Well, im pretty sure the next chapter will be the last, unless yall would like an epilogue as well..?
it's coming to a close, this really isn't the way i imagined the story would turn out when i began writing it, hell i didn't even write my clown sex-scene. Dx
Thanks to everyone who reviwed the previous chapter and anyone else who has stayed loyal to this story even though i've been a total jackass and not updating for a while. and thanks to anonymous reviewer for your awesome ideas. definitely got the bunnies twitching ^^.
He wasn't supposed to leave the camp.
Konan had taken extra measures to make sure he'd stay in his room for the remainder of the night. None of them would, that nights show had been cancelled and there'd been a promise of consequences, should they disobey.
Nobody wanted to admit it, but most of the people in the camp were still scared of Konan, even if her power was blanking right now.
The point was, he wasn't allowed to leave the camp grounds.
Perhaps he was a lot more predictable than either of them had first thought, though it might have also been because of their earlier argument.
He knew Konan had taken more from that conversation than was intended and he also knew that she was no longer in the camp grounds. Either she was going to do the right thing… or she was going to do… well, that.
Either way, waiting felt horrible. Especially not having a clue of the expected outcome. He didn't know whether he was waiting for good news or bad. He just felt so… powerless. And if that was all that was to come of being here, than he knew he might as well have stayed in Suna and let those people put him back in a cage.
It had only been ten minutes since he saw Konan leave.
He didn't know much about Konaha, but he knew the distance between the camp grounds and the main city.
Konan would reach the place just before sunset.
She was out there, doing things, and he was here, waiting.
He'd been reading the walls, every part that was even slightly legible on his side, he'd read it. There were passages from when Deidara was a lot younger – he could tell by the messy scrawl and misspelled words – most of which were sad and lonely, the only happy parts being about the time he'd spent with Itachi and Konan, in those earlier years of his life. Most of it was about nightmares and about his past, and there were even a few scribbled out suggestions of suicide or running away while they were touring Iwa, just to get back to his old life.
If this is what 'acceptance' feels like, I'd rather be invisible.
Konan says I have no home to go back to, but I don't want to stay here!
I want to be just like everybody else.
I dreamt about my parents, but their faces were blanked out and everything was dark. I don't want it to be dark anymore.
If Deidara had ever truly been that person, he had never shown it before, though it made Sasori sad to think there had ever been a part of the blonde that felt so completely alone. Even amongst people who were just like him, Deidara had carried those feelings.
And of course on the roof, in big, bold, red letters, was the phrase "Art Is A Bang!" with small words and phrases written around it, until the entire roof was covered. Those phrases seemed to be from when he was older, and less absorbed in missing home. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten all about Iwa, if those words were anything to go by, and was going through life one rebellious step at a time.
Konan says if I steal her ring again, she'll break my pinkie fingers but I'm willing to bet both hands she's bluffing.
She wasn't.
I convinced Tobi that the forest we're in is haunted. He hasn't left his trailer all week.
We're leaving for Kiri today, I never imaged the ocean would be so blue.
Fresh eyes bring forth fresh disdain.
Still, there were pieces and fragments of sentences up there that were still sad and misunderstood.
Sasori realized suddenly, though he felt he should've known it all along, that he was reading Deidara's life. Sad as it may seem, everything Deidara was and ever had been, was scribbled along these walls. Every good dream, every nightmare, every different emotion in the spectrum was written down here, meant only for the eyes of the writer, and yet here he was, taking in everything as though it were nothing.
And on the other side of the room, Deidara's side, were things written more recently, while he was more grown up, but still a child at heart. Sasori allowed his eyes to scan that wall, until he reached parts that were clearly written in the last few months.
My new roommate is a jerk.
I guess this is better than waking up alone.
Things are starting to look up.
I wonder if bullet wounds ever heal.
I've never felt like this before. Part of me wants to run away. I'm afraid this is the calm before an unhappy storm.
Today I feel… ("What's that word Konan uses sometimes?") happy.
Things had been almost consistent, it seemed, since Sasori had been dragged into the Akatsuki. It was nice in a way to know he had some sort of influence on the brat's life, but it just brought him back down when he realized that now, when it really mattered, he was powerless.
He didn't like having no control; it was too reminiscent of the way his life used to be. He didn't like the idea of not being able to change things, of letting somebody else take care of everything.
Konan was trying to keep him in the camp. That made him think there was something out there that he wasn't supposed to see or impact.
Well screw it!
He wasn't going to sit around and wait!
Screw what Konan had said, it was her fault for getting him involved in the first place! It was her fault that all they were all here together, leading up to whatever was about to happen! It was her fault he'd fallen in love with a stupid blonde who couldn't keep a simple promise to stay put – he conveniently forgot that he was in the process of breaking the exact same promise.
He knew enough about his surroundings to know that if he ran, he'd be able to catch up with Konan. And she was in a such a state that it would be hard for her to determine his presence.
He wouldn't do anything. Yeah, then in a way he wouldn't be going against orders. He'd just go and observe, see what the big secret was, and not do anything.
Yeah, that was it.
With that lie in the back of his mind, he set out, not knowing exactly what he would see, but knowing nothing could be worse than this.
Kisame woke up to a sound he thought he'd never hear again.
Itachi was laughing. Though it wasn't the same as when he was well – or relatively so – he sounded, happy.
"You're still just as stupid as when we were kids!" the Uchiha exclaimed through his laughter, a serene smile on his face.
"What are you talking about, un? You were the stupid one! You believed every little lie we told you, without question!" Deidara countered, pointing an accusing finger.
Kisame watched the exchange through bleary eyes, noticing the way Itachi was beginning to look better. He was sitting up now, and moving around as one usually did in the midst of an argument. He was a lot more animated and color was returning to his skin in the form of a frustrated flush at his friend's stupidity.
Deidara had always been able to get those tiny reactions that added up to so much, with Itachi, and so Kisame was glad he had come, if only to say goodbye.
"It's called being naïve, which can only be expected of people as sheltered as Tobi and I were. My unwarranted trust in you has nothing to do with intelligence."
Deidara frowned, trying to keep p with the words that were said, and failing miserably.
"Un! slow down!" he complained.
Itachi sighed happily and leaned back on the propped up hospital pillows. "I'm glad I met you, Deidara."
And Deidara looked away, because he knew when this was over, the facts would still be the same, and all the wishful thinking in the world wasn't going to change a thing.
"I'm glad for you as well un," Deidara said quietly, "after all, I am an amazing person."
"I don't know about that," Itachi said off-handedly, "I'd say more average."
Deidara didn't respond. Because that feeling was back in the pit of his stomach. There was somewhere else he needed to be. He didn't want to leave, but again, that feeling wouldn't let itself be squashed down or ignored.
"I'm sorry Itachi, I have to go un," he said absently, rising from the chair where he'd been seated for the last hour.
"Curfew?" Itachi inquired, even though the sun was still up.
"Yeah un, something like that. But I'll be back as soon as I can."
He considered for a moment, whether or not to hug his friend, but decided that that was too final. This wasn't the end. There would be so much more time for hugs and sappy things later.
"Goodbye, un."
Of course, had Deidara known just how little time he had left, things would've been a lot different. But with fate guiding him along, he had barely any time to think about such things.
"Well this is interesting."
Pein sat in the same place he'd been since Konan left, though that had been a mere twenty minutes ago so it hadn't been that long a time.
He was no longer staring at his maps, having put them away the moment Konan left.
"It's amazing what happens when you let people off of their strings."
Tobi was sitting in Konan's usual seat, being the only one in the entire camp – the only person left living in the world – who knew the full extent of Pein's abilities. He had been uncertain at first, having found out around the age of twelve, but now he knew just how fun it was to watch people try to control their own lives. Sure, he knew he was also only a puppet attached to the strings of fate, but that didn't take away from the fun.
"Neither of those three have any idea what's coming towards them."
Tobi nodded, "do you know what will happen?" he asked.
"I have a fair idea. Somebody is going to die in a Konaha alley before sunset."
"Do you know which side will Konan take?"
Pein shrugged carelessly, "fate no longer has a hold on her. I believe she will listen to her heart, if she can fight through the haze currently clouding her mind."
"And will she ever find out the truth?"
For this question, Pein had to think for a moment. It was a possibility he had dreaded and hid from ever since he pulled the strings to allow himself the chance to meet Konan. How would she react knowing that every bad thing that had ever happened to her, or to anyone else – of course she'd conveniently forget about the good things – were his fault.
"Let's just hope not."
The gun trembled in her hands.
This was the place.
Five more minutes.
She'd skipped ahead to this point, finding little to no comfort in following Deidara around.
Just as planned, he'd left the hospital and was now strolling aimlessly through the backstreets of Konaha. Silly boy, she'd told him so many times before not to do that. Why did nobody ever listen to her?
They were all idiots!
As time ticked away, she felt herself grow sick.
Deidara was about to die. This was it. He'd be standing right there when it happened.
He was like the son she'd lost in Ame. She hadn't been able to protect her child, and now she was struggling to hold steady the weapon that would protect her… what was that term Deidara had used to describe their relationship..? Friendship! She couldn't protect her friend.
Three minutes left. There he was, the man who would kill Deidara. There was the knife that would end it all.
"What are you doing with a gun?!"
She whipped around, shocked at not having heard Sasori at all. When had he even gotten there?
"t-this isn't what it looks like!" stuttering?! She didn't have to explain herself!
"Come here to finish the job, have you?" porcelain features twisted into a scowl, "I suppose this is all a game for you, isn't it?"
"That's not what this is! Sasori don't be an idiot, why would I lie?"
"I can think of plenty of reasons!"
Amber eyes flicked over towards the mouth of the alley. She could see the beginnings of blonde hair near the far end, and watched the man lean back against the wall at the mouth of the alley.
"Give me the gun."
"Sasori we don't have time for this, I –" she could hear harsh whispers "give me your money," the man was poor and trying to feed a family of six off of a welfare check, Konaha wasn't exactly kind to the jobless, "piss off un," and Deidara of course, was still himself.
Sasori seemed to have noticed the exchange going on in front of them, and Konan's trembling hands. She was uncertain, that was clear enough, there was a lot going on in her mind, a lot of pressure weighing down on her.
She made a snap decision, knowing her previous indecision would be a problem in just a moment; she thrust the gun into Sasori's hands. "Fine, you want it, take it. This isn't my problem!"
"Wait what, I don't know how to fire one of these," Sasori said, finally realizing what was going on, as he watched the man pull a knife and Deidara do nothing to try to get away.
"I won't ask again."
"I'm not in the mood for this un, go bother someone else with your problems."
Then it was a slow motion, fast motion blur of colors that seemed to mash into each other. They all moved at once, like a race and whoever got there last either lost their life or the life of somebody they loved.
He heard a yell, "Deidara look out!" maybe it had come from him, he didn't know, it was too quick to tell.
He heard a scream. He felt himself move, his fingers tightened around the trigger and squeezing his eyes shut, hoping for the best.
Bang!
He heard a body hit the ground with a sick thud.
Then he heard another.
I don't know if i'm quite happy with the way this turned out.