Summary: She had a haunting past that made her wary of men. He was determined to show her the true art of love. Past and future collide between the two opposites.
Deidara-21
Yumiko-21
Naruto- 14
Hinata- 15
Sakura- 15
Kiba- 15
Misaki- 14
Kakashi- 36
Scarlet Memories
Pairing: DeidaraYumiko(OC)
Rating: M for all kinds of mature content
Hints of NaruHina, SasuSaku, GaaMats and MisakiKiba
Chapter Seven: The Past Shackled!
Yumiko stared at his hand, an inner war going on and she bit her lip, the warnings in her head reminding her about what happened the last time she trusted a man's words. Her back throbbed in acknowledgment and kept her traveling back to when she had gotten it from her father, the pain returning as it often did when she wanted to let go of her past. She knew that there wasn't anyone of her family left to hurt her, but she couldn't seem to accept that. "I want to... But, I can't get rid of my past... Believe me, I'm trying... But, it won't leave me be. I know no one of my family is left and can't get me, but..." She couldn't find the words to describe the issue.
Deidara nodded and smiled. "That's where trust comes from. If you want, you can try and explain what happened. Otherwise, I'll be here for when you're ready..." He wondered what was going through her mind when her eyes darkened and lost the small light he had caught a glimmer of.
For a split second, Yumiko thought she could get away from the past, but it reared up and dragged her back down, making her say the next thing without meaning it or wanting to hurt him. "No. You won't be here. Like I've told them, life will make anyone leave me, so why bother? Keeping spouting lies. Maybe some girl who's not able to see past it will fall for it, but not me." When that left her mouth, she shut her eyes to keep him from seeing that she didn't really mean it, but it was the last resort to keep her walls up. 'No matter what, you must keep remembering that you aren't worthy of anyone's time, let alone a man's. The only way to avoid that is to remember where you got that scar on your back!' Her mind yelled at her, almost hitting her glimmer of hope into dust.
"I've yet to leave you, Mi. Whoever made you this way is long dead. You killed them and I'll make sure no other bastard doesn't repeat that to ya." He said, grunting in affirmation. "You can overcome your distrust of men. Just like you did when we were in the Akatsuki... You opened up to not only Itachi, but Kisame and even Hidan. I'm still here for you and I'm not going anywhere."
That gave her a start and made her shoot her eyes open. It was true. Those three had made her feel safe, even though they were men. The same thing could be said for Sasori, Kakuzu and even Pain. Konan once told her one thing when she had come out and explained everything to her, trusting the paper-ninja with the sordid truth of how she had gotten the scar Konan had seen when she bandaged a wound.
"You can give trust freely. Make sure they have earned it, though. You have had enough darkness in your life, I now understand. Remember this if you must: I know it's hard to see this right now, but it's only temporary… Things will change. You won't feel this way forever. Look to that day. The past can't harm you if you ignore it or completely forgive yourself."
Remembering Konan's words, she knew her late friend was right. She could let her past keep her down, or she could rise and accept that it made her who she is now. Things have changed since that day, she had to accept the facts before her. And here was Deidara, willing to help her learn this as he always has been. This was her opportunity to let go and, looking into Deidara's eyes, she was willing to take the risk as she instead hugged Deidara, hiding her face in his chest. "... Thank you, Deidara..." She said softly.
Blinking, he toned his smirk down into a smile and hugged her back. Now was the time he saved her, like she's done to him. In time, he had a feeling she'd slowly melt her defenses back down and return to the one he cared for. Even if she'd be beaten down, he'd be there to bring her back up, as long as she'd allow it. "You need to thank yourself, too. Hn." He added.
She pulled away and thought it over before shrugging. If she thanked herself, she'd be having issues with stopping it. "Not really. I just need to try and think forward." She felt that, however stupid it sounded, as long as she had Deidara near, she could let go of her past. Sighing, she looked to the sky when a breeze went past. 'Kotone, I suppose I should move forward, eh? I know you're watching now, and I'd hate to let you down.' She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a gentle smile. "Let's see if they're ready. I do have to apologize to the girls and the others. For the past few weeks, has it been?"
"Roughly." He answered as Naruto spotted them.
"Hey, Yumiko, Deidara! We were just wondering about you two... Did you have fun?" He wiggled his eyebrows right before Sakura punched him into the ground, the meaning hitting the two in the forehead.
"Cha! Shut up about that, idiot!" Sakura snarled.
Yumiko made a mental note to never get the pinkette angry, least she get broken bones. What Naruto said sent a shock throughout her system, and not the good kind. 'As if I'd want to even try that... I'm too ugly now for that. Besides, I'd rather not disappoint someone.' She shut her eyes at the hurt that rose up, as well as a memory that she had willed away before.
A figure with violet hair, barely a teen, whimpered in a dark corner, blood trailing not only her thighs, but the floor from where she had just came from as a man with matching hair stood up, blood on his manhood as he wiped it off.
"There. Deed's done. No need for tears, woman." He snarled, backhanding her when he got close enough before grabbing her violet hair and pulling her to a kneeling position, level with said manhood. "Now, be a good girl and put me in your mouth, or shall I make your mother help you?"
The mention of her mother made her gulp and force her to obey, gagging each time he thrust into her mouth. She had stopped trying to fight the instant her father had taken the one thing she was supposed to save for her wedding night: her maidenhead. According to her father, a non-virgin got a better price on the market than a virgin one. Her mother had agreed, not once speaking up.
She cried on the inside as he finally finished, white stuff shooting over her face and naked breasts, barely developed. Her mind reminded her to wait until night and then muffle her cries in the pillow. Perhaps she could end her life then, get out of this painful existence.
"I'm disappointed. You're supposed to enjoy it. Your future husband will need this each night and you are to act like the slut you are inside. Next time, I will expect better. Or should I move on to Kotone? Maybe she'll know how to please me better."
"No! I promise, Father, to be better next time..." She lied, not wanting to see what that meant, yet wanting to protect her sister.
"Good girl. Now, wash up for dinner." He said, pinching her tiny nipples before leaving the room.
'I hate father. One day, father, you will die...' She swore as she cleaned up not only her body, but her room to pre-rape cleanliness. That day, she made a vow to never show any emotion to men.
Yumiko sighed mentally as she rolled her eyes at the action of the two childhood friends. The memory of when her father raped her made her back flare up in pain, but she didn't acknowledge it nor showed it, used to hiding any discomfort behind a mask by now. "Sakura, relax. He's still needed." She reminded. "He's dense, so he doesn't really know what he says..."
"I do so! Pervy Sage always said that to women all the time! He did train me." Naruto said, recovering from Sakura faster than last time.
She deadpanned and huffed. "Should've known. Whoever that is, is the true nature of a guy and what I try to avoid. There's no wonder he probably gets hit. Here I thought you had a good side. Bad choice..." She went over to pick her pack up. "Well, this is where I'll leave. And by the way, girls, just remember my advice." She said, taking off faster than anyone could track, even Kakashi.
Deidara, on the other hand, wanted to blow the blonde up. After finally getting her to get out of her depression, he now found she had been sent back there with those words. He scratched his head and tried to find out how to get her to trust him yet again. 'One step forward, fifty steps backwards, thanks to that idiot, un. Now I'll be lucky if she even looks at me.' He glared at Naruto. "Idiot. You know how hard it was to get her out of that funk? Thanks a bunch..."
"What I do?" He asked as Misaki punched him this time.
"You have no clue about girls, nii-san, even though you are dating Hinata-chan... You need to learn to watch your mouth around depressed girls!" She scolded and looked at Deidara. "Go ahead. Me, Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan will remind Naruto about the mind of us girls. Yumiko-chan needs to get back to being happy."
"Thanks, un." He said, chasing after Yumiko, not before glaring again at Naruto.
Yumiko sat down and started collecting her thoughts that had been dragged into the past, yet again. She had no idea how she would be able to shed the past without help, but she had better learn fast. She had to be looking out for herself. If she relied on someone too much, she'd be weak again and never be on her own. She felt Deidara's chakra and didn't even move to acknowledge him, wanting to vanish into the darkness for good. Sadly, she wasn't allowed to when she felt him sit far enough away not to get in her bubble, but close enough to prove he wasn't going anywhere. "Leave me alone. I'm not worth it. I'm done trying now, I have no fight left."
"I can't really fully understand what you are feeling, but I can offer my compassion. It will pass, we can ride it out together, un." He said, not risking reaching out to push her away again. "Naruto's a poor example of men. He's dense, stupid and hard-headed... Don't let that idiot make you retreat into that shell again."
Yumiko glared at him before she stared out at the field, wondering what it was about him that made her want to keep reaching out to get out of her sadness. She sighed and stared at her knees. "I can't keep this up... Eventually I'm not going to have enough strength to keep forcing myself to try and move on. And I don't want to be one of those that rely on others. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard spot with no escape it feels like..."
Deidara blinked and grimaced, realizing that his partner wanted to be on her own to try and overcome whatever happened by herself. "It doesn't make anyone weak to rely on friends, un. If I've picked up anything from the blonde idiot, it's those 'bonds' that make him stronger and want to protect anyone he sees as a friend. Surely you know that he is a jinchūriki and he is unique."
Yumiko had to agree on that. The blonde jinchūriki seemed to make easy friends with anyone that he met and probably could do anything he wanted to with that mindset. Whereas she was stuck in the past, no matter what she tried. Yet, that seemed to not stop Naruto, who must've had an even harder past than her. It was high time she started looking up instead of down, to be like Naruto. Her mind and heart seemed to agree that they needed to take a positive step forward while her soul remained wary as to the plan. "You're right... I might need help if it get worse..."
"Hey, asking for help isn't bad. I'm not going anywhere, Ko." He said.
She nodded and smiled for the first time in what seemed like weeks. "I have to try and remind myself that the past can't hurt me if I don't let it. It'll take time before I can fully heal from my past, but it's nice to know I have someone to help me."
"Exactly!" He said, getting up and holding a hand down to her.
Inhaling, she shyly took the hand, letting him help her up before finally seeing that his blue eyes held that promise inside and knew that he'd always be there to help her up. Yumiko's heart skipped a beat before she took her hand away, slightly flushed as her soul yelled at her, knowing there was only supposed to be friendship between her and Deidara. She blinked when he had that goofy grin on his face. "What?"
"Seeing the flush is another cool thing now. Come on, let's go see if the blonde idiot still breathes." Deidara suggested.
Yumiko smiled a small smile and nodded. With Deidara near, she would never let the past take her alive now.
Wow... So much feels in this! Sorry about this, it's a little darker than I'm used to, so I had to take a few breaks to get my mind to either get out of the funk or to force it back.
Now, what Yumiko is dealing with is not something to take lightly. I personally have had some of her thoughts in my life and I have to thank my close friends for being like Deidara in this: never letting me sink and being a rock.
I see Deidara, had he lived, becoming a nicer person outside of the Akatsuki, still mischievous and stuff, but nicer.
The next chapter will be a few months later, sort of setting up the Fourth Great Ninja War. And Deidara will be alive instead of dead~ =D
~~Skittles~~
