Hey, guys! If you've read this far into the story, I want to personally thank you. I'm kind of getting the impression that this story is boring and I'm sorry! It's hard to appease reader's preferences without any feedback at all. I write for fun, but I want to do my best in posting decent quality stuff, too, sooo catch twenty-two, lol. Either way, I hope if you read this, you enjoy it at least a little. Thanks for reading!
To say I was feeling awkward would've been a huge understatement. Sitting slightly behind Sasori and Deidara who were next to each other, I was forced to listen to their bickering. Better than that, I was occasionally even pulled into it to provide my opinion, which I attempted politely declining each time. Them arguing was one thing, but I didn't want to be part of it.
"What do you think, Mori-chan, hm?" I leered at the blonde that was watching me with expectant eyes. I sighed, noting how tense my shoulders were. "I don't know," I muttered begrudgingly, turning my view to the quickly passing brush as we soared over it. Deidara had provided our transportation of course; when he first whipped the bird up and helped me on, I was in absolute awe and filled with excitement.
"What's wrong? Your opinion is important, you know!" Deidara exclaimed. Sasori was apparently annoyed. Hiruko's tail moved to point at his neck.
"Can't you shut up for once, you brat?"
"Can both of you shut up?" I asked angrily. "I'm literally a foot away from free falling to my death and at this point, I'd gladly—" The tail once pointed at the blonde shot in my direction, stopping only two or three inches from the tip of my nose. Eyes wide, I gulped and scooted back some. Hiruko's unchanging face peered directly into mine, twisted in fear. Tears pricked at my eyes silently.
"Don't ever let me hear you say something like that again."
"Oh, that's rich, Sasori-danna," Deidara spoke, unenthusiastic, "she threatens suicide, so you threaten to kill her first instead, hm! Comedy gold!" The tail retracted into the puppet and Sasori turned away from me. Deidara scooted between he and I looking shamefaced. "Not having a good time?" I hurriedly swept my face of any emotion with my wrists and bit my lip, hard. "I want to go home." Deidara sympathized with me, his eyes soft. "I know, hm. We'll be back before you know it, then you'll be begging to go out, hm." I smiled lightly, knowing he was probably right.
"Getting to be pretty close, you two," Sasori remarked, unmoving. "It's actually kind of funny." Deidara's brows knitted together, displaying obvious annoyance. He lazily leaned back to the other man, his hands holding onto his crossed legs. "What's that supposed to mean, Danna?"
"It means you're both stupid," he grumbled. "There's no point in making relations with someone that will die a lot sooner than you, Akamori-chan."
"I've already died once, mind you, so I guess he's due soon." Deidara and I snickered to each other. Wasn't wrong, technically.
The moonlight wavered as clouds crept across the sky, and soon enough, Deidara was getting prepared for his part of the mission. Reaching within his cloak, he fiddled with his clay pouches and whatnot. Sasori turned to me, "we'll get off here." The younger man nodded and told us he wouldn't be too long. As the clay bird descended, Sasori and I hopped off to the grassy forest ground, and I turned to watch Deidara climb further away into the night sky.
"We have quite a bit to cover so let's get moving," the puppet said flatly. I followed after him closely.
"So, what exactly is he supposed to do?" I asked quietly. Sasori was bent down observing the various herbs growing nearby a large crooked tree. He handed me an herb. "Gather as many of these as you can..." He trailed off absentmindedly. "Deidara is infiltrating a small village that is responsible for attempting to dismantle various areas of the Akatsuki's business ends. Normally Kakuzu would handle something like this, but I need to harvest supplies anyways. We'll be taking a certain body back with us and handing it over to Kakuzu." I nodded slowly and turned the plant he'd given me between my fingers. Looked like belladonna.
"He should've already started by now..." Sasori said under his breath, "he's always late and making me wai—" A sudden explosion rang through the forest, a short wind blast followed thereafter. I blocked my eyes with my arm and tried to see what was happening. Once the gust died down, a flickering orange glow decorated the distant horizon.
"Hurry up, Mori-chan," the redhead ordered. I silently mocked him but still complied. Roughly 840 seconds after, fourteen minutes, Sasori had picked triple the amount I had in various kinds of plants. I gave him my small bundle sheepishly. A succession of explosions sounded, growing closer to us. Sasori put his supply away and groaned angrily. "Overdoing it again, of course." We walked to where Deidara dropped us off, watching as the sky lit up with each bang! The bird that'd brought us swooped down and considering I wasn't expecting it to come so fast, Sasori grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me with him onto it.
"What took you so long, Deidara?!" The shorter man demanded. Lightly scratched up with a body strewn over his shoulders, Deidara scowled at him, rightfully so. "Setting explosions off in unexpecting villages doesn't usually warrant an easy goodbye, hm." I stood at the end of the tail, watching the blaze that raged on below. Suddenly, a large mist-like cloud appeared just below us
"Looks like you have some unfinished business then," Sasori mused. Deidara made the bird go faster and knelt, setting the man he'd been holding down. When the large cloud dispersed, a large snake was reared up and seemed to be stretching toward us. I squinted my eyes and leaned forward, watching a figure run up the length of the animal. Once stepping on its snout, I could see the person was a girl. Long brown-haired, fair-skinned. The girl hurdled herself into the air, aiming toward us, kunai in hand. Gray eyes. I watched shock spread onto her face, and her purpose in attacking seemed to drain from her body. I could have sworn I was looking into a mirror. Michi. I wanted to yell Deidara's name, but I was paralyzed, unable to tear my eyes from this girl's or will my vocal cords to act accordingly. A chill ran over my body, and when I was almost positive time had come to a complete stop, she began falling from her jump. The snake she had summoned moved hastily to catch her. Her gaze was unwavering as she fell until her eyes finally screwed shut in a sort of mental agony.
"Sachi!" The name rang in my head. Sachi, Sachi... I reached out a bit, wishing I could catch her.
"W-wait!" I yelled, "stop!" I closed my eyes and clutched at my heart. I remembered her— maybe not much about her but I remembered her presence in my life, and I remembered the feeling I'd gotten when I saw her for the last time.
"Don't you dare, brat."
I couldn't stop crying. Deidara offered sweet words, but I couldn't bring myself to seriously turn them over in my head. All I knew was that something was wrong, I was the cause of it, and I wasn't sure of how to fix it. My name was Sachi, I had a family member who was likely my sister, named Michi, and Michi was as upset about seeing me as I was her. She was hurting as much as I was, if not exponentially more. I couldn't bring myself to say anything to Sasori or Deidara. I tried to memorize the land passing beneath us. I knew it wouldn't matter much, but it made it seem like I was doing something. I'd contemplated time after time just stepping off and letting myself land wherever I landed. I wanted to make myself care, but I honestly just couldn't. When we arrived back at the base, Sasori made his way in first, leaving Deidara to deal with carrying the body in and tending to me. I let myself slide off the bird and started toward the entrance. Deidara slipped his free arm around my shoulders and walked in with me.
When we entered the common room, we were greeted by Kisame, Itachi, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Tobi. Almost a full house. Kakuzu got up and started toward us. "It's about time," he spoke, annoyed, "I don't see how Sasori puts up with you." Deidara chuckled sheepishly, handing the man over to him. "Yeah, yeah, I—"
"Well, I don't see how anyone fucking puts up with him," I retorted, seething. My eyes were puffy and wet and the redness of them extended to my raw cheeks. Kakuzu recoiled a bit, and Hidan ran over and got way to close for comfort just so he could gawk at me. "Dude, seriously, what happened?!"
"Oh, nothing," I said sarcastically. "Nothing at all." I walked out and leaned against the wall of the hallway.
"What was that, seriously?" Hidan asked, incredulous.
"It's, uh... probably shouldn't talk about it for now," Deidara replied. "Sorry for the wait, Kakuzu, hm." Feeling the waterworks starting up again, I decided it was best to avoid either of the artists, so I headed to the unlit hallway and squatted, holding my head in my hands. Sobs wracked through my body, and with each one, I grew more convinced that if I'd actually died when Sasori made me, perhaps I'd have been better off. I didn't bother keeping up with how long I sat there. It didn't matter. I sensed someone walking down the hall toward me but didn't bother to move. The worst that could happen was them telling me to go cry somewhere else. To my surprise, however, squatting next to me, they remained silent.
"I know how badly you miss your family." I raised my head quickly, my crying halting for a moment all at once. "Y-you do..? I thought... you were here on purpose..."
"I am." I could tell from the voice that it was Itachi. "But just because I'm here doesn't mean that I don't miss anyone." He placed something on the ground and scooted it over to me. "Maybe you should start reading this more. I skimmed through it: it seems like an informative read, even if it doesn't end up helping you directly."
"Thanks... Itachi-san." I could feel the smallest of smiles radiate from him as he got up and walked to his room. I grabbed the book and brought it to my chest. I dried my face one last time and took a steady breath in. Crying wasn't going to fix anything. I forced my legs to carry my weight to the connecting hall. I pushed Sasori's door open and ignored the squeak. I pulled the chair I usually sat in next to him at his desk and sat down, void of any outward emotion. I tossed my book onto the bed and leaned back, watching him. Finally, he turned to return my gaze.
"What, are you pouting now?" He asked petulantly. "I don't have any sympathy fo—"
"Teach me how to use puppets," I cut him off. With crossed arms, I forced a smile. "Let's start now. Don't make me wait, Sasori-sama." The irritation adorning Sasori's face dissipated, and he returned me with a closed smile. "Well, now... what brought this on?"
"I want to learn from the best of course." He closed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment. "This brings back bittersweet memories from my childhood. I suppose I can show you a few things as long as you can let go of whatever grudge you're holding against me. I don't have time for that."
"Sure," I replied simply. I certainly wasn't going to be able to let it go, but I was good at pretending. He turned to a drawer and shuffled things around inside of it. "Start with... this. Take it with you everywhere. Make it move as you do." He place a small wooden puppet made up of ball joints in front of me.
"Making chakra strings is a little tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Just focus, envision your chakra pooling at your fingertips and extending to your subject. Concentrate and experiment. Let me know when you get a hang of it."
"Do you have any books I could borrow? For starters, I guess?" I asked sheepishly. He chuckled lightly and walked to the bookcase not far from his work table. He ran a finger over come of the spines before plucking one and handing it to me. My grandmother gave this to me. Don't lose it."
"I won't."
"What're you doing exactly, Mori-chan, hm?" Mind totally transfixed, I'd managed to connect chakra strings to my little puppet. They were pretty weak, but I was making progress and feeling determined. Tongue stuck out barely, I'd almost failed to realize Deidara was even talking to me. "Uh... what?"
"Ugh... earth to Mori-chan!" He griped, "you're so weird, going from total breakdown to trying to impress Danna, hm." I looked up at him, my puppet falling as soon as my thoughts were torn from it. "Really! No, that's not it at all... I'm going out on a limb and assuming I used to be a kunoichi. I don't remember what jutsu I had or anything or if I was even any good... but I have slightly decent chakra control, so if I can hone some specific skill, I'll have a way to defend myself."
"From what exactly, hm?" He asked. Sitting on his bed, legs crossed, Deidara had been molding various sculptures for just as long as I'd been practicing my new "artform". I rolled my eyes and reattached the chakra strings. "Sasori-sama, obviously. If I can learn enough then I'll be able to make my own puppets..." I muttered, "Knowing him, he probably put a lot of work into making me, so I won't go down easily. I just need to learn everything I can, what my weaknesses are, what his are— that stuff." Temper flared, Deidara crushed what he'd been working on in his fist. "It's not like I wouldn't defend you, hm."
"I didn't say you wouldn't, but I can't drag you into my bullshit," I responded. "This is my problem, and I have to deal with it." A small laugh escaped him as he lie back. "You're planning on taking him out, hm?" He clicked his tongue a few times. "He has about twenty-ish years experience on you, y'know."
"I'm not planning on doing this all myself technically... I could easily run to Konoha and tell them he's coming to kill me," I explained, "then, when he shows up, I'll be able to help them fend him off. If he doesn't die, then hopefully he'd at least fuck off for a while." An awkward silence grew between us. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what to say. A few minutes passed as we both worked our mediums. Deidara bit his lip and grunted. "I know you're not happy, but... would staying really be so bad, hm?" I stopped what I was doing and locked eye contact with him until, flustered, he turned away. I settled on the book Sasori had lent me, scanning the page I'd turned to. "I guess that's something I'll have to decide once I talk to Michi."
"Yeah, that's so promising, hm," he grumbled.
"Better question: would leaving really be so bad, Deidara-san?" I wanted to smack myself in the face. That was a stupid question.
"I didn't say it would be bad necessarily... but it'd be a lot less complicated if you just didn't go anywhere, hm." I felt my cheeks grow warm, "for some reason... I strongly doubt that." Deidara snickered, shrugging. "You're right, I shouldn't have said that. You walk into a room and everything turns to chaos, hm." Deciding to simply return his remark with a sarcastic smile.
"Keeps things interesting at least, hm."
"Yeah... will you go with me to Kumo?" I asked, my questions coming out in the form of word vomit.
"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask, hm. I guess I can fit it into my schedule." Sheer excitement overcame me, but I did my best to contain it. No need to embarrass myself more than I already regularly managed to from day to day.