Chapter ten – Serendipity

Author's Note: NOW I HAVE PROOF THAT MY STORY SUCKS. I think I received a total of three reviews for the last chapter. Moral is gone now. Yea, I'll finish the story, I promise. I'm sorry it took me REALLY long to finish. I'm SO sorry about the long wait… It's just… all of this school crap and homework crap I have to deal with really clogs up your time. This chapter has A LOT of cursing it (you can guess why), so just a warning. HAPPY THANKSGIVING BREAK!

-:- -:-

"I'm glad you've decided to join me,"

"I had no choice. Seeing as I've committed far too many taboos already,"

The man in the beige robe chuckled – a maniacal, cackling laugh that sent daggers into the other's spine. The first man noticed this, and quickly closed in on his prey. The shorter of the two took a step back to avoid the other's breath, his turban blowing in the desert winds picking up around them.

"C'mon, Sasori, don't tell me you regret your decision," the man addressing the puppeteer cackled again. Sasori narrowed his eyes.

Nights here drop below freezing. If you want to live to see another day, I suggest you follow my direction and keep that freakish tongue inside your mouth," Sasori snapped at the taller man.

The hood slipped off, revealing Orochimaru's jet black hair. The wind quickly claimed it, blowing its greasy strands in the dusty storm. Sasori narrowed his eyes, whether it be from annoyance or to avoid the sand projectiles, and started walking due South in the direction of Konoha. Orochimaru followed, assuring that his closeness to the redhead left an awkward feeling in the air.

Sasori had only navigated out of Suna two or three times, but he memorized every step he needed to take to get out. The sand slowly materialized into vegetation, and the warm, dry atmosphere into a wet, cool river country.

Much to Orochimaru's surprise, Sasori took a sharp right and started heading west. Before Orochimaru could question his movement, Sasori spoke.

"There's something I need to do…"

He vanished, abandoning Orochimaru in his dust.

-:- -:-

It was Thursday.

Deidara sorely lifted himself from the couch with dry tears softly clinging to his eyelashes. Usually he'd be shocked, but Sasori being gone wasn't much of an oddity to him anymore. The last words he heard from him, after all, were "The war's about to start". Somehow, he felt as if it meant "goodbye" the way Sasori vanished after they had returned to the Akatsuki base.

So… why was he crying?

It was that dream again – that nightmare that had haunted him since he could remember. The thing that terrified him the most was that it wasn't a nightmare at all… but a memory. A very vivid memory.

When was young and spending his seventh year at the orphanage, he remembered one of the nuns working there – Okaasan, he called her since she was the closest thing to a mother he ever had – told him that the couple who had promised to take him home decided on another child. Deidara broke away from Okaasan's hug, burst out of the iron gates guarding the orphanage, and spilled into the city with tears trailing down his cheeks. He found himself running into a dirty, dark alleyway, all the while, scraping his knees and hands on the pavement. The blonde crouched into a corner with his face buried in his bloody knees.

A pair of footsteps graced his ears with their heavy, trudged presence. He looked up, meeting the gaze of a middle-aged man with a very rough, dirtied face. He could remember every detail about him vividly. He had some brown hair left, though chunks of it were missing, and what little hair he had remaining was hoary. His face was unshaven, and a beard seemed to be on the brink of growing. His face was covered in scars, and his nose was slightly misshapen. His clothes and boots were worn though. Before he could get a proper gaze of him – even though one look was enough to permanently carve the memory away in his mind – he found the man lunging at him. He remembered a scream, but whether it came from himself or his attacker didn't seem to matter. What mattered was the fact that he was now splattered in blood. The next sound was definitely the scream of his aggressor. He stood up, watching as the man collapsed in a sea of his own blood, very much dead.

He instantly switched his gaze to the stranger who had driven the knife though the man's cold, no longer beating heart. He remembered seeing pale white skin, but the top half of his face was concealed by a heavy hoodie. His guardian abruptly fled the scene without so much as a second glance at his no longer damsel in distress.

What really bothered him was that he could remember the face of his attacker so vividly, but he could not remember much, if anything at all, of the stranger who rescued him.

Perhaps that was the most haunting part about his nightmare. He was a cop – he's seen scarier criminals who've done worse things to children, but the fact remained that the man who saved him was still a mystery.

"SHIT!"

He shot up instantly, as if on cue, and dashed into the kitchen where the noise had come from. A very unpleasant smell reached his nose, and his hands quickly darted to cover it up. Hidan was in the kitchen, cursing at his hand, which he had burned on the stove. Hidan instantly noticed Deidara's presence and moved to the opposite side of the kitchen to run it under some cold water. Deidara hesitated to ask why Hidan was cooking in the first place.

"If you're looking for your sex toy, he's out with his partner," Hidan said simply. He was used to the way Hidan addressed people. Strangely enough, he had not come up with a nickname for Orochimaru yet. Perhaps it was a silent form of respect, or fear. None of the Akatsuki seemed to want to stand up to Orochimaru, apart from Itachi. He had yet to learn about this story, but what mattered now was that Orochimaru wanted nothing to do with Deidara after he nearly blew the snake to kingdom come.

"Shit… shit…!" Hidan cursed, holding his shaking hands under the faucet.

Deidara ran a troubled hand through his bangs, contemplating starting conversation with Hidan.

"I heard you made A-Rank," Hidan started with groan as he pulled his hands from under the water, "Congradu-fucking-lations." Though it didn't appear that way, Deidara thought Hidan was actually congratulating him. "How was it fighting the Scorpling? I heard he's damn hard to beat…"

"I didn't really fight him. All he did was dodge everything, un…" Deidara admitted, trying to sound disappointed. Hidan arched an eyebrow as if to inquire that he wanted more information than that; information Deidara was not willing to give at the given time.

"Sucks," he finally stated when he realized that Deidara didn't want to talk.

"Sasori said something about… a war," The blonde started in hope Hidan knew about it.

"Well, you're in Akatsuki now… you'd better get used to hearing that word!" The religious man smiled, trying to pull off the cool-guy routine as if he belonged to some exclusive club. Seeing Deidara's expression unfazed, his expression eased and he continued with a less enthusiastic tone: "Yea, but seriously, kid. That's our whole reason for existing, or didn't you know? We're not here just to look cool,"

Deidara still looked puzzled, but intrigued.

"Look: our sole purpose for existence is that one word: War. That pierced dick-of-a-leader sells us to highest bidding side, and we fight until the war is officially over or if another side pays higher for our services. I may be new to this organization, but I know that Pein's gone though way too many of people like us. You're lucky if your chakra allows immortality. Jashin-sama gave me these powers, but for my immortality, I must sacrifice for him."

Deidara vaguely remembered a case many years ago that involved the religion of Jashin – the god their people worshiped. Hundreds of villagers were murdered for the sake of sacrificial reasons, and five followers were sent to the death penalty. The religion was banned, but, clearly, there will still followers.

"…Chakra…" Deidara repeated.

"I thought you already went through this shit… well, Chakra is supposedly some type of mumbo-jumbo shit that every human has. Only a few people have the ability to figure out how to work it. I had to have Pierced-dick awaken it for me, as did Kisame, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Konan, and you. Pein and the others – Sasori, Itachi, and Orochimaru – awakened it themselves… Sasori, I heard, a few days after he was born. That kid is weird…"

"What is this war about, un?"

Hidan seemed awfully annoyed that Deidara was not in the mood to talk about the puppeteer, but he managed to get over it in time to answer his question. "This isn't preschool anymore, Blondie. All of these wars that were started are because of us. Sure, in school, they may have taught you that this war was caused by an assassination or some other shit, but the Akatsuki is behind any and every war. This one was started by Orochimaru. He assassinated the Hokage a few days ago, and now Konoha thinks that Suna did it because their Kazekage was killed on Konoha soil.

"The freak puppeteer was the one who killed the Kazekage. It was really weird, but the day Pein asked The Red-eyed freak, Itachi, to carry it out, Sasori absolutely insisted that it be him who carried out the killing. Freak,"

Deidara shuddered at the memory of seeing Sandaime's body in Sasori's closet the fist day he met the redhead.

Hidan crossed his arms. Deidara noticed a twitch in his eyebrow as if thinking too hard on this matter. "I heard from Orochimaru that the freak still keeps the dude's body in his closet… I swear, that kid's probably in love with the guy or some twisted up shit like that… The kid is freaking weird enough as it is,"

"Strange, un…"

"This organization is filled with fuck-ups… That red-eyed freak Itachi was a spoiled rich kid who was the son to one of the most powerful men in Konoha. This Uchiha organization made and sold weapons to other countries that earned the Uchiha family millions of dollars—"

"Billions, actually," Deidara and Hidan turned their attention to the doorway where the shark-like Man Kisame had taken his entrance. Out of all of the Akatsuki, Kisame was one of few Deidara had not talked to. He could just hear the Jaws theme playing in the background…

"Like I give a shit," Hidan groaned, annoyed with being upstaged.

"Itachi was the oldest of two sons," Kisame began, "and the Uchiha organization may have sold weapons, but they were also huge on the black on the Black Market. During The Great Ninja War, the Hokage discovered the Uchiha Industries' involvement in their rival country, Sunagakure, and ordered Itachi to take down the Corporation by killing the CEO – his own father – and all of the board of directors. Since the whole village acknowledged him as a traitor, he had no choice but to join us. Of course, he already had his chakra awakened at a young age,"

Hidan burst out in a mild fit of laughter, though Deidara didn't see what was so funny about it.

"What about you, Kisame, un?" Deidara asked now that they were on the subject.

"Me? Well… I was part of a small Organization in Kirigakure called The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. We were created to protect our Kage, but that didn't excite me much, so I just left," Kisame shrugged, not taking notice to the bored faces of his audience. Deidara expected a little more.

"Do any of you know anything about Sasori-Danna, un?"

Kisame's face went serious. "I guess since Sasori isn't here now, we could tell you… he just doesn't like talking about it…"

Hidan was the first to speak, "He was born in Sunagakure over thirty years ago, I think… I heard that he betrayed his country and was forced to leave…"

"That has nothing to do it,"

Again, the kitchen inhabitants wheeled around to face another newcomer. This time, it was Sasori. The kitchen immediately went silent as if they were children about to scold by their father.

"Danna—"

"I was son of two of Suna's strongest soldiers, but they were killed in the war with Konoha… my grandmother was forced to take care of me – if that phrase can even be used with such a situation… she was constantly being dragged out to the war, so I was forced to stay in the care of the Sandaime Kazekage, who was a very close friend of my grandmother's… then Orochimaru arrived… and asked me to come to Konoha with him… so, I faked my death, killed my grandmother, and left."

The mood in the room was officially non-existent. Deidara looked as it he had just been slapped. Kisame quickly excuse himself from the room with a glass full of water, and left. Hidan stared intently at the redhead, exchanging glares of pure hatred. Deidara suddenly felt as if he were standing in the midst of a battlefield.

"Good lucky, Blondie," Hidan snapped, more toward Sasori than its intended target. Without a second remark or second glance at either of them, he left through the kitchen door, leaving Deidara to fight the demon that had just awakened in the kitchen. He secretly wondered how much of their conversation Sasori heard.

"Danna, un… I—"

"—if you wanted to know so badly, you should've come to me first," Sasori began, "I know a lot more than that low-life Hidan."

"…I'm sorry, un… I was just curious… and… you weren't around,"

"I was taking care of separate matters. Of course, I didn't expect to return home to this mess," he scowled, shooting a look at Hidan's supposed location.

"I was just talking with him about—"

"—matters you shouldn't associate yourself with—"

"—the war, un,"

Sasori's body stiffened. "It is not my duty to discuss this with you," he explained without a glance at Deidara, "I'm sure Pein will brief the Akatsuki with this matter later. For now, it is best if you keep quiet and don't ask questions." Sasori made his way for the door.

"Wait!" Deidara barked out. It was more of an impulse. Deidara was questioning if he even thought of doing it before it blurted out. Sasori stopped in the doorway, his hand resting against its wooden surface, but he dare not turn to look at Deidara.

"I-is it true… what Hidan said… a-am I really going to war…?"

Sasori's shoulders slowly raised then fell in a great sigh. "I'm sorry, Deidara," and with that, he was gone.

-:- -:-

It was the first time he had ever been with every member of the Akatsuki other than the time he first walked into the lair. All nine of them were sprawled across the living room couches, Pein in the center of them with Konan. Sasori was in the corner with his back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest and Orochimaru by his side. Hidan was laying upside-down on the couch, his feet hanging off of the back and his head off of the seat. Kakuzu sat with an annoyed glare at his partner as he counted this month's profits. Kisame was on the opposite couch with his partner, Itachi, beside him. As for Deidara, he was dead center with Zetsu staring at him as if he were ready to swallow him whole. He could smell the scent of the dead every time Zetsu breathed out.

Konan was the first to address the crowd. As soon as she shifted positions, the whole room went quiet. Pein was the first to stand.

"Listen up. This time around, there was a higher bid on Konohakagure's behalf. Sunagakure came in second, and they offered three million for Sasori."

The Akatsuki turned their heads to look at the redhead, who had a very unpleasant smile on his face. Pein cleared his throat and their heads instantly shifted back to the pierced man.

"—as I was saying… Itachi, Konoha paid two-point-five Mil for you, but I'll be sending you to Suna for the sake of the Uchiha Industries. Hidan, you're going to Konoha for one-point-five Mil."

"Shit… I hate this country." Hidan interrupted with a groan.

"Zetsu to Suna, Kakuzu stays for finances, Konan stays, Kisame to Konoha, Orochimaru stays; and as for Deidara, you've been asked to remain in Konoha."

Deidara's face fell. The room erupted with casual banter before it cleared out, leaving just Deidara, Pein, and Konan. Pein seemed to notice exactly what Deidara was thinking as he advanced on him.

"Pein, I can't… I can't fight against Sasori."

"Deidara, you're new to this. You don't have much of a say in this until you've been here longer than you have. Konoha did not pay very much for you, and Suna paid almost nothing. Until you have a say in where you're sold, you can't do anything about it." Pein snapped, rather annoyed with the whole situation.

"Deidara, it'll be fine… Akatsuki are not required to fight against one of their own. I just wouldn't run into him on the battlefield. There's a reason why villages pay so much for him." Konan finished before walking out of the room with Pein under her arm. Deidara's heart sunk a little more as he walked back to Sasori's room.

Of course, he was absent of it. In fact, the room looked as it had been neglected of human presence for days. Deidara collapsed on the unmade bed, spread-eagled and eye wide open. After the thoughts clouding his mind whisked away, he fell victim of sleep.

The door burst open and in spilled Sasori. His red hair fell over his eyes, and his breathing was heavy, almost as if he had returned from a ten mile jog (which would probably be nothing to a person like him). He looked relieved of sleep, unlike the previously-snoozing blonde. He was used to seeing Sasori like this – messy, unkempt, and slightly lanky.

"I can't stand this…" the only words Sasori muttered and repeated to himself as if someone were actually listening and understood what was going through his mind. Obviously, he still thought Deidara was asleep, otherwise he would've said something or stopped by now. Sasori slipped out his cloak and dropped it carelessly onto the bed, oblivious to the fact that it was now covering the half-asleep blonde lying on his bed.

The redhead crossed his room and walked over to his closet, pulling it open and paying no mind to the jars threatening to leap off of their respected shelves. Deidara kept his human eye shut, but his scope kept Sasori in its gaze. The puppeteer slipped out of the closet with his hand wrapped around what seemed to be another's. The Kazekage's lifeless body spilled onto the carpet, its wooden body parts clanking along with it. Sasori knelt at its side and began driving a needle and thread through the fabric of his cloak.

One thing Deidara noticed about Sasori is that he often combated emotions with productivity. He would read, sew, build something, or fix something when he wanted to hide something from the rest of the world.

"I'm so sick of everyone asking me about my past…" he whispered to the puppet, stroking its cheek rather fondly. Deidara couldn't help but feel a burning jealousy for the puppet.

"…Danna…"

Sasori shot up, as if awakened from a trance, and got to his feet to meet Deidara's gaze. His eyes with cascaded with humiliation and hatred. Deidara was lying on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Why are you here?" Sasori asked.

"I was asleep… you woke me up, un," Deidara stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Sasori closed his eyes and bit his lip in annoyance with himself. "Can we talk?"

Sasori's eyes reflected the candlelight burning on the bedside table as he watched Deidara. He closed his eyes as if he were afraid Deidara would be able to read him, before he nodded and took a seat beside him. "What do you want?"

"I know it wasn't a dream, Danna," Deidara stated, resting his head on Sasori's leg, "That night you told me that you killed my parents… I know it wasn't a nightmare. There's something you're not telling me…"

"I already told you the whole truth," Sasori inched away from the blonde, carelessly allowing Deidara's head to fall off of his leg and back onto the bed. "I did kill them."

Deidara shot up onto his knees, surprised by the lack of remorse in the redhead's voice. "Wha-what? You won't even deny it? B-but, why would you kill them, un…?"

"Because they took something very precious from me…"

A malicious smile broke across Sasori's lips as he spoke…

-:- -:-

…"Once upon a time, there was a young boy who was born into a noble family of elite Sunagakure soldiers. Every day, he would watch helplessly as they abandoned him with his grandmother to fight in a terrible war. One day they didn't come back and the boy became an orphan. His grandmother never had enough time to take care of her grandson, so she left him in the care of a close family friend who was soon to become the Third Kazekage. With hatred and corruption boiling in his heart, the young Boy grew up with mistrustful ideals and selfishness shielding him from those who had hurt him. The man who meant the most to him abandoned the boy for his country, and the boy was now more alone than ever.

"One day, a mysterious stranger appeared and offered the boy a path. In one month's time, the boy turned from a tortured adolescence into a serial killer. He faked his death, killed his grandmother, threatened the Kazekage, and vanished.

"Before the boy could assume place at his new home, he needed peace of mind. Angered and frustrated by his hurt, foolish heart, he took the lives of the people who had taken the lives of the two who mattered the most in the world to him. Little did he know, but the couple had a son who was only a few weeks old. The boy wanted nothing more than to kill the infant, but he couldn't bring himself to it. Instead, he brought the boy with him to Konoha, where he abandoned him at an Orphanage where he would grow and be despised by the tortured boy.

"The orphan grew and left nothing to be desired – no one would adopt him, love him, or pay attention to him. Then he met her. The girl who would change his life. For once in his life, he was happy. The boy didn't like that. So he took her life, and claimed the orphan as his own. The boy killed everyone precious to the orphan… apart from one person. That person was the boy himself.

"Deep down, the boy hated the orphan more than anything else. He wanted the orphan to perish and suffer just as he did and will suffer for the rest of his life. Poor, poor Deidara…"

-:- -:-

"…I hate you, Deidara… I've never hated anyone this much before… your parents… they stole my life away… they killed me… my humanity is gone because of them… I've been watching you from the moment I left you on the front steps of the Orphanage. I made sure no one adopted you… I made sure no one cared for you… I protected you from death because I wanted you to suffer… you couldn't go the easy way. Then you started investigating Sandaime… my sensei, after I killed him… I knew that it was time for me to intervene in your life again… you're mine, you see… no one else can have you. No one can love you, or want you… or hurt you… no one except me."

When Sasori had finished, Deidara's eyes were numb from tears. Sasori's expression remained unchanged from the moment he started talking – that same evil smile the detective was used to seeing on murderers locked up in insane asylums.

That smile…

That Insane, evil, malicious smile…

A growl that could put a tiger to shame erupted from Deidara's mouth as he launched himself at Sasori, pressing his hands firmly against the Puppeteer's slender, fragile little neck. He wanted nothing more then to snap it and watch Sasori die in a pool of his blood.

This boy… this evil, evil boy…

This dark, twisted boy…

"I'll kill you…! I-I'll kill you…!"

Sasori could feel Deidara's palm mouths sink their teeth into his neck, tearing at his flesh in anger. It was as if every single moment Deidara had felt torment in his life was coming out right now, and keeping those firm hands tightly clasped around his esophagus.

"…Going… to kill… me…?" Sasori choked, swallowing and gasping. "…I-I… raised you… I protect…ted… you… you could… s-say… I'm like… your… f-father…"

Hearing this made Deidara's muscles relax a little – the perfect opening for an elite Akatsuki member. Sasori thrust his hand upward and into Deidara's ribcage. A terrible CRACK filled the air as Deidara fell off the bed and collapsed onto the floor, too weak to move. Sasori got to his feet, massaging his neck and swallowing air in shallow, wheezing gasps. He looked down at Deidara, coughed a bit, and then spoke.

"You're pathetic… y-you always have been… since the day you were born… you could never even dream of killing me… y-you… you… weakling…"

Deidara clenched his fists and tore at the carpet. He couldn't move – it felt as it Sasori had broken a few of his ribs. He felt a foot push him onto his back. His eyes focused onto Sasori's evil, corrupted expression.

"…perhaps it's time I end your pitiful existence…"

-:- -:-

Author's Note – I'M SO SORRY! I'm sorry for taking almost three months for an update! I'm sorry that this chapter is so morbid. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. PLEASE, PLEASE review. Even if you want to curse me out for this plot twist, I totally understand.