Welcome to Chapter Twenty! I'm so glad that people are enjoying the story; I never thought I'd ever have a story that was twenty chapters long and still not finished with!
After the last chapter, this one will seem very filler-ish; the plot doesn't really progress. It's basically about how the rest of the Akatsuki react to what happened to Deidara and Orochimaru's death. It will focus on Aoi, Sasori, Itachi, and Konan.
I kind of want to pair Deidara up with someone, but I don't know if that would ruin the story or not. If anyone has any ideas, put them in a review, lolz.
Speaking of reviews, I have over ninety! I'm so happy! So thanks to everyone who reviewed; you are awesome!
…Well, I have only two more days left of final exams before I start winter break! That means I'll be posting more! I won't be posting on Christmas Eve or Christmas day because I'm going to be visiting relatives.
This chapter continues where the previous ended.
*Warning: This chapter contains language*
Nope, I still don't own Naruto! *Sigh*
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-Chapter Twenty: Anger-
When Konan reached the interrogation chamber, she could smell the odor of death before she saw Orochimaru's body. She paid no attention to it, though; all she cared about was the unconscious blonde sprawled out on the floor. She kneeled down to Deidara's level and gently picked him up so that he was lying on his back on her lap.
The bomber moaned, and that's when the origami artist noticed his broken arm and leg. He hurt you so much, she thought sadly, stroking his hair. After awhile, his eyes finally snapped open. "Get away from me!" he whimpered, trying to escape Konan's grasp. He stopped when he realized who was holding him. "O-oh, it's you, Konan-san, un."
"I'm going to take you back to your room, Deidara-san. It's okay now; Orochimaru is dead."
At the mention of the sannin's name, Konan felt the blonde stiffen. "Please don't say his name, un. Please!"
"It's okay, Deidara," the blue-haired woman soothed. Honorifics were the least of her worries.
"No it's not, un," he whispered. "I can still hear him. I can still feel him! Please Konan, I'm begging you, kill me now, un! I can't live like this any longer!"
As he said that, the Ame-nin grabbed him tighter, hugging him fiercely. "No! I will never kill you, Deidara. All of us will help you get through this!"
"I'm such a failure!" he sobbed. "I've held the Akatsuki back long enough, un! Pein was right; I'm worthless! I couldn't even protect myself from…him…even with my supposed 'talents'!" He leaned into the blue-haired woman's shirt and continued to cry
With every word, Konan's heart was breaking. No. Pein was wrong; I believe you're stronger than any of us! She rubbed the Iwa-nin's back until his sobs died down.
"Konan?" he said quietly, eyes swollen from crying. "Thank you, un. I'm glad you found me first."
The Ame-nin sadly smiled and gently picked him up, carrying him bridal-style, with the bomber's unbroken arm around her neck. Though Konan was a woman, she was also quite strong, and carried Deidara with ease.
She hadn't noticed that the sleeve of her pajama shirt was rolled up until Deidara pointed it out to her. "What's that on your arm, un?"
She looked down, dismayed that the many bruises that covered her arm were exposed. "N-nothing, Deidara, just a shadow." She shifted his position and fixed the sleeve.
The blonde nodded, his eyes betraying his feelings. He didn't believe her. But he didn't bring it up, instead starting another conversation. "Konan, will it be possible for me to ever fall in love, un?"
The origami artist remembered when Sasori had asked her about love. It seemed so long ago, to her. "Yes, in time, I do believe that it is possible."
"It seems impossible, though. Every time I think that someone's going to walk by me, I just get so scared. Besides that,I'm so messed up; who would ever love me, un?"
Konan was saddened by this. He was broken way before Orochimaru, and we didn't even notice. "Just try to calm down, and go to sleep. I'm sure that everyone will want to ask you questions in the morning."
"I'm not sure if I can sleep, un," replied Deidara. "I can't stop thinking of him, and everything hurts."
"Do you want me to get Itachi so that he can make you sleep?"
"No! I will not have him or his damned eyes anywhere near me, un!"
At least that part of his personality didn't change, thought Konan, relieved that he still had a bit of his original stubborn streak.
Despite what the bomber had said before, eventually, he fell asleep in Konan's arms. When she reached his room, she quietly opened the door and laid Deidara on his bed. She was about to leave when she sensed something move behind her. She slowly turned around, locking eyes with a confused and worried Sasori.
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"Where the hell was Deidara?" Sasori hissed. He had woken up to find his partner gone, and a minute later, Konan had snuck into the room, carrying the blonde.
"Sasori-san, there's something you should know," stated the blue-haired woman.
As she explained what had happened, Sasori's eyes widened in anger, fear, and then sadness. "So you're saying that Deidara killed Orochimaru after the bastard raped him?" he asked after she was finished.
"Yes." Konan nodded. "He grabbed a kunai that was left in the room and stabbed him while his guard was down."
The puppet master tilted his head. "Does he seem…okay?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Sasori-san; he's very broken. He will not get over this for a long time. He needs your help. Take care of him."
The redhead nodded, feeling sick. Why couldn't I protect him? He's my partner!
Konan looked once more at Sasori and Deidara and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Once he was sure the Ame-nin had left, he walked over to Deidara's bed and grabbed one of the blonde's hands. The burning sensation in his eyes returned, and he felt—and heard—himself gasp. The choking breaths continued, and the puppet master realized that this was his version of crying. He didn't like it, but he couldn't stop. For once, he wished he was human so that he could shed tears for the loss of his partner's innocence. When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his face was twisted up in agony, almost as if he'd been stabbed. In a way, he was. What Orochimaru did would affect the redhead as well as Deidara.
"Sasori-san? Are you all right?" asked a semi-awake Aoi, rubbing her eyes.
The puppeteer pondered whether or not to tell the brunette what happened. She deserves to know; Deidara is her friend too. He made his decision.
Once he was done explaining, Aoi looked absolutely heartbroken, her eyes shining with tears. "This is all my fault! If I wasn't summoned here, Orochimaru wouldn't have taken interest in me, and he wouldn't have been able to find Deidara!" She dropped to the floor, curling her legs up to her chest, silently sobbing.
Sasori leaned to her level, cupping her face in his hands. "Look at me," he stated. "This is by no means your fault! Orochimaru would've found him someday; he had always been attracted to Deidara. Besides, if you weren't summoned here, I never would have met you." He softly kissed the brunette on the lips. "Please don't blame yourself; Deidara wouldn't want that."
Aoi nodded, her tears starting to ebb away. Sasori noticed that she had a timid look on her face. "Would you mind sleeping next to me for the rest of the night? I just feel so cold and empty."
The redhead slowly nodded. "Okay."
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Why the hell did you ask him that? That was so awkward! Aoi mentally slapped herself. She just felt like she needed someone to hug, to hold onto. No matter what Sasori said, she would always blame herself for what happened to Deidara.
She was surprised when he said yes. From what she read and watched of the anime and manga, Sasori was not a caring, feeling person. Is this a side that was never shown, or is it something else? Too tired to wonder further, she made room for the redhead on her cot. He slowly laid down, and Aoi hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shirt. She felt him tense, then relax and pull her closer.
"Don't worry about Deidara, he won't blame you," he murmured. "Go to sleep now, you need your rest, Aoi."
The puppet master's voice was enough to make the brunette's eyes start to close. Before she knew it, she had fallen into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, she woke to see Sasori's face barely an inch away from hers. What the hell? Then, she remembered that she had asked the redhead to sleep next to her, to comfort her after she found out what Orochimaru had done to Deidara. She relaxed, and fell back to sleep.
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Itachi knew something was up. When he and Kisame went to breakfast, Aoi, Sasori, and Deidara weren't there. However, Pein was. The pierced man never ate breakfast with the rest of the Akatsuki, so the Uchiha approached him. "What's going on, Pein-sama?" he asked, respectfully. He didn't want to sound accusing.
"So, you noticed that I was here? Come, let's talk in private," answered the orange-haired man, beckoning Itachi to follow him into the empty common room.
"What's going on? I know something's up, considering the glances you're giving to Konan-san and Ma—uh, Tobi."
As Pein explained what had happened the night before, Itachi dropped the cup of tea he was holding in shock. "What?" Itachi might not have considered the blonde as a close friend, but for that to have happened to him? He shuddered just imagining it. No one deserved that.
"I am going to announce what happened to the rest of the Akatsuki today," the pierced man continued. His voice got deeper as he started to rant, "We have waited long enough for Deidara to recover, and now this happens? That little shit is costing us our goals! I don't care if he got raped by Orochimaru; he's going to Suna with Sasori in two weeks!"
"Don't you think you are being a little unfair, Pein-sama? Think about his mind; he hasn't the emotional strength to go after a jinchuriki yet," Itachi reasoned, worried about the Iwa-nin. "Wouldn't you rather wait and succeed than rush into this and fail?"
Pein looked at the Uchiha, slowly nodded. "I will think about it." He walked back into the kitchen, the raven-haired man following him.
"Everyone SHUT UP!" roared Pein, causing everyone in the room to drop what they were doing, both figuratively and literally.
Hidan dropped his plate, causing Kakuzu to smack him on the back of the head. "Baka! That was expensive!"
The immortal was going to answer, but took one look at Pein and shut up.
"I have an announcement to make," continued the orange-haired man. "There was an…incident last night. Orochimaru somehow got into the base."
"What?" shouted Hidan. "How the fuck did he get past our defenses? Damn snake!"
"I wasn't finished, Hidan," Pein replied, teeth clenched. The Jashinist stopped talking and sat down once more. "It seems that he…assaulted Deidara-san."
"Assaulted as in fought, or as in raped?" asked Kisame.
The Akatsuki leader nodded at the second definition, and the shark-nin's face seemed to pale in color. "That's sick!" he finally spat.
"You mean, the snake bastard…and Blondie…? Oh Jashin, that's fuckin' wrong!" exclaimed Hidan, his mauve eyes widening. They narrowed, and he continued. "Jashin-sama will punish that piece of shit! Or I will!"
"Deidara-san already killed him, Hidan-san," answered Pein. "The traitor is finally out of our lives. You can thank Deidara-san for that."
"But at what cost?" Itachi heard Konan whisper sadly, mostly to herself. The raven-haired man found himself agreeing with the lone female of the Akatsuki. Indeed, at what cost? He found himself worrying about the bomber, and he didn't know why. Maybe it was because Orochimaru used to obsess over him as well, or maybe because he felt bad for using Mangekyo on him. Whatever the reason, he found that he never wanted to see Deidara in pain. Never. I will help you get through this, Deidara-san. I just wish you'd trust me. With that, he left the cacophony of the kitchen, walking to Sasori and Deidara's room. He needed to ask Sasori a few questions.
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And that's the end of Chapter Twenty. I know it seems a bit shorter, but I couldn't make it any longer without getting boring.
I hope Konan's part was all right. The bruises on her arms do have significance; they will be explained in a later chapter.
Aww! Cute moments with Aoi and Sasori! I hope they weren't cheesy.
I know Itachi was a bit OOC, but I wanted to show his caring side. Same thing with Hidan. I wanted to show that he was more than a masochistic immortal with a vulgar vocabulary. I hope I didn't mess him up too much.
Sheesh, Pein is such a jerk in this chapter!
…This will be explained later, but Madara took Orochimaru's body from the base and burned it. So no, Zetsu didn't eat it.
I know this was boring, but I hope you enjoyed it!