Week 3, Autumn
The Akatsuki sat around their usually island for lunch. Since school had started today, Zetsu had an uneasy look on his face. He was tapping his fingers on the table out of his nervousness.
Kakuzu sighed angrily. "If you have something to say, then say it. "
Zetsu bit his lip, but told them anyway. " It's been 2 years since Pein died. I think we should all move on."
Kakuzu held his breath. He didn't think Zetsu would say something like that.
The atmosphere around the table had tensed. They had all stopped eating, even Sasori and Kisame. They avoided eye contact from each other, some even looking down on to their lap as they remembered their previous Leader.
It was freshmen year when the group of friends including their Leader, Pein had banned their group together. They were like the best of friends, brothers even.
It was somewhere in April, when the remaining four members had admitted to each other that they fancied Pein. They didn't fight over it, instead they wished each other the best of luck. But by luck, Pein had fallen in love with a blue haired girl named Konan, and it seemed that Konan loved Pein too.
They dated for a while, they had even made love. But in May, Konan's parents had found out about them. Konan, coming from a rich family, was forbidden to see Pein any longer as he was from the ghettos of the town.
Konan was to move to another city and go to school there instead, but she didn't want to, yet she didn't have a choice. She had cried while telling Pein the news, her heart aching because she didn't want to leave the man she loved.
When Pein heard of the news, he was grief-stricken. The four other members tried their best to cheer him up, but it just never happened. He had gone days without eating or sleeping properly, just enough so that he could survive and be anguished over his loved one. Just as Konan was about to leave, Pein called to meet her one last time.
The next time Sasori and his friends saw him, they were too late. He was already dead. The couple had committed lovers' suicide by drowning themselves in the ocean. The police had found them a day after it happened.
Even in the face of death, Pein had a smile on his face. He was no doubt happy to be able to be with Konan for all eternity, in the afterlife.
Konan, however, wasn't smiling. But one will know she wanted this too because of her tight grip on Pein's hand and her peaceful expression.
The remaining Akatsuki members looked at them with a frown. They had a liked Pein dearly and were saddened by his death. However, they were also happy for him.
They regretted not confessing to Pein about their feelings. If they did, maybe it wouldn't have turned out that way. But who were they to say what lay ahead in the future? They could only hope that way. The death of their friend had taken a huge toll on them. They just couldn't help but think it was partially their fault. For a year they had never gotten past Pein's death. And it wasn't until recently that they had stopped mourning over him.
Kisame snapped out of his thoughts. The image of Pein and Konan that night was etched into his mind. He sighed. "Zetsu is right. It's already been such a long time."
Kakuzu nodded in agreement. They were right. The deceased can never come back no matter how much they yearned for it. He looked over to Sasori who was still reminiscing over the past.
Sasori had taken the news the worst that faithful night. His grandmother had left him earlier on that same year and then he had to deal with his crush's death. He had hated emotions ever since. They made him weak, he said, they made him vulnerable.
Sasori looked up at all of them and nodded. He knew they was no denying it He should have forgotten about the past a long time ago.
"To help us move on, let's make a bet, shall we?" Zetsu suggested.
Kakuzu quirked a brow, "What bet?"
"It's a bet that all of us will agree on; let's see who can go the furthest with the person of their choice this year." Zetsu smirked wickedly at that.
Kisame thought about it and it didn't seem such a bad idea. He would move on more easily with a goal in mind. He started thinking about who he may have feelings for. Well then, who would it be ?
Kakuzu stared at them in annoyance. He didn't like the plan, but he wasn't going to be left out on a bet. For all he knows he might win, although the chances were really slim. His love for money had won over his logic, and he wondered how he could win this bet.
Sasori didn't look so bored for once. He thought he quite liked the idea, and he knew the perfect person to play with for this. Zetsu didn't say he had to like that person, he just said someone Sasori had chosen. Sasori gave himself a pat on the back for his devious plans.
Zetsu was just trying to help his friends. He didn't really care who won, so long as his friends stop thinking about their past Leader. It was time all of them moved on, even himself.
"I suppose we're all in on this bet?" Zetsu asked. Everyone else nodded. "Alright, then who had caught your eyes?" Kuro asked.
Kakuzu just shook his head, indicating that he hasn't thought of anyone so far. Sasori and Kisame just had smirks on their faces, meaning that they have already thought of someone. "I haven't found anyone that interests me, yet." Zetsu said blandly.
The rest nodded and continued eating and chatting. They all wondered how this would play out.
Deidara sat at the lunch table staring into space. Since he sat down, he had only taken two small bites from his tray of food. He couldn't stop thinking about that sensuous red-head, Sasori.
He still couldn't figure out if Sasori was messing with him. But sometimes his mind would wander off and he'll begin to think that, what if he did like the blonde? The possibilities of the things that could do were endless. He had started to realize that he may have had a teeny crush on said red-head.
"Hidan, can you get me more food?" Itachi asked.
Hidan gave him a questioning look.
"Bring Tobi with you too." Itachi added. His expression didn't change, regardless of the way Hidan was looking at him.
"Okay? Come with me Tobi, we're going to get more fucking food to get fucking stuffed!" He dragged Tobi away with him to the queue for food. There was a look in Itachi's eye that made him comply. There was a hint of red in them, which only meant urgency. He wondered what was wrong with the ebony haired male, but didn't think too much about it. He was going to make Itachi spill later.
Back at the table, Itachi's eyes still had that glint of red in it. "Deidara, what's wrong?"
Deidara snapped out of his trance and looked around. Only Itachi and him were at that table. "Nothing, un."
"Don't lie to me, Deidara. Who were you thinking about just now?"
Deidara bit his lip. "Nobody, un."
"Deidara," Itachi warned. "We dated before, remember? I'd know that look in your eye anywhere." He continued as he voice fell into a whisper. "You have a crush, don't you?"
Deidara cursed under his breath for Itachi being able to read him so well as he felt his face heat up. He wasn't exactly sure if it was a crush. All he knew was that stupid red-head's image wouldn't stop entering his mind.
"I don't know, yeah." Deidara answered. Itachi's gaze softened a little and Hidan and Tobi made their way back. They all continued eating and chatting as per normal and this time, Deidara joined in to.
It was Tuesday and Deidara found himself trying to find the red-head all day. It wasn't because he wanted to talk to him, he just wanted to see Sasori. He couldn't stop looking for him at lunch but he wasn't at his usual table although all his friends were.
Deidara couldn't stop thinking about it. Was Sasori sick? Did he meet an accident? Was he in the hospital? Questions about Sasori bombarded his mind but yet he couldn't find a suitable answer. He was going to get a headache of this keeps up.
Hidan had football after school today. He was on his guard in case Kakuzu tried something funny. Kakuzu had steered clear of him during practice unless he needed to work with Hidan. To their dismay, their coach had said that they needed to work together more often. By the end of training, they were both exhausted and sweaty so they hit the showers.
Hidan went into the stall before Kakuzu could try anything funny. However, Hidan wasn't exactly done with Kakuzu yet, he had put itching powder on the older male's clothes and in his backpack.
Kakuzu made some plans himself. He went into the next stall and took a quick shower. He was about to exit the stall when he heard a yell. Hidan's yell to be exact.
"FUCK! Who the fuck did this? I'll kill that bastard!" He was shouting at the top of his lungs as Kakuzu smirked. He had put black dye in Hidan's shampoo. It wasn't too outrages like pink or purple, the teachers would have noticed the difference. But he thought that black would make enough impact.
He stepped out of the stall looking at Hidan with his eyebrows raised, a smug look was on his face. Hidan's face was red with anger but it started to die down as he noticed Kakuzu started searching himself. He scratched more, more, and more until Hidan started laughing. The incessant itch wasn't stopping as Kakuzu felt the need to scratch all over his body. And by all over, it included his crotch, or more specifically, his dick.
He wanted to soothe the itch real bad but he couldn't do it with Hidan there. In a few more seconds, it was getting almost unbearable! He didn't care anymore, he brought one hand to his crotch and he rubbed it through the fabric.
Hidan, who had been holding his sides while Kakuzu scratched himself like an ape, was shocked when Kakuzu started rubbing himself. Kakuzu started rubbing himself harder because of itching powder and Hidan was staring at him. Kakuzu had a mix of relief and discomfort on his face.
"What did you do to me?" Kakuzu asked in a gruff voice. There was a small blush on his cheeks that were barely visible because of his tan skin.
Hidan had his cocky grinned etched on his face. "Nothing a bit of fucking itching powder can't do."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he continued to scratch and soothe his itches. It was getting better but he'll have to put up with it until he got home.
"Consider this pay back for my hair, bastard." Hidan scowled at him. His once beautiful white hair had turned ebony black like Tobi's. It didn't look half bad, just out of character.
Kakuzu stopped his scratching and walked over to Hidan. Ignoring the annoying feeling, he slammed Hidan back against the wall, body going dangerously close to Hidan's.
"You think you can get away with this?" Kakuzu dared him to answer.
Hidan took a deep breath before taking a step forward and shouting, "So what if I do huh? You think you're so fucking great just because you're older! But you know what? I'm not fucking scared of you! So what if you're bigger than me? It doesn't mean you're any better! You think you can screw with me 'cos you want to? Well I got news for ya, you ass! You can't just do whatever to fuck you want! I won't let you!If you fuck around with me again, or else! Got that, fucker?"
He punched Kakuzu's chest a few times, making the more muscular male back away from him. Kakuzu stared at him in shock. He didn't expect Hidan to blow up like that. Hidan shoved him back with one hand and walked out of the shower room.
Kakuzu quickly exited not long after that and went home. He changed and took some time to think about what Hidan had said. No one had blew up on him like that before, no one dared to. Except one person, Pein. Pein had confronted him once and Kakuzu never forgot about that day. What Pein had said was quite similar to what Hidan had yelled at him just now, save for the vulgarities.
Kakuzu found himself smirking at the ceiling as he laid down on his bed. He was quite thick in the head in the past too. Hidan was the second person to not fear him or let him do as he pleased. Hidan was a loud mouth and good-looking too.
For once, he actually smiled a little. It brought back so many memories from when Pein was alive. He realized that Hidan possessed the qualities he had liked about Pein, and a few extra ones too. He didn't sleep much that night, he stayed up thinking of the boy in school with fuchsia eyes.
Hidan had went home straight away after the incident in the bathroom. He thought he did better than planned when he yelled at Kakuzu like that. Kakuzu wouldn't scare him, not then and not ever. He realized that Kakuzu might have hated him, but he didn't care.
He wasn't going to be picked on by Kakuzu and the Akatsuki. He wouldn't dream of it. He wasn't that pissed that Kakuzu had dyed his hair black anymore, he was sure he had gotten his point across.
However, being the hormonal teenager he was, he couldn't help but think back to when Kakuzu was rubbing his crotch. And when Kakuzu had slammed him against the wall, he could feel Kakuzu's hard on against his lower thigh because his body was so close.
Hidan was pretty sure he didn't like Kakuzu or anything. But he still couldn't sleep well with that image in his mind. He too had a restless night.
It was Friday and Kisame remembered what Zetsu had said Monday. The person he chose, huh? Kisame knew he was gay, of course. He had only fallen for two people before, Kakuzu and Pein. He only had crushes on them though.
Now, he was contemplating on whether he liked his basketball companion. Itachi had always seemed like a mystery to Kisame. He chuckled at that thought. He dismissed it as a false alarm though, he probably just wanted to befriend the raven and know him better. There was no way Kisame would like him simply because he doesn't know Itachi.
He was exhausted and wanted to get some sleep. He had lots of homework and paperwork, for the council, to do.
Sasori had stayed home most of this week, the only exception being on Monday for school since he had wood work on that day. He refused to leave his home just to come back and see it empty. It had been empty ever since two years ago, but this particular week was the week when Sasori's grandmother had left him.
He had come home that day slightly happy that he had made his first, live sized puppet in wood work on that day. He wanted to show it to her as she had been the one teaching him how to do it. He called out for his granny only to have his voice echo through the apartment. He walked over to the kitchen, where Granny Chiyo would usually be at at this time of day, but all he found was note on the fridge. What did it say? Sasori remembered it all too clearly.
I leaving, you monstrosity.
-Chiyo
At first, Sasori couldn't believe what he read. How could Chiyo, his own grandmother, say that about him? Sasori was violent, cruel, despicable even, but he was her grandson, her blooded kin. How could she leave him all of a sudden? He was still a minor and couldn't fend for himself. He felt, yes Sasori Akasuna had feelings back then, betrayed. His grandmother called him a monstrosity. She abandoned him and the only thing she could say was call him a monster?! That was all she could say to him?! Not even a single explanation? Or was her reason because Sasori was who he was?
He had never felt so outraged before. For years, she had been lying to him about his parents. They had died in a plane crash while going on a business trip and Chiyo had told him they just extended their stay. For years, Sasori had stupidly waited for them only to find out the truth after such a long time. He still forgave Chiyo though. He forgave Chiyo for making him feel so alone, so unwanted.
But compared to how he felt after reading the note on the fridge, it was nothing. He had been forsaken by the only person he trusted. The only person he expected understanding from, had left. A little bit of company and attention, were those two things really that much to ask for? Was he existence destined to be as unnecessary as he felt it be? Was his life just plain and simple redundancy?
The same thoughts were stuck in his head this week every year. Sasori would reflect on his life at this point and laugh sadistically of how pathetic he had become. He wanted to find his purpose for living in such cruel truth, but what if he didn't live long enough? And that was why he loved the word 'eternity'. He wanted to live eternally so that he could find his purpose and embrace it for as long as he lived.
It wasn't until Pein's death did he want an eternity with no emotions. No emotions meant no pain, no sorrow and no suffering. Other emotions could be sacrificed for a life without having to suffer. He had already suffered far too much to be hurt again. He was stay away from people, never asking for another's help until he had no choice. He was also determined to make other people suffer. He wanted to make them feel forsaken, unwanted, lonely and betrayed, every feeling he had remembered all too well.
He found that playing with other people's hearts with no strings attached was the best way to do it. It didn't matter to him if other people were suffering, it only made things more fair to him.
If anything, Sasori became more cruel after all this, more sadistic, more hatred brewed inside of him. But there was one thing that would never change, the ache in his heart that had always lingered after what he held dear was taken away from him. Whatever he did never took the pain away, it just seemed normal to him after two years. He started plotting his next tactic, hoping that this time, he would be able to take the pain away from his heart, even if it was just for a second.
This was just another typical week of high school drama.
Thanks to everyone who had reviewed in the last chapter xD