Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto. …But I totally wish I did. x3
My Ramblings: this chapter was almost completely inspired by Breaking Benjamin's song called "Rain" .…and I know… odd, abrupt, cliffy ending. YAY? (it was really abrupt because I was behind on my writing—it's Friday morning {12:12 to be exact in the morning}—and I'm tired. Sorry. I stayed up to five in the morning then slept until like nine today. And watched a stupid "horror" thriller movie.) aagghh, I wanted this chapter to be longer but I didn't have everything planned out for it. =/
RANDOM BTW:
Black Zetsu is gonna be like this when he talks.
White Zetsu is gonna be like this when he talks.
Clay Hearts
Chapter Nine:
Waiting for the Sun
It was raining. The sky was dark and not too loud booms of thunder from somewhere far away were heard whilst lightning danced across the sky far enough that it only lit up small parts of the sky. Tonight was indeed a sad part of my life. It just wasn't fair. It's not fair that I have to abandon my friends. It's not fair that my Village abandoned me. No… it wasn't fair at all.
I held my hitai-ate in my trembling hands. At the same time, I felt such sorrow and anger towards the item. It reminded me of my once called home; however, it reminded me that I once had belonged somewhere and that I have my best friend and sensei waiting for me whenever—if ever—I returned.
The tears rolled down my face as I set down the headband on a nearby rock and took out a kunai from my weapon pack. My hands were still shaking. I knew what I should do—what I probably had to do—but it was still hard. I clenched my eyes shut and screamed in my head, so loud that my Inner was putting her hands to her ears, but I could see her eyes water, too. Before I could change my mind, I took the sharp weapon and scraped it clear across the middle of my Konohagakure hitai-ate. I dropped the kunai I held and heard the dull thud of it hitting the ground.
No more could I be part of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. No more will it be called my home. No more am I a regular ninja—I was now officially labeled a missing-nin, a true rogue, a true lonely person. And I knew that I couldn't get caught again or horrible things will be done to me back at Konoha. Actually, most likely, I would never get back to that village alive again. No, the next time I have to put up a fight with ANBU or bounty-hunters, I'll die fighting. That, I thought, is now my ninja way. My motto, of sorts: the only way to die is fighting.
I lied on my back, on the ground, and looked up into the sky, the rain meeting my face and eyes. It was all just a big gray mass. And it was almost as if the sky was crying for me. Too bad I knew better. The sky doesn't have emotions, though maybe it would be better if it did. If it did, then maybe we would know the emotions of God and possibly predict if our future would be grim or happy.
Ignoring my stupid hitai-ate, I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep. I cursed the rain for doing this to me always. My clothes and short pink hair were drenched. I was lucky that my weapon packs and messenger bag was waterproof or my weapons and scrolls (etcetera) would become wet rather quickly. I sighed as a few more tears slipped down my already wet face.
Sleep came easier than I would have expected (even though it was pouring). I had managed to crawl under a nearby tree so I wouldn't drown when I slept. I prayed in my head as I drifted off into dreamland. Waiting for a sign; waiting for the sun.
-x-x-x-
DEIDARA POV
"But Tobi doesn't waaant to!"
"Tobi. I need you to do this for me, hmm." I stated clearly.
"But what if… what if Tobi gets in trouble? If Sasori-san saw…!"
I sighed and shut my eyes in irritancy, "What the fuck, Tobi—"
"Bad word!" Tobi said while I kept talking.
"—It's one, simple, friggin' easy favor! And anyways… you owe me. Big time."
We sat in silence as I looked at the masked man straight in the eyes—er, eye. We both sighed, mine more of a breath and Tobi's more of a dramatic, anime-like sigh.
"Senpai?"
"What?"
"Fiiiiiiine!" I could have sworn he was going to go into a hissy fit. But, thank God, he didn't. I have no idea how the hell I'd deal with that.
I sighed, once again, in relief. Almost wanting to hug the man/boy/thing. "Thanks, Tobi, hmm," I said as I walked away.
Tobi's eyes lit up as I moved away from him. "Senpai said thank you to Tobi?"
Nevermind. I don't want to hug him. Ever. I turned around to find the masked person on the floor, unconscious. Must have fainted, I shrugged. Wow, it was only a small thank you, I thought as I walked away to my room in the Akatsuki Base. I only needed him to help me out with stealing some of Sasori's art supplies. He had this glue stuff that was, like, the most amazing glue ever. Even super-er than super glue. Yeah, it's hard to believe… I barely believe it myself. But, anyhow, I have this sculpture and part of it is broken. I wouldn't want it to break again, so I might as well use Sasori's own mix of glue. His little thing for poison and chemistry has gotten him a lot of awesome things, I must admit.
Even though I say that the most beautiful art is for only a second, I do keep a few sculptures I've made of important things and people. The one I'm talking about was my first model of my clay bird. The beak was off now, though. I placed the beak to the head of the bird, where it fit, and then put it back down. It was broken. I hated it the most when my clay broke. I guess it all proves my point, though. Even my clay sculptures break, too. That real art does not last forever.
The door slammed open, "Hey, bitch!"
I turned around slowly, "Hidan. For the fucking millionth time… You call a girl a bitch usually, hmm! Not a guy."
I caught his smile, "I know!"
My hands formed fists as I stalked over to him. "Hidan! Why are you here?" I asked as I punched a hole into my black door.
Hidan swerved his head out of the way, "What the hell! You sorry little jackass!"
I took a kunai and sliced his neck. He's always so slow. In physical and mental ways. His neck began to bleed the cursed red color and the Jashinist laughed manically, "Oh yeaaah! Thanks! You bitches always have such a temper!" The kunai "somehow" found its way dug into his left arm.
"Get the fuck out. And you better not bleed on my floor."
Hidan put his hand to his bleeding neck and laughed, then stopped for a second, "Oh fuck! I forgot! Pein wants to see you. Don't know why the hell he would though, unless you're in trouble." He laughed again, "Nice one dickless."
My mind came to an image of a certain masked Akatsuki member caught red-handed and saying, "SENPAI MADE ME DO IT!" Tobi…! I growled inwardly. I sighed angrily and stomped out of my room, shoving the bleeding Jashinist out first, of course, and then slammed my door, making a hand sign to lock it.
"What kinda shit did you fucking do now?" he asked as I wandered down the black and red halls. Black hardwood floors and black walls with a blood red ceiling with Akatsuki clouds. The walls had kanji only one shade lighter black (with a slight shine) on it that no one ever took any real time to try to understand and read.
I ignored him and he soon got bored of swearing and talking to me (a complete shocker there, I know) and went back to his own room, probably to make another blood sacrifice. I passed the still passed out Tobi on the way, knowing know that it wasn't the glue incident that got me to see Pein, and kicked him to wake him up. I kept walking and he apologized too fast for understanding and ran off to Sasori's room. However, know I was slightly afraid of what he did call me to his office for.
Soon, there were windows in the hall way and I met the door that was Pein's working place. I held my hand up to the door to knock, but a slightly muffled (because of the door), "Come in," was heard. I suppose he sensed my chakra. I walked in.
His eyes were on me as he said, "Sit."
I sat down and he kept looking at me. Agh, dammit, I seem to hate everyone who has special eyes. Especially his, they seem like they could see your very soul. Maybe they could for all I know. Whatever you think I did… I, uh, didn't do it, I thought, ready to say it. However, my Leader spoke first.
"Deidara," his deep voice said.
I blinked my blue eyes, waiting for him to continue.
"This is about two things."
Tobi? Sasori? Wait, no… it's not that. Sasori? And… I don't know. "What is it?" I asked.
He blinked (finally, it seemed) and spoke, "This is about your new partner." His Rinnegan eyes seemed to sadden at some thought and he sighed almost inaudibly, "And to some extent about my former partner."
Konan, I thought without trying to. May she rest in peace, and all that stuff. She wasn't as bad, definitely, even if she was Pein's little lover.
The pierced man with orange hair seemed to read my thoughts and scowled at me. But, suddenly, the door flew open. "Leader-sama! Itachi has sighted enemy-nin coming our way! There are about ten squads we've estimated." It was Kisame—the blue, shark man. "Oh, hey, Deidara," he grinned, baring his many sharp teeth.
"Hey," I said, slightly confused and slightly very pissed. …'Kay, more than slightly. Pein was just about to tell me whatever he wanted to tell me! Dammit, I get curious so easily.
Pein-bastard seemed to sigh, "Tell everyone to prepare." Kisame left to go tell Itachi probably first, then everyone else. He looked to me with those deadly eyes, "Go. You help Kisame warn the others, too." I nodded and left. But before I had made it out of hearing range, I heard the Leader mumble, "Pitiful ninja. They're only coming to meet their own damned demise."
-x-x-x-
The first thing I heard was no more rain pounding down from the skies. And a bird chirping. I opened my still weary eyes and blinked them a few times, blinded by—what?—sunlight. With my hands, I rubbed my eyes and saw the bright sun only now showing itself above the mountains. However, there was this weird shadow in the middle of it. It looked like a bird…? Creating a visor for myself with my right hand, I squinted towards the sun. And I saw that it was a bird.
What the hell…? My Inner remarked.
I blinked my eyes a two or three (maybe four) times. The bird swooped down and began to sing as it flew. It was blue in color and it was beautiful. I think it was a baby Blue Jay, obviously one that can fly. "Wait a second…" I murmured to myself, somewhat unsure. There was an odd shaped something in the bird's mouth. I shook my head, Whatever, and then I stood up, cracking my back once on my feet.
I ran a hand through my hair without thinking, sort of a habit of mine, and then something struck me. My hitai-ate! I patted the top of my head rapidly, trying to find the headband. Then I remembered that I had put it on the rock to the left of me, about five paces ahead. I scrambled over there and saw that it was gone.
The song of the Blue Jay began to play and caught my attention and my eyesight. The small bird held in its birdie feet my hitai-ate. "Bad birdie!" I said in a hushed voice, with my brow furrowed. I thought Mother Nature was kinder than that! I snatched my headband away from the thing and suddenly the sky got darker again.
Yeah, Mother Nature is a bitch.
…Agreed, I thought. The clouds began to hide the sun as I felt a single drop of rain meet my nose. I growled in anger. A few tweets of the baby bird were heard right before a crack of thunder shook the earth. "Aghhh!" I screamed, "FUCK YOU!" That stupid bird screwed up the balance of my karma. Dammit. Damn it. I threw my hitai-ate on the ground, luckily for it, not at my full (and chakra enhanced) strength.
I approve! Inner-Me said all too happily.
"Oh, why don't you just shut up!" I said outloud to my Inner.
Hmmph. I was just trying to be supportive. Now you're the bitch.
Remember… "You're me, idiot."
…Damn. That's my line. Sort of. Nevermind. Why don't you go get us some food. DO YOU NOT HEAR THE RUMBLING OF A TUMMY IN DISTRESS?
I pressed a hand to my stomach and it was rumbling, I could tell. I couldn't hear it because the constant thunder and the winds beginning to develop, but I felt my hungriness. It was odd that I couldn't feel it from the inside, unlike feeling it from the outside like I just did.
Walking a few feet, I picked up the hitai-ate and tied it around my head. Yup. I'm still a missing-nin. I shut my eyes, praying a silent prayer that all this crap will be worked out soon enough and they'll know that I didn't try to hurt my shishou. When I opened my eyes, rain was falling for sure. Lighter than last night, but it's still that damned rain.
As I ran for a nearby town to get some food, I took some time to reflect my situation. I need to make some changes to my train of thought. For example, I need to accept that I have no home. You know what?—Even better, I have no past. The only thing is that… I. Did. Not. Try. To. Kill. Tsunade. And I am no traitor. I'm not fucking Sasuke Uchiha. I don't leave my frien—
My bottom lipped trembled as tears fell. No, I did leave my friends, too. For my own safety. For my own well-being. For my own requests. I could have stayed and told them that I didn't do it, that I was innocent. But then again, when I am not in prison, there is a better chance that the Black Ops, Council, and others will find the real murder-attempter.
"DAMMIT!" I yelled into the forest, slightly regretting it for a split moment, thinking that maybe someone (or some people) looking for me could have heard that. But that split second disappeared quick as I kept running. Yeah, I get grumpy when I haven't eaten yet. And when the world—at least the world that knows—blames me for killing the fricking Hokage. Yeah. It's all just great, great fun.
-x-x-x-
"Dammit!" The word of a female echoed in the forest, even deep into the ground where the plant man was traveling through. For a moment, he stopped, popped his head out of the ground only to hear angry footsteps moving from branch to branch. He shrugged, "Humans are always so loud, tsk, tsk… makes them easier to hunt." The black side of the plant man licked his lips. He was known as a cannibal. His white side would admit to this, but was much nicer about the subject and not as abrupt as his opposite side.
Suddenly, an image came from his ring as his Leader called him, "Zetsu. We need you at the main base. Hurry. Many enemy ninja from Sound are arriving even now."
"Many? That means more to fight, hmm. But it means more to eat! That is true," both sides of the plant man called Zetsu smiled, the black side only a little more wicked than the white, and hurried back towards the Akatsuki Base. Almost forgetting about the loud kunoichi that was traveling via tree.
-x-x-x-
About ten days later—maybe, probably, more… I don't try to keep track—I had lost my hitai-ate again. However, I heard the chirping of that Blue Jay again. The cursed Blue Jay. "Okay!—Where are you? I need my hitai-ate back. Now." I glanced into the sky, actually blue and sunny for once. For the past days I've been stuck in grayness and/or rain. It really sucked. Now, almost as if my prayers had been answered, I got the sun back. But now I got this bird from hell stealing my hitai-ate again. And I was actually in a pretty good mood today!—for being a newly turned missing-nin.
The bird seemed to just about smirk at me as it held the cloth part of my headband in its beak.
"Give it to me!" I jumped up high, even pumping chakra in my legs, trying to get it away from the bird. The bird only flew higher and higher. "Fuck," I swore. Even though I hated my hitai-ate now and really a missing-nin doesn't need it all that much… it has value and sentimental-ness to me. The memories of Team Seven made me almost smile to myself.
I followed the bird for a few miles. I sensed a few faint chakra signals, but I figured them to be too faint—too far—to notice me. I kept running until the little blue bird swooped low and hovered only a few heads above me. It looked me straight in the eye, and then went about another mile. Then, I saw it drop my hitai-ate. Gah… I see where they got "birdbrain." Ugh.
The bird was in a low tree branch when I got to the area of where I saw the headband drop. Where is it? Where is it? I probably mumbled to myself. I couldn't find it!
All of the sudden, I felt a strong, potent chakra presence behind me. A huge shadow was casted in front of me. "Looking for this?" A strangely blue hand held out my scratched out Konohagakure hitai-ate over my head. Then I felt my chakra draining, as if it was almost being… eaten.
I've got my sun. Now is this my sign? A sign for change? A sign for a second chance?
