Breathe.
Inhale. Cough. Exhale.
Inhale. Cough. Exhale.
Inhale again. Cough. Exhale again.
He didn't know what it felt like to breathe and not cough anymore. How long had it been since he'd been forced to inhale the explosive clay? How long since it had lodged itself inside the walls of his lungs? How long had he been one of them?
It had been too long. Either that or it hadn't been long enough. It had been long enough, as he'd heard, for the village to hold a funeral for him. They had no body, but apparently they'd grown tired of searching for him. So he was declared dead.
It was just like them. If Gaara had gone missing on a mission, there would have been some effort on the part of the searchers. But no, Kankuro wasn't important enough for them. Well, that was just fine.
He liked being one of them.
Inhale. Cough. Exhale.
Besides, he was stronger now. A lot stronger. He had changed his face paint, too; now it slightly resembled the clouds on his new cloak, done in red and black instead of purple.
He didn't mind wearing the cloak (although it got very hot sometimes). He didn't mind wearing the underclothes (although they were a bit too feminine for his tastes). He didn't mind wearing the large straw hat (although he preferred his old hood that he hadn't worn in two years more than that itchy thing).
After the first few days of pain, joining them was starting to be a real friendly proposition. And when the news of his so-called "death" reached him, he knew what he was going to do. He wanted the chance to be part of something big; he'd gotten a taste during the failed invasion of Konoha and he wanted more.
He was appalled at himself at first, considering they had killed Gaara. But then again, had Gaara ever done anything for him? Had anyone ever really liked him? No, not really. Not that he could recall. So, he made his decision.
Kankuro joined the Akatsuki.
Inhale. Cough. Exhale.
He absentmindedly played with the ring on his left index finger. It used to belong to Hidan. But Hidan had failed. Kankuro now wore the Santai. And today he would receive his first partner.
---
Foshin Yasuo grinned and accepted the ring. Apparently, the guy who had this ring before him had a bunch of other people's hearts on him at all times, to ensure he wouldn't die. Yasuo slipping the Hokuto onto his left middle finger proved that this strategy had failed.
Yasuo was a skilled ex-Amegakure Shinobi. He had heard his soon-to-be partner was formerly of Sunagakure. He didn't know much else about him. Then again, the guy knew less about Yasuo, so he wasn't worried. Besides, they were going to be partners. Any information the two wanted to share would be shared, and any information that they didn't, wouldn't be. It was as simple as that.
---
Kankuro stood up as he heard the door open. The man who walked in wasn't what Kankuro expected his partner to look like. He had a mess of wild dark blue hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a rain village headband with, of course, a gash cut down the middle of it. Kankuro absently touched his own headband. A few years ago he'd dumped the kabuki hood in favor of a normal black one.
"Hello!" The blue-haired man bounded up to Kankuro and extended his hand. Kankuro was surprised to see that he looked just about Kankuro's age. Up until this point he had been the youngest member of the Akatsuki.
"How old are you?" he asked bluntly, taking the other man's hand.
"Twenty-four and a half!" He said in a sing-song voice. "Don't you normally ask name before age? By the way, what is your name? Nice makeup."
"Kankuro. And it isn't makeup," he responded.
"Oh. Hello! They call me Yasuo! I'm formerly from Amegakure, I like killing puppies and long walks on the beach, chocolate and blood and…" Yasuo continued naming off his likes and dislikes.
'Oh, God,' Kankuro thought, 'they stuck me with a total spazz!'
He had tried to hold back his coughing to make a first impression, but couldn't take it anymore. He should have known better, because whenever he tried not to cough the fit that followed was often way worse than just letting himself do it normally.
"You all right?" Yasuo asked, stopping in the middle of his speech.
"Yeah," Kankuro said, still coughing, "No big deal, do it a lot, get used to it."
"'Kay!" He continued his rant, which had turned to the subject of soap, somehow.
'Damn guy probably has ADHD,' Kankuro thought, coughing normally now, 'That DAMN Deidara, why did he have to put those things in me?'
They were interrupted by Leader, who stepped into the room. Kankuro looked up and nodded at the shadowy figure. Now there was an authority figure he could respect, unlike the ones from Suna. Yasuo bowed. Apparently the baka had some humility somewhere under that blue hair of his.
"Kankuro," Leader said in a commanding voice, "You may reveal yourself to Temari of the Sand now that you are officially one of us." A wide grin spread across Kankuro's face. The kind of grin to send children running home to their mothers crying and screaming. The kind of grin that made dogs growl and that cats hissed at. Seeing that grin made Yasuo want to leave the room and never make contact with those painted eyes again. It was twisted.
"Perfect," Kankuro's voice came from somewhere in the shadows. Suddenly, the Kankuro in front of them flew backwards and Yasuo caught sight of a thin, blue string radiating what he felt to be extremely potent and condensed Chakra. The real Kankuro stepped out of the corner of the room opposite the door. The Kankuro that Yasuo had shaken hands with cracked, revealing a wooden puppet with large cat ears and a tail made out of a katana blade. "Yasuo, meet Dokuneko. My… Partner."
"So it was a puppet the whole time, eh?" The blue-haired man didn't seem to be fazed by it. "Interesting… That will work well with my abilities."
---
A loud bang woke Temari up. She sat straight up in her bed, looked towards the door, and gasped. Someone was there. In Akatsuki clothes. She leapt out of bed and grabbed her fan, which was leaning against the wall. "Don't come any closer or I'll-"
"You'll what?" The person chuckled. It was a man's voice. They coughed a few times.
"How did you get in here?" She demanded, her hand shaking a little. Again, the man laughed.
"I think I can get into my own house," he said, darkly.
"What do you-?" Suddenly, the figure disappeared in a wisp of smoke. He then reappeared right in front of her, pushing her back onto her bed. He put his hands on either side of her. Her eyes widened. Then, he slowly reached up and took off the large straw hat.
"I have a question," he said, his lip twisting into a sneer.
"K-Kankuro?" She stuttered, shocked.
"Do I look dead to you?" He hissed, eyes narrowing. She shook her head. He glared at her. She looked into his eyes. She didn't see her brother anymore. What she saw was hate.
Pure hate. For her. For everything.
"Brother?" She managed to say. His expression didn't change.
"That word has lost all meaning to me." He disappeared once again. His voice rang out, even without him being there. "You'll be one of the first to go." She heard him cough again as the voice faded away.
She slumped back onto her bed.
So once again I find myself writing angst for Kanky. But anyhoo, I myself am disturbed by the pairings in this story. Also, this story was indeed inspired by one amazing cosplay session. Thanks Chrissy for the inspiration :3!