Room with No View
written by A. E. Stover
this version was lasted edited March 13th, 2013 by yours truly
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Originally written for the LiveJournal writing community, Write Dattebayo!, this first-person introspective piece told in two parts; may be confusing and odd due to the lack of clarity in explaining and to writing style. Though, it's not very difficult to grasp if you're familiar with the stream-of-consciousness style.
And as this piece is rated K+, I've tamed down Hidan's language immensely (you might not recognize him, in fact). But his appearance is short-lived, so you needn't worry about him too much.
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—ROOM WITH NO VIEW—
whiteout
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I blink my eyes and suddenly, he materializes a short distance ahead of me.
It doesn't really happen in an instant; it's more of a… a thing where the image of the person starts off as vague and transparent before becoming more and more solid and real. I don't like the guy, I really, really don't, but he's the only person that I've seen coming here that I can say I really know. The other guys who've come here…
Well, never mind about the other guys.
He stands there, looking around his new world in a daze before settling his eyes on mine. He stares at me blankly for a while before greeting me. "Hello," he says, like he's unsure. 'Fancy meeting you here,' I add for him. Only, he wouldn't say something like that. That's not proper for someone like him; it's juvenile.
My brow creases together and I feel the corners of my lips turn down. I'm glaring and I don't really know why. Am I angry? Not really. There's no point anymore; at least, there's no point in anger here, in this strange world we're in. And this isn't really the time for me to stay upset with him, because he might have seen my someone. I might even have seen his someone. Who knows? Quid pro quo, was it? Yeah, I think it was.
So the glare on my face lets up and I give this sigh, like I'm preparing myself to explain something profound in kid-terms, and start to walk forward. That's when he tries approaching me and stumbles a bit.
I should've warned him not to do that; your sense of balance tends to be… sort of non-existent the first time you're in a whiteout. It's hard to be aware of where you are relative to where everything else is, if there even is anything else out here. For example, I don't know if my next step forward will land on even ground or if it'll make me plummet through to another white void. I can't see anything but white in front of me. There are no shadows, no horizon line; nothing but an explosion of white.
I see that he's decided to stay put. Smart guy. He's always been a smart guy.
I'm standing in front of him in a few seconds, and the first words out of my mouth are: "How'd you die?" Eloquent, I know.
He narrows his eyes for a moment before looking around him again. "This is… hell?"
Oh, how cute. You think you're in hell? I scoff at him. "Is this what you imagined hell to be?"
He doesn't answer me and just gives me a blank look. Then, he says, "I shouldn't be here," with a little shake of his head, mouth twisting like he's in pain or something. Wow. So even the perfect Uchiha has regrets.
He stares at me, blankly at first, then gives a little amused huff, as if he's too tired to laugh. What the hell was he laughing for? Was he laughing at me? A familiar anger starts to burn inside of me.
"I'm far from perfect," he says, and then I realize — I've said that little"perfect" thing from before out loud, didn't I?
Far from perfect, he said. Huh. Never would've imagined him to say something like that in a thousand years, even in death. He's dead now, though, and probably why he's being so mellow. I think I like him mellow. Is this the beginning of a new friendship?
Nah.
I change the subject. "Have you seen Sasori no danna?"
He continues giving me this blank look. "I just got here."
Useless. Why are you all useless? Did I say that out loud? I don't know. I really don't care. I try asking again, differently. "Well, on your way here, then? Did you see him?"
He furrows his brow. "I… don't know. I can't remember."
Useless, useless, useless. Every single one of them, all of them. Is this white a part of their path to the conclusion of their useless existence? What a waste of life... afterlife. This is the afterlife, isn't it? I turn around and am about to leave but then he suddenly grabs hold of my arm and asks, almost in a fit of desperation;
"Have… Have you seen Sasuke… here?"
I turn my head and look at him; for real, this time. I remember his face being like a stone; a cold, hardened surface. There were times when it was like a placid lake; clear and still, but with an unknown depth — a dark abyss.
And now...?
His face was open. Exhaustion. Pain. Hope. I can see everything he's thinking, what he's not thinking — what he wants to be thinking. It's all right there on his face, in his eyes. I can see everything. He's not the same person I knew and disliked. I'm not even sure if it's the same person.
I turn around fully to answer him; he deserves that much at least. How did he die again? I feel his hand around my arm squeezing, urgently.
"Have you seen Sasuke?" he asks again.
I give him a long, hard stare. "No," I say, and I feel his hand loosen from my arm. "I haven't." His hand drops to his side. Then he smiles at me. I didn't expect that. I've never seen him smile before, and it was... surprising. But nice. I don't let him know that. I just watch as he starts to grow transparent.
"Thank you," he says to me, just before he disappears from sight.
In a moment, there's no trace of him. He's gone. I wave my hand in the space he was in just a few seconds ago, and there's nothing there.
I sigh loudly and plop down in the void, collecting my face in my hands and shaking my head. "Great. I got here first, but he gets to leave before I do. How's even that fair?"
"Nothing's ever fair."
I snap my head up and look behind me.
The man behind me stands there as if he's looking right at me.
I feel myself staring back at him.
"This sucks. I hate this stupid crap. God…"
I know who it is, but seeing him looking like that has always been weird to me. Even more so because of where this is supposed to be. "…Hidan?"
"Yeah? What. You got somethin' to say? Just say it already, I've heard it all anyway. Come on, what're you waitin' for?"
Again, my mouth opens to let eloquent words come out. "Where's your head?"
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