Chapter 1 Unrequited Danger
If you were torn apart from that person, would you be able to go on smiling?
If that one were to die tomorrow, how would you face the world without them?
Would one word ever sum up what you burn to say to them in that last moment?
Would a thousand words be enough?
A thousand heart beats?
A thousand breaths?
1000 words
The teens milled around in the classroom and it was alive with chatter and various excited screeches from the girls. It was a brand new year and they were now all out of compulsory schooling. The boys were all talking in a corner, some leaned against the wall and others sat on top of desks, all were discussing girls they'd try to take to the up and coming festival. A girl with brown, frizzy hair in pigtails walked in looking like she'd slept in the uniform for days.
"Hey Nono-chan!" a smirking boy yelled across the room just as she'd walked in. She turned her big brown eyes on him with a bored expression clear on her face. "You going to the festival with anyone yeah?" His smirking face got on her nerves and she couldn't stand the pathetic pretty boy.
"I'll be sure to put you on the list, right after the dirt on my shoe," she said giving a sickly sweet smile. The smirk on the boy's face vanished immediately.
"Whey!" the boys all shouted as one.
"Gutted!" two of them yelled shoving his chair as they went by and the two made their way over to the frizzy haired girl. "Hey Nono-chan!" they both yelled as the pulled chairs up to her desk and sat on them backwards.
"The latest on the street-"
"Is that you shot someone," the other said finishing the sentence. Both twins were identical, right down to the last crease on their shirts. Both were tall and gangly, their hair was long, black and tied back in a ponytail, their eyes were almost the same colour as their hair they were so dark, but each of their eyes had a cheeky twinkle in.
"I wasn't aware that you could shoot someone with an invisible gun," Nozomi said raising an eyebrow. The twins smirked, they loved seeing her reaction to rumours going around, she wasn't like other girls who would go off in a moody strop but Nozomi would just make everything seem funny. "So, are you two going to this twat fest?" she asked.
"Language Nozomi!"
"But we are going," one said.
"Who with?" Nozomi asked interested.
"Iida-chan."
"Abe-chan." They both seemed really pleased with the girls they'd managed to get and Nozomi nodded her approval.
"Alright you scallywags, to your places," the teacher said. It was rare in their school in Japan that they would have a foreign teacher but they did. "I'm your teacher this year." The boys high-fived each other, they liked this teacher, he was old and English but one of the coolest teachers you would meet. He had some thin white hair and a little beard to match; he usually donned an Indiana Jones style hat. "Come here you," he said and pointed to the boy Nozomi had talked to earlier.
"Deidara," the boy said as his bright blue eyes flickered towards the teacher.
"Right you, you're going to be on of the class representatives," he said. "I would like you to pick one of your fellows in this class to be your other representative." Deidara pointed to another boy who was his close friend and who had a shock of messy red hair. "No!" the teacher said and smacked him around the back of the head with a newspaper. "A female you numpty!" Deidara frowned and Nozomi was at the back of the class with her chair leaning against the wall, she wore a smirk. Deidara glanced around the class, some of the girls rearranged themselves rather conveniently to portray their best angle and then his eyes fell on Nozomi who was picking at her short nails.
"Nono-chan," he said smirking just as she had been a second before.
"What?!" she asked wide-eyed.
"Nozomi it is, right well you two lead a discussion on the up and coming class song contest then," the teacher said and walked out of the room. Nozomi walked to the front glaring at Deidara like she wanted him to suffer in the worst way possible. Deidara glanced sideways at Nozomi and she glared at him, he rocked backwards and forwards on his heels 'grinning like the stupid fucking clown he is!' Nozomi thought bitterly.
"Right then, we need a conductor first off," Nozomi said.
"I think one of the class representatives should do that," a girl said smirking at Nozomi who raised an eyebrow. This girl she knew was a Lolita and the Lolitas considered Nozomi to be beneath them as a gyaru, Nozomi thought that they were snobby, pathetic, whiny children.
"Who has any objections to Nono-chan being the class conductor yeah?" Deidara asked smirking at Nozomi. "Right well then, Nozomi you are the conductor yeah," he said grinning at her now and she glowered.
"Well then, what about the song? Any of you idiots got any ideas?" The class had already gone back to reading magazines, talking and listening to music, they gave a slight murmur.
Nozomi sat herself in a seat at lunch with the twins and looked harassed as they both looked up. As soon as she opened her lunch and the twins opened their mouths, Deidara was suddenly right by them and Nozomi started grinding her teeth in annoyance. "Just piss off!" Nozomi yelled standing up and facing him. Her yell had silenced the whole room as her and Deidara looked at each other. The tall muscular blonde facing the small skinny brunette.
"I am just trying to make friendly banter with my fellow representative yeah," he said innocently.
"Well I don't want to talk to you," Nozomi retorted.
"Why not yeah?" Deidara said pouting. This was the wrong move in Nozomi's eyes because to her it was almost like his smug and perfectly manufactured face was inwardly laughing at her.
"Because you're a stupid pretty boy who is shallower than a toddler's paddling pool." The room erupted in laughter, apart from Deidara's circle who glared at Nozomi. Nozomi looked like an urchin next to the clean-cut, well dressed and smooth talking Deidara in front of her, but this time wit had got her one step ahead in the game.
"Nozomi, Nozomi, Nozomi," Deidara said slowly. Nozomi stood her ground as she clutched on to the table and the back of the chair her non existent nails scraping their surfaces. "No-one can resist talking to me yeah." Nozomi let out a false laugh.
"Well seeing as most of the girls in this school are drugged up and I am not I would say that I can see your true self which creates a potential barrier." Nozomi brushed passed him quickly and he turned around, he was stunned no girl ever, ever did that to him! He was the one they all swooned over not verbally bashed! Nozomi stopped at the door and half turned to look at Deidara, she smirked and went to blow a kiss at him but instead changed it in to a rather rude gesture and walked out.
Deidara turned back round with his fists clenched and glared at the twins who grinned at him.
"Come back here Deidara," a girl said patting the seat next to her. Deidara's eyes flickered to the girl who had styled jet black hair. Deidara had never really liked her; they'd only started dating because she'd looked highly attractive when he wore his beer goggles. Deidara leant back in his chair and put his legs up on the table as he just stared blankly at the door Nozomi had just walked out of, the girl next to him pouted and looked at him moodily. "Why were you talking to her anyway?" she asked eyeing Deidara suspiciously.
"Because he has the right to," Sasori said flicking through a magazine and not looking up. The girl glared at Sasori, he didn't much like her either, a whiny little annoyance who was always late because she always had to finish 'perfecting' her hair and he'd lost hours of his life waiting with Deidara for her, usually he left because she was just a liability.
"But she's like a homeless person," the girl whispered. "I mean honestly, have you seen her?" The girl looked pointedly at the door. "I know for one that Deidara is very fussy about hair aren't you Deidara?" she said stroking his arm. Sasori looked up and saw Deidara tense as he fought the urge to throw the annoying girl out of the window. Deidara was thinking that if she didn't let go of him soon he would throw her out of the window and wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. Sasori knew that Deidara acted rashly when he was angered, annoyed, stressed….. well quite a lot of the time really. Sasori got up to leave from the table and Deidara's eyes flickered towards him and then taking Sasori's lead rose too. "Shall I come too?" she asked rising.
"No," Deidara said simply and walked away but she followed.
"But Deidara-kun-" Deidara whipped around and Sasori moved himself so that he was in between them. He didn't think it wise for Deidara to go around killing people at school, more importantly there were too many witnesses around. Deidara's fists clenched as he glared at her, she'd been annoying him since day one.
"Just piss off yeah," he spat and walked away.
"Stupid bitch," Deidara said as he leant against the wall of the school.
"She has a point though," Sasori said plainly. Deidara looked at his red headed companion questioningly. "You're too out of her league for you to even spare her a glance, if you keep being an idiot then you'll become a laughing stock," Sasori snapped.
"Well I can't help it now that she's my fellow rep yeah," Deidara said coolly.
"Which was your fault if I remember correctly?" Deidara rolled his eyes. He didn't like it when Sasori reprimanded him, he never liked being reprimanded actually but he looked up to Sasori and Sasori was never wrong which is why Deidara listened to him. Suddenly they heard the revving of a motorbike's engine and they both turned in the direction of the loud sound and both ran over to the metal railings. The leather cladded person swung their legs over and they walked over to the pair. As they slid their helmet off blue hair that shone in the sun slid out and revealed that the biker was in fact a woman who had a piercing below her lip.
"We're calling an emergency meeting tonight," she said as her black painted lids blinked slowly.
"Why?" Deidara asked quickly. The woman and Sasori were both looking at each other with an understanding.
"Hidan has gone over," she said calmly. "We need to decide whether to go after him or not, I can't say much more and it seems like I've attracted enough attention as it is. Make sure you're there," she said grimly before sliding her helmet back on. The engine of the bike revved again and the woman sped away with great speed as she zipped in and out of the cars.
Sasori and Deidara were walking across the school yard in their uniforms just like the others, but looking like they were on a catwalk girls turned as they walked passed but both ignored all of them. Suddenly a girl stepped in front of Deidara and he stopped, the pair looked at the girl who was much smaller than them as were most of the girls.
"Why were you horrible to Aika-chan?" she asked glaring up at Deidara.
"Because she pisses me off yeah," he said simply and pushed her out of his way. They both walked passed the girl who couldn't believe that they'd just done that. The thing that annoyed Deidara about girls was that they always thought about things too much. Deidara and Sasori were the favourites among the girls but they got so entranced by their features that their perception of Deidara and Sasori's personalities became warped in to something Deidara and Sasori were not. Neither had ever been truly affectionate to any girl at all, they'd either been blindly drunk or been just in it for one thing and one thing only. When any girl found out that Deidara and Sasori weren't their vision of perfection they'd go nuts and treat Deidara and Sasori like it was their personal fault, when Deidara and Sasori had done nothing but be themselves.
Deidara was slumped in a chair at the back of a maths class, the room was stiflingly hot, he'd even opened the top couple of buttons on his shirt. Deidara glanced over to Nozomi who was staring out the open window and not paying the slightest bit of attention to the teacher or the twins who were flicking bits of rubber at each other. Deidara quickly flicked his eyes back to the front. Sasori had forbidden any kind of relationship with her and anyway she was just a mere urchin girl who probably never washed. Wasn't she? Deidara felt a slight uneasiness, but no matter, he'd quash anything he felt for her, it would be easy. His eyes like magnets were drawn back to her. In the sunlight streaming in through the window Nozomi's eyes looked almost hazel and Deidara couldn't help but look. Nozomi felt someone's eyes watching her and turned her head quickly to glare at the person who dared look at her so intently. But when she turned she couldn't see anyone looking, or turning their heads away to hide the fact that they had been. Nozomi scowled at the room in general, and slowly turned back to the window, watching out of the corner of her eye for a few minutes before relaxing again. Deidara had turned his head back quickly when hers had started to turn; he was just looking at her unusual eyes that was all. Ugly, horribly muddy brown eyes……. and, and….. and they sparkled and were usually the perfect colour of a rich brown chocolate. Nope, Deidara was just admiring that she had one good feature going for her, nothing else! Not even those freckles that were flecked on to her tanned skin that reminded him of little smiley girls. But nope he would not look at her anymore; he wasn't so stupid as to risk her or Sasori catching him looking at her. Deidara stretched his arms and legs as he rearranged himself in his chair, he needed to keep his muscles and joints active otherwise they got stiff because he was so tall.
Sasori and Deidara were walking towards the school gates with a calm unconcern as people rushed to get home but all making sure they didn't bash in to Deidara or Sasori.
"We should go straight there," Sasori murmured to Deidara.
"Konan-sama could've given us a lift but oh no yeah," Deidara muttered in annoyance.
"Stop your moaning Deidara, we'll just get a taxi," Sasori said trying to calm Deidara down. There were many routes they could've taken to get to the meeting place but they weren't stupid enough to walk through enemy gang territory. The buses were too low class for them to even consider so a taxi was their safest bet.
"God, that fucking bastard yeah! I will kill him when I get my hands on him," Deidara whispered angrily. Sasori nodded in agreement as they slipped inside of a taxi they'd flagged down.
"Remember, you can't act until you're told to, but he's caused a lot of trouble and now we're in danger of him leaking information," Sasori said seriously and Deidara glanced out of the window that showed the city flying passed.
"I wonder why that money laundering berk didn't stop Hidan yeah," Deidara asked Sasori who was drumming his fingers against the plastic interior below the window.
"I don't know but Hidan and Kakuzu are a fairly equal match, anything could've happened," Sasori's toneless voice was starting to put Deidara on edge slightly.
The heavens had started to open as a storm unleashed its wrath upon the city below. The rain pounded the metal roofs of the warehouses that stood around the dark, dank yard. Puddles of immense size were forming in the chunks of tarmac that had been taken away by the pounding of many heavy machines. Deidara keyed in the number in to the electronic pad and then put a key in to confirm access, the warehouse dwarfed Deidara and Sasori, the cold metal face towering above them. The door started to judder upwards and the gap started increasing as it was pulled up and across the roof. Deidara and Sasori ducked slightly to get in and then closed the door again as the metal juddered down they walked further and further in to the gloom. There was a distant sound of dripping which was from a leak; the water ran in a small stream from the roof and down the wall where mould had spread.
"Finally," a man said as he stepped out of the gloom and a lamp flicked on. The light lit up the small circle of people who were stood among the boxes, crates and dead bodies of rats. Deidara and Sasori stopped and bowed to how their leader respect and he inclined his head as well.
"Kids," a man muttered with a deep, gravely voice. He was mostly in shadow and sitting on a pile of boxes.
"Shut up Kakuzu," Deidara spat. "We have school to attend to as well yeah." Deidara glared at him.
"Deidara," Sasori growled as Deidara stepped towards Kakuzu and at Sasori's growl he stepped back beside him.
"Now that you've calmed down," Pein said with a slight toughness in his voice.
"Late last night Kakuzu and Hidan were on a mission in dangerous enemy territory and were attacked from all sides," he said. Deidara frowned; Kakuzu and Hidan were a match for any rival gang even on their own. "Unluckily Hidan had a different mission in mind from Kakuzu and showed that his allegiance lay with someone else. Konan was in the area and spotted Kakuzu in the midst of them, they now had Hidan who strengthened their forces. Konan helped Hidan to get away with her quickly and there were only minor injuries," Pein finished.
"Now we know who was behind the raid last month." This man had dark hair and a calm, impassive face.
"Indeed, we can't just leave the situation as it is I think you all agree on that."
The lights were flickering in the dingy corridor as Nozomi stepped inside the rundown block of flats. Water dripped from every tip of her body, her hair had gone straight again and she now resembled a panda….. a rather wet panda. She traipsed through the corridor and passed an old woman in a torn, stained and faded kimono, the woman had her lank greasy hair hanging around her shoulders. The old woman was shuffling and muttering something to herself; Nozomi hurried passed quickly. The stairs had been worn down by decades of occupants that had lived in the flats; the dirt on every shoe had been worn in to the floor. A light was half hanging from the ceiling, the sparks making the dim light flicker even more in the corridor as it hissed and crackled. Nozomi ran up more flights of stairs quickly until she got another couple of floors where her family lived.
Nozomi pushed the door open and it creaked, she poked her head around just to double check that her mother wasn't right in front of it. She closed the door quickly and set her back down in the little front corridor. Nozomi went over to a door and was about to open it when she heard a giggle and drew her hand back like the handle would burn her. Nozomi was about to turn and go away when the door was flung open.
"Nozomi!" her mother screeched with laughter. She was a short woman who was very slender, but definitely had curves so to speak. A grey bikini top was stretched over her chest and some jeans that hung very low around her slightly protruding hip bones. A man wad draped around her mother, he looked unshaven and had a cigarette between his lips. "You surprised me! Ryuu and I were just going out." She dragged Ryuu who was smirking over to the doorway and dragged him through it. Before Ryuu slammed the front door shut she caught a glimpse of him smacking her on her round bum and her screeching.
"Whore," Nozomi muttered.
"Yo Nono." Nozomi spun around to see her sister leaning against the door frame at looking at her as if she wasn't there.
"Hi Maki," Nozomi said lazily. Her sister was tall and lanky, her eyes were naturally hazel, although she also had Japanese features. Her trousers were tucked in to some leather boots, she'd clearly just come back as Nozomi spotted her long purple jacket slung over the door handle. Maki handed Nozomi a beer and lit a cigarette, she blew a puff of smoke in to the already dingy, clouded light.
"How's the hell hole?" Maki asked sitting down on the floor of the room she shared with her sister. Maki had an aura about her which wasn't explainable but everyone knew she wasn't someone you wanted to cross.
"Boring as ever," Nozomi said as she opened the can. Maki exhaled a cloud of smoke and tapped the ashes in to an ash tray on the floor.
"Anyone interesting in your class?" she asked. "Any men take your fancy?" she asked Nozomi smirking.
"Nah, they're all gits," Nozomi said taking a large gulp of her beer. "That stupid Deidara making me class rep, I'll bloody murder him," Nozomi muttered under her breath.
"What?" Maki asked quickly and looked up.
"Oh this guy in my class who is a total dick mad me-"
"I know that dipshit! Who is he?" Nozomi frowned and drew back slightly as her sister leant forward.
"Just some guy," Nozomi said looking at her sister as though she'd gone mad.
"No! His name!" Maki said smacking Nozomi round the head. Nozomi rubbed her head and pouted, glaring at her sister.
"Deidara, why?" Nozomi asked. She was now wondering if Deidara was some kind of top criminal 'Yeah as if!' Nozomi thought. Maki got up quickly and opened a rolled up map and spread it out on the bed.
"Do you know what this is Nozomi?" Maki asked as her hands held down each side of the map, she bit the cigarette whilst talking.
"A map of Tokyo?" she asked tentatively.
"Not just any map you dimwit! Look at the lines!" Maki yelled pointing to one whilst still clutching the map and Nozomi shook her head in confusion. "They're gang territory markings," she said looking at Nozomi. "This is Hawk's territory," she said pointing to an area that was surrounded by a purple pen and had different coloured dots in. "This over here is the Akatsuki's territory." Maki glanced at Nozomi who was staring at the map. "Hawk and Akatsuki are the biggest criminal gangs in Tokyo, we both have links everywhere. Your school though," Maki pointed to the symbol that marked a school. "Is right in the middle of our territory and if this indeed is the Deidara I'm thinking of, well, he needs to be dealt with," she said smirking evilly.
"I can't imagine that loser in a gang," Nozomi said shaking her head.
"Deidara isn't a common name," Maki said. The light made her look threatening and the rough gang member inside her seemed to leer out of the gloom. "If it is indeed him," Maki said sitting back down on the floor with her usual lazy expression. "Don't go anywhere near him."
It was night and Nozomi was lying on a bed that she shared with her sister in their tiny room. She heard a rap on the front door; her mother hardly ever came back this early so it couldn't have been her. Nozomi's eyes opened slightly and she raised her head just a fraction so she could hear what the people were saying. The door was slightly a jar and she saw a man move in front of her door, he was tall and his hair had an almost silvery white quality to it. Nozomi saw the high cheekbones of a woman as well who had the man's arms around her waist.
"So?" the man asked expectantly.
"My sister told me that your lot have someone in our territory," Maki said stiffly.
"Deidara and Sasori," the man said quickly. "What of it wench?" he asked her. Nozomi saw her sister glower at the man who's profile Nozomi could now see. The man's head was tilted up slightly, he gave off the air of arrogance and his eyes were a very light colour.
"They shouldn't be in our territory and we know that they'll be looking for you," Maki hissed. The man considered her for a while, the woman who he was holding looked like she was getting bored.
"The Akatsuki are made up of a lot of kids, but I don't think you should underestimate them," Hidan said gravely. "See ya wench!" Hidan said slamming the door.
"Nono-chan," Deidara said walking along side her as she walked through the gates. Nozomi walked faster and Deidara frowned as he widened his stride, unluckily his legs were much longer than hers.
"Piss off," Nozomi muttered as she hurried over to the twins who were waiting next to the lockers. Deidara was annoyed, every time that school week he'd tried to talk to her she'd just refused point blank to. Maybe she liked him after all? Deidara had his doubts; Nozomi wasn't won over as easily as other girls might be. Deidara had never had problems getting the girl he wanted for whatever reason it might be, heck he'd had more girls than he'd washed his clothes! Deidara had always been used to getting his own way and like a spoilt child he wasn't going to stop. Deidara felt something vibrate against his leg and jumped because his mind hadn't been on anything but Nozomi. He opened his phone read the message. Deidara glanced at the school, he'd try again tomorrow, there was no point rushing it and harassing her further. Deidara turned on the spot and walked calmly back through the school gates.
"Hey!" Deidara yelled running up to Konan who was stood by some metal railings. Deidara's school bag was swinging at his side and his long hair streaming behind him. "Why did you call me out of school yeah?!" Deidara asked angrily. They never pulled him out of school! They never did because it would arouse suspicion to his whereabouts. Konan didn't say anything but dragged him by his arm roughly. She took him inside the yard where the warehouses were and Deidara could see a huge fire raging in front of their base and his eyes widened in shock. The fire must've been about ten foot high! Deidara rushed about with the others as they tried to put it out. The collected water from puddles and they smothered the fire with various materials about the yard. "Fucking hell yeah!" Deidara yelled as the fire extended its horrible, clawing arm out to Deidara. If their warehouse was destroyed then important documents, objects and substances would be destroyed and there was explosive material in there! They couldn't risk the fire getting anywhere near the warehouse! The fire roared like some terrible beast from hell and they all were starting to beat the fire back. The beast within seemed to roar in pain as it was defeated.
Deidara wiped his sweating brow with the back of his hand as the charcoal ground smoked. Deidara's face was slightly blackened, as was his hands. He sat on the ground just looking at the smoking pile in front of him and then he looked up at the warehouse in front of him. Dorbed on the front, in four foot high lettering were the words 'GET OUT OF OUR TERRITORY!' Now Deidara came to stand up and properly look at the smouldering, charcoal mass it was in the shape of something. It was in the shape of a bird of prey's head.
"Hawks, no doubt about it," Pein said flatly. "I want everyone to get their connections on to this before the police even get a sniff of what is going on. I want this place clean and no trace is to be left here to be found. Deidara and Sasori." Deidara looked up at his leader as did Sasori to Deidara's left. "We know now that your school is in their territory-"
"But-" Deidara started and Pein held up a hand to quieten him.
"I am not going to ask you to leave the school; in fact I want you to stay there. No-one should've known who you were, there's clearly someone within your school that has some relation to them. I want you to find them and manipulate that person to your advantage." Pein waited for each one to react. The wind whistled through the yard, Sasori just nodded with his face as impassive as ever and Deidara smirked as the sadistic criminal inside him roared its approval.