A/N: Okay, I said that I was never going to write something for Naruto but the Akatsuki compelled to! Actually it was more the fact that SasoDei (And the Naruto fandom in general) has so many damn Highschool!AU stories! I almost went over to the dark side but then I looked at my art project, which is on graffiti, and thus this idea was born! Please note that I have no experience of gang culture and/or graffiti so if anything is wrong please tell me! Definitions of terms are at the bottom.
A Big Thankyou to my darling Beta. You must thank her for the apostropes being in the correct places!
I hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it! And if you do like it, please drop me a review, so I can see how well this is recieved and if i should continue!
"Shit, I'm gonna be late!" the dark figure hissed as he pulled the mask further over his face. The night air was crisp against Deidara's skin as he rushed through the empty streets but the cold wasn't the only reason for him donning a mask. Deidara was the 'Tagger' of the Akatsuki, one of the most influential gangs in Konoha City, second only to the Suna Group. He didn't want anybody recognising him, as he'd learnt a long time ago that a mistake like that could easily prove to be fatal. The Akatsuki's last tagger had got himself shot when he got too cocky and went over another gangs tag. Not the smartest idea ever. So when Deidara was accepted into the hallowed ranks of the Akatsukis' graffiti artists he found that his identity was kept hidden. Everything from his name to his painting style was changed. So now anything done for the Akatsuki was done in a strict colour code of black, red and white. A colour scheme that was not repeated in any of his other works. Eventually, after a lot of hard graft Deidara had become the Akatsuki Number one writer, a title he planned on keeping.
The ever-present smog filled his nose and mind. He always found the scent of the city intoxicating, allowing his head to clear from the stress of his regular life as Deidara Iwa and to take on his street persona of 'Blast'. His art was scrawled across many a wall and appeared on most street corners. An explosion of sharp lines and angles, filled with an insane colour scheme. Each piece would spell out the word "Blast". Sometimes on larger areas, like bill-boards and parked train-cars he'd write "Art is a Blast" but since that took so much time and paint he didn't do it often.
Turning the final corner Deidara reached his destination, a disused warehouse on the old industrial estate. The entire exterior of the ground floor was covered in a menagerie of colour, and much of it was Deidara's own work and he was always quick to point out this fact to the other members of the Akatsuki. Striding confidently towards the main room Deidara checked he had all the tools of his trade in his bag. The spray-cans knocked against each other as he zipped the bag up and started forward again.
"Blast! We were being to think you weren't going to show." The familiar voice echoed in the deserted building, making Deidara jump. Not that he'd ever show that. Grinning behind his mask he finally entered the room.
Around him sat three similarly masked people, each of them with a fierce reputation on the streets of Konoha.
On his right was the shirtless figure of his closest friend, Hidan who had long ago decided that he'd rather not have an alias. His grey, slicked back hair shone under the artificial lights of the warehouse and around his neck hung a pendent that he never seemed to remove. When asked about it he would start ranting about some bizarre religion so the rest of the Akatsuki had learnt simply not to ask. Across from Hidan sat the elegant 'Miss Blue'. The only female member of the Akatsuki, she had demanding presence and eyes that could scare any toy out there. Her name came from the unnatural colour of her hair, which Deidara always considered a stupid thing to have as it marked her out. Not many people had bright blue hair. Last, but most certainly not least, sat 'Leader'. With a shock of orange hair and piercings all over his face and ears, you would think that he would stand out in a crowd. However Leader was one of those people who could sit in the same room as you, watching your every movement and you would never notice. It was this silent power that gave him control over the members of the Akatsuki. Nobody knew the full extent of his skills, but the rumours that everyone had heard meant that nobody want to find out first hand.
Leader crossed his arms and leant back in the tattered chair.
"Now that everybody is-"
"Deidara-Sempai!" A voice depicting absolute glee rang out from the doorway and the tagger was knocked over as a heavy object collided with his body. Said object quickly removed himself from on top of the blonde and began tugging sharply on his sleeve in an attempt to pull Deidara up off the floor. The irate blonde stood up and adjusted his facemask so that it covered his face again. After quickly sorting himself he turned to the bundle of energy and smacked him upside the head.
"I've told you before, Tobi, you can't call me that! Do you want me dead, hmm?"
"Tobi is sorry, Deida- I mean Blast-Sempai! I'll try to be good!"
Deidara grabbed hold of the front of Tobi's jacket and pulled his arm back ready to punch the orange masked boy seven ways from Sunday, until he was stopped by a sharp cough behind him. Turning around, Deidara was met by the cold eyes of Leader.
"Are you two finished?" He asked in a way that said if it wasn't, it most certainly was now.
Releasing his hold on the younger boy's jacket and letting him fall to the floor Deidara mumbled something along the lines of 'bloody partner' and took his place next to Hidan, who simply grinned at him, although you couldn't see it through the mask. Tobi coughed a little, regaining his breath, said a quick 'Sorry Leader-Sama' and sat on the other side of Deidara, keeping his distance.
Leaders cold voice began again, "Now that you're all acting like members of the Akatsuki, I can allow the meeting to begin."
The street lights started to flicker on as Sasori stood in front of a large bill-board close to the main road. His arms were folded against him as protection against the bite of the night air and his eyes narrowed to slits as once more he took in the sight before him. The colours of the graffiti were impressive and the position of the piece was perfect. Anybody driving on the main road would see it and recognise the name.
In black and red was the name 'Akatsuki' followed by the typical cloud that had come to be known in Konoha as the symbol of the notorious gang. 'This was obviously done by a pro,' Sasori thought as he continued to gazed at the board. 'But who the hell was it?!'
"It seems the Akatsuki are becoming more adventurous." A deep voice behind Sasori commented. To this Sasori nodded in agreement. This bill-board was on their turf and this piece, along with the other tags in the area spelt potential danger for the Suna Group.
"I don't want any trouble Kakuzu. You will inform Itachi to slash this. And soon." Sasori didn't turn around when he spoke but judging by his tone Kakuzu could tell that Sasori was livid. Turning on his heel he started to leave when Sasori spoke again.
"Don't make me wait, Kakuzu."
Kakuzu smirked at Sasoris' back.
"Do I ever, Akasuna-Sama?" And with that, he shuffled off into the night to search for the Suna Groups best tagger, Itachi Uchiha.
Sasori let his lips curled into the smallest of smiles but did not answer. Not that Kakuzu expected him to answer.
Turning his eyes and mind back to the problem at hand, Sasori sighed and raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. He really didn't need a turf war right now, and Sasori was running out of ideas to keep his group in the Number One spot. His current tagger, Itachi, couldn't keep up with the pace and there were rumours that the years of painting without goggles were taking a toll on his eyesight.
Sasori had been considering taking up a new writer for a while and one name constantly stood out as he walked the streets of Konoha.
Blast.
Who was this 'Blast'? Sasori had been a free-lance writer for a while and then formed the Suna Group a few years back but never had he heard of an up-and-coming writer called Blast. His tags simply appeared one morning, obviously after a night of heavy bombing and more kept appearing all over the city. It infuriated Sasori that he might have missed out on a skilled and valuable person.
Looking back at the bill-board a shiver of anger ran under his skin. If things carried on the way they were the Suna Group would lose the reputation it had build up over the years. Sasori was not willing to let that happen.
Pulling out his phone from his jean pocket he punched in a number he seemed to be calling a lot lately.
"Zetsu? …Yeah, it's me. I need you to find out everything you can about this Blast guy. … Yeah I know he's practically untraceable, that's why I'm asking you to do it! … Good. And don't make me wait." Sasori hung up and replaced the phone into his pocket.
He looked back up to the bill-board before turning around and stalking off towards his apartment, footsteps echoing in the still night air.
Terms
'Toy' - An inexperienced or unskilled graffiti writer.
'Tag' - A stylized signature, normally done in one color. Used to mark a gangs territory.
'Slash' – To put a line through or to tag over somebody else's graffiti. This is considered a great insult.
'Bombing' – To bomb is to paint many surfaces in one area. Bombers often use tags as these are faster to paint.
'Writer' – A Graffiti artist.