Sorry this is late. i've had a really shit week.
i had this one written yesterday but when i got home to type it out, turns out the school had sent a damn letter to my house. argh, FML. and some really shit stuff with my friend at school, one sided shit. she probably doesn't know the way i feel. whatever.
and since school has started up again, i'm feeling the damn pressure.
it's weird how life seems to fall apart when you're cut off from your computer for ONE DAY.
has anybody read LOVELESS? ermahgawd, i just started reading it today, i think it's adorable ^^
CREDIT TO ANONYMOUS REVEIWER WHO SAID ELEMENTAL BATTLES. i don't think i've included that in this chapter, but i will.
"Hey, get back here and help set up, asshole!"
But it was too late. Akatsuki's resident shark hybrid had run off towards the lake near which, the circus was setting up camp. Much to Hidan's distaste.
"I knew he was going to do that," Konan said. She pushed past, deliberately shoving Sasori out of the way.
He didn't know where all the people had come from though he knew they must've been in the road train somewhere. It seemed hate travelled fast – as did word and he was on the bad side of all those children as well as everyone in the Akatsuki. If he was being completely honest, he wasn't unused to being treated like this. But this was the only time he'd ever felt like he deserved it.
"Itachi!" Hidan yelled, turning to give him a look that clearly said get him the fuck out of there!
Itachi sighed and looked for a moment like he might actually do something, then looked up at the sky and said, "It's raining."
Obviously that meant there was nothing he could do and Hidan accepted that fact easily, quickly coming up with a new plan, he turned to Pein and said, "Do we have any really big fishing hooks?"
Konan sighed, "This will end in blood if you don't stop it," she said to Sakura, their resident nurse – freakishly strong nurse, that is.
Sakura – not wanting to patch fish boy or the immortal asshole up before the show that night – intervened immediately and it seemed like all was well once again.
Sasori helped as best he could with the setting up though there was really not much he could do for a bunch of people who disliked him. He spent the whole time thinking, worrying about Deidara and recalling the brief argument they'd had.
As Sasori predicted, his reaction to Deidara's hand months was less than flattering. He'd even gone so far as to use that word. The word he'd been labeled with his entire life. The word he had never thought twice about using before. The word Sasuke hated so much.
Freak.
Who the hell was he to be calling anybody such a thing anyway?
He'd seen himself reflected in a window earlier, looked into his own eyes and known that nobody, not on this road train and not anywhere in the world, was like him. Now it wasn't just that everybody's different crap you learn when you're younger, no he knew he was weird, or strange, or maybe some sort of mutant and he was in no position to ever comment on the way people looked, or acted.
But he was… afraid.
Deidara was in the league to be his first real friend and he was scared.
The life he'd lived back in Suna, around all of those discriminating people, around everyone who hated him, living a life with nothing, had worked to build up character and meter high walls around his heart, as well as developing screwed up defense mechanisms that cause him to push anyone and everyone away.
But these people… the Akatsuki, they were just worse, because they had a good, strong chance of actually understanding what he'd been through. They had a chance of getting through to him and though their abnormalities disturbed him slightly – as they initially would to anyone – but he was really more afraid to be rejected by them.
Which, if you cycled back around his odd, mismatched thinking, was why he immediately pushed them away.
Did that make sense? Did that, in any way make him crazy?
"Yes, in fact I'd say it makes you insane."
Sasori wasn't surprised to see Konan standing in front of him when he looked up. He wondered if maybe she'd been there the whole time.
She didn't like the rain and he'd taken up shelter in the big tent, so it stood to reason she'd want to be there too, seeing as it was the only dry spot in this part of the camp.
He didn't speak though because he felt like she wouldn't listen anyway.
"I'm not talking to you right now," she rocked back and forth on her heels slightly, "but Pein wanted me to speak to you," she then muttered under her breath, "well he didn't actually ask me to, but he was going to ask Itachi and he doesn't like you very much right now."
Sasori ignored that last part and said, "What does he want?"
"Deidara won't be back for the show tonight. You're filling in."
"What, where'd he go?"
Konan shrugged, though she knew very well where he was, "he stormed out after your little disagreement."
Yeah, that was really stupid on my part.
"Yes, it was," Konan agreed.
"That's really annoying."
"I'm glad you think so," Konan gave her version of a smirk and said, "I don't know a lot about your act but the Akatsuki is on in two hours so you better go practice. If you let the Akatsuki down again… well that's one future you don't have to be psychic to predict."
Non-explicit death threats. Lovely.
With that, Konan turned to leave, she'd rather be outside in the cold and wet, than in that tent with Sasori.
Two hours later it was still raining. Still raining and dark.
Sasori had watched every single performance, starting from the kids and adults in the normal circus department, all the way to the Akatsuki.
He'd spoken to Pein about what he'd be doing and suggested taking Deidara's place as second, but unfortunately, since he was new he'd have to go last. That meant Hidan wasn't allowed to make too much of a mess tonight.
Stepping up onto that stage was – to say the absolute least – terrifying.
He knew this was the absolute last chance to stay normal, or at least to keep the illusion that he was normal. And after this, he'd have no cause to call anybody a freak, nor to call them weird, strange, abnormal, or anything other than their names.
He stood in the center of the stage, looking around at all the blank, partially terrified faces, surrounded by darkness as lights shone down on him.
They'd get a perfect view of him. Of what he was.
With shaking hands, he undid the clasps of the cloak he'd found in his room, slowly, one by one.
His display was both physical and weird in an unexplainable way. Like Itachi, the way he could change his form (physical) and make fire (weird in an unexplainable way.)
But first, came the physical part. And if the crowd got over that, he'd ask for a volunteer.
He'd been introduced as a human puppet. And that's what he was. Partially. He wasn't controlled by anybody else and had no strings attached to him, he thought for himself with his own mind. He had a heart – though it was somewhat, not normal – and in fact, a lot of his body was still human. Some of his fingers were still real, his arms were both made of flesh, most of his torso was still human, though his heart had been removed and replaced.
He still had a lot of his organs, although for some of them, there was no longer any use. His abdomen had been emptied out and now contained a coiled metal cable. For what purpose, he had no idea. His abnormality wasn't the result of a birth defect as many of the other Akatsuki's were; he had been slowly transformed by the people who took care of him. This was just the end result.
He let the cloak fall, feeling eyes on him, staring in shock, disgust… horrified interest? He kept perfectly still despite his immediate instinct to squirm and move around or run from their judgmental gaze.
He deserved this. Every second of it. For what he'd done to Deidara and to the other members of the Akatsuki.
Konan watched from behind the audience as the new kid disrobed – luckily, he hadn't completely undressed, though it would've been hilarious.
She was tempted to join in yelling the word freak but felt it would be anti-productive. And be. And besides, though he was indecisive, it wasn't as though he didn't feel bad about the things he'd done or hurt over the way people reacted to him – which by the way, served him right.
However, once they'd calmed down a bit, he got on with the rest of his act.
Konan had already been informed what his talent was but still found it… strange. And try as she might, she still couldn't predict his next move.
It gave her a headache.
Both of the people who'd volunteered to assist him, had their thoughts in order but couldn't figure out why they were moving without consent. They danced across the stage, throwing punches at each other, barely missing each time as one or the other would always seem to glide out of the way.
Sasori's fingers moved only slightly but still visibly if you looked closely. Thin blue lines were also visible in the right light, like strings, attached to many points on each volunteer.
Sasori might've been introduced as a human puppet, but they were the real ones being controlled.
The crowd reacted just the way they were expected to though; cautious applause.
Sasori was nowhere near making it up to the Akatsuki but this little stunt was a good start. They might never trust him and perhaps they'd never like him but for this, they could no doubt respect him.
Konan watched as Sasori exited the stage but her vision was soon clouded by a brief glimpse of a near future.
Deidara was going to run into some of her and Pein's old friends. And he was still wearing his ring.
Idiot.
He'd probably need directions back to the camp when he was done with them. Although if they were lucky, he'd be able to avoid the situation entirely.
Eh, who was she trying to kid? They were never lucky.
Konan quickly scrawled down a few directions onto a piece of paper and called out to Sasori. She gave him the paper as soon as he reached her.
"I need you to go into town for me. You have… half an hour."
"Wait, what do you even need?" it was his understanding that they had everything here.
Konan sighed, "You'll figure it out."
Deidara strolled around Ame, cold and soaking wet though the rain was starting to let up. He couldn't see the stars out here like he could in the other village but he didn't mind too much.
He wasn't as angry or upset as he was expected to be. Not anymore.
It had been a shock in some ways, and so quick. He hadn't seen that look in anyone's eyes since he left Iwa – so, a really long time ago – and it was worse for two reasons.
One, because they were meant to be friends! He didn't really know the conventions of a normal friendship but was pretty sure they were meant to be understanding and forgiving and all that stupid crap. Sasori hadn't been very friendly per se but still, they'd hit it off and were getting along great before then.
Two, he was a part of the Akatsuki! That meant he was weird too! What right did he have, seriously?
Well, whatever. Thinking about it only made him angry.
The streets were almost deserted by now. He'd been warned by Konan countless times not to go out at this time of the night – and if possible, not to go out at all – but he didn't trust her judgment and besides, he had no idea where camp was. He'd left in such a hurry that he forgot to check for land marks.
He knew he was being followed. He'd known for a while and was now regretting the ring he wore.
If there was any way to tell he was affiliated with Pein and Konan, it was to look at his ring. Everybody who knew about the two and their line of work, new this simple fact.
This was Ame, a village where both Pein and Konan had made many enemies before they left. But he was quite sure he'd be fine.
That was until he made a wrong turn, ended up in an alley and was cutoff with nowhere to go. It was four against one. Two people blocked each exit; they were all shrouded in shadows and so he couldn't tell if he'd met them before.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time this had happened. Also unfortunately, he never seemed to learn and was quite sure he wouldn't learn this time either.
"Just run along home boys, your services aren't required here, un," he told them, the ones closet to him, right in his face.
Not three seconds later, he was punched.
Apparently, this wasn't one of those situations where you could just say whatever you wanted with no consequences.
"Is this the guy?"
"Just look at his ring, he's one of them for sure."
"Alright, we'll take him with us. maybe then that bitch will think twice about stealing from us."
Great, so these were some of Konan's friends.
They were always the worst.
And for some reason, they assumed that if they kidnapped him, she'd come to his rescue. Like, maybe because she was a female, she actually cared about him. Well she didn't. Not enough to stick her own neck out for him, anyway.
She might send Itachi or something.
Not that he'd need anyone to help him.
"she won't come after me," Deidara felt he should at least inform them of this fact, "chances are she probably knows what's going on and just doesn't care, un."
Now were these the ones who house she completely cleaned out, or the ones she stole the money from?
By the way he was punched again, effectively winding him and brining him to his knees, he guessed it was the money.
One of the guys behind him, kicked him and he feel face first to the ground.
God, this was going to be hard to explain to Sakura when he got home. He just hoped nothing was broken and that there wasn't took much blood, though he could tell he was bleeding.
Oh and he had missed the show. He'd have to report to Pein first otherwise he'd have to see the nurse twice.
"Tie him up or something and that's go."
Deidara sighed.
This was really quite troublesome.
Sasori followed the directions scrawled on the paper, down to the letter – he noticed with dry amusement that Konan had included instructions to get back – and found himself staring into the mouth of an alley where a single figure stood, rubbing their wrists.
"Geez un, would it have killed you to get some better rope? It would've been nice to feel challenged, un."
Deidara.
There were four figures sprawled out on the ground at his feet and a pained groan emitted from one of them.
"Oh un, and Konan sends her regards," Deidara gave a smile now. It was something he'd been told to do next time he saw on these idiots.
He could feel eyes still trained on him and said, "go away un, I can find my own way back."
"Yeah? What direction is it in?" Deidara frowned and pointed left, uncertainly. Then right. Then left again.
He had no idea.
"Come-on, Konan only gave me half an hour to come and get you." He assumed that was why he'd been sent down here.
Deidara rolled his eyes. Of course she'd seen this coming. She was only helpful for predicting things when it was too damn late!
He felt sick and light-headed and like he might throw up but that didn't stop him from stomping past in faux anger.
Left, because he'd pointed that way twice.
He didn't get very far before his legs gave way. Perhaps he shouldn't have spent all day stomping around in an angry manner after having done that trick the night before. And perhaps what had just happened wasn't of any help either.
He was a bit like Itachi in a way where, he sometimes pushed himself too far.
"Still think you can make it on your own, brat?" Sasori asked, smirking slightly.
"Un, shut up and help me you bastard!" Deidara raised his arms and wiggled his fingers; much like a child and Sasori couldn't help but smile.
He kneeled down in front of the blonde, his back to the other and said, "you can't walk on your own, your legs aren't gonna let you."
"Un, I can so!"
"Okay, I guess I'll just leave you here," Sasori began to stand up, slowly.
He wasn't given the chance though, pulled back by one of those hands. He had to force away a shudder.
"I should make you beg as payback for being a brat."
"Un, just take me home… please."
He wrapped his arms around the redhead and Sasori stood up, shakily at first. He turned around.
"You were going the wrong way."
"Mmm, I figured un." pause. He was feeling really tired. "This won't make me forgive you."
I figured that out by now.
I just hope you find a way, one day.
Sakura was not happy to be interrupted while in the process of patching Kisame up. He'd been burnt during his act. Itachi said it served him right but apparently, he felt guilty enough to sit in the makeshift infirmary while he was treated.
Kakuzu was also there, sewing Hidan's arms back on. That hadn't been as effective at scaring the crowd, as shoving a chainsaw through him had, but it had still earned a pretty loud scream.
"I don't know what happened to him. I think he got in a fight or something," Sasori said, lowering Deidara – who was now sleeping – down onto a bed. His back ached from carrying the blonde all the way here. He was a lot heavier then he looked.
"Was he conscious when you found him?" Kakuzu asked, automatically shifting into doctor/friend mode.
"Yeah he was fine, he fell asleep on the way here."
Sakura, sensing the tension, ushered Sasori out, thanking him for brining Deidara in and promising to update him ASAP.
On his way back to his caravan, Sasori ran into Konan, standing outside in the circle of Akatsuki caravans. It had stopped raining sometimes since Sasori had left for Ame.
"Well you were right," Sasori said, not expecting a reply.
"Really? About what?" Konan asked dreamily.
"Your prediction, remember? Deidara was hurt."
Her mouth formed an 'O' of understanding but she shook her head.
"No, I didn't mean like this," she said. The vision was still there, fresh in her mind. "I didn't mean tonight."