, but nothing major.
Summary: Modern AU. In the so-called peaceful city of Konoha, nothing is as it seems. A secret war, a vengeful plot, and dangerous artifacts lie beneath the city's smiling mask. Too bad no one told Deidara.
Japanese Translations:
(name)-nii: Big Brother (name)
Kami: God
A/N: I'll try to use as little Japanese as possible, so I won't be using honorifics, except for -nii or something similar. Certain titles will remain in Japanese simply because it sounds better, like Hokage. Enjoy!
Disclaimer(for the entire story): I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. At all. Ever.
Part 1: The Smiling Mask
"We wear the mask that grins and lies; it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes."
—Paul Laurence Dunbar
Deidara hadn't wanted to move.
Of course, it didn't matter what he wanted. He was just one of about twenty other orphans, and everyone else had found the idea of moving to Konoha wonderful.
Morons, the lot of them.
And damn it, Deidara had liked Iwa. Sure, the city was in economic depression and suffering from gang wars, and it really was no place to bring a bunch of rowdy orphans, but…
It'd been interesting. And the thugs had been wonderful target practice for his home-made bombs. At least in Iwa, there'd been some entertainment.
Konoha? Yeah right. The moment he brought out his bombs, the infamous Uchiha Police Department would be on him like a hawk, and there was so little crime there Deidara wanted to hurl. Kohona was rich. Lawful. Pretty.
If it had been Deidara's choice, he would have moved as far away from there as physically possible.
"Hey Dara, why the long face?"
Deidara glared, both because of that blasted nickname and the unwanted interruption of his irritated thoughts.
Akatsuchi just smiled. "Sorry, Deidara. But really, what's wrong?"
He could just ignore the other boy, Deidara knew. But Akatsuchi was one of the rare few who just didn't take a hint, which meant that if Deidara refused to respond, Akatsuchi would just keep asking.
"I don't want to move to Konoha, un." He said, scowling. There, he'd answered, maybe now the cheerful boy would leave him—
"What? Why?"
…alone. Really, and Akatsuchi sounded so confused. Wasn't it obvious?
"I thought Iwa was fine," he muttered angrily. "What's the point in moving, un? Not like there's any difference."
Akatsuchi stared. "But…Dara, Iwa was dangerous!"
"So?"
His not-quite-friend shook his head with a loud sigh that still managed to sound cheerful. "Okay, whatever. But it's a bit late, you know. We're already on the train. We'll be there in a few hours."
Deidara glared outside the window, as if it was the scenery's fault he was in the blasted train in the first place. "What's so great about Konoha anyways, un?"
"You don't know?" a new voice broke in, and the two of them looked up to see Akatsuchi's old friend and Deidara's only friend/little-sister figure Kurotsuchi. Akatsuchi beamed and moved over to make room. Deidara just sighed and waved a dismissive hand.
"Go on, babble away, un. Kami knows my opinion won't stop you from filling my ears with useless knowledge, un."
"You sound positively cheerful, Deidara-nii," she responded with an indulgent smile. "Konoha's the richest city in the Elemental Nation, you know that. Clean streets, great schools, and we're super lucky—the whole orphanage was given a sponsorship from their mayor, which they call 'Hokage'. This is a great gift—and the perfect chance for a clean slate."
There they went again. Acting like he cared.
"You know it's too late for me," he said quietly, not looking at her. "I like explosions, un. I can't help it."
Kurotsuchi frowned but didn't press. "Just—keep it down, okay Deidara-nii? Grandfather…he hates what you do."
At Deidara's sharp look, Kurotsuchi threw up her hands in a defensive position. "Don't give me that," She snapped, temper fraying. "I'm not asking for the world, but—please, Deidara-nii. Not another repeat of Suna."
Suna. As if it wasn't bad enough they brought up the old man, Ōnoki. Deidara owed Ōnoki, whether he liked it or not. The old man was head of the orphanage and Kurotsuchi's grandfather. He had taken Deidara in when his own family had cast him out, and hadn't given up on him no matter how many cities Deidara had gotten them kicked out of.
But even the old man had a limit. And Suna…well. That had been the breaking point.
He scowled without any feeling. He was too tired to feel angry anymore. "Fine," he said. "I'll try, un."
Kurotsuchi relaxed and Akatsuchi grinned. "That's all I ask. Thanks, Deidara-nii."
He ignored her, sliding into a more comfortable position and resting his head against the glass. The sun was just starting to rise and he was exhausted.
He wondered how long it would take before his bad lucked kicked in to ruin everything.
Not long, he decided. This time, he'd be helping it along.
OoOoO
"I hate it, un."
"Deidara-nii…"
"If you say, 'give it a chance, Deidara-nii!' I'm going to hit you."
"I do not sound like that, you're not supposed to hit girls, and did you just use finger quotes."
"No, and if you say otherwise they'll never find your body, un."
Akatsuchi gave a nervous smile as his two friends fell back into their normal bickering. Deidara in a bad mood generally put everyone in a bad mood, and he was a master at irritating Kurotsuchi.
Ōnoki walked over, a fond but sad smile on his face as he watched the two dissolve past insults to name-calling.
"Deidara isn't taking the move well, is he."
Akatsuchi sighed sadly. "He liked Iwa."
The unspoken 'I did too' hung in the air.
"I know," Ōnoki said to both statements. "I would have liked to stay there. If it weren't for the economic depression and gang wars maybe…but it doesn't do well to dwell on what could have been."
Akatsuchi bit his lip. Deidara was violent, rude and brash on a good day, but he was still Akatsuchi's friend, no matter how many times he denied it. He hated to say anything negative about him, but it was sometimes necessary. "He…Deidara isn't very good at that."
Ōnoki scowled. "That brat...if he'd just look up from his silly toys every once in a while and took things seriously, he'd know what an idiot he is. He keeps on running away."
Akatsuchi said nothing, but by the comically disbelieving face he was making, he seriously doubted that.
Ōnoki didn't notice, frowning at the brawl between Deidara and Kurotsuchi. It had gotten to the point where they were starting to throw punches in the middle of screaming at one another, their voices getting louder and considerably more shrill.
Apparently the Head of the orphanage thought this to be a good time to jump in, because Ōnoki was marching towards the two with an irritated look.
"They're going to wake up the whole neighborhood with their screaming," he muttered to himself, before shouting in a booming voice, "OI! STOP YELLING AND GET OVER HERE! YOU NEED TO HELP UNPACK!"
Deidara wasn't even fazed. "Like hell I will, un!"
Ōnoki heaved his cane up like a sword. "You little brat! I said-"
"Er, Ōnoki-sama, what about your back?"
"I'm not that old! My back is perfectly fine, and-"
"Hah! You're in denial, you art-hating sack of wrinkles!"(1)
"You-"
Crack.
"Argh!"
OoOoO
"Hey, did you hear? That empty building near the hospital is becoming an orphanage."
"Huh? But we don't need another one."
"Nah, it's not for the city. I heard it was cleaned up for this group of orphans that move around a lot. They keep getting kicked out of the big cities."
"Kicked out? Why?"
"No one knows. There are some rumors…nothing concrete though."
"Aww…hey, did you see yesterday's newscast?"
"You mean the one about that attack on the mall? And about….?"
"Yep."
"It's kinda scary, don't you think? Why haven't the police caught them yet?"
"'Cause they're ninjas, that's why."
"Don't be childish. Ninjas don't exist. But still. Are the police so useless that they can't even capture one member of the Akats—"
"Shh! You know better! We're not supposed to say the name! If the police hear you…"
"It's stupid!"
"I know. But if the other big cities hear about it, who knows what will happen. There's a reason it's so hush hush."
"Keh. Fine, whatever you say. Anyways, what were you saying before about your cousin…?"
Hidden in the long shadows of the alleyway, a hooded figure moved away from the gossiping teens. Dressed in all black but for a sandy colored bag slung over his shoulder, he slipped silently out of the alley. A small frown on his face, he flicked back his hood and disappeared effortlessly into the crowd.
He had a report to make.
Within seconds, he was hidden in the bustling crowd, the alley empty and eerily quiet. All the remained of his presence was a small pile of sand, blowing away in the wind.
OoOoO
Tsuki has logged on.
Umi has logged on.
Tsuki: If you have nothing to report, leave.
Umi: What a warm welcome. As it stands, I do have something.
Tsuki: Surprise, surprise.
Umi: If you're pissed about that sudden com silence, take it out on Michi, not me. I didn't have anything to with it.
Tsuki: Actual proper grammar. I'm surprised, Umi. And maybe ever-so-slightly impressed, if I forget it was you.
Umi: Shut up, it's this stupid auto-correct. Do you want the report or not?
Tsuki: The amazement is gone and lying dead in a ditch. Yes, I want the damn report.
Umi: You would never say that to me face to face.
Tsuki: Right now? Yes, I would. And just give the stupid report already.
Umi: According to Eimei, they nearly caught Asahi and his team.
Tsuki: What?
Umi: Don't fret, they're fine. I said nearly. It was on the news, apparently.
Tsuki: I have eyes. I can see that. But Asahi? He's not stealthy, but he's good at making himself go unseen. The press, on the other hand…it's surprising they got clearance to broadcast that.
Umi: Exactly.
Tsuki: This is…troubling.
Umi: That's not the disturbing part. What's weird is that the S
Tsuki: Gotta go
Tsuki: tell details later
Tsuki has logged off.
Umi: Thanks for wasting 5 whole minutes of my time, bastard. And at the good part too.
Umi has logged off.
Chat room is empty.
A/N: I basically wrote this thing in two days during the middle of the night. And I have no beta, so I'm not sure if everything is correct. Please tell me if I made any mistakes in spelling or characterization! (Yes, this is my subtle way of saying review. *nudge nudge*)
(1): Deidara says this in the show, can't remember what episode...but it was too funny to not put in.
So, for the code names:
Tsuki: moon
Umi: sea, ocean
Michi: path
Asahi: morning sun
Eimei: wise, bright, clear-sighted
I could be wrong on these translations; every website gives me a different answer… Can you guess who they are?
Chapter 2 Preview:
"My name is Sasori. I was assigned to show you around the school. Annoy me and you will die, slowly and painfully."
"...I'd say I'm pleased to meet you, but that'd be a lie, un."