AN: I am such a mean author...I've had this sitting on my computer for a few days now, and are finally posting this! I blame school...I don't know why, but I do. ANYWAYS, I know you are going to love this chapter, so I'll leave you to it! :D
Chapter 24: Love Knows No Bounds
Quick footsteps were heard down the halls as a teary-eyed Emi made her way to her room, quickly shutting the door behind her. A small sting formed along the inside of her lip, trying to bite said tears away. No other thoughts could go through the girl's head with the exception of the contradicting words of Sasori:
"...Look, I love Emi; I love her more than anything else in this world. But she's so...pure. I don't want to taint her!"
"...I'm a monster, a beast. You don't want to love me if you know what's good for you."
"I don't get it!" she nearly shouted, pounding her fists against her knees as she slid down against her door. "I don't get it, Danna! If you love me, why won't you accept me...?"
This, of course, seemed to be only a rhetorical question. She knew she wasn't the problem for Sasori, but she couldn't help but feel partially responsible. If she hadn't loved him, they, Sasori especially, wouldn't be in this predicament. Emi wouldn't have had to find out that he was a murderer.
But that wouldn't have stopped her from feeling the way she did towards him. The young girl loved the Scorpion of the Red Sand, even if he was 19, almost 20 years her senior. Knowing him the way she did, it didn't bother her at all that there was a possibility that he could be her uncle if they were related at all.
But to be in love with a murderer?
That was a completely different perspective.
Young Emi just didn't know anymore. She felt she just couldn't understand. There had to be more behind it! Her mind wanted her to be in denial, to find an explanation behind his killings...
And maybe, there was one?
After thinking on it some more, Emi wiped her eyes and stood up; finally coming to the conclusion that she needed to confront someone about her problem. Someone who could help her understand Sasori better.
:::::
Deidara's nose fixed, Aina headed for her own room. He was mad at her, and in all honestly, she knew he has a good reason for it, so she figured it best to leave the bomber alone for a little while. He definitely had an explosive personality, and a short fuse to boot! With a couple hours, though, he'll calm down and she'll be able to apologize.
Opening the door of her room, she wasn't expecting to see someone there. Emi was sitting on her bed, a box of tissues in hand. Her eyes were red and slightly poofed out, clearly telling the observant medic nin the young girl had been crying.
"Emi," Aina breathed, walking to sit next to her friend.
"Aina, I'm...I'm so confused..." she fought back more tears.
"Come here," the green-haired girl pulled the other into a side-ways hug, a hand pulling the younger's to rest on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be ok. Let it out, then we can talk about it."
So Emi cried.
It was a while before the sobbing slowed down, becoming just a couple sniffles every now and then. The older kunoichi looked down at the other's face, seeing she was still awake.
"Are you ready?" she asked calmly.
"Yeah."
"Alright, tell me what happened."
It took a while for Emi to get everything out, not only having a lot to say, but having to fight new waves of tears attempting to pour out of her. But finally she managed to get to the present.
"...so then-then I thought...to come to you..."
"You can always come to me, Emi," she smiled reassuringly to her.
The purple-blue-eyed girl let out a sniffle. "I know,"
"You really don't know much about the ways of ninjas, do you?"
"Well, I...thought I did..."
"Emi," Aina became more serious, her smile beginning to fade. "Ninja are murderers. We are cold-hearted murderers who are given assignments to kill people and take things from others without hesitation. This is what it means to be a ninja."
"Does that mean...you...have killed...?"
"Yes, even I've killed people. I've had quite a few assassination missions, as well as other missions that didn't go so well."
"How can you...not be hurt by this?"
"Well, I just think that what I'm doing, I do for Amegakure. We are a poor people, and we need all the money and help we can get. Every mission I complete successfully means Amegakure has been helped, even if only a little."
"But, now you work for Akatsuki...so, what do you do?"
"I now think that what I'm doing, I do for Akatsuki. It's not that much different, especially considering Akatsuki was originally created to help Amegakure."
"Really?" Emi questioned.
"Yup, Pein-sama was tired of watching the people suffer...that, and he was a victim too. So he formed the Akatsuki and saved Amegakure."
"That's really cool."
"It is," there was a slight pause. "But now, back to Sasori."
"Right," the younger's face fell a little.
"I know it must be hard to try and accept what he's done, but it's just the way of the ninja. As a ninja, you need to perfect your style of fighting. His is puppetry, so he has to make sure he has the best puppets. Though they are grotesque, his human puppets are stronger than any other puppet out there. They have unique abilities other puppeteers could only dream about."
Emi became fascinated, seeing the situation from a different light. She had never really thought about it as getting the upper-hand...only as a monstrous behaviour.
"If I recall right," she continued. "Most, if not all, of his puppets were made from shinobi who would be dead anyways. They were ninja who were silly enough to challenge Sasori of the Red Sand. He's just taking extra advantage from his victories in battle that were already going to happen. It's not like he sits down with a book and says 'oh, this guy looks like he'll be nice for my collection,' and goes out to kill them. He just stumbles across them, I suppose."
The young medical ninja could help but giggle at the other's attempt to sound like the man in question. She also thought on what the other was saying, and it was actually making some sense to her. Maybe Aina was right, that Sasori wasn't as bad as he was making himself out to be.
"I...think I'm beginning to see things more clearly," Emi stated, after along time of letting Aina do most of the talking.
"I'm glad," the brown-eyed girl smiled back. "If you don't mind, may I ask what you're going to do about this?"
"No, not at all. I know exactly what I'm going to do..."
:::::
Deidara sighed as he lie across his bed. He was watching his ceiling, attempting to calm himself down. Sure, he was still mad at Aina for laughing at him while he was in pain, but he figured it was a waste of time to stay mad... Even if it was tempting to try to make Aina feel guilty. Though, she must have felt bad if she at least healed his once broken nose just an hour or so earlier, so the young man tried to find it in himself to forgive her.
Sighing again, feeling a little more calmer, he sat up just in time to hear a knock at his door.
"Come in, un."
To the blond's surprise, he found red hair rather than the complimentary color he expected. Nevertheless, the brown eyes stayed consistant.
"Heeey, Sasori no Danna...!" The young man chuckled nervously, expecting to get pummeled and mutilated into a human puppet. "What brings you here, un...?"
Sasori just looked at him silently a moment. There was something that had changed about him. He didn't seem to be the threatening Akasuna no Sasori that he was just hours ago. "Deidara," he finally addressed him after a long, almost utterly awkard silence, "can I ask a favor of you?"
Said man blinked in surprise. Did his danna really address him by name? This was getting weird... "Ok, who are you and what have you done to Sasori no Danna, un?"
"Absolutely nothing," he replied, giving him a small scolding look. "Just listen to me."
"Ah... Alright, un..." A blond brow raised questioningly.
It took a moment or so for the scorpion to find the right words, to have the courage to say them.
After what seemed like forever, he finally found how to say the words that he never thought would escape his lips. "Deidara... my favor... I... I want you to blow everything up..."
The bomber sat there a moment, letting the words sink in...
"Wait... blow what up, un?"
"My..." the red-head paused, taking a deep, silent breath, "...my puppets..."
"...Wh... WHAT?" The young adult took a double take, complete shock had now taken over his tone of voice and features. "Did you just ask me to blow your puppets up?"
"What did you think I said? I want you to cross-dress and date me?"
"EW!"
"There you go. Listen more carefully next time, baka."
"Yes, sir," the blond skeptically answered. "Anyways, let me make sure I have this right...you want me to blow your puppets up? Like, boom! All of them...un..."
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Sasori then slammed a box in front of Deidara. How he missed his Danna holding the box, he wasn't sure. "Inside are all the puppets in scrolls. Surely you know how to release them."
"Un."
"Good, I expect to never see them again...ANY of them."
The bomber's eyes blinked a couple times. "Un, but...not even the Third?"
"Not the Third, not Hiruko...none of them."
"Oh, ah...ok then, Sasori no Danna, un..."
"So," the scorpion turned on his heals as he headed for the door. "I'll leave you to it."
"Um...ok, un." The bomber attempted to wave at the man as he left. After he was sure the puppeteer was out of hearing range, he let out a sigh. "Ok, I'm sure that you are not Sasori...un."
:::::
Bright and early the next day, Deidara found himself at the Akatsuki training grounds, deep within some nearby woods. Along with him, he had the box of scrolls from Sasori and a hefty bag of explosive clay. He set the box down and pulled out the first scroll. Releasing the puppets within, he set them up next to a post.
"It's a brand new day, un. The sun is high," the bomber spoke to himself as he stepped back and positioned himself far enough away. "All the birds are singing that you're gonna die, un."
"How I hesitated now I wonder why, it's a brand new day." He formed some clay birds and sent them towards the puppets. "Geijutsu wa bakuhatsu da, un," he said as his hands created the seal he needed. "KATSU!"
BOOOOM!
"What the heck?" came Hidan's voice as he and a few other curious members of the Akatsuki gathered around to see what the explosion was all about. "It's six in the fricken' morning! What the freak are you doing, blondie?"
"Huh?" said blond looked behind him to find Hidan, Aina, Konan, and Tobi behind him. "Oh, I'm blowing Danna's puppets up, un. Just like he asked."
"You're blowing Sasori's puppets up?" Hidan gave him a baffled look, not having caught the last part. "Dude, you're gonna get in big, freaking trouble!"
"Uh.. no...?"
"Sempai, did he really tell you to do that?" Tobi asked in shock.
"Un."
"Wait... WHAT?" Aina and Hidan went into shock as soon as Deidara's recent words finally sunk in.
"That's right. He asked me to blow all of his puppets up. Even the Third and Hiruko, un."
"Huh..." The young medic reached up to run her fingers through her short green hair. "Never thought he'd do that!"
"No kidding!" the priest chimed in. "Puppet Boy would never...!"
"I think I may know why," Konan said to no one in particular, thoughtfully.
Aina nodded. "I have a hunch too..."
"What would that be, Aina-chan?" Tobi asked curiously. "Is it because Sasori-sempai likes Emi-chan?"
"Love works in strange ways," was all she said before she smiled and headed back in. "Dei, I'm gonna make us some breakfast, alright?"
"Un! Arigatou," he smiled at her as she walked in, Konan following close behind. Slowly, the other two followed suit. Deidara stayed to make sure the fire didn't spread, putting it out when needed.
He sighed again, looking at the spot where Akasuna no Sasori's infamous human puppets once sat before heading inside. "Well, I did it Danna. Just like you asked... Better hope you don't regret it, un."
:::::
"Oatmeal? Aw, Aina, you shouldn't have, un," the blond grinned, sitting at the table.
"Well, I was making some for myself anyways," she smiled back to him. Sitting down next to him, she began to dig into her food.
Deidara too began to eat. "Wow, this is a nice way to start the morning, un!"
"Glad you think so!"
As the two ninja continued to eat, Emi entered the kitchen, heading for the cereal cabinet.
"Good morning," she smiled to her two friends. "How are you both today?"
"Doing good!" Aina grinned after swallowing another spoonful of oatmeal. "Strange wake-up call this morning, but you know...hey, speaking of which, did you even notice?"
"Notice what?" the purple-haired girl raised a brow as she poured some of the cereal into a bowl.
"You mean to tell me you didn't hear the explosions, un?"
"Explosions?" Emi now turned to face the two. "What happened?"
"Well, heh heh," the bomber chuckled. "Funny story..."
"Sasori told him to blow all of his puppets up for him," Aina spoke for her boyfriend.
Purple-blue eyes widened considerably at the words. "Wh-what...?" she barely managed.
"I know, we found it hard to believe too, un," Deidara said through a full mouth.
"We at first thought he was making it up!"
"So...he was really serious?"
"Well, what's done is done...unless that was an impostor that came into my room with scrolls containing 298 puppets in them, I'd say that he was really serious, un."
"Wow, I just...I don't get it...why?" the youngest asked in confusion.
Aina smiled to her, picking up her bowl to bring it to the sink. "Love makes you do crazy things."
"Indeed, un," Deidara added, following the green-haired kunoichi.
Emi pondered the words carefully. 'This means...he did it for...for me. Does he really love me so much as to throw away his most precious possessions?'
"Well," Aina stretched her arms behind her. "I think it's time for nap time!"
"Didn't we just wake up a little bit ago, un?"
"Who said I couldn't go back to sleep...you did kinda give us a wake-up call this morning."
"Heh heh, true, un..." he sheepishly smiled to her.
"So, I think a nap is in order!" She began to head out of the kitchen like she was on a mission.
Deidara quickly followed after her. "I guess a nap does sound good, un."
The young medical kunoichi simply stared as the two older ninja headed out. Her mind was still attempting to register all that had just happened. But there was one thing she knew for certain:
She had to tell Sasori no Danna her feelings.
:::::
Feelings of reluctance bubbled up inside her again. As much as she wanted to tell the puppet master how she felt, she was still scared of how he would act towards her. Will he push me aside again? were the thoughts that kept rewinding over and over again through her head like a broken record. Will he even stop to listen to me? Will he accept what I have to say?
Taking a deep breath, the vain attempt most people use to calm a racing heart down, Emi brought up as much courage as she could muster to lift her hand up to knock on the door in front of her. She just had to know if this puppet man really went as far as to let the infamous bomber Deidara destroy all 298 of his beloved and most prized possessions.
"Agh...! Emi..." Sasori's face seemed just the slightest surprised as he opened the door, trying to stay composed.
"S-Sasori no Danna..."
"Did you need... something...?" the elder stumbled over what to say.
"Um, well... I..." Purple-blue eyes found their way down to the owner's feet, nervousness starting to fight its way to win the small girl over. "I want... need... I need to talk to you..."
Red hair bobbed gently. Said man hesitantly stepped aside, opening the door a little wider for the girl. He could tell she wanted it to be private. "Alright."
Stepping inside, Emi let her eyes wander the man's room. It seemed a little more emptier than usual. The puppet he was working on was now gone. In place of it seemed to be some wood and carpenter tools.
She timidly looked up to her danna. "Sasori? Your puppets... Did you really ask for the destruction of them?"
"You heard?" He moved around her cautiously to sit at his workbench. "I won't deny that I did..."
"But... why? They were everything to you..."
"Were," he repeated, pointing out the past tense as he started carving away at his new project.
"Don't you regret it?"
He stopped. The young puppet man seemed to be thinking, being thoughtful of what he would say next, being thoughtful of what he really felt.
"They're puppets," he finally answered in a low, even tone. "They're supposed to be used, and then put away when they're outgrown... I suppose..."
"So you regret it..."
"That's not the case," he turned to her, his brown eyes, she noticed, seemed more intense than they've ever been. "They were important to me, yes. They were all I was. But I don't need that anymore. I have something more important to me than my puppets. You very well know what I mean, Emi."
Even though she had already known the answer from the start of after the explosion, she still felt shocked. This man, Akasuna no Sasori, apparently infamous for his use and artistic skills of creating and manipulating human puppets, admitted that they were no longer important; admitted that she was what was more important. To hear him say that started to bring tears to her eyes.
"Danna... will you listen to what I have to say?" she asked, bringing her head down to hide her eyes for a moment.
"Go ahead," he nodded, waiting both impatiently for her words and yet anxious enough to not quite want to hear them yet.
"I... thought about what you said... for a while..." she started, trying to find the right words. "And... I came to a conclusion... as to what my feelings are..."
A pause. The atmosphere gained another level of tension.
The awkwardness between the two made the medic nin quietly gulp back whatever fears she was trying to hide.
Her lips finally unlocked, allowing her voice to give gentle sound. "I... still love you."
Brown eyes widened as the puppet master heard the words. He was surprised, unsure of what to think. He wanted to speak, to say something to her, but he couldn't find the words, nor his voice to say them. He simply stared at her, no longer able to hide the shock on his face.
"Sasori no Danna, I still understand if you-" Emi attempted to say, but found a physical force stopped her words from continuing.
Faster than her eyes could register, the red-head had stood up from his workbench and embraced her tightly. Her eyes grew as she felt her heart beat even faster.
"I love you too," he whispered into her ear.
Emi let herself melt into the hug, tears attempting to escape her eyes. She somehow managed to wrap her slender arms around his body and hugged him back just as tightly, nuzzling her face into his coat as a smile made its way onto her face. "Arigatou...!"
"Arigatou to you," Sasori smiled back. He briefly tightened his grip on the younger to emphasize his words.
Returning the gentle squeeze, she pulled away slightly and smiled at him. For some reason, she couldn't help but giggle. "Why are you saying 'thank you?'"
"Emi," he began, a smile appearing on his face for the first time in what seemed like days. "You showed me...how to be human again."
Her eyes blinked. "Huh?" Suddenly, she felt like she was missing something; something was flying over her head and she wasn't catching it. "What do you mean by that?"
"I lost who I was. I became so worked up in my puppetry...I lost the real me. But then you showed me; You showed me what it is to smile and laugh, to care...to love..."
A massive blush came over the girl's face. She looked down shyly, unsure how to react. "O-oh... Um.. I... it was... I-I didn't mean... to...?"
The red-head began to chuckle slightly. "It's fine. I'm...I'm happy you did so."
A moment passed before Emi embraced the puppeteer again, her smile back on her face. "I'm happy too!"
Sasori's smile grew as he held onto the small girl tightly. For the first time in his life, he felt...love. Never knowing love before, he was quickly growing to like it. The feeling of being wanted, appreciated...needed. Loved.
"Kiss her..." he thought he heard from the back of his head. "Kiss her...!"
Sasori blinked. Wait...
"Kiss her...!"
Slowly he realized...
"Kiss the girl...!"
That voice wasn't coming from his head...
"Psssst! Danna!" a familiar voice rang in a hushed tone. "Kiss her, un!"
The puchinello blinked, suddenly pinning the name that went with the voice as his head rapidly turned to face the door.
A crack was open just enough for him to see a blue and brown eye... Along with a few other colored eyes.
"HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE?" Sasori's voice boomed, causing Emi to jump, half startled to death.
"Oh crap, he saw us!" Deidara told everyone around him as they attempted to do a peek-and-run. "Run, un!"
"Deidara..." the scorpion called out in a very venomously threatening voice, slowly letting go of Emi and making his way to the door. "Guess what today is...?"
"HEAD FOR THE HILLS! WE'VE GOT A SADIST ON THE LOOSE, UN!"
"THE HILLS WON'T SAVE YOU FROM ME, BRAT!" Sasori broke into a run after gently letting to of Emi. She attempted to reach out for him, but just found her arm hanging there.
Aina walked up to the younger ninja, a large grin on her face. "Dei-Dei isn't gonna last long. Ha ha..."
"But, Sasori...I...Deidara..." the purple haired girl attempted to get her thoughts out.
"Eh, Deidara had it coming!" Hidan said. "He was the one that organized this."
Emi blinked, finally realizing what just happened. "Wait...you mean...you were all there...watching...?"
"The whole time," Aina giggled.
"Tobi thinks Emi and Sasori no Danna are so cute together!" The orange-masked ninja began to jump up and down enthusiastically.
The young girl's face began to pale. "I...I just...don't know what to say..."
"I don't think you need to say anything. We pretty much caught the whole thing," Kisame added.
"Oh my..." she murmured before her vision became blurry.
"Oh, crap! She's gonna collapse!"
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AN: *Insert massive sigh of relief here* Wow, that's been quite the mini-arch, hasn't it? But, there is no need to worry, this story is FAR from over...not sure what exactly we have in store yet (I do believe there MIGHT be a Halloween special coming up...!), since we come up with ideas on a nigh-daily basis, but we have quite a few ideas left. So, now for the classic 'Nino askes the people questions' segment: What couple did you like better for how they got together? As a refresher, Deidara and Aina got together at the Hanabi Matsuri when Susumu (at the time unnamed) started to hit on Aina, causing our favorite blond to get jealous. So, feel free to tell us which you liked better! Thank you all for reading and expect another chapter up in the next few days! Maybe by the end of the week if you are lucky... ;)
~Nino and Sakura