Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I just like the characters!

14: General

After school, Deidara met Sasori at his locker and requested to see him in the woods behind the school later that afternoon, around the time that it started getting dark out – just as Tobi had already predicted. Zetsu thought that this was all too coincidental and almost thought that all this was just a big prank. But he stuck to it all just as he and Tobi had planned. When Deidara had left, Zetsu went up to Sasori and tried to tell him about the blonde's plans for that night. But as Tobi also predicted, the redhead scoffed at him and walked away.

The afternoon was spent in waiting for that evening with Tobi and Zetsu working on homework at Tobi's house. When they were done with their work, they eased away the rest of the afternoon talking.

By the time that Deidara and Sasori met in the woods that night, Tobi and Zetsu were still talking; too intrigued by their conversation to remember time. When the two did realize it was past time for them to go, they panicked and ran as fast as they could to the meeting place.

"I don't know…Something's happened or, well, something, yeah. I'm not sure what to do," Deidara told Sasori, his voice was as far away as his expression and thoughts. His hand was folded around something that Sasori couldn't see in the dark; but he knew that he was clutching it like a life-support.

The redhead suddenly had a sinking feeling and silently begged that this wasn't going to go where it inevitably would. "Not sure what to do about what?" he asked quietly, looking at the blonde's face helplessly.

"A lot of things, yeah. I'm lost and no one seems to want to help," Deidara turned his head so that his eye could search Sasori's face.

"I want to," Sasori said, sounding pitifully like he was begging.

"But can you, yeah?" Deidara countered. "Can you help someone whose life seems to be going in circles? Can you help someone who can't prevent the same things from happening again and again, yeah? Can you help someone find themselves when you don't even know where they are?" Sasori stared at him blankly. "I think that it's impossible, yeah."

Sasori looked away, already feeling his heart struggling to stay intact. It was going exactly the way he didn't it want it to go. "Maybe…"

Deidara turned his body to face Sasori as he said, "If I can't help myself, why do you think I'm going to put my trust in some random person, yeah? Do you seriously think that I'd go to you for help with anything?" His voice was slowly rising as he continued, "No. Because you're the person who's making my life go in its big circle, yeah!"

Zetsu and Tobi had arrived by this time and realized that at this point, they were far too late. Tobi had warned Zetsu that once Deidara got angry, it was hard to talk him into calming down – let alone sense. They couldn't do anything now. So they watched in horror.

"All I ever seem to do is meet people who insist on hurting me. And I don't see it until it's right in front of my face, yeah!" Deidara screamed, making Sasori flinch away. "Am I not meant to be cared about? Am I just supposed to keep getting hurt, yeah? And you…You're just like the last guy I dated! All you seem to want to do it make sure I'm miserable, yeah!"

Upon hearing that, Sasori snapped his head up and looked at Deidara. His visible eye seemed to burn with betrayal and unhealed pain. There was no actual rage in his eye. "The thought of hurting you intentionally never crossed my mind!" the redhead yelled. He couldn't believe it. Where was Deidara getting all these ideas?

"Really? Then why'd you kiss Zetsu, yeah?" Deidara accused.

Realization crossed Sasori's face as the blonde's words sank in. "That's why? He freaked out on me. I didn't even think about it. I was trying to comfort him and…" He could see that his words were having no effect on Deidara. "I wasn't trying to hurt you!" he cried desperately.

"Sure. I thought you guys were just close friends, yeah. I didn't think you'd want to…" Deidara trailed off, his face twisting into a mask of pain. "Well…Who'd want to love a puppet like you anyway, yeah?!" And, with a bit of a struggle, he threw down the little puppet he'd taken when the two had first met and walked away.

Sasori stood there, staring at the small toy he'd made laying in the dirt. It looked like it was staring back at him mockingly. As he began to cry, he watched his tears stain the wooden face at his feet. Then he turned and, holding his torso, he walked away from it. He felt like he was holding his own body together, like his limbs were only attached by thin strings that could snap easily. He was sure that it had something to do with the name that Deidara had applied to him. But it just gave the strings more of a reason to be.

Zetsu and Tobi stepped from their hiding place and to the small puppet slowly. Their bodies were shaking and they felt like crying for their friends. Tobi paused next to the toy, then twisted and scooped up the wooden body. It was still intact – amazingly since Deidara had kept it – and was only a little dusty. The shadows cast by the lights from the school that weren't far away made the puppet look eerily hollow. Yet it looked like it was holding the pain of both Deidara and Sasori and Tobi was a bit surprised it was still as heavy as wood, no more, no less.

Zetsu stared at the path that Sasori had taken to get home and wanted to scream. It was his entire fault and he knew it. He'd always gone to his best friend when he needed help and was regretting it now. If only he knew how to solve his own problems then he wouldn't make mistakes like that. But he didn't really know how to deal with his own problems. It always made him more confused.

He turned his attention to the puppet in Tobi's hand. Tobi's mood rolled off him like an avalanche. He was shattered. Zetsu couldn't really see why the puppet had much value. It looked like just another puppet that Sasori made, except it the shadows that were cast over it made it creepier than usual. But Tobi held it like it held some extraordinary symbolism.

"Deidara-senpai hung it in his locker," Tobi said softly. "He was often late because he'd spend extra time staring at it." He closed his hand around the puppet and its wooden joints clinked together ominously. So it did have some sort of value. Like a symbol of finalism.

Suddenly feeling like he should do something to try and help Tobi shake the depressing feelings, Zetsu reached over and hugged the orange-masked boy. Tobi sank into the embrace.

The next day, Kakuzu was sent to invite Deidara to their gang since Sasori wasn't there and he was "incapable," as his leader had put it. Kakuzu wasn't really looking forward to this particular meeting with the blonde, considering that the rumor about Deidara's and Sasori's breakup had somehow spread through the school at a seemingly impossible rate and Kakuzu knew that it wasn't going to put Deidara in a very good mood. He did pause his thoughts for a moment to wonder how anyone had heard about the said breakup when he knew that Zetsu and Tobi would never tell. But, the more pressing matters seemed to overwhelm him again and he went back to his search for Deidara.

He couldn't track him down until after school where he saw him at his locker. Kakuzu hurried over to him and quickly asked if he could talk to him. When he got an approval, he asked if Deidara would join his gang.

Deidara stared him down for a minute, looking like he might hit him, and then he said, "Why should I, yeah?"

"You're asking the wrong person," Kakuzu told him, raising his hands in defense.

Deidara's face turned thoughtful as he said, "Does this have something to do with one of The Guardian's members showing up, yeah?"

Kakuzu looked at him like he had three heads. "Who?"

The blonde scrutinized him and then, deciding that he was serious, confirmed, "The Guardian. The girl who tried to kill me the other day was from The Guardian, yeah."

Kakuzu was puzzled. That's not what he'd been told. "Maybe we're confused. We were informed that the girl was from the gang The Protectors."

Deidara laughed aloud and said, "They changed their name a year ago, yeah. The leader decided that their old name didn't really fit them and that their new name made them sound more interesting. When were you last informed, yeah? Maybe I'll join just to tell you all what you need to know about the gang."

Kakuzu looked hopefully up at Deidara and asked, "So, is that a yes to the invite?" Deidara nodded and Kakuzu mentally jumped for joy. "Thank-you! Now I have to go track down Leader and tell him…"

Deidara held one hand up and said, "Before you pull a disappearing act on me, I foolishly don't know what the name of your gang, yeah. Will you tell me?"

Kakuzu turned his attention back to the blonde and distractedly muttered, "Huh? Oh…Sure. Akatsuki. Later!"

Deidara watched Kakuzu race down the hall and felt like his distraction had been taken from him. He remembered the emptiness in him and let his shoulders slump and his head drop. Last night's events had caught up with him and, though he had told himself he was prepared for this, he felt lonely and extremely guilty for what he had done to Sasori. When the redhead hadn't shown up that day, he knew that it was his entire fault. He was to blame if something had happened to Sasori; that he hadn't been in school; that when he did come back, he'd be moping around. And Deidara felt horrible.

Deidara wasn't sure what Sasori could do to himself over this and entirely why it was his fault if he did, but he knew that he would blame himself if something did happen. He let the emptiness motivate him to move and he gathered his stuff and left the school feeling more depressed than he had when he'd come in the building.

I'm such a moron.

A/N: -sigh- I get myself so worked up about these things and then I don't know what to do next. I hope the now named, 'Breakup chapter' was good and hope you'll forgive me long enough to read the next few chapters. –jumps to conclusions– Thanks! Please review!!