Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
10: Tobi
It was…odd. The day before was so weird. Deidara and I apologized. Really, we can't stay mad at each other for long. I was sure that Zetsu had realized that. I was still upset at Deidara for his cruel intentions, but I didn't want to risk another fight. That's not what made that day so abnormal, though. First, I was invited to some gang that I stupidly didn't recognized until they popped up in front of me and told me who they were. Then, I talked to Deidara. Not that odd, I'll admit. But I guess it was how our conversation went. He was really concerned. He even offered to ditch the rest of the school day with me. The last strange thing of the school day was Zetsu's fit. He was screaming about how things weren't easy for him.
Then I did something strange. I accepted the invitation. I tracked down the leader after school and told him I wanted to be in his gang. I was in. I was then in the Akatsuki.
I hadn't been able to face Deidara all day, though. I felt horrible. Not because I joined the gang, but because I told him I wasn't going to. I couldn't own up to it. I hoped it wouldn't lead to another fight. That was the last thing I wanted.
When Deidara and I first met, we had only been six and hadn't really liked each other at all. In fact, my mom had forced me to go meet Deidara one day before we had started school. I had seen him playing in his front yard the day before – he was playing some extended version of his favorite anime – and I begged my mom not to make me go. She dragged me along anyway.
But the thing was, I hadn't thought Deidara was a boy. He had seemed really girly then and he had already started growing out his hair. I was at that age where the rumor was going around that girls had cooties and I had to stay away from them. So for me, then, it was natural to want to stay away from Deidara when I thought he was a girl.
My mom and his mom got along fine while they shoved me and him into the downstairs playroom – expecting us to play happily. We didn't. We sat cross-legged on opposite sides of the room with our arms folded against our chests and glared at each other (I didn't have my mask yet).
After awhile, I felt my resentment against him start to fade and saw Deidara look the same. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, fell backwards and hit his head on the wall behind him. Then I started laughing as I crawled over to see if he was alright.
I discovered he was a boy, not a girl.
We then formed an alliance against the cookie-stealing kindergarteners in our class. Okay, we didn't really go against them. We each brought a back-up cookie and gave the thieves the ones the teacher gave us. But we started to become friends after that.
We were just friends up until the third grade when some bully started messing with Deidara. The bully would push him aside and laugh when Deidara fell; knocked his homework off the desk; steal his pens and pencils; and take his desserts from his lunch. Everything a bully was supposed to do.
Deidara was miserable. I felt really bad for him. So I went after his bully; pushed him down in the halls and told him to stay away from my friend or I'd seriously mess him up. Honestly, I don't think I could have even if I'd wanted to. I hadn't really been violent then. But the kid bought it and didn't bug Deidara anymore. Deidara decided that we were best friends then.
I guess our friendship moved in three year intervals, because in sixth grade, we started dating. It wasn't a surprise since we had been so close for so long. It was how that got me.
In the middle of sixth grade, my parents got a divorce. I had never dreamed that my parents would do such a thing and that's when I started to get violent. I hurt my mom; I hurt teachers; I hurt Deidara. Deidara stayed by my side throughout it all though and hugged me when I was calm. We didn't make our getting together a big deal or anything, it just happened.
My mom flipped about how violent I was and made me take tae kwon do. Deidara had started before sixth grade out of his own choice. We practiced together and I started getting happier again and less violent.
Then a gang from our school invited us. At first, we didn't want to be part of the gang because of all the things that we'd heard about them. Then we thought it would be fun. So we joined The Protectors.
It was fun…at first. Deidara had always liked fire and I had liked guns; we got to use that to our advantage. He learned how to make his own bombs and cover them with his clay sculptures. I learned how to use a gun and shoot someone in certain spots where it would go completely through and look almost like the person was never shot. We went around killing people and had a blast.
During summer vacation before we went into eighth grade, Deidara and I broke up. And when we went into eighth grade, Deidara hooked up with the leader of our gang.
It was true, Deidara was a big flirt and he used that to his advantage. It was also true that he hadn't been flirting when he and the leader got together. He'd be lying if he said he had a good time with him though.
The leader was all about verbal abuse and Deidara made a good victim. Every time I tried to tell the blonde that they should break-up, he'd get mad at me and say I was jealous. I couldn't convince him and slowly I watched Deidara lose himself until he wasn't the Deidara that I had become friends with. He was angrier and anti-social and the only person he wanted to be with was the leader. And the leader took advantage of that.
Deidara was ever-loyal to the leader. He jumped from rank to rank in our gang. We had both started out in the first rank and he had moved to the second and then third in a period of five months. I was left in rank one. He stood by the leader and soon a gang war erupted between The Protectors and a gang called Myth.
I hate that day. Hate it more that the leader himself.
It was night, we were supposed to meet Myth at a park in town, but the leader wanted to try a surprise attack. I guess he thought we were going to lose. We snuck into the park and got jumped. Several of our members died on entrance. We immediately gave up on the surprise part and just gave it our all. Really, the only sound you could hear was guns shooting and people screaming. I felt young suddenly. I had been thirteen, but you couldn't convince me that being a teenager was fun.
I was fighting about three people at once, though I probably could have taken about five more. But I was also trying to help another member who was getting attacked by more than she could handle. One of the guys I was fighting pulled a knife. I guess I knew what was going to happen and that it was inevitable in my situation. He started slashing wherever he could – my face, my chest, my stomach. I pulled my gun out and shot him down.
When I got out later that night, I was helping Deidara to the hospital. His left eye had been carved out and he'd been shot in the right arm. The leader hadn't helped him, but I didn't bug Deidara with that fact. I just wanted to help him out. It was a long night.
The next day, I left the gang. I knew what would happen – I'd be hunted until someone killed me. I knew because I'd done it to several people. I took the risk and told my mom that I wanted to transfer schools and I even covered my face with a mask. I was hunted. Not as long as I had expected, but it was scary nonetheless. People tried stabbing me, shooting me, beating me to death and god knows what else. I escaped it all with luck on my side.
I didn't see Deidara often, just when he was home. We hung out as much as possible between the time he spent with his boyfriend, family and fighting other gangs. We managed to keep our friendship through it all.
Before he moved, he told me he'd broken up with the leader and left the gang. All I could think of saying was "good luck". Because I knew he'd need it.
I couldn't believe that Kurinai's attack had been the first. Deidara really was lucky. I'd heard that he'd been in one more gang war before he'd moved and still, the only scar he had was on his arm and having no left eye. And now with the surprise attack on him, he got away with no scars. I was a bit envious, but also relieved to know that Deidara was alright.
I was amazed now, standing in front of my new leader and surrounded by seven other members of the gang, that I wasn't as scared as I had expected. Remembering it all, I hated myself for joining another gang, but I wasn't scared of what was going to happen. I knew what they needed me for even before Leader told me.
"That damnable gang, The Protectors, have crossed into our territory and we need to get ready for a war," Leader muttered angrily. "You know anything about the gang?"
I nodded, wrapping my right hand around my left arm. The room we were using was in the basement of the school and had once been a storage room. They had cleaned it out and put a desk and chair in it. There was no source of light whatsoever in the room.
"So tell us about them," Leader said. I could hear his smile.
I hung my head and pulled everything I could remember about the gang out of my memories. I still wasn't scared though. I was just really angry.
I won't let any of it happen again.
A/N: Tobi's past is revealed!! Sounds like fun, huh? I'd hate to be him. Anyway, so now you know more and I hope that helps alleviate the confusion. I'm sorry, but I don't want to reveal the name of the leader yet. I'm trying to build up suspense for the revelation of his name. I wonder how many of you have already figured out who it is though. If you know, don't ruin it for the ones who don't please. (If there are any who don't know…)
BTW, this is killing me. I want to, like, mass update this story so I can be done with it and start updating Staying Strong. This story is killer right now. If only I hadn't had so much time on my hands before...
Please review!