This is the end of the world as we know it
Rating - T... for now
I've been planning to do a DeiSaku fic for a while and wondered on what I should do, so I asked another writer who likes to read DeiSaku and we both agreed that the kidnap and bring to Akatsuki thing had been done to death. I really enjoy the stories but really, I couldn't add to it anymore and it would require being a chapter story that I'm not going to commit to just yet. Then we got onto the subject of abusing explosives and it lead to…this. I know Sakura is way out of character but imagine if she was a pyromaniac of sorts. Besides this is fiction. Pyromaniac Sakura will always be cooler than the pre-time skip whiner and more 'fun' than the complete heartless bitch Sakura that gets used so much around. I have nothing against them but seeing a completely cold Sakura so much kind of kills it for me. Brushes of darkness I can handle but personally I think she'd see insanity before going emotionless.
The title is a reference to REM's – This is the end of the world, as we know it. It's just so nuts, can totally imagine Deidara and this song. That and Nightwish. I like them.
And science. You ever chucked a chunk of potassium in water? It's fun!
Anyway, I don't own Naruto
This'll be a very cracked up chapter story so review, vote and let me know what you think. Any favourite parts? What works? I'm open to criticism; I encourage honesty, even if you're an anonymous reader.
Deidara x Sakura
This is the end of the world as we know it
It was curiosity. Really.
When Sakura Haruno smashed through the sturdy rock foundations of the Akatsuki cave while trying to locate Chiyo after the violent fight with Sasori and saw this muddy bag that was labelled,
'Explosive Clay. Do not touch, UN!'
...It was only curiosity that she picked it up. Clay that went boom? Now that seemed fun.
A devious smirk dusted Sakura's lips as she managed to stuff it in her pack, securing the button while pondering all the destructive capabilities that it could wreak. Though tempting it was to find out how they worked by tossing them repeatedly at the fallen, wooden corpse of Sasori, she really had to find Chiyo since the poison that had entered her system wouldn't wait for a test run.
With a wave of sadness, Sakura knew the poor old woman was beyond help. Her injuries were far too severe along with the high amount of poison running through her system and there wasn't enough time to go back to Sunagakure to make a medicinal antidote. She admired the woman's will and how she kept her self together while battling against what little was left of her grandson. It was impressive. She guessed she wasn't allowed to blow her body up to save carrying it… but in all honesty, Chiyo deserved a proper funeral. Sakura couldn't brush off that kind of determination in favour of decimating a lump of wood. No matter how much of jump it'd give her little heart.
Oh how she loved the sheer mayhem caused from flinging a chunk of potassium into the Konoha plumbing system. That kind of science was ever so fun and yet, no one knew who the culprit was. Despite the radiating grin on her face, completely misreading the giggles and snickers. The brushings of malevolence and rebellion...
Good times... well still are, though she had wanted to top up on her collection. Hopefully the stuff from this fellow who wrote 'UN' in scrawling handwriting on the bag was decent and could cause a thrilling ignition.
She supposed she had an unhealthy obsession with explosives but everyone will always tell you to build on your strengths. It just so happened that she had a huge affinity for chemistry, but hey, it was better obsessing over setting light to something that a selfish arrogant little boy with a duck arse for a hairstyle. Right?
When he left; first came the denial, then the pained anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. But, Sakura, in determination to change herself and under Tsunade's apprenticeship had moved into another stage of grief, though decidedly, a tad more serious. Manic habits slowly took form before the slight insanity. Discovering a beautiful fascination in the entire nature of an explosion; be it relationships or bombs.
Shizune was the only one who seemed to notice Sakura's descent into insanity and thought to raise it with Tsunade-sama but, after contemplating that Sakura was becoming more and more like the drunken kage, had thought maybe this would stop a 2nd Tsunade. One was scary. Forbid the idea of two.
Only when she found Sakura in the science lab mixing a potent mixture of potassium and sulphuric acid down the interns sink, did she realise what a mistake she had made. Though on a brighter side; most of her personality remained intact despite the insanity and manic yearning to make an object combust…
Poor misguided Shizune but Sakura was still as perceptive and gentle as ever. She was still intelligent and forgiving…sort of. But it was Sakura, an incredibly strong medical-nin with a kind personality. Just with a yearning to arson.
It seemed Chiyo had her heart set on completing one last task so, despite the grief in her heart of the ever-looming sense of death. Sadness fading, replacing with anger at the Akatsuki, Haruno Sakura sprung forth, flinging boulders and shouting out for the old woman.
"Chiyo-baa sama, are you alright? Please, allow me to heal some of the damage."
Unable to actually respond Chiyo merely in took a large gasp of air as she waited for the young medic to finish.
Her eyes wandered down to Sakura's pouches.
One was full with a bag dusted with...clay?
While the other, to her horror, was loaded with what appeared to be on closer inspection; about a pound of thermite powder, explosive notes, cherry bombs which looked like they've been attacked with a marker pen judging by the cute faces, a vile of pure nitro-glycerine surrounded by shock absorbers, sulphuric acid for good measure, hydrogen gas bottle, water bottle, sodium, potassium, rubidium even cesium! Then what bloody well gave her a heart attack was kept in a special time freezing chakra bubble, it was a hefty chunk of francium. How in holy fuck did she get that?! That stuff is freaking' radioactive! It's banned throughout the great countries and here a 15-year-old pink haired teenager has her hands on it. Wrinkled eyes glancing down to see if the kunoichi had anything else in her frightful arsenal
And from her earlier attitude with the almost maniacal glint in her eyes when something went 'smash', Chiyo became very worried for the future. Down went the hope resting on future generations. You've a mad woman armed with an ungodly amount of explosives. Most of the metals there had to be used within strict confines of research. If Akatsuki had its hands on the stuff contained in there...war would be no hard thing.
The insane strength and violent temper was one thing but a dominating pyromaniac too? Some discoveries about Sakura were truly worrying but the thing was...no one if they saw those materials would really know how dangerous they were. Not many people were talented medics, specifically in poisons, who of course they would know how to use metal elements.
'We're fucked,' Chiyo thought, "We're well and truly fucked."
Would you believe that Chiyo never swore?
They had been running for a good 15 minutes. Trying to catch up to Naruto and the others.
"Naruto was sparking out of control." Sakura mused. "Impulsive and so reactive, his anger just bursts out with such a scary power. It's beautiful, the passion and raw intensity of it and how it's so destructive in that way. It'll never last though, it isn't meant too - just like an explosion. But that explosive nature will be his downfall. As it is mine,"Sakura proceeded, trailing off but Chiyo still heard it.
Chiyo was able to get a good look at Sakura's face. Her body was slightly hunched and water was leaking from the corner of her eyes. Her childhood friend was recklessly destroying himself like this. He'd being working so hard, only to be unfairly hunted for a monstrous demon and to lose himself, hell even his own body for a brother. A horrible fear was unfurling throughout her being. Sweat gliding down pale forehead, pink hair slightly dim and if you looked closely, a paced shaking was wracking her body.
The same feeling of hopelessness and an unwanted encounter tore through the pink haired one.
Attempting to recompose her fallen reverie she began to analyse the other outlooks. It was beautiful all the same though. Destruction was stunning. How a life could be there and wiped out later. In her own twisted reverie, a dry chuckle etched her throat as she repeated her previous ramblings but it sounded…not right. Twisted, as if she saw some sort of amusement from it. She repeated herself once again, only a little more audible.
"Beautiful, passion, the raw intensity, how it's so destructive. It'll never last though, it never does life is like that. Here one minute, gone the next. Histories, yet intense in that moment, just like an explosion. But that explosive nature will be his downfall. It'll be everyone's downfall, unless I get there first. Little Annie went boom, she couldn't stop crying. It's not meant to last, not at all"
Almost singsong like, childish in its nature.
'Not good...Poetic musing on things of great destruction. Not good' Chiyo thought desperately. Sakura's scary addiction to explosives wasn't good and when you muse poetically on these things, it's never a good sign. Chiyo had heard from Kakashi that her sanity was in serious doubt for a while. Sasori had talked like that about puppets before he left and look where he got... similar age too.
"But," Sakura voice interrupted Chiyo's train of thought, "I hate seeing people suffer, just like little Annie. I'm not letting Naruto destroy himself even if I have to blow his limbs off", but now, a tone of joy brushed her voice, "besides that's meant for the innocent by standers!" Sakura sounded almost enthusiastic about the last part, which scared Chiyo more than anything. There was such mirth on her face.
Sakura's ears perked. A loud roaring noise. Well to her it was loud. Her reaction to that particular noise was like Naruto to ramen, Sasuke to the name 'Itachi' and Kakashi to the word 'Icha Icha Paradise'.
It was the inhumanly possible sixth sense kind of reaction.
"An explosion." she murmured. "There was an explosion just now, 250 meters north of here, 36 degrees east... Let's go!"
Then, practically dragging Chiyo, the pink haired kunoichi sped off towards the sound. Constantly altering direction slightly to stay on path, a deranged adrenaline raced through her veins.
There was a bomber nearby.
Two in fact. She just happened to be the second.
Goody! Somebody else who used actual variety in the medium they used to utterly annihilate an opponent.
Sakura was always a curious thing at nature. She loved finding things out and searching for knowledge. It was in her medical and chemical studies of which she found and clearly enjoyed. Sakura was always creating her own combinations. She distinctly remembered when she tested a small amount of lithium in water and the itching desire to do that on a larger scale. Messing with chemicals was always fun. Like sneaking laxatives into her mentor's sake. Not many could say that they've successfully drugged Tsunade.
This was how Sakura liked to make things go boom. With chemicals, mainly acids and elements of the sort. She wasn't saying that dropping a simple cherry bomb down ANBU toilets wasn't fun either…
In fact; it created a delightful explosion. There was water shooting up everywhere and she almost wet herself at the sight of a disgruntled ANBU, masks splattered and dirty, with the bog seat dangling from his neck. Naruto, completely clueless to the guilty person he was standing next to, found it very funny indeed and took a generous amount of pictures - some of which Sakura kept in her pack. Y'know, for safekeeping.
The screams, the heat of it all and the mesmerizing colours. Well, Sakura had never claimed herself to be sane. Besides, being normal? That would be boring.
Then she saw it.
The bright haze of warm reds and oranges. The roaring wall. The distinct blaze of fire. And the ominously present stench of burning flesh.
Well, she'd found her bomber.
"Fuck." Was all Sakura toned. It was all that was needed no matter how…blunt it had been spoken. Her bomber, it turns out, was an Akatsuki member.
Good. He'd be extremely skilled and creative.
Not good. She had to fight such a beast.
Then with a familiar glint to his eye. The one, which suggested one to be out of his mother-fucking mind. That glint. A grin twisting from feminine features, the Akatsuki flung what appeared to be birds at the previous Konoha teams causing them to be engulfed in flames and to be launched from the scene. Hitting against the rock face that had started to crack.
A small movement at first. Then a deafening sound severed through the rock, breaking and crumbling away. With what seemed to be tonnes of rock towering down on the two teams. Screams drowned out but the resounding noise.
Sakura could only watch in bewilderment and secret amazement with a weakened Chiyo over her shoulder as the blast recoiled her friends to a forest, wooden beams supporting the valley caving in as rock hurled down the sides. The rest of team Kakashi becoming nothing but specks which then became overwhelmed in a cloud of smoke and dirt. Sakura did briefly hear Kakashi scream her name in desperation but was muffled by the intense roaring on the fire and landslide.
A cave in like that could take hours to move properly and she wasn't stupid, she had seen this blonde fellow drop tiny bug into the wreckage, no doubt being the explosives.
Still shaking from the incredible vibration of the blast, Sakura moved to go dig out her comrades, a slug summon would be easy to take care of this joker but still, the notion of the Akatsuki member made her uneasy. It was like he was mocking her, daring her to aid them.
She then set Chiyo down on the floor, removing the odd clay package from her satchel and used it to support the old woman's head. After making sure the Suna elder was comfortable, her expression twisted into one of anger and grimace; a wave of disgust and curiosity washed over her features as she slowly rose and turned around, looking up towards the Akatsuki member, who had in turn lowered his sculpted bird so he hovered a good 30ft above her.
A frown covered her features as she noticed the head of sandy red hair from inside the mouth of the bird.
'Gaara' she noted. A more prominent anger dusted over her features. This only widened the ever-present smirk on the Akatsuki's features.
Sakura wouldn't deny; the man or woman…she thought it was a man…sort of, was good looking. Dangerous, a heartless murderer though the same could apply to herself, it had more potency with the man in front of her. But nonetheless, Sakura was unique in the fact that while the masses of shinobi become corrupt, she could still radiate chid like naivety and innocence. Terrible traits for a ninja but then again Sakura was out of the ordinary. How many shinobi guidelines she had broken, in total, was inevitably high.
Blending in with pink hair? But, in her mind, brown was boring. Unlike the oddly styled torrents of blonde which she studied in front of her, worn in an odd style with the majority covering his left eye while some hung around the back and another section bound in a gravity defying hair style. A lot of that kind of thing nowadays…
Ever had those moments where you just want something loud, explosive and obnoxious? Just to stand out? That was the sort of fast paced thinking Sakura had. She also had kept in short and choppy. For many reasons; she looked far better like that and it was also, somewhat of a keepsake of her past actions.
She would never go back to the snivelling longhaired Sakura. Never.
But, as she looked at the narrowed startling blue eyes of the bomber Akatsuki in front of her, Sakura couldn't help but give a respectful nod before chiding politely,
"I guess friendly conversation is out of the question?"
He looked at her with amiable curiosity, nonchalant expression being replaced with shock, then again, his famous sincere smug one.
'Oh, isn't this interesting?' before moulding some clay sparrows to target and completely and utterly obliterate the peculiar pink haired beauty. After all, art was a bang. 'Un'
Oops. I've turned Sakura into a raving lunatic.
Ah, all the fun for later then.
You have to know your science to fully understand what I'm on about.
Alkali metals, which would be your Lithium to Francium, react violently with water, basic science. I am aware that Francium has about a life of 22 minutes and could go off at any minute but that's why I put it in a time freeze container. Impossible in the Naruto world but necessary. Thermite, when lit rapidly heats spewing molten iron everywhere, hydrogen gas is explosive. I love chemical induced explosions; always interested me.
I'm not sure on how long it's going to be or where it'll lead me. Maybe two more chapters or a story may mutate. I'll see on how it goes.
Any questions just ask. I'm working on the next chapter so stay tuned!
mariahpink