Chapter 32: Jealousy Arc - Confusion and Deception

What happens when you combine procrastinating with English and Science class? Well, you get this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. However, the plot and my OCs are mine.


Deidara's POV

"Idiot! What in the world are you doing in my room?"

Those were the very first words she said to me on the morning of November third, after I had barged into her room to see what was taking her so long. My only response was a smug grin.

"What happens if I don't, un?" I grinned, making Kaiya even angrier.

"I'm a girl!" she growled at me. "It's time for school, and I've got to change! You're a boy, and you've already changed, so vacate the room, you pervert!"

Okay, now that made me upset. "Who are you calling a pervert? Tell that to Kisame or Hidan, but not me! And if you said that you were going to change, why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have been gone ages ago instead of standing here and listening to you yell at me! Besides, you're going on a freaking date with Daichi today."

When she heard his name, her anger faded, replaced by a small blush. "Oh yeah...right. I completely forgot that Kisame had postponed the setup to today, since you got sick with a cold."

"Let's just hope he has a better plan this time," I said, watching as she threw off the covers of her bed, "and not a lame one he scrapped from Icha Icha or some other porn novel. Although I don't exactly think that they're all that lame—"

"Ew!" she shrieked, whacking me hard with a pillow. "That's disgusting, Deidei-chan! You read porn as well?"

I shrugged, rubbing the spot where she had whacked me. Even though it was a pillow, Kaiya could hit us hard enough to leave visible red marks on our skin. "Well, did you really expect us to do criminal mastermind stuff all day, un? Even the Akatsuki get bored from time to time after countless hours of training!"

"Why do you waste your free time on porn, then?" she retorted. "What about normal television, or maybe just a simple gaming device like a cell phone? Or why don't you just buy a normal novel instead of that one?"

"We don't have television or entertaining shows," I responded. "The only reason why we would ever use electronics is to communicate from a distance. In addition, Icha Icha is all that's available, since we can't risk being caught in public libraries. Besides, I'd probably spend more time perfecting my art. I just read Icha Icha when I can't think of anything, un."

She sighed. "Anyway, enough about that. What the heck do I wear? I don't know what you're supposed to look like on a date! What if he doesn't like it?"

"Calm down!" I told her. "Daichi is your best friend, isn't he? He'll like whatever you wear, since boys probably don't care too much about clothing. Just wear something casual, like a long-sleeve shirt and a sweater, topped off with plain jeans. It should keep you warm and comfortable, so that it won't distract you too much, should you try to tell him exactly how you feel."

I didn't understand why, but it was slightly hard for me to say the last sentence. Great. The ridiculous feeling was back.

For some reason, I found myself burning with some sort of...jealousy? Perhaps it was because I was about sixty percent certain that I liked Kaiya, but then again, she could be a snappy jerk if she wanted to. Furthermore, it was quite hard for people to hate Daichi. Although he could be so frustratingly oblivious, he was proper, polite, and very sincere.

And usually, Kaiya blew up only in my face. Not Kisame's, not Kakuzu's, not even Hidan's. Well, she did blow up at him that one time, but Naoki and Yukio were better than her at punishing Hidan with a...very painful attack.

Why the hell did I have to be this way?

Kaiya smiled at me, something which made my heart flutter slightly. "Thank you, Deidara! I guess I'll just wear something casual for the date."

I smiled back at her. "Anytime."

Since when did I get so friendly? I thought to myself. Silently, I shook it off, dismissing it as an indirect result of living with Kaiya and her siblings. Besides, there really was no room for enemy making, since after all, we would eventually have to return.

However, the scintillating orb was a little far from complete. We only had about a little less than a quarter of what we were assuming it was supposed to be, after recounting them all the night after Halloween. Apparently, Kagami had discovered two extra shards in her candy bag, and Akane had somehow managed to find one while we had been out trick-or-treating.

The whole concept was weird, really. For all the times that I had spent studying various jutsu, never had I heard of such a thing as the Neko Asuka Noroi no Jutsu. Even after Kagami had explained whatever this Shisui Uchiha person had to say around a month ago, I still had slight trouble grasping the gist. Apparently, whoever cast this jutsu on us died after they sent all ten of us to this world, so if we did return, we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. But still, the memories of me being turned into a furry feline were rather fuzzy, since I had passed out immediately after I had been hit with the jutsu. All I knew for sure was that it definitely was not a good experience at all.

Suddenly, as Kaiya began to take off her shirt, she froze, lowered her shirt back down, and slowly turned her head towards me. It took me a while to realize that she was giving me a huge death glare, so I was unprepared for the sudden assault that was coming at me.

"Why are you still here, Deidei-chan?" she snapped. "Get the hell out of my room!"

"Alright!" I shouted, frantically running for the door as Kaiya started grabbing random things and throwing them at me. "Ow! I'm freaking leaving right now! You know, you don't have to throw more pillows— ow! Okay! Not the books as well— ow! I'm getting out, so put your textbook down— ow! Wait, where did that frying pan come fro— ow!"

I ran out into the hallway as quickly as I could, slamming the door behind me. Gasping for breath, I sighed as Akane flew out of Naoki's room and landed on my shoulder. Noticing my distraught face, she cooed, a worried expression on her face.

"It's nothing, Akane," I whispered, stroking her back. "I'm trying to ignore it, but perhaps I like Kaiya as well. But don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Cheep?" asked Akane, tilting her head to the side slightly.

I sighed in slight relief. "You have absolutely no idea what I'm saying, do you? Well, I guess clay phoenixes have it rather easy, though I'm still curious about why you have a mind of your own, unlike the other creations that I have made. Is it because of the paint, maybe?"

Akane shook her head. "Cheep Cheep."

"You're right," I said, "if it was the paint that made you come to life, then the other painted sculptures would have minds of their own as well. However, you're the only one who seems to have an actual personality, and you don't need to be controlled by my chakra..."

When I mentioned chakra, Akane tweeted proudly, jumping off of my shoulder and landing on the floor. She closed her eyes, and I gasped, watching as a familiar blue aura surrounded her body.

"Y-you can generate your own chakra?" I asked, and she puffed her chest out proudly in response. "That's actually pretty cool, but why can you do it?"

In response, Akane spread her wings and zoomed towards Kaiya's bedroom door. Before I could restrain her, she had stopped in front of the door, readied an attack, and slapped the door with a chakra-shrouded wing. It looked like a rather weak attack at first, but the door began shaking violently, and for a second, I thought that it was going to rip off of its hinges.

But then, there came the very angry scream.

"You idiot!" roared Kaiya from inside of the room. "Once I finish changing, I am going to strangle you!"

Shivering, Akane and I backed away from the door, frightened for our lives. I glowered at the mischievous phoenix, who quickly flew back onto my shoulder.

"Now why did you go and do that, un?" I questioned her. "Were you trying to tell me something?"

She nodded, pointing towards Kaiya's door, which was still vibrating.

"Did you start developing a mind of your own after I allowed Kaiya to have you?" I inquired. At that, she nodded again. "But still, I'm not exactly sure how that— aah!"

I was so busy talking to Akane that I hadn't noticed the huge flight of stairs behind me. Before I could stop, I tripped over the stairs, and tumbled backward down the steps. On some steps, I landed on my bottom, but on others, I landed on my face.

"Ack! Oof! Aah! Ow! Ugh!" I sputtered each time I landed. Although my ears were filled with my own shouts, I could also hear everybody laughing at me from the living room. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I stopped tumbling, finishing the whole series of somersaults with a clumsy face-plant.

"Are you okay, senpai?" asked Tobi, rushing to my side.

Kagami rushed over as well, glancing at me worriedly. "Did the fall hurt you, Deidara-san?"

I sighed, picking myself back up. "I'm fine, un. Where did Akane—"

"Up there," muttered Sasori emotionlessly, pointing towards the ceiling. I looked up, and sure enough, Akane was fluttering up there, not a single scratch on her body. She was laughing at me, and I glared at her, making a hand seal.

"Why you…" I growled lowly. "Katsu!"

Although I had made the correct hand seal, nothing happened. Akane looked at me confusedly before proceeding with her fit of giggles. I just stared at her, stunned that for once, it didn't work. Suddenly, I remembered, giving myself a mental facepalm.

Right. I can't really control what happens to Akane anymore, aside from making her bigger with my chakra…

Kaiya dashed down the stairs, an angry scowl etched on her face. She looked as if she was going to kill somebody: somebody with blue eyes, long hair bleached light brown, and one who was currently chattering and trying to back away and take cover behind the couch.

She noticed me duck and hide, but instead of strangling me like she had said she would, Kaiya took a couple deep breaths and sighed.

"I've got better things to worry about than killing you, Deidei-chan," she muttered, "like going on a date and getting to school on time. Let's just go."

And with that, the four other high school crew members and I filed out of the door, with Hidan snickering behind us. Five seconds later, I heard Yukio's foot connect with its target, followed by an angry shout from Hidan, along with a long string of colorful vocabulary.

We proceeded to head to Kestrel Heights, although I was still very well aware of the malicious aura radiating from the evil woman's body behind me. Just being able to sense it made me shiver, although Kaiya looked completely calm on the outside, taking deep breaths every now and then.

The school day went by as usual, although there were a couple of new things during class today. In History, we had an exam about something called "The War of 1812", but I barely knew anything about it. After the exam ended, Kaiya told me that I needed to study from my textbooks more.

Oh, wait, I had thought. I have textbooks? That would have been so much easier than pestering her to let me look up random facts on her laptop computer.

But then again, it was hard to remember insignificant things such as that when I was a criminal from another universe, trying to go back to my world via a strange scintillating orb.

Currently, our PE teacher was trying to teach us some foreign game that I had never heard of before.

"Don't let the balls touch you!" Kaiya ordered, ducking as a ball whizzed by her head. "Make sure you steer clear, Deidara!"

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention to mention that Kaiya and I somehow ended up on the same team, not that we selected each other...or would even do anything like that. Well, maybe I would have chosen her to be my teammate, but she probably wouldn't. But anyway, the coach had done this at random, and here we were, apparently trying to dodge the flying balls.

Picking up one of the balls on the ground, I jumped, hurling it at the opposing team as if it were a clay sculpture. The girl it was heading straight for quickly jumped out of the way, allowing it to hit the unsuspecting boy that was standing behind her.

"Out!" the PE teacher said, blowing his whistle and pointing at the boy. "Take a spot on the bleachers, kid!"

I smirked triumphantly, and Kaiya turned to me, nodding in approval. As we watched the boy walk over to the bleachers, we shared a high-five.

But maybe that wasn't the best move, since before any of us could react, one of the opposing team members threw a ball right at us, and once Kaiya noticed, she found herself unable to move.

"Watch out, Kaiya!" I shrieked. Instinctively, I jumped in front of Kaiya and slapped away the ball, allowing it to zoom off uselessly in a different direction.

"Ha!" I grinned. "You can't get us—"

"Out!" called the coach, pointing in our team's direction. To everybody else, where he was pointing was probably very clear, but it took a while for my brain to register that he was pointing directly at me.

"Idiot!" snapped Kaiya, crossing her arms as I walked over to the bleachers. "You're supposed to dodge the ball, not swat it away! Why the heck do you think this game is called dodgeball and not swatterball?"

I scoffed. "Well, excuse me for not knowing how the stuff here works! If you were paying attention, you would have realized that I was trying to save you from going out! Also, instead of blabbering stuff like a know-it-all, why don't you face forward and realize that we're probably going to lose, because you're the only freaking person left, un!"

"I thought it would be rather obvious!" she retorted, rolling away from one of the other team's dodgeballs. "Oh, wait...I forgot that you were a complete baka."

Taking a seat on the bleachers, I stared at her, an angry scowl on my face.

"First a woman wannabe, and now a baka?" I growled to myself. "Why does Kaiya make my heart flutter...yet make me so mad at the same time, un?"

"What did you say about Kaiya?"

I yelped, but sighed in relief when I realized that it was only Sasori, who had silently taken a seat next to me. "Oh, hey there, danna. You...didn't hear anything that I said, right?"

"Actually," he muttered, "I heard everything you said. But did you just say that Kaiya made your heart flutter, brat?"

I felt my face heat up slightly. "Well...maybe? It's kind of confusing, but it's also pretty embarrassing, un."

He sighed, but for some reason, it wasn't as emotionlessly as he usually was. "Was this how you were feeling before you went to bed that day when Kaiya painted all of your sculptures? I knew something was definitely up, the way you were acting that night. Plus, you don't usually give your individual creations names. Akane couldn't have been the phoenix she is right now if nothing had happened that day. There is no doubt that you were hanging out with Kaiya."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I guess I didn't hide it all too well, did I?"

He nodded in confirmation. "It was quite obvious, brat. I'm honestly surprised that Kaiya or any of the other children or Akatsuki members were unable to notice this. You were even whispering her name a couple of times throughout the week."

I sat up immediately after hearing that. "Say what, danna?"

"I don't need to sleep, so I hear everything," he mumbled. "But still, I don't really understand how romance works, either. And besides, we're supposed to help Kisame set up the date later."

"But still," I sighed sadly, "I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do about it. We're supposed to be the ones who tell Daichi about the 'doves in the park' so that Kaiya can go on a date with him. I want to help out, but at the same time, it makes me feel quite bothered and maybe a little bit...jealous."

Sinking down into my seat, I cupped my face in my hands and continued to watch the ongoing dodgeball game. Miraculously, Kaiya was still in, and she seemed to be easily dodging all of the incoming projectiles that were being launched at her. Sasori watched her as well, as he had chosen not to play because of "past injuries". Then again, I wouldn't have played dodgeball if I were a puppet, either.

Finally, after about another minute of silence, Sasori spoke.

"I can't believe that I'm doing this, but I have an idea."


Kagami's POV

"Kagami, can you help me place the flower vases on the table?"

I jumped up and down, clapping. "Of course, Kisa-nii!"

Kisame's eyes widened at the sudden nickname that I had given him. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"I called you Kisa-nii!" I squealed. "You may look kind of scary sometimes, but you still have a very sweet side when it comes to helping onee-chan tell Daichi-san that she likes him!"

He appeared to be stunned for a moment, then he flashed me a happy smile. "Thank you, Kagami-chan. That means a lot to me, but if you want to, you can call me the Love Whisperer as well!"

"I like Kisa-nii more," I told him, and his face fell slightly. "But don't worry! The Love Whisperer is a nice name as well!"

I giggled, grabbing a couple of flower vases from him and setting them on the table that Kakuzu and Zetsu had set up earlier.

"Say, Kisa-nii," I began, making my eyes sparkle, "Deidara-san told me that you got the idea of the first date that went wrong by reading some sort of romantic book. Can I try reading it, too?"

He immediately choked on the water that he was drinking, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. "No! That book...it's for adults only. Some of the stuff in there isn't appropriate for children, not even your older sister. Actually, you're only seven, so why are you interested in love stories at this age?"

"Seven and three quarters," I corrected him. "My birthday is on the first day of January, which is in about two months. I'm going to be a big girl!"

He smiled and patted my head. "Indeed, you are. But still, why are you so interested in love stories?"

"Actually, I just started reading a couple of them," I replied truthfully. "They are actually quite interesting, although it is quite sad that not all love stories have a happy ending. In addition, I want to find out a little bit more about how romance really works, since Kaiya likes Daichi, and Deidara likes Kaiya—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kisame stammered, his eyes widening even more. "Hold on, I didn't catch the last part. What did you just say, Kagami-chan?"

"Deidara likes Kaiya," I repeated for him, and I watched as his jaw dropped to the floor in utter shock. "Actually, I don't know for sure yet, but it seems like he kind of has a small crush on her, even though they argue so much."

"Why haven't I caught on to this yet?" he asked himself wondrously. "When exactly did you start noticing that he liked her, even if it's only a little bit?"

I leaned closer to him, whispering the words into his ear so that only he could hear. "I just started noticing on Halloween. They do seem to argue and tease each other a lot, which is quite common in normal relationships. In the morning, he was the one who spent the most time trying to wake onee-chan up. Also, when we were watching Pokémon, he tried to sit next to her by holding her hand, but onee-chan tricked him into making him let go. Furthermore, I think he woke her up this morning, which I think is why he ended up falling down the stairs."

As soon as I finished telling him about all of the times when I was slightly sure that Deidara was dropping hints, a knowing smirk spread across his face. "Interesting. I never thought that this would happen."

"What do you mean, Kisa-nii?" I asked him, tugging on his black leather jacket, which he had grown accustomed to wearing instead of his Akatsuki cloak.

"I didn't expect Deidara to be one who would fall for girls," he explained, scratching his head. "But I guess if he did, he would try to show off his explosive personality to her, like he's currently doing to Kaiya. He's definitely a total flirt at heart, with his nature. I don't understand why he would keep on trying to wake her up, but the whole couch hand-holding thing was definitely something that he would do. But then again, that kind of explains why he didn't volunteer as quickly as last time to help us with the setup. If he does try to pull something funny, well, we sent Sasori with him."

"Should we stop Deidara-san from coming on too strong, then?" I inquired, recalling that phrase from one of the more complicated love stories that I had read. "I don't know exactly how onee-chan would react to that, though."

Kisame shrugged. "Perhaps we should let this one play out on its own, but make sure that if he really does like her, keep him from confessing too early. In the meantime, perhaps we should focus on how we're supposed to be setting up the date in this park for Kaiya and Daichi."

I nodded. "Yeah. Onee-chan is counting on us to prepare her the perfect date, so let's do this, Kisa-nii!"

Placing the last flower vase on the table, I gave Kisame a thumbs-up, then walked over to the gazebo, where Tobi stood alone, hanging up glossy vines of ivy and stringing up tons of white flowers.

"You know, Obito," I began, using his real name to gain his full attention. "I think we need to talk and continue our conversation from last week."

He froze, dropping the tendril of ivy that he had been holding. "What is it, Kagami-chan?" he asked in his Tobi voice.

"You're free to use your normal voice," I told him. "Nobody can hear us talk from over here."

"Fine," Obito muttered. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Look," I began, "I'm sorry for avoiding you all week. It was just...I didn't think I was ready to talk to you yet, since...well, you kind of lied to me."

He sighed, and I continued. "But then again, you had a reason to lie to all of us about your current situation. I just didn't know what to say, since the revelation kind of shocked me into silence. Naoki-nii-chan told me all about your past life, and the more I think about it, it's way worse than mine."

"Well...yeah," he muttered. "I'm assuming you know about what happened to her as well?"

Reluctantly, I nodded. "Uh-huh. He told me that you had to watch that happen to her, and in her last moments, she realized that you were still alive, but it was already too late."

"I miss her every day," he said. "I wonder how it's like in the heavenly world she lives in. Does she miss me at all? Or does she miss Kakashi more?"

You, I wanted to say, but I couldn't. Rin definitely wouldn't have approved, and neither would have Obito.

"I don't know about that one," I lied, "but I'm pretty sure she misses you a lot. Naoki-nii-chan said that she was very distraught after you were presumed to be dead when you were crushed in the cave-in."

We sat down and leaned against the gazebo, with neither of our faces bearing smiles. I placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, and listened to him sigh.

"I loved her," he suddenly said, surprising me slightly. "More than anybody could ever imagine, including her. If only I could just see her, talk to her, and live in a world with her again, I would finally be satisfied."

"You'll see her again someday," I told him. "She'll be waiting for you, and she's probably watching us at this very moment and listening to your words."

Or so I hoped. Rin still hadn't spoken a word to me, and it was beginning to bother me.

"That's why I want to create a world where she and I can live together again," he sighed, piquing my interest slightly.

"How are you going to do that?" I inquired, now slightly curious.

"I have my ways," he whispered. "I've been training under one of my relatives. He knows a way to establish this through a plan called Project Tsuki no Me, where we can also achieve world peace by putting everybody in an eternal dreamlike state."

Okay, that made me confused. "An eternal...dreamlike state? But then, won't it be all an illusion, then? What will happen to everybody while this happens?"

"It's very complicated," he said simply. "But everybody will most certainly be happy, wouldn't they? And maybe in my dream, she'll come and visit me, and we can be together for as long as we wish."

"What about the real world?" I questioned. "If they're trapped in this state forever, then—"

"We're working it out," Obito interrupted. "But I honestly don't care about what happens to me, as long as I end up with Rin."

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, a familiar voice in my head interrupted me.

So that's what the whole Project Tsuki no Me thing was going to do, said Rin, reappearing inside of my head. I knew that Obito was going to do something like that, but I wasn't too sure what it was about.

Rin-chan! my inner squealed. You're back!

Indeed I am, she responded. So, you've figured out that Tobi was really Obito in disguise. I would have told you earlier, but since he was your best friend, I didn't want to make your friendship rocky.

I understand why both of you had to lie to me, I responded. But still, I think my friendship with Obito is going to be quite rocky from now on.

Just make sure that you stay alert, okay? she said. Makes sure that you two stay best friends, and don't let his evil side take over and cause you to become a mere tool in Project Tsuki no Me.

Alright, I replied, feeling her presence in my mind fade away into nothing. I sat up again, and so did Obito, grabbing another tendril of ivy. Together, we strung up the ivy casually, as if nothing had just happened.

"Let's just worry about the date for now," I told him, "before anybody gets any more suspicious about what we're talking about instead of working."

Obito nodded, and for the next few minutes, we strung together flowers, embroidering them around the thin vines of ivy that we had woven around the gazebo. Zetsu came to check up on us, and seemed rather pleased when he saw the gazebo. But then again, maybe it was because "Tobi" wasn't burning anything this time around.

"Oh, hello there, Zetsu-san!" he squealed, switching back to his Tobi persona. "Tobi hung up some flowers with Kagami-chan! Aren't they pretty?"

Zetsu's light half smiled at the boy. "Indeed, they are. But we will eat you if you destroy them again."

Tobi flinched, and I giggled slightly. "Tobi promises that Tobi won't kill the flowers, Zetsu-san!"

Why couldn't he always be like this? I thought to myself. I like it when he's just playful, happy-go-lucky Tobi...so why?

Shaking my head, I continued helping Tobi string the ivy and flowers around the gazebo, and by the time Kaiya and Naoki came by and took their places, it was all done, without a single flower or leaf destroyed.

"It looks amazing, imouto," she said when she stopped in front of the gazebo. "You and Tobi did a good job, working hand in hand as best friends."

I clapped my hands, reverting back to my playful side as well. "Thank you, onee-chan! We did our best for you and Daichi-san!"

But still, I can't tell you what really happened between us right here.

However, ten minutes later, Deidara and Sasori came back to us with bad news. Or at least, that was what I assumed by looking at the distraught expressions on their faces.

"We went to talk to Daichi about coming to the park to 'see the doves again'," Sasori deadpanned, surrounding the last part with air quotes. "However, before we were able to reach him, he was already walking home and talking to Chizuru."

Deidara nodded. "We weren't sure what to say with Chizuru present, so we just left them alone. We're truly sorry, Kaiya…"

"It's fine," she said, but I could detect the slightly hurt tone laced in her voice. "You tried your best this time as well."

Kaiya sat down on the steps of the gazebo, sighing dishearteningly. Tobi and I placed our hands on her shoulders in an attempt to console her, and she let out a very soft smile. However, I could tell that it was completely fake.

"One day," she whispered loud enough so that all of us could hear. "One day, I'll be able to tell him how I feel."

Then, as quickly as she had said that, Kaiya turned to Kisame, who instantly backed away in fear.

"I'm not going to insult you," she reassured him. "You did your best this time, Kisame. At least you didn't get this idea from reading porn, so maybe, if Daichi-kun came to the gazebo, it would have worked."

Kisame stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you, Kaiya. The Love Whisperer honors you."

"Wait!" blurted Deidara. "Why does he get a thank you for trying to help you, when you didn't thank me at all after I literally saved your life during dodgeball, un?"

She glared at him. "Well, you can stop being such an idiot."

"Oh, shut the hell up!"


A/N: Kaiya is indeed a little tsundere, but just doesn't know it. I'm sorry if I'm not describing Project Tsuki no Me all that well, but I've only read a little bit about it so far.

Question: What do you think is your "dere" type? I'm half dandere and half tsundere.

Peace out, everybody!

— Tenshi —