God, this was supposed to be uploaded yesterday (a.k.a. HALLOWEEN.) but thanks to annyoing siblings, I didn't make it D: Oh well.
I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter. I have the feeling that the chapters get worse and worse with every update...
In this chapter, I didn't like the reason why Konan knows the name Akasuna and a few other things. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for writing this. I listend too often to unfitting music xD Does anyone of you know the game Beyond Good & Evil? I was listening to the song that plays at the Mammago Garage :D (And yes, it is legal for people to like BOTH Vocaloid AND the Mammago Song (hey, that sounds funny!) Because I know people who are all like "Uh, that music is crap, I hate it, Reggae is way better!" "Nooo, Vocaloid is better! Reggae is so stupid!" and so on. I don't care which kind of music I'm listening to, it just has to be GOOD.)
ANYWAYS. (Sorry for rambling...)
*SPOILER-ALERT* Yep, I decided to put chakra into this story to make everything more "realistic" (.ha.), and for the same reason, Konan can not turn herself completely into paper, Kakuzu is only going to have 2 hearts instead of five and Zetsu doesn't have his freaky giant Venus flytrap. And the Rin'negan is also not going to be that powerful in this story. Sorry guys. Shame on me. And Kakashi has no chakra AT ALL! XD I don't really know why though. It could be because I don't like him or because he just fit the role as our author in my head O_o *SPOILER-ALERT*
One last thing to say for the story: Should I write a One-Shot concerning the OCs Maki and Usagi? Because I got a whole background-story for them that I don't really want to put in this story...So yeah. Tell me if you want to know something about them or not.
Thanks to Iwa-chan for reviewing ^_^
Be aware of the poem of hell, and enjoy!
Chapter.4: Akasuna no Sasori!
.
.
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Have you ever wondered who lives deep down in the woods?
And I don't mean grandmas of random red little riding hoods.
Maybe we're the people who you pass on the street
Or maybe the ones who you daily greet?
We're not like you, not like anyone
Have been ever since we've been born.
We're all around, just in hiding
Just in disguise so you won't see
We're dark and evil beings
You better believe me.
We are the freaks
.
.
.
Tobi blinked a few times before the information of what she'd said sunk into his mind. When he did, he nodded quickly. "Yes I did! You don't happen to know them, do you?"
"You idiot. Of course she does." stated Pain, his eyes not leaving Konan's face. The Uchiha lowered his head and muttered an "Of course..." Though no one could see it, his eyes saddened and the happiness about his little success that had lasted till now was gone.
The female had hurried over to a shelf and was searching through the rows of books by the time Tobi looked up.
"What are you looking for, Konan?" asked the redhead leaning over to look at the titles of the novels too. It took Konan a while to reply, for she pulled out a big and heavy looking book. There was a bit of dust covering it, but the woman quickly blew it away and traced the title of the book with her finger tips. Both males tried to take a look at it, but to their surprise, she hugged it to her chest and turned a little away from them with a scolding look on her face.
"Do you remember this old lady who came to our orphanage once, Nagato?"
Said man flinched at the mention of his true name, but almost immediately recovered and nodded. "Wasn't she the one who recognized you as her granddaughter?" he added.
A distant expression appeared on her face and a smile graced her lips. "Exactly. She was too old to bring me up by herself and she was my only relative left, so I stayed where I was. But she visited me every week and always praised my art. She believes in fantasy creatures and stuff like that and gave me this book for my last birthday. I always thought that it was a waste of time, but I read a few pages here and there."
Tobi put two and two together. "Ah-ha! And in this book you found the name Akasuna!"
"I did. I still remember reading the name."
"...This makes no sense, Konan. You told me that this book is completely ridiculous, yet Akasuna is an existent name and those guys probably kidnapped Deidara."
Ignoring Pain, Konan carried the book into the living room, with her friends trailing after her, laid it onto the table and kneeled down on a pillow. The other two followed suit and moved closer to her to get a good view of the old book.
Eagerly, Tobi read the letters imprinted on the front. 'Freaks: basic knowledge'. Not exactly an encouraging title...
"Then shall we...?"
She readjusted the flower in her hair and skipped the introduction of the book.
The first actual page's heading confused all three of them.
'CHAKRA'
The redhead just stared at the girl in front of him for a while. Too many things were going through his head. Finally he took a deep, shaky breath and impatiently questioned "He's here? Then why didn't you bring him to me?"
Maki sighed (like a mother would whose child was begging her to buy sweets) and she explained "The venom in the cinnamon worked better than I had thought it would."
His icy glare bore into her dark eyes and he could see the rush of fear reflected in those usually dead orbs. She quickly put her hands in front of her in a defending manner. "N-Nothing happened he's perfectly f-fine; he just slept a little longer...!" He extended his hand and his fingers closed themselves into a fist, like grabbing something invisible.
"Bring him to me, Maki...now."
The maid took a careful step back. "Please, just wait a little longer. He still needs to recover...And it's still a week, anyway! You'll have enough time to get to know him!"
The familiar smile appeared on her face.
The man placed his hand back on his lap, his other hand supporting his head and weaving through his red hair. The feelings of impatience and anticipation were strong, too strong, but he knew what would happen if his guest would get ill.
"He needs the rest..."
...
"I'll wait..."
"Thank you, Sasori-sama" Maki whispered.
Deidara remained perfectly still in his corner.
He quietly observed his current situation, trying hard not to move.
The ropes that tied his wrists together started to cut into his flesh and anger filled his heart.
There hadn't been another drug in his food (or at least it didn't work this time) and the duct tape was gone, but he still couldn't do anything useful. He was incapable of doing something right. He remembered a policeman telling his class the rules one should stick to while being kidnapped. "Don't anger your captors!" he'd said once.
The blonde could hear the strangers discussing something, could see the little light source through the fabric of the blindfold and he could distinguish the different voices and could name two of them. The deep, rather loud and raspy voice belonged to someone called Kisame, the hissing one to a man named Orochimaru. In total, there were six persons with him in this little room.
And they were talking about him.
Fear mixed with his anger and his breathing became a little irregular.
Their whispers filled his ears, echoing inside his head, so he couldn't understand what they were saying. Was this an after-effect of the drug?
He wrinkled his nose. The fold over his eyes tickled.
Suddenly, without a warning, the knot that held the blindfold in place loosened a bit and a gap to see through appeared.
For a second, just a second, his right eye was blinded by the in reality rather poor light. It stung and he had to close his eye for a moment. The artist blinked a few times. As soon as his eye had adapted to the brightness, he looked down his body first.
As far as he could see, he was unharmed, save for the drug and the ties around his wrists.
Then he raised his head to take a look at his captors, illuminated by the light of a flame.
He bit his lip until it bled to keep a scream form escaping his throat.
Mekakushi no sukima kara nozokimita RANTAN ga
Through a hole in the blindfold, there was something I thought I'd never see
Utsushi dashita kage ni omowazu
Lantern shadows that grew at night
mi no ke ga yodatta
unconsciously frightened me
CHAKRA
As I already mentioned in the introduction, the term 'Freak' is different from the common meaning of Freak. A Freak is not just somebody with an uncommon appearance or behavior (though quite a lot of Freaks fulfill this cliché). Normal people lack something those Freaks have and this is what distinguishes them. It's a certain power, which often runs in families and is passed from generation to generation.
Experts such as me, and also the freaks themselves, call this power chakra.
So called Keirakurai are found in the body of a freak and can be compared to the bloodstream. Chakra can be compared to blood as well; if a person loses too much of it, they die. The Keirakurai lead the chakra through the body. Not much is known of them.
Not is the chakra only crucial to survive, but it also allows a person who posses it to use certain techniques - jutsus.
The usage of chakra in certain ways allows a person for example to walk up a tree (though I believe that this also works with walls) without the usage of hands or other tools. It seems to be a basic technique, for I trice saw a child practicing it. I am an outsider who himself does not possess this chakra, and the few Freaks willing to give me information refused to tell me much about the different jutsus, but I was able to take a few photos.
Even after six years that I spent with collecting information, I neither know where this mystic power comes from, nor just how strong and destructive it really is.
Fact is, that chakra is a supernatural power and can cause a lot of harm.
-Kakashi H.-
The three persons stared at the page without saying a word. Silent understanding.
Pain wasn't sure what to think of this text. Supernatural powers? How old were they? There was nothing such as supernatural powers.
...Or was there?
Maybe he just didn't want to believe that a part of his 'family' was held captive by those Freaks. (Freaks with supernatural powers.)
This was just ridiculous. It was impossible.
It couldn't be, couldn't be, couldn't be.
Without casting a glance at his friends who still seemed to be shocked by the information (or fiction) they'd just read, he turned the page. The following three pages' content consisted of an index and he quickly searched through it.
Surprisingly, he found the word Akasuna only connected with another word.
M
-Marionettes (also: The story of the Akasuna family)
Konan, Tobi and Pain exchanged a confused look. Silent understanding.
The blood pouring out of the fresh gash trailed down his chin and the pain accompanying it were completely ignored.
Deidara's undivided attention was focused on the group of strangers. The light was just enough to make their faces visible.
And he realized one thing.
There were only five people, but SIX voices.
The one closest to him had black hair that fell to his shoulders and when he turned around once to get a better look at whatever they were watching, the blonde realized with horror that there were scars at the corners of his mouth and scars on his exposed arms that were sewed together, as if somebody had cut the man to pieces and then put together again.
A sick feeling settled in Deidara's stomach and he hoped that he wouldn't throw up.
Next to the scar-face sat a man with also black hair, but his was way longer and probably reached his waist. A snake had wrapped around the man's upper body and the similarity the guy bared to the animal was frightening.
The salty and at the same time sweet taste of blood filled the artist's mouth, but he knew they would notice if he moved.
The person with the light source – a lighter which he held close to a photograph of some sorts – turned out to be a grotesque mixture between man and shark. With the yellow light of the flame, it was hard to make out colors, but Deidara was sure that the man's hair was a dark blue, and his skin a lighter one. It was the person with the raspy voice, the explosion-lover noticed. Kisame. Kisame had gills on his cheeks. And when he grinned once, he revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Why was Deidara getting the feeling that something here was awfully wrong with those people? (And he didn't mean the fact that they had kidnapped him)
One of the group was hidden by the photo in their hands. Only the top of their head and their hands were visible, the purple nail polish suggesting that the person was a woman. She was the quietest of them, her voice barely audible when she spoke.
Was this a photo of Deidara? What did those people want from him? And what did they know about him?
The last stranger stood out because of his grass-green hair. From what the blond teen could see through the gap, his skin was extremely pale, almost white, and his eyes seemed to be a dark yellow.
And that was the moment Deidara had to accept the fact that he was indeed stuck in a room filled with Freaks.
Marionettes (or: the story of the Akasuna family)
On my travels, I discovered in a city called Sunagakure a family with remarkable abilities. Through them, I first heard that some Freaks are able to control puppets with their chakra by using it as threads. I spent some time with this family and they told me a very interesting story about their ancestors that I'd like to share with you readers.
The family was called Akasuna and their members were the best puppeteers the world had ever seen. The story I am about to tell you took place about 145 years ago.
Back then, the best puppeteers of the family were a woman called Chiyo and her grandson Sasori. Akasuna no Sasori was only six years old when he started to look at what he did as art. That was quite common among children of their family, but with the death of his parents, it turned more and more into an obsession. By that time, he had already surpassed his grandmother Chiyo in skills and, completely consumed by his grotesque obsession, he developed a forbidden jutsu.
He tested it on several other humans before actually used it on himself.
Chiyo never told the rest of her family what had happened to Sasori, so I'm afraid I can't tell you as well, since after the incident, she disappeared and nobody knows (though maybe they just didn't want to tell me) where she was. Or better yet, where she is.
-Kakashi H.-
Several minutes had passed since Deidara had first seen the Freaks and the bleeding had stopped, just like the discussion of the freaks.
His body was sore from the uncomfortable position he was in and the strange mixture of anger, fear and the drug (mostly anger) hurt his head. But he almost wasn't really aware of all that. He was too busy with watching every movement of these strange people.
The only woman in the group sighed quietly, and she finally put down photo and the light hit her face.
Yes, the hair was longer than most men's' hair, and yes, the eyes were quite feminine, but this was most definitely NOT a woman.
The blond boy knew this face. Every time he'd be at Tobi's and accidentally open the door to Sasuke's bedroom, the face of this person was the first thing he'd see. And also in the living room were photos of this person.
He looked a little older now, which was not that surprising, considering that eleven years had passed.
A gasp escaped Deidara's lips as he recognized Itachi Uchiha's face.
And that obviously was a mistake, because the whole group turned around and looked at him.
Scar-face was the first one to react. "F*ck. He saw us!"
"I thought Maki had put something in his food. He shouldn't be awake right now." said Itachi and furrowed his eyebrows. "Orochimaru, do you have the venom with you?"
Oya oya warui ko mou omezame desu ka
My, my well what a wicked child, you barely slept a wink at all!
"What are we going to do now?" grumbled the green-haired man.
Mekakushi ga toketa nara moumoku ni shiyou ka
If the blindfold keeps coming off, then shall I blind you instead?
"We wait, isn't that obvious? The damage is already done" hissed Orochimaru and ran a hand through his long hair. "We'll wait."
Maki had waited a few more minutes until she was sure that the intruder was far away from her home and wasn't intending to come back, before she made her way down the stairs.
After opening a few hidden doors and walking down dark corridors, she finally reached the room she'd been looking for.
She knocked against the old wood, and stepped into the room.
The girl frowned when she spotted the lighter in Kisame's hand, recognizing it as the one Usagi had been looking for.
Nobody was allowed to steal things from Usagi. Maki would make sure of that.
With a quick movement, she snatched it away from him and shoved it into one of the pockets of her dress. She looked at the group in front of her with an apathetic expression and ignored the glare coming from the shark-man's direction.
"You can come out now. Did something happen?" she inquired while watching Itachi, knowing that he was the most likely to answer truthfully. His face was perfectly calm, but she noticed that the others seemed to be a little stressed.
When her eyes however reached Deidara's face, her face fell back into the frown. She hurried over to the male and took his face in both her hands and inspected his bottom lip carefully. To her relief, it was just a smaller wound that would heal soon, nothing too serious.
Unsurprisingly, Deidara still tried to struggle against the ties and he didn't seem to be OK with her touching his face. Still, she looked more closely at his face, brushing the long blond tresses behind his ear. And finally she discovered the little gap between the folds of fabric.
That was not good.
Maki had done something wrong.
She'd indirectly disobeyed orders.
Sasori-sama had ordered her to make a tight knot in the fold, so that he'd be the first person the guest would see. And now Deidara had seen the others first.
The maid licked her dry lips and decided that maybe it was best to take the blindfold off now; she couldn't change the fact that something had went wrong now.
She rested her head on the boy's shoulder and reached for the lose knot to undo it completely.
The blue cloth fell down his face and revealed the two pretty blue orbs. What she hadn't expected was that Deidara was glaring at her. She was sure that a normal person would be scared in a situation like this.
So why not him?
'Then again' mused Maki 'he isn't normal. He could hear Sasori-sama sing without even knowing him. So they must be connected, no? And Karin...'
The blond male still hadn't spoken a single word. The fellow blonde was genuinely impressed and internally, she smiled for her master.
This was the right person.
For her, there was no doubt anymore.
'...and Karin said she'd felt chakra coming our way around midnight. That was him.'
Focusing back at the task at hand, she stood up again and dusted herself off before she took one of his hands and helped him up. She could feel his eyes burning through her, but she just felt like giggling (but she wouldn't). She was too happy for Sasori-sama now (not for herself).
Soon, he would stop singing.
The group followed behind as the female made her way back out of the labyrinth of underground corridors.
She heard Kisame and Itachi exchanging a few words, heard Deidara clenching his teeth, but she couldn't care less. It was her order to bring the blonde to his own personal room and get him to rest now. On the way there, the others went to their own respective rooms, but Maki noticed when Itachi whispered something to Deidara. She was tempted to ask what the Uchiha had said, but she simply dismissed it.
After a while, they reached their destination. Maki quickly took out a knife from her pocket and before the explosion-lover even had the chance to react, she cut the rope that tied his hands together.
She pushed him gently into the room. "You should rest now..." she advised, yet he didn't make a move to go to sleep.
For a moment, she could see all the questions that plagued him and she could see the fear, but as expected of a puppet, she remained silent. She closed and locked the door and left him standing there alone in the dark.
"Sleep. Tomorrow will be a important day for you..."
For a while, Maki wandered through the mansion and noticed that Usagi had already gone home. So she decided to go to sleep as well. As quietly as she could, she went back to the guest's room and leaned her head against the door.
The blindfold was gone and with it the pleasant creations in his dreams.
It was pitch-dark and all he could see was a blurry image of a face and a hand reaching out for him.