Update. Yay. Well, my goal is to have this story all published by the end of summer, and since it's almost August, that deadline is fast approaching. And, since isn't sending out emails about updates (or, at least, I haven't been getting any), I hope all you readers out there will get all of the chapters read eventually.
And anyone know the song "March of the Dogs" by Sum 41? I've been listening to that like crazy…and I don't own Youtube, nor do I own Monty Python.
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Kisame tentatively knocked on Itachi's door. It had been almost a week since Deidara had had that 'surprise party' for him, and the blue-haired kid was feeling guilty about giving Itachi the drums when he knew that Uchiha-san would never allow them. He had come to apologize.
A tall, kind-looking woman with the exact same shade of black hair as Itachi's opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked sweetly.
"Er, yes…I came to apologize for a week ago…"Kisame answered with downcast eyes.
A smile graced the woman's lips. "Oh, you're Kisame, aren't you? Itachi said that you might stop by today. Come in; I'm his mother, if you haven't guessed."
The boy nodded. "Yes, er…okay…"
--
"I'm sorry, but Itachi can't talk right now," the mother said, as she and Kisame came into the house. "He's studying. Would you like something to drink?"
Kisame shook his head. "No, I'm good," he replied, as he began exploring Itachi's house with greater interest than he had had during the birthday fiasco. The house was so…clean. And orderly. It did NOT look like two boys under the age of 18 lived here.
Shortly after, a short, black-haired kid ran past Kisame. "Mother, when is Brother's study session going to be over?" he asked in the same voice that the older kid had heard over-the-phone on Sunday.
"Soon, Sasuke. 15 minutes, tops. Anyways, while you're waiting, why don't you say hello to Itachi's friend over there?" she replied, gesturing towards Kisame.
Sasuke padded over to where Kisame was standing. "Are you Kisame?" he asked innocently.
"The one and only," he replied. "And that makes you Sasuke. Right?"
"Yup. Lucky for you Father's not home," the little kid stated. "Hey, are you aware that you're blue?"
Kisame sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm aware."
Sasuke nodded. "Oh, that's good. Hey, while we're waiting for Brother, I can show you something I made. Want to see?" he asked, looking up at the (much) taller kid standing in front of him.
"Sure, why not?" the older boy answered with a shrug.
--
Sasuke had led Kisame all around the house until he stopped in someone's bedroom. Adorning the walls were posters of various alternative rock bands (Nickelback, Green Day, Simple Plan, etc.), and in the corner there was a small desktop computer.
"This is Brother's room," Sasuke warned, "so we have to be careful what we touch." He walked over to the computer and booted it up. "Come over here," he instructed. "I can't play the sound too loud."
Kisame did what he was told. "So, what are you showing me?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"Just watch," the younger boy said, opening up a video file, which immediately began playing on the MTP.
Soon, music began playing, and anime images rolled across the screen as part of the movie. It was similar to the videos that one could find on Youtube.
It portrayed a silver-haired girl with cat ears of some sort. She was acting to fit the music; when the lyrics said something about blood on their hands, it showed her lying there, covered in blood. When the lyrics began talking about ripping out something for your soul, it showed her sitting there, coughing up blood and holding her blood-stained shirt around where her heart should be. When the movie finished, credits rolled and a different song played.
Sasuke paused the video. "So, what do you think? I made it myself. It's an AMV from my favorite anime, Oukami no Kokoro."
Kisame's jaw dropped. "Wasn't that a little dark, though? You're what, eight?"
"Seven and a half," the little kid corrected. "And I don't think it was that dark. See, in the anime, there's this girl, who's a half-wolf-demon, and she falls in love with one of her friends. But, when he finds out that he's actually an angel, he's told that he has to fight her and kill her. And so, a battle eventually commences, and she doesn't fight back because she doesn't want to hurt him. So, for an entire episode, she's on the ground, bleeding. It's so depressing, but she gets out of it and- well, I'll stop there. You don't care."
"Hm, okay, but where'd you get that music? What was that, HIM or something?"
"I dunno. I found it on Brother's computer one day."
"Well," the blue kid started, "that was a very good video. I'd love to see what you make later on, after you've had some experience."
Sasuke beamed. "Thanks! I wish Father was as supportive as you," he said.
"What? Your dad doesn't like your video?"
"He doesn't know I make them," the younger boy said sadly. "He's always so hyped-up about Itachi most of the time, he's never actually accepted my invitation to come and watch it."
The older boy sighed. "And that's why you hate your brother," he concluded. "Because your dad focuses on him most of the time."
"I don't hate him," he replied, shutting down the desktop. I just act like I do around him, because…I'm jealous, I guess. I mean, Brother's everything: good-looking, smart, articulate…it's like I'll never live to him."
"Well, just don't dwell on it, okay?" Kisame said with a smile. "Your brother really doesn't want all that attention, y'know. He'd rather be a normal kid who can play the drums and be nice to his little bro without having everything expected of him."
Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, but that won't change what Father thinks of me…or what Brother thinks…"
Kisame put his hand on Sasuke's head. "Look, you're a kid. No one expects you to be more than that, okay?"
The younger boy nodded, obviously understanding what Kisame had just said. "Okay," he agreed. "Thanks, Kisame."
"No prob." It looks like Itachi isn't the only one who has concerns about expectations.
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On Friday, Kisame arrived at Sasori's house with his video camera in hand. Knocking on the door, he began to wonder why Deidara had asked him to bring a camcorder in the first place.
Sasori answered the door. "Hey, Kisame," he said welcomingly. "Once again, you're the last to arrive. Never mind, everyone else is downstairs."
Kisame went into the basement to find that it had been totally redecorated, so that it resembled more of a living room than anything else. A TV, a couch, a coffee table and apparently a PS2 was set up, with Deidara and Itachi sitting on the couch tapping away at game controllers.
Five minutes after the blue-haired kid had arrived, Deidara noticed. Turning to his friend, he lashed his arms out to their respective sides and yelled, "Hello, Kisame!!" as loud as he possibly could.
Unfortunately for Itachi, Dei was holding the game controller in his left hand, and Itachi, who happened to be sitting to Dei's left, got hit in the eye. "Ow! Dei, what the hell was THAT for?!" he screamed.
The blond muttered his apologies, and continued with the game. "Best two outta three!" he yelled, as he lost (again).
Itachi rolled his good eye. "Dei, it's been 'best two outta three' for six times already. Give it up, you're not going to be able to beat me."
"NEVER!" Deidara shouted, pushing the buttons extra hard now. "I will NOT lost to some Uchiha pretty-boy!"
"Oh, you're the one to talk. You're just as 'pretty' as I am, if not more so," Itachi retorted.
"NO!"
Sasori turned to Kisame, who was still standing by the stairs. "As you can see, it's been a very productive meeting," he said sarcastically.
Kisame turned on his video camera. "And what are we going to use this for?" he asked, playing around with the settings.
"Oh, we are going on an ex-pi-di-SHONE!" Dei exclaimed, throwing the PS2 controller onto the ground. "Into the unknowns of Danna's closet!"
"Are you serious?" Itachi asked, in a what-the-fuck tone.
"Of COURSE I'm serious! Everyone knows that Danna's closet is full of mystical wonders!" the blond replied.
Kisame gave Deidara a confused look. "Uh, like…his…clothes?" he asked.
Dei rolled his eyes. "Danna doesn't keep clothes in his closet. Who does THAT anymore?"
Both Itachi and Kisame raised their hands.
The blond stuck his tongue out. "Well, Danna doesn't do that. I'll show you, if one of you wants to be the reporter."
"THE REPORTER?! So you're just going to invade my closet to make a fake news story?!" Sasori scream-asked.
Deidara nodded vigorously. "Yup."
--
It turned out that Sasori did have 'mystical wonders' locked away in his closet. In place of clothes, puppets adorned the walls, with shelves containing jars pull of liquid towards the top.
"Don't open those," Sasori warned. "They're poison. Acidic poison."
Kisame kept the camera rolling. "What do you need acidic poisons for? It's not like you're a mercenary or something."
Deidara began playing with a puppet. "Well, he needs them to go with basic antidotes. Duh. (A 'base' is something that isn't acidic at all. In other words, it's the opposite of acid.) Why do you keep poison in your closet, though? You'd think it would be better kept in the refrigerator."
The redhead laughed. "Yeah, haven't you noticed that Grandma Chiyo isn't what she used to be? If I kept them in the fridge, she'd probably mistake them for milk or something and put them into a cake or whatever," he explained. "Besides, most of them need to be kept warm, anyways."
The blond put the puppet back. "Oh. Okay," he half-whispered for no apparent reason. "We're done, guys."
--
Kisame turned off the camera as they headed downstairs. "So, what do you plan on doing with this footage?" he asked Dei.
"Oh, it's just tradition," he replied. "Every three months, Danna and I make a home video of something stupid: my room, the park, and most recently, his closet. Then, I put it on Youtube for laughs. Nothing really special."
"Oh…"
--
Itachi unscrewed the four purple nail polish bottles he had brought on the coffee table. Almost instantly, Deidara gagged.
"Woah! Nail polish fumes!" he yelled out, hands over the bottom half of his face. "Tach, is this revenge of some sort? Cuz if it is, YOU'RE DEAD!!"
The black-haired boy blinked. "NO. If you open them all at once, you'll get used to the smell faster. Trust me," he replied.
"Used to it or not, it still reeks!" he yelled again.
"Dei, we're right next to you. You don't need to scream," Sasori scolded.
The blond let out a 'hmph.' "Fine. Let's just start nail-painting, okay? Lord knows you have to put on at least three coats of the stuff."
"I don't think it's your place to complain," Itachi snapped, touching up his already-purple nails. "you're the one who picked the purple in the first place." With that statement, an argument over whether Deidara was right to complain or not ensued between the two long-haired members. Sasori and Kisame, disturbed by the fact that the other two even bothered with stupid bouts like this, started painting. Why waste time listening to those two bicker, anyway?
After the fight was settled (Sasori had to break it up after a few minutes), Deidara popped in the movie that he had brought. "Hope you guys like comedies," he said, pushing the 'PLAY' button on the DVD remote.
"And what, dear child, are we watching this time?" Sasori asked, preoccupied with his hands.
"My super-awesome all-time favorite movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that's what. And, no, Danna, COCONUTS DO NOT MIGRATE," the blond replied, saying the last part in a perfectly executed British accent.
"But, how could a 5-ounce bird carry a one-pound coconut?" Sasori asked in reply, also in a British accent.
"Easy. They take two trips," Dei retorted.
Wow, Kisame thought, listening to the blond and the redhead argue using lines from a movie. What a crackfest I've gotten myself into.
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The movie ended somewhere around 10:30, and Deidara, Kisame and Itachi were promptly kicked out by Sasori's beloved Grandma Chiyo. No sleepovers today.
Despite the rude gesture, the trio was in a mutual happy mood when heading home. Nothing like watch a killer rabbit take down half of a knight's traveling party to raise your spirits.
And so ended the first Akatsuki meeting.
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Woot. Don't you just adore Dei? How fun is he? XD
Reviews help Sasori convince his grandmother to give him a later curfew.