Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Akatsuki or any of the characters/concepts featured. All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Boredom does strange things to you when you're young.
Sometimes it causes you to become despondent or lose your temper.
'Come on, Deidara.'
Sometimes it encourages you to do something more productive with your life.
'Dude, don't be a fucking pussy.'
And sometimes it lures you into doing something that's just plain stupid.
'Dei, we're waiting for you. Are you helping us break in or not?'
At the moment, Deidara was battling against the third option. He wasn't a criminal and he wasn't that desperate for entertainment, yet he found himself being goaded into breaking an entry.
The property was a small house on a hill, owned by an old woman, and it was rumoured that she collected a variety of rare objects, some of which were said to be unlucky. Her name was Chiyo, and many of the neighbours assumed that she practised witchcraft. It was hardly surprising; her hobby of collecting was very sinister, and she wasn't the friendliest person in the world.
Deidara had never believed in magic or sorcery or anything of the sort; such things existed only in Harry Potter. Nevertheless, he shivered when he saw a human skull and a faceless voodoo doll perched on her windowsill.
'Live a little, Deidara. If you want to join us, you must participate.'
He turned to the leader of their gang, the one who had proposed the idea in the first place.
His name was Pein, a fairly tall, strapping lad with an addiction to piercings and a stern expression. It was no surprise that he had taken the position of top dog; he had a cold aura about him, and he had actually put people in hospital before. You didn't want to piss him off. Or mention his hair colour. Or walk in front of him. Or correct his grammar; the poor nerd in English hadn't lasted very long.
His only Kryptonite came in the form of his girlfriend, Konan. She was softer, more approachable, and less violent than he was. Save for the piercings, it could be argued that she was his opposite.
The one thing that unified them was the fact that they held a strong dislike for the rules.
In fact, they all did.
Hidan had run away from home to follow the almighty Jashin, Kakuzu sold fake video game consoles, Itachi was outright disobedient towards his family, Kisame claimed to have committed murder, and there were rumours that Zetsu practised cannibalism (the scary thing was that he didn't deny it).
Being the new guy, Deidara was only just getting into the swing of things. The most heinous crime he had ever committed was stealing an extra cookie from the cookie jar, and he still felt guilty.
'Look, it's nearly 11,' said Itachi, checking his watch, which he had likely pilfered from his father. 'I haven't got all night. Either man up, or go back to stealing biscuits.'
Deidara glared at him, flicking his blonde hair in exasperation. The stupid Uchiha always doubted his abilities. 'Fine, un! I'm game-'
Hidan grinned. 'That's the spirit!' he yelled, slapping Deidara on the back in friendly fashion. 'No reason to piss yourself, mate; we'll be right behind you.'
'And if she wakes up, we run,' said Kisame, simply. He was now making his way up the hill; being the tallest and the strongest, he usually went first. If his stature didn't frighten the victim, his appearance definitely would; his skin was completely blue, which he claimed was the result of a birth defect. He carried with him a sort of crowbar, iron and wrapped in linen. The thing was huge and no one knew where he had found it. All they knew was that he referred to it as Samehada.
One by one, the teenagers followed him, Deidara dropping to the back of the line. He wasn't particularly sporty, after all, and the hill was very steep. P.E. had also been his last lesson that day, and basketball under Might Guy's guidance was enough to exhaust anyone.
Eventually they reached the dreaded building. Itachi sidled up to one of the windows and used one slender, pale hand to brush away the thick layer of dust. He looked at his fingers and grimaced. Obviously Chiyo wasn't a big fan of cleaning.
Pein cleared his throat. 'Is she in?'
'Not that I can tell,' murmured Itachi, peering inside the dark abode. He scanned the area. 'If she is, she's definitely sleeping, so we have little to worry about...'
'Very well,' said Pein. 'You all know what to do. Get inside and find something valuable.'
Hidan laughed. 'How about a game?'
This caught everyone's attention. As childish as it seemed, they did like to play games. It usually involved stealing, graffiti, and other illegal actions, but a game was a game, wasn't it?
Seeing their excitement, Hidan continued, 'Yeah, whoever gets the most expensive-looking piece of kit, wins.'
Everyone nodded in agreement. Deidara was the only one to hesitate. He loved to have fun, yes, but somehow games didn't seem right given the circumstances. He shook his head. This was his chance to be badass, and if he wanted to join the group then he would have to play by their rules.
Kisame raised Samehada, intending to shatter one of the windows.
Deidara looked taken aback. 'We're just gonna break it, un?'
'How else will we get in, imbecile?' muttered Itachi. He shot the newbie a venomous look.
Deidara curled his upper lip in disgust and turned his head away, but he couldn't stop himself from blushing out of embarrassment.
Seconds later, a loud crash was heard as the glass broke. Fragments of the material were littered everywhere.
Kisame then, quite simply, walked in.
The window was quite large and low, so this proved easy, and soon the others had followed him. Deidara, as usual, tagged along at the rear.
Inside was even dustier than outside, if that were possible. The entire place was littered with shelves, upon which sat numerous charms and trinkets; a stuffed raven, a jar with dead frog inside it, a mannequin's left arm, a jewellery box, a paper doll, and several other suspicious things.
Deidara's eyes travelled all over the place, eager to absorb everything, and for a brief moment he forgot his purpose. Everything was just so interesting, more so than a museum, and there was something new wherever you looked.
Pein grunted and reached out to pick up a broach. It had a cameo of a woman on the front, framed by an intricate golden pattern and several precious gems. It looked to be very old indeed and would no doubt fetch a very impressive sum of money. Then, just like that, he stuffed it into his pocket.
This was the signal to begin.
The teenagers instantly scattered, each of them eager to nab a prize.
Itachi and Konan headed to the jewellery box; a very wise move considering the contents. Kisame wandered off towards the back, no doubt looking for something a little less generic and more unorthodox. Zetsu was studying the stuffed animal collection, and Kakuzu had begun to paw through a stack of books.
Hidan had opened one of the jars and was currently poking the gross fleshy thing floating within.
Deidara stood perfectly still. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. A band of thieves were robbing a hapless old woman in the middle of the night, and none of them seemed to give a single fuck! Furthermore, he was helping them!
'Hey, Deidara, check this out.'
He turned to see Hidan. The Jashinist was grinning from ear to ear. He had moved his hand to one of the larger tanks and was foolishly patting one of the...well; Deidara wasn't entirely sure what it was. It appeared to be suffering from a small seizure though.
'Hidan, that's disgusting, un.'
'I know, but it waves its feelers when I poke it.'
'And that's...cool?'
'Yeah, it's cool. It's fucking awesome.'
Deidara sighed heavily. He gave the squidgy thing a sympathetic look; even though it had no face, it didn't look very happy. Slowly, he looked away from the scene. As much as he wanted Hidan to stop tormenting it, he still needed to get busy; he had come here to steal, and steal he shall.
He drifted through the rows of shelves but nothing caught his eye. He had always been rather picky and indecisive when it came to shopping. He felt a pang of guilt; he wasn't going to pay for any of this, and yet he had the nerve to call it shopping? Great, he had been in the gang for five minutes and already he was losing it.
There were several crystals that looked tempting, and a lovely Tiger's Eye necklace, but he decided against them. They were too simple and too common. No, he wanted something enchanting, something odd, something extraordinary and beautiful; a truly exquisite piece of art. That's what he wanted.
But he couldn't find anything.
After another twenty minutes, he groaned irritably and stretched his arms above his head. In doing so, he ended up disturbing a low-hanging spider web, the insect darting out and crawling up to his shoulder. Its spindly legs made his skin crawl.
Startled, he cried out and hurriedly flicked his hands in all directions. Then he bumped into the nearest shelf, tipping over one of the jars and causing it to smash on the floor. The squelchy thing inside flopped about for a while before rolling under a loose floorboard, leaving a sort of trail as it went.
Mildly grossed out, Deidara stumbled back, hitting the wall behind him.
It caved in and he gave a muffled shriek as he fell backwards into another compartment.
He coughed violently due to the clouds of dust that surrounded him and waved his hands to clear the area. Then he looked up.
His jaw dropped slightly.
In that single moment, he knew what he had come in for.
It had been placed upon a sort of podium, covered by a large glass case. It reminded Deidara of a cheap fortune-telling machine, the kind you found at the carnival.
This thing certainly wasn't cheap though.
In fact, it was the most gorgeous porcelain doll he had ever seen and, unlike the rest of the room, there was not a single speck of dust anywhere near it. It looked brand-new.
Apparently Chiyo did care enough to clean certain things.
Mesmerised, he stood and wandered up to it, placing a greedy hand on the glass. He longed to touch it.
It had been crafted to resemble a young boy, almost life-sized, and a little younger than himself. The detail was extraordinary.
He had a somewhat rounded face shape but this didn't hinder his appeal. On the contrary, it somehow increased his charm. It made him seem playful and innocent, two qualities Deidara found it difficult to resist.
He had a short mop of crimson hair, the red curls descending to just below his ears and brushing his eyebrows. It seemed far too good to be synthetic; after all, what kind of material was that soft and vivid? Nothing like that could ever be purchased in a shop.
And the eyes…oh those eyes...
Deidara bit his bottom lip.
They were large, shiny, mocha in colour, and peered out from ludicrously long eyelashes. They seemed to be permanently set in bedroom mode, and were almost…suggestive? It was weirdly pleasing; this being was childlike in every other way, yet the eyes were so seductive and mischievous, as if they held something altogether darker.
All in all, everything about him was utterly flawless; from his clear, milky skin, and perfect lips, to the miniature Victorian outfit he was wearing.
As if in a trance, Deidara reached out and lifted the glass away. He then brought the doll into his arms, sitting on the floor and cradling it close to his chest. It was light and comfortable to hold.
A warm smile spread across his face, though he could not think why. He just had the sudden urge to laugh and sing. He wanted to dance and giggle, and prance around without any clothes on. He felt the colour rush to his cheeks. Alright, perhaps that was taking it a little too far, but he still felt absolutely delighted for some reason.
He stroked the doll's rosy cheek and marvelled at how smooth the surface was. It was like silk. He sort of wanted to give it a hug.
Whoever had made this figure had been very skilled.
He turned it over, hoping to find some sort of name or logo that would tell him the creator's identity.
But he found nothing.
Nothing, that is, but a short inscription on the back of the neck. It was very small and slightly marred, making it hard to decipher.
All he could make out was a single word.
Noroi
He scowled. Though his school wholeheartedly encouraged the learning of languages, he had never taken an interest. The only ones he had ever had the option to learn were Spanish and French, and this word was definitely not of French or Spanish origin. Not as far as he knew, anyway. No, this word sounded Japanese or Chinese, or maybe even Korean? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't English.
'Hurry up! We're waiting for you, fucker!'
Deidara blocked out Hidan's voice and trailed his thumb over the word again, as though that would help him understand it better.
Suddenly, movement was heard from upstairs and he snapped back to reality. He looked up and gulped; footsteps could be heard, along with the tap of a walking stick. The vibrations resulted in more dust falling from the ceiling.
'Get out! Get out of my house!' shrieked a voice.
It was Chiyo. The old woman had finally awoken from her slumber.
'Leg it!' barked Pein.
The teenagers all made a dash for the window, their arms laden with stolen treasures and glittering riches.
Panicking, Deidara also made a break for it, taking the doll with him. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and he could barely breathe. The shelves of knickknacks had suddenly transformed into an impossible maze and the air had become that much hotter and thicker.
By the time he reached the exit, Chiyo was upon him. She grabbed hold of his wrist and yanked him back inside the building. Her grip was powerful despite her age, and Deidara cried out in both pain and terror.
He braced himself, ready to be scolded, or worse, beaten.
But as soon as Chiyo saw the redheaded doll pressed against his chest, she paused.
Then she simply let him go.
Deidara was stunned.
She had caught him stealing; why wasn't she beating the crap out of him? Why wasn't she lunging for the nearest phone to call the police? Why, above all else, wasn't she trying to take the doll back?
Tears welled in her misty eyes, the corners of which crinkled as though she were about to cry. 'I'm…so sorry,' she whispered. 'You're so young…'
Deidara has no idea how to respond to that. What the fuck was she going on about?
It didn't make any sense.
'Deidara! Deidara, are you alright? Hurry up, honey!'
The faint voice of a concerned Konan drifted through the window.
Whatever. He had no more time to think things over; he needed to leave. He gave Chiyo one last glance before hopping over the windowsill, the doll still held tightly in his clutches. Its red hair bounced up and down with the movement and the lacy ruffles of its jacket fluttered in the night air.
As he looked back over his shoulder, he saw Chiyo watching him. She grew smaller and smaller with distance down the hill, until she was merely a blur, and then nothing at all.
He came to a stop at the foot of the hill, out of breath and rattled beyond belief. He keeled over, panting heavily.
Then he realised something. Frantically, he searched the doll. The thought of it getting scratched or broken was unbearable. In fact, his concern for the model completely eclipsed the pain of his own injuries; he had scratched his calf on the sharp edge of the windowsill.
He was oblivious to the number of odd looks he was receiving.
'Dude, what the hell?' said Hidan, giving the doll a wary glance. 'You finally get out of there and all you can bring with you is a sex toy?'
Now, ordinarily Deidara would have taken this insult quietly, so as to avoid further humiliation. After all, he wouldn't want to make himself look like a fool. At most he would blush and mutter something rude. But this particular comment wasn't directed at him; it was directed at his porcelain beauty and for some unknown reason, this made him furious.
'Shut the hell up, you ignorant bastard, un!' he hissed.
The group fell into a stunned silence. Even Itachi raised an eyebrow at the little outburst.
Never before had they seen Deidara act so aggressively.
Hidan stared at the blonde with wide eyes, blinking every now and then. Then he broke into a broad grin. 'I taught you well, fucker!' he said, ruffling Deidara's hair a little. 'Don't take shit from no one, buddy. I'm fucking proud of ya.'
This encouraged everyone else to come out of their awkward stupor, and they all began to congratulate Deidara on his first successful theft. Well, all except Itachi; he remained apathetic.
Pein gave his approval with a single nod. 'Well done,' he said, simply. 'Consider yourself one of us.'
Hidan gave an insane cackle and draped one of his arms over Deidara's shoulders. He moved to do the same to Kakuzu with his other arm, but the miser blocked it with a testy; 'Do it and it comes off.'
Hidan jerked his arm back and kissed his teeth in annoyance. 'Fine,' he said, turning back Deidara. 'Just me and you in the bro club, eh?'
Deidara smiled and nodded. He liked the feeling of acceptance. Itachi could send him as many dirty looks as he wanted; he didn't care anymore. He had won his place, he had his doll.
Wait a moment.
He scowled.
Why did the doll play such a big part in making him happy? True, it did seem valuable, and it was nice to look at, but he had only just obtained it. Why did he already feel so attached to it? It wasn't as if he had owned it for years. He had owned it for ten minutes.
And what did Noroi mean? He would have to Google it when he got home.
All these unanswerable questions were still floating around inside his head as he followed the others to the nearest takeaway shop. It turned out that Kisame had won the game with a jewel-encrusted tiara. Fortunately, he was one of the nicer guys, so he offered to buy everyone pizza as a form of celebration.
The place was almost empty. The people at the counter seemed so pleased to finally have customers that they didn't give a shit if one of them was holding a crowbar.
Deidara sat next to the window, looking out at the full moon. His doll was propped up beside him in a seat of its own.
As he bit into his slice of Hawaiian pizza, he couldn't help but wonder about the name of the figure. Did it even have one? Or would he have to give it one? Maybe it was part of the small inscription on the back of its neck…
'That thing is fucking creepy, dude,' said Hidan, shamelessly littering crumbs everywhere as he spoke. 'You gonna burn it or what?'
'Absolutely not, un,' said Deidara, running his fingers through the soft, red locks. 'It's too good to burn. I'm gonna keep it.'
'Where?'
'In my room-'
'Fuck that! No way will you be able to sleep with that son of a bitch staring at you.'
'I think it's cute, hm...'
'It looks like a collector's item,' interjected Kakuzu. He leaned over, using an elbow to prop himself up. 'If that's the case, I'll pay a pretty penny for it.'
Deidara held the doll closer to him, suddenly very protective. 'No, un.'
'Why not-'
'Leave it, Kakuzu,' said Itachi. He had asked for sweets instead of pizza and, because Kisame had a soft spot for him, he was now happy chewing away at a couple of strawberry laces. He basically lived on sugar. 'If he can't get any real friends, at least let him have a plastic one-'
'Porcelain, un!' hissed Deidara, indignantly.
Itachi gave him a sidelong glance, a strawberry lace hanging out of his mouth. 'Do I look like I give a crap?'
'Shut up-'
'Everyone, calm the fuck down!' interrupted Pein. 'Listen to yourselves! You're arguing over a toy! If Deidara wants to keep it, it's up to him. End of discussion.'
The teens grumbled under their breath but said no more about it. The last thing they wanted was to rub Pein the wrong way. Eventually Konan shifted the subject to homework, none of which anyone had completed. None of them gave a flying fuck about light refraction and telescopes.
Deidara sat with the doll on his lap, listening to the discussion. He whispered softly to it, like a child would. 'Don't worry, hm. I won't get rid of you.'
The figure simply stared back at him.
But, as Deidara turned to join in conversation, something flashed across its glossy brown eyes.
I'm a horror fanatic; it needed to be done, man. XD I have quite a few ideas for this, and I really do hope you guys like them. :)
Sasori really does make a cute doll, but poor Dei shouldn't judge on appearances. XD
Reviews are always appreciated, but no flames please. Love you all, and I hope you have a lovely day/night. :3