Forbidden Kingdom

Zitianos

When Deidara transfers into his new school, he discovers that making friends is easier then he thought. But when he is plagued by the ghost living in his house, he finds his views on Humanity, and his very sanity, coming in to Question.

Film Noir

Deidara couldn't help but stare at the anomaly currently taking place. His mind was filled with clocks and various rumors he'd heard over the years about strange things such as this happening. That morning, he hadn't thought much of it when the clock shattered into so many tiny pieces, broken beyond all recognition. That wasn't that big of a deal. Perhaps there was a draft in his house. No problem. He could handle that.

This, however, he couldn't handle.

There was no way. Clocks weren't immune to the laws of physics.

"Help me."

The voice, low and smooth, echoed in Deidara's mind several times before he realized someone was speaking. Glancing around wildly for intruders, he couldn't help but panic. The desperation in the voice combined with the Clock Situation (and yes, that needed capital letters) was certainly taking a toll on his sanity.

"Can you hear me?"

There was that voice again.

"Who are you, un?!" He blurted out, without thinking. How was this happening? Surely if there had been a robber, he wouldn't be speaking, would he? So then, the house really was haunted? The Clock Situation earlier hadn't really bothered him - it could easily have been an accident, but this? No, something definitely messed up was going on here.

"…My name is Sasori."

Well, that said a lot. He'd never heard of anyone named 'Sasori.' Was this person really a ghost? Only one way to find out, unfortunately.

"Where are you, un?" Deidara asked, his voice almost a whisper. He liked to think that he had a good personality. He wasn't wimpy, and enjoyed going to see horror movies and the like, but seeing some special effects and actually having it happen in real life were totally different.

"…Right behind you."

White hot shivers danced down Deidara's spine, his breath short and quick. This was starting to sound exactly like a horror film gone awry. Next thing he knew, this 'Sasori' person was going to be behind him with a chainsaw, right? Of course, logic told him that he should have heard, or seen, or even sensed the person, but it seemed all kinds of logic were being uprooted today. He glanced behind him, but the only thing there was the counter, where his lonely dinner was waiting to be eaten.

"…You will not be able to see me."

Oh god.

Oh god.

There really was a ghost. No use denying it now.

"I need your help."

How was he supposed to respond to that?

'So, you're a ghost, right, un? That's pretty cool. I'd be happy to help you, un.'

Of course, he couldn't really say that, so the only thing he was able to respond with was an eloquent, "Uh…"

"Please. I'm running out of time."

"But I don't even know who you are, un!" Deidara half-shouted at the space he assumed the voice to be coming from. He couldn't take this anymore. He needed to get out. Away from this house, away from the ghost. Everything was too creepy, and he felt like he was about to get sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Grabbing his jacket, Deidara walked out of the door and down into the street. The air outside was calming, and the sight of the sunset made Deidara feel less insane. The golds and reds mixed together into a beautiful symphony of colors, only to become a cool purple in the next few minutes. He loved he sunset, it reminded him of his art. There one minute, replaced by a new image the next.

He couldn't help but smile when he realized that his lighter was still in his pocket from when he'd taken it to school earlier. Obviously he didn't smoke, but he liked to take the lighter out and flick it on and off, watching the flames flicker in and out of life. He did it out of habit, mostly. It was something for his hands to do when he had no access to clay, and it reminded him of the explosions he used with his figures.

About an hour later, when his stomach was rumbling at the thought of his now cold dinner, and the night air around him was still, he began to head home.

As he was walking, he couldn't help but notice that the girl walking in front of him had pink hair. Astonishingly familiar pink hair. He knew her from somewhere.

"Sakura!" He called out, sure that it was her. He hadn't seen her in what, five years, since they were inseparable in eighth grade (Well, she had been in sixth grade at the time, but he had been in eighth). Sakura had been one of the few people he'd managed to make friends with over the years.

The girl turned around.

"…Deidara?" She questioned, uncertain. He nodded, and she smiled. "It seems like it's been forever!" Sakura was the daughter of a very rich client of his mother's. They'd known each other since the preteen years, and because her mother was constantly over for fittings (his mother was a very well-known fashion designer), they'd seen each other practically every day.

Sakura ran up to Deidara and hugged him.

"I missed you, un. How come you disappeared off of the face of the earth? It's not nice to people who worry about you, un!" He fussed, seemingly angry, but Sakura knew with the way the he embraced her tightly, that he was extremely happy. She let go of him and stepped back, scrutinizing how he'd grown up since she last saw him.

"Like what you see, yeah?" Deidara teased, his mouth curled into a devilish grin upon noticing her stare. Punching him lightly on the shoulder, she could help but giggle at his playful attempt at flirting.

"You're so skinny, Dei. Hasn't your mother been feeding you?"

"Well, Mother's in London with a big client for the next three months. I've been feeding myself. I'm actually really good at cooking, un. You should come over for dinner sometime." The last sentence earned him another punch, but it was worth it, seeing his best friend smile like that.

"Be quiet, you. Are you going to WI also, then?" Sakura asked, twirling a bit of hair around her finger. When he nodded, she laughed. "Good. There's a few people I want you to meet. What lunch do you have?"

"Eh, I can't meet with you at lunch tomorrow, un. I agreed to sit with some people I met today. But, I can see you and your group of friends at the movies tomorrow, un, since it'll be Friday?" Sakura agreed, and they talked a little more before each heading back to their own homes.

Deidara had to exhale in relief when he returned. No ghosts named for scorpions accosted him with talk of 'help' for the rest of the night, and he was able to complete his nightly duties with relative normalcy, looking forward to tomorrow, when he'd be able to see his new friends and his best friend.

After some time had passed, Deidara had realized several things about his new 'friends.'

First, they really weren't as friendly as he'd originally thought they were. Actually, they were quite mean. The only ones who really talked to him were Konan, Hidan, and (sometimes) Kisame. Well, Tobi talked to him quite often, but it was more of Tobi talking at him than an actual conversation.

Hidan teased him unmercifully about his long hair, even going so far as to call him 'Princess Deidara.' He didn't really like talking to Hidan because of this fact.

Sometimes Deidara could hold a conversation with Kisame, but the latter's pointy razor-sharp teeth, blue skin, and odd manner kept the two from talking for too long. Kisame had this weird way of speaking in which he would often inject threats into his sentences. Deidara wasn't fond of that.

Second, they beat up other kids. Frequently. All of them were violent and prone to lashing out, even Konan, and each of them had their own issues. According to Konan, who turned out to be a reliable source of information on their classmates, they were all gathered together because they had no other place to go, and every single one of them had their own goals that they needed the others for.

Of course, Konan wouldn't tell him what the reasons were, but he got the point.

Third, they practically owned, and ran, the school. Students and teachers alike feared them, which brought about a feeling that he wasn't too familiar with. He'd never had control over so many people before, and he relished that triumph.

Deidara remembered in particular, one day when Itachi (that scumbag weasel) simply walked out of class. The teacher glanced up, about to reprimand him, but when he caught sight of who it was, he let him go, and continued teaching, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. The rest of the class never said a word about it.

Fourth, that he wasn't supposed to refer to Nagato by his given name unless he wanted his ass kicked. He was to refer to him as Pein, or he'd get punched in the face. He couldn't help but notice that everyone else called him 'Leader' and followed his every word.

Finally, they hated Sakura.

All of them.

When Deidara had announced that he was going to sit with Sakura and her friends for a day, each and every one of them turned livid.

All of them, save for Konan, had given him the cold shoulder since. For some reason, Konan stuck with him, even going so far as to join him at Sakura's table one day, where he'd taken up residence since being abandoned by his 'friends.'

It was during photography one day, about a week after they'd stopped talking to him, when he finally questioned Konan as to why they'd given him the cold shoulder.

"Konan?" He asked, as he adjusted the focus on the enlarger.

"Mm?" Konan didn't look up, absorbed in her own work.

"Why does everyone hate Sakura so much, un?" He nervously asked, afraid that she might abandon him also.

"…Sakura's not a very nice person to people she doesn't like." She replied after a while, turning bringing the sheet of paper she'd exposed over to develop it. "She thinks that we're bad, which she's right about, really. She's… part of the reason we're feared so much in this school. I'm sorry, but telling you any more would violate the Akatsuki's privacy."

"Akatsuki, un?" He'd heard Sakura refer to them as such, but he never knew what she meant by it.

"Us. We're Akatsuki."

"…Oh, un."

"If you hadn't decided to be friends with Sakura, we probably would have made you join. Nagato's still considering, actually."

"…If I join, will I have to abandon Sakura, un? She's my friend, my best friend, even, but… well… I can't tell you why, but being in the Akatsuki seems to be in my best interests, un." He had his own goals that he wanted to achieve, and abandoning someone he'd probably never talk to after high school wasn't as bad of a deal as it seemed to be.

"You probably would. I'm sorry."

Those words didn't surprise Deidara at all.

"…I think… I'd still like to join, Konan. …If you guys want me, that is, un."

"…I'll… see… what I can do, Deidara."

That night the ghost spoke to Deidara again.

"I haven't forgotten about you, you know." It said. "Please."

Deidara sighed.

"What… what do you need me to do?" He immediately regretted asking that.

"I need you to dig up my body."

Well… that was… something. Deidara's ghost wanted him to grave rob its own grave.

"…Why, un?"

"None of your business, stupid kid."

Huh. The ghost had an attitude.

"Is that any way to speak to someone who's supposedly helping you, un?" He replied. The ghost seemed to have done a complete 180 from when he'd first spoken to it.

"I need to come back to life."

"Now we're getting somewhere. How do I come into all of this, un?"

"I need you to help me kill my murderer."

Um.

Wow.

So, this ghost was asking him to rob a grave, and murder a murderer.

He really was living in a horror story, wasn't he? That sounded like a job for the Akatsuki, actually, now that he thought about it. They'd probably killed people before, hadn't they? It wasn't like they didn't act like murderers at school, and it wasn't like everyone at school didn't already think they killed people on a daily basis.

"That… um… un." Was all Deidara could really get out.

"You don't have too, obviously. You just have to dig up my body and bring it here."

"Thanks for giving me a choice, un."

"No problem."

This person… he… he just grated Deidara the wrong way! Metaphorically, of course. Ghosts weren't cheese graters.

"And why can't you do this yourself, un?" He asked, extremely annoyed with himself for just not pretending he'd never heard the ghost - Sasori, he mentally reminded himself, was the ghost's name - and gone about his daily business.

"My soul is tied to this house."

That… made… some sense.

"You used to live here or something, un?" He asked.

"Yes, and your never ending pile of questions is beginning to annoy me. I don't like waiting. Will you help me or won't you?"

"I guess… I guess I'll help you, un."

Um.. So wow. Hey guys, It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about the lateness. All I've had the motivation to do lately is play The World Ends With You and think about TWEWY, etc. It seems I've gotten my muse back for this story, though, and the words are flowing quite freely now, something which I'm very glad of, because this is my baby.

If you've noticed, I've made a few changes to the story. I've changed all of Deidara's 'yeah's to 'un's. Originally, I had it that way because this is set in suburban Chicago, and I wanted them to speak in proper English. I decided today, however, that I liked his 'un' better, so I've changed it to that. I've also changed the title of chapter one, but I don't think most of you care that much about that.

So. Sakura. I happen to like Sakura, unlike most SasoDei OTPers. Yes. She's Deidara's friend. Best Friend. I happen to believe that they could be good friends if Deidara wasn't Akatsuki. That doesn't mean that I support DeiSaku, however, and there will be none of that in this story, except harmless flirting, which my Deidara does quite often.

I'd like to, while I have your attention, to warn you about something.

Throw out all of your prior beliefs about the afterlife (or lack of) whilst you read this story. I'm making up my own laws of the universe. They're not religious in any way, but they could offend some people. My world is based more on a set of morals, and there is only one rule, and one way for you to have any form of afterlife at all, which you will see explained later in the story.

That being said, I just wanted to warn you all, because some people might not approve of stories where things such as this are mentioned. I hope you'll continue to read this story, and remind yourself that these are not my views, they are simply the rules I have created. Also, this story is not about murder for the sake of revenge. Sasori's reasons will explain themselves in due time.

Also, if you've ever been to the NarutoFan forums, join the SasoDei fanclub. I think it's dying, and I need people to help keep it alive. Plus, it'd be cool getting to know some people that read this.

Well, see you next time, when I'm sure the Author's note will definitely not be as long as this. I just needed to clarify some things that may or may not have needed clarifying.