Okay, peoples, next chapter. Woot! XD Well, I hope you guys like it!
And for the record, if you keep sending me death threats if I don't bring Dei back, I won't post this fic anymore. Understood?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What?! Wait, what?" Kisame asked, stunned by what Sasori had just told him.
"Dei just shot himself," the redhead repeated. "I watched him do it." Crying sounds came from the other end of the call. "Kisame, this is too much," he sobbed.
The blue-haired kid was shocked. "Hey, hey, keep yourself together for a bit, okay? Here, meet me in the park in 5 minutes. You'll get through this," he promised.
Sasori sniffled. "As you say," he answered, hanging up.
Kisame, pressing the red phone button on his cell's keypad, sighed. "So, my dream came true after all."
------
When he reached the park, Sasori was sitting on a swing, sweatshirt hood up, staring at the ground and the pattern he was making with his feet in the dirt.
Kisame took a deep breath, and then took up a swing next to Sasori. He said nothing, waiting for the redhead to pull himself together enough to have a conversation.
After a few minutes, Sasori looked up at Kisame. Though if was dark, he could see that the other boy had been crying, since the whites of his eyes were veined and pinkish.
"He apologized," Sasori said his voice cracking.
"What? Who apologized?"
"Dei. He apologized before he shot himself," the redhead explained. "He said that he didn't want to hurt any of us, but it needed to stop."
Kisame tilted his head forward as Sasori began to cry again. "What needed to stop, Sasori? Do you know?" he asked in a soft tone.
Sasori nodded. "Yeah, but it's supposed to be a secret," he replied. "Dei told me not to tell anyone."
"Well, something tells me that he wouldn't mind if you tell me. 'Specially if it helps explain his death." Kisame urged slightly.
It took the other boy a minute to regain his bearings. "Well, he had an abusive father," he started. "He always got beaten if he did something wrong, or if his dad felt like blowing off some steam. The way I found out is a whole other story, but Deidara-kun made me swear not to tell anyone because he didn't want to go into foster care," Sasori choked out. "I guess, just before the Akatsuki meeting, his dad got mad at him and cut him up really bad, and-"
"And I reopened one of his wounds by grabbing his shoulder," Kisame finished.
Sasori nodded again. "Yeah, I guess. And apparently, that beating was the last straw, because Dei goes and does something like this. I…wish I could've stopped it…" he said, holding his head in his hands, sobbing softly.
"Stopped the suicide? Or the beatings?"
"Both." Te redhead began shaking. "You gotta understand, Kisame. Dei is- was- my best friend. And even though I hated seeing him in that much pain, I didn't want to break the promise I made with him, or put him in foster care, where he'd be moving around a lot, and we'd probably never see each other again. I…I…" he burst into tears again, full out.
"Sasori…" Kisame said, trying to console him.
"He did it in front of me…he shot himself in the temple in front of me… the blood, all the blood…seeping for his entire body…I couldn't stop it, I couldn't…" the severely scarred boy began to ramble.
Kisame began to rub circles into Sasori's back. "Please, stop," he crooned. "Crying won't bring Deidara back. All it will do is hurt you more…Sasori, listen, I know it's hard dealing with a death and all that, but wallowing in your sorrows in just going to sting you more than you could ever imagine. Would Dei want that?"
The other kid shook his head. "No, I guess not…"
The blue-haired boy looked up at the setting sun. It's late," he said quietly. "C'mon, I'll escort you home."
The redhead didn't complain.
------
When he himself got home that night, Kisame checked his email. Sure enough, he had a message from Deidara.
The signature yellow-on-black font was there. Some things never change. Kisame also noticed that the message had been forwarded to both Itachi and Sasori. Oh God, how is this going to blow over with everyone? he thought.
Yo. It's Dei. Yeah, like you needed me to say that.
Anyway, I just want to say to all of you that you are probably the best things in my life right now. No doubt about that. But, I can't stand this anymore.
My life, that is.
See, guys, my dad beats me. HARD. And not just with fits, either; he brings out the Swiss Army knives and golf clubs on almost a daily basis. He's tried to kill me before. And this is the last straw.
He had tried to bleed me to death before the Akatsuki meeting. I'm still cut up. And I probably will be still when I go to hell for killing myself.
I can't live like this anymore, and as much as I don't want to cause you guys any pain, I don't want to die at the hands of my father, either.
So I'll die at the hands of me.
I'm sorry. Goodbye.
-Azumoji Deidara
Kisame's jaw dropped. So he had left a suicide note.
------
Deidara's funeral service was held that Friday, during the time of which and Akatsuki meeting should have been going on. A fitting touch for the group's founder.
Sasori came, and Kisame dutifully followed. He didn't really like funerals, with everyone in black and such. But, he came anyway, because he knew that Itachi and Sasori would need his support.
This would have proven true, had Itachi been there. Surely he had gotten Dei's email, right? And funeral schedules were published in the newspaper. Why wouldn't he be here? Kisame wondered.
The service ended, and surprisingly, Sasori hadn't cried. I guess he's all cried out from Monday.
------
The next Monday at school, Itachi hadn't said a word all day. Mourning, perhaps?
During band, he kept spacing out during songs. And it was pretty easy to tell, since he led the entire percussion section.
In lunch, he didn't even bother getting food. And, for the first half of the period, he had a serious, blank look on his face. Contemplating, maybe?
Finally, Kisame got the guts to ask. "Hey, Itachi, how come you weren't at Dei's funeral? It wasn't on a school night, so…"
Itachi sighed. "I had other things to attend to. But, trust me, if I wasn't busy, I could've and would've gone-"
"But, Itachi, this is a funeral. This is the type of thing that you miss other stuff for because it's important. What could you have-"
"Is it any of your business?!" the black-haired kid asked irritably. He put his head down on the table. "I'm guilty for missing his service, okay, but there's nothing I can do now. Okay, Kisame?"
"Okay, I guess…" the other boy reluctantly agreed.
------
The next day, there was an article in the paper that REALLY caught Kisame's attention: YOUNG TEEN BOY HIT BY A COUPLE OF CARS. It read:
On Monday of this week, it seemed like a normal day for this teen. However, Sasori Akasuna, 13 had no idea what fate had in store for him. While walking home from school, he was hit by two- yes, two- cars when crossing Lilac Street, a normally peaceful road. Coming at him from different direction, he was literally squished between the two cars. He went into comatose a few minutes later, and was declared dead at 11:49 PM at-
He couldn't read anymore. Sasori had been hit by a car. No, two. Wow, a double-whammy, Kisame though dryly. And another one bites the dust.
------
Sasori's service was held that Thursday, and once again, Itachi didn't show. Kisame was sure that he had heard about the accident, though; he had mentioned it a few times at lunch. Now what is he doing? Kisame asked himself. He was sure that Sasori and Itachi were close.
------
The following day, Itachi didn't show up at school. Kisame wasn't too worried, though. Two of his closest friends had died in the span of four days. He would need some time to himself.
Kisame did begin to worry, however, when he got an urgent email from Sasuke (using Itachi's address).
Kisame! It's Sasuke.
Help! Brother is no where to be found. We've looked everywhere, and the school even called us asking where he was since he wasn't excused and hadn't come in.
He was depressed about missing his friends' funerals. Please help us look for him, you seem to know him better than any of us!
Knowing exactly where Itachi was, he left immediately.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I know. I'm evil. But like I said, I won't update if I get death threats. Okays, people?
And, FYI, I've started working on another fic like this one, except it follows Dei and Sasori at their school, from the time they meet up until the basketball game. Genius, yeah? Well, it would be SasoDei, instead of KisaIta, and if you guys won't read it, then I won't publish it. Or, I'll publish it simply because there's a spinoff from THAT fic that I really want to get into, with Hidan and Kakuzu! Omg, yes, I know.
And, Itachi only likes positive, non-threatening reviews. And Kisame plays badminton with the negative ones.