Chapter 2

The Kind Girl

To clear things up, the town we were headed to, was not the one on the other side of the forest, but a more distant one. It took us two days to get there. When we finally got there, I bought Sasori two things, a shirt, since he didn't have one because he couldn't wear one when he was a puppet, and a news paper.

"Read it, un," I said. "This is what we came here for, un." He read the first article and then looked at me.

"So?" he asked.

"Read the date, un,"

"August 7, 2008. Your point?" He stared at me. I smiled back. He blinked twice, then looked back at the date: August 7, 2008. I grinned an evil grin as I watched the pure confusion flood his face. He looked up me and asked "What does it mean "2008?""

"It's the year, un," I said casually. "You didn't know what the number after the day was, un? Didn't you ever go to school?" He glared at me.

"I now what it is," he said firmly. "I just don't under stand the year. It's not 2008! It's 1987!"

"No it's not, un. It's 2008. 1987 was twenty-one years ago, un. … It was also the year I was born."

I smiled. Oh, how I loved the look of his confused face. I could here him muttering under his breath: "This is not happening… This is not happening…" But it was happening. And he knew it. I interrupted his little argument with himself.

"It's been twenty-one years; the world's a lot different than you remember, un." He looked at me. "The home you knew no longer exists. You must understand, they think your dead, you can't go back now…" Technically, he could, but I wasn't going there. They've seen me there. If I were to be discovered there, I'd be killed in a heart beat. Sasori sadly looked down at the ground.

"Well then," he said, "We'll have to find a room mate to live with until we make enough money to buy our own homes." I stared at him. I wanted to slap him. Had he gone crazy? I wasn't getting a job and I wasn't buying I house! I couldn't! I didn't have any papers. I never got a full education and my birth and health papers had been destroyed by my village. "Come on," he said and started walking. I stared for a moment, and then finally ran to catch up with him. This could not possible end well.

To may surprise, we found someone in that very town who was looking for a room mate. What a weird coincidence. She was an older girl, probably just turned sixteen, living by herself. I knew this would be trouble. I hated girls. She told me that I could sleep in her guest room.

"Where's Sasori going to sleep then, un?" I asked.

"I'll figure something out," she said. Her name was Miugi. She looked nice, but looks can be misleading. She was hiding something. Not like it mattered much, I was hiding something too, something way bigger than she could be. I was an S-ranked criminal. I had killed people in high power and there was a bounty on my head. So, I knew she wouldn't guess it. Nobody would. It's completely crazy.

"So where are your parents, un?" I asked.

"They died a few years ago of cancer. But no biggie, they lived good lives." I hated it when people referred to other people as "living good lives." Why? I guess it's just because it reminds me how horrible my life's been. I'm going to hell, I just know it.

"So you inherited the house, but need a room mate to help pay some of the bills, un?"

"Yep," she replied cheerfully.

"Okay, un," I said. Then I realized that I needed to tell her something. "Miugi, un."

"Yes?" I looked out the doorway to make sure Sasori wasn't listening.

"There's something you need to know about Sasori, un…"

"Yeah?"

"He's lost some of his memory, just to let you know, just incase something ever happens, like he gets it back or something, I just wanted you to know, un." Miugi smiled.

"Okay, thanks for telling me. I take it I shouldn't talk about it to him? I get it. Thanks. But there's something I don't get about you. Why are you "un"ing?" I wanted to blast her to bits so bad. I wanted to blast her damn head off and watch her blood fly all over the room. But I resisted. Besides, I didn't have any clay with me.

"It's a habit, un," was all I was able to get through my teeth. She smiled. I wanted to smack it right off her face.

"Breakfast is at 7:00," she said. Then she left the guest room and closed the door behind her. I was furious. I wanted to know where Sasori was going to sleep. Just because he didn't love me anymore doesn't mean that I don't still love him. I was extremely protective of him. But I was also tiered, so I lied down in the unfamiliar bed and drifted off to sleep…

I was woken up by an alarm that Miugi had so kindly set for me to go off at 6:30 in the morning. Now I really wanted to kill her. But at least she was lending her home to us. I got up and found that she had laid out new clothes for me. I guess she didn't like the ones I had on. So I changed and when into the living room to find she and Sasori were already up.

"So, Sasori, where'd you sleep last night, un?" I asked. He cringed and looked at glared at me.

"My name is Sasory," he snared.

"What, un?"

"It's Sasory." He looked over at Miugi who was staring at us. I got it. He my have lost his memory, but he had enough sense to thing that his name might be known, to change it a bit.

"Got it, un," I said. "I forgot sorry, un." He looked at me awkwardly. I repeated, "Where did you sleep last night, un?" He looked at Miugi. She nodded.

"The couch," he said. He was lying. I knew he was. But I decided to try and stay on his good side so I just pretended to believe him.

"Okay, un." He shook his head and picked up a news paper and stared reading it. It was the weirdest thing for me to see him reading the paper. "What are you doing, un?" I asked.

"Looking for a job," he replied. "You should look for one too." I felt as though I was going to vomit.

"But I never finished my education, un," was my excuse. Both Sasory and Miugi stared at me.

"How come?" Sasory asked. It was a good question. The truth was that my village was blown up and I ran away. But they wouldn't believe that.

"I dropped out, un," I lied. "I was failing and I had to drop out." They stared at me.

"So you're dumb?" Miugi asked. Now I really wanted to blow her up.

"Yeah, un," I lied through my teeth. I didn't like this one bit. They stared at me, then at each other with a concerned look.

"Well then," Miugi sighed, "I guess you can stay here and clean up around the house while we're at work. I hated the idea, but with no other choice, I gave in.

"Okay, un…" Miugi smiled, then picked up a news paper and started reading. "You looking for a job too, un?"

"Nope, I already have one; I'm just reading the news." As she read, I noticed a look of nasty joy come across her face. "Thank God," she shouted.

"What, un?" I asked, very confused.

"Say's here those damn bast*rds haven't been heard from in a while," she replied. Sasory and I stared at her. I was still confused.

"Who, un?" I asked, trying to understand what in God's name she was talking about.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, probably realizing she hadn't mentioned a name, "the Akatsuki." I felt my stomach flip.

"Un?"

"You know, the Akatsuki, a group of blood thirsty, good for nothing murderers. Haven't you heard of them?" I felt as though someone had tied my intestines into a tight not.

"Y-yeah, I've heard of them, un…"

"Bunch of dirty bast*rds, don't you think?" I swallowed hard, my head was pounding.

"Y-yep, they're a bunch of bast*rds, all right, un." She smiled and went back to reading. I felt as though I was going to be sick. Tonight, I was going to wash my mouth out with soap…