It was the first day of school, and Sakura is already having her doubts. She's thrilled that Sasuke is back, his attitude isn't too thrilling though. They'd sat together in homeroom that morning, but Sasuke was as unresponsive as ever. She'd shot him a smile and tried to start conversation, while he'd just sat there and stared at the wall like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

Their second class was also shared, but he'd denied the offer to walk there with her. Sakura just stood there and watched him walk off before heading out on her own when he's disappeared from view. She's relieved to find most of her friends have this next class with her besides Sasuke.

Naruto pats the seat beside him, and Sakura takes it happily when she spots him. At least someone treats her right around here. She doesn't have to look to know Sasuke is sitting alone in the back of the room. The room is filled with the usual chatter that happens after break- the "Did you do anything fun?"s and the "I don't want to go back to this shitty place."s

"I wish this class was over already," Naruto says in boredom, poking Sakura with a pencil. She's always cared about school way more than he has, even if he lets on all the time that he wants to surpass the Dictator himself.

"The teacher hasn't even gotten here yet," She replies, looking up at the clock. This period was supposed to start ten minutes ago, but there's no teacher in the front of the room.

"Better for us then!" Naruto sounds too happy about that observation. No one else in the room doesn't seem to care much either, they're all goofing off or talking.

"More like better for you, you don't really care at all."

"That's true!"

"You just want to slack off."

"Nah, I can't fail again this year. Iruka's already on my case.." This time, he doesn't sound as cheerful.

Sakura looks at him in confusion. "It's only the first day, and you've managed to piss him off this soon? That must be a record."

"He says that if I keep this up, no one's gonna adopt me, y'know? It's kinda true." Sakura must have hit a nerve, because he's looking anywhere but her, while fiddling with his tie and anything he can get his hands on.

"Everyone messes up, I'm sure what you did wasn't THAT bad." Knowing Naruto, it could have been really bad, but Sakura didn't want to voice that opinion.

"Forget about it, I screwed up and I'm gonna be alone cause of that. Big deal. "

"Don't say that. You have me-" She pauses before adding, "and Sasuke. We're here for you. Screw whatever Iruka says." That was a touchy subject as well, matters pertaining to Sasuke. His name even made her feel a mix of discomfort and sadness.

"Yeah, you're right I guess. It's not really a big deal." Bullshit, she knows its more than a big deal. Sakura doesn't push it any longer though, and hastily changes the subject. It's only 10 in the morning, and she's already dove into dangerous territory.

"What do you think is up with this new teacher? It's been nearly 20 minutes, and they're still not here," She mumbles. The new teacher was the only other interesting topic right now. What kind of teacher was THIS late?

"I think whoever it is cares less about this than me, and that's saying something." That comment nearly makes Sakura giggle, but she covers her mouth at the last minute. Naruto seemed upset just a minute ago, and despite that the two are already joking around. She's come to expect him hiding his weaknesses.

Sakura wishes she hadn't turned to look around then, because she sees Karin and Suigetsu join Sasuke. There's no doubt they were scheming something already. She can hear Karin's obnoxious laugh from all the way across the room, and she wants nothing more than to knock that girl's lights out.

Fortunately, the door swings open before anyone can sense her discomfort. Everyone in the room shuts up as soon as they see the man in the doorway, Sakura included. The man who walks in is tall, definitely taller than anyone else in the class. Oh, he must be the teacher. Her first thought is that he doesn't look much like a teacher.

His unique appearance looks more scruffy rather than professional. Sakura can't really call what he's wearing a suit, it's more like a mismatched pair of pants and a failed attempt at a dress shirt. In one hand is a coffee mug, and in the other is some questionable literature.

Something tells her that he's just gotten out of bed. The way his white hair is all messy and tousled is one sign, but for some strange reason- it intrigues her. His half assed outfit or hair isn't what really grabs her attention, it's the fact he's wearing a mask. Not a surgical mask, or a cheap Halloween store mask, but one that effectively covers the majority of his facial features.

She's not the only one gaping at him, most of the class can't take their eyes off this weirdo. Sakura feels bad thinking he's odd, there must be some reason for the way he dresses. The man sits down at his desk, and his eyes scan each individual student. Sakura doesn't understand a lot of things, especially the way she feels when his visible eye falls on her. It's a shade of brown she's never seen before, almost a light red tone.

She can't help but stare, it's certainly not like anything she's used to seeing. However the moment doesn't last long, and it's barely a second before his gaze is off of her and on someone else. He just sits there in an awkward silence and stares at all them, like he knows something everyone else doesn't. Who does something like that?

"Mornin'. Sorry I'm late, I didn't wanna be here." He yawns and sits back. Never in her entire life has Sakura seen a teacher in this school who wasn't at least a bit professional. This guy still acted like he was in high school too, instead of an adult.

"What's your deal? You can't be the teacher!" Ino butts in, standing up from her seat. He ignores the outburst and continues with whatever he was trying to explain in the first place. Sakura doesn't really know what to expect from him at this point.

"My name's Kakashi. I just introduced myself, so I expect all of you to do the same. I'll start with the front row first," says the mysterious man, now known as Kakashi. Sakura isn't very skilled in etymology, so she doesn't know what his name means or if it's just some nickname. It does slide off her tongue nicely though. Kakashi points one of his slender fingers at Hinata, who's a desk over from Naruto and Sakura.

"You, go." He instructs her, then turns back to his desk to pick up that dirty book again. The title was Icha Icha paradise- how fitting.

"My name.. My name is.. Err.." Hinata struggles with her words, and is trying to form a decent sentence. She was like this around new people, everyone knew that fact except Kakashi.

Kakashi doesn't even bat an eye before announcing, "We'll skip you for now. Next person, go." All eyes are now on Sakura, expecting her to say something more than "Er."

"I'm Sakura, and I look forward to being in your class this year, Kakashi-sensei," She says, keeping it short and sweet. After all, she doesn't know anything about this new teacher and doesn't want to make a bad first impression. After she introduces herself, Ino's started whispering to Choji about what a suck up she is.

Kakashi lowers his book at looks at Ino. "I don't like whispering, why don't you keep that to yourself?" Sakura is pleasantly surprised at his remark- Since when did anyone try to defend her? She sits back down and takes in Ino's surprised expression, which is pure gold. Sakura doesn't know why, but she's dying to know all about this Kakashi now. Someone who had dared back talk Ino was certainly worth her interest. But like they say, curiosity killed the cat.


Kabuto clearly had the advantage. Sasori couldn't even stand up, and Deidra was helpless when he was pinned down. Neither of the two had really prepared for something like this, in the last few hours they'd just assumed the only ones who'd come after them were weak classmates who would get on their knees and beg for mercy.

"You're one sick bastard, y'know that?" Deidra spats. Kabuto probably already knows this information, as most sick bastards do. He doesn't say anything in return, his only reaction is kicking Deidra again. No matter how many times he gets knocked around, the force of it is as painful as needles piercing into his skin. Kabuto's strength is almost unreal as he slams his foot into Deidra's chest and stomach over and over.

Both of the two know he's planning on ending their lives eventually, but right now he's taking his sweet time. Deidra hopes Sasori can come up with something while he's being beaten like this, otherwise everything will have been for nothing. They can't die this soon, fate really couldn't be THAT cruel, even to them.

While he's being knocked against the bark of the tree, Deidra starts to lose it. He's so fucking angry, he wants the roles to reverse and for Kabuto to be the one being slammed against the tree. It's blind rage, because he can't act upon it. If he even dares hit Kabuto again, the gun will be pointed between his eyes. He has to control the urge to tear that asshole to shreds.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sasori, who's still face down in the dirt. Some help he was right now. Maybe it was too quick for Deidra to judge, it's not hard to tell that Sasori is trying to move despite the injury. There's a thin string weaved in between his blood coated fingers, but Deidra doesn't have time to think about that because Kabuto's fist hits his eye suddenly. That would definitely bruise later.

"Too bad Akatsuki has really lowered my expectations," Kabuto says in amusement. "I was really looking forward to this, but you two let me down."

"You underestimated me." Kabuto wasn't expecting Saosori to speak up from behind him. He can't move around well, but he moves well enough to grasp something- Kabuto's ponytail. It was the only noticeable weak spot that he had, long hair in battle wasn't very smart. Sasori grabs the strands of grey and yanks him down hard, slamming his skull into the ground.

A rock would've been more efficient, but Sasori supposes this will have to do. Trying to fight back against Kabuto is taking a toll on him already, due to the blood continuously leaking from his injured foot. He's gotten in some pretty nasty fights, gunshots were entirely different though and couldn't even be compared. His entire foot feels like its on fire, burning and searing from the pain.

Despite the aching and throbbing of the wound, Sasori can't give up the fight this soon. All of this has happened so fast, definitely no longer than a couple of minutes, even if it felt like an eternity to him. Kabuto had just came out of nowhere, leaving them unprepared and defenseless out of their initial shock. Obviously that guy knew what he was doing, he was getting serious right off the bat and knew how to win. Had Kabuto been part of some criminal organization before this? Sasori knew good and well how to spot 'unsavory' people, considering he was one of them.

His fingers are trembling significantly, but he still manages to hold Kabuto down long enough to slam his head into the dirt again and again, like hitting a hammer with a nail. Deidra just sits back and watches them, a small smile appearing on his bloodied face. Adrenaline mixed with anger was a deadly combination, he can't wait for Sasori to give him a chance to make Kabuto's body into a crimson masterpiece for all to see. It looked like the tables were finally starting to turn in their favor, all thanks to Sasori. Damn, Deidra will have to actually thank him when they get out of this.

Sasori isn't satisfied till he sees small drops of blood coming from Kabuto's forehead. Kabuto is clearly struggling to fight back, trying to reach out his arms and claw his way out of Sasori's grasp whenever he smashes his head. He's panting heavily too, already strained from their short fight. He was mostly all bark and no bite when it came to actual combat, besides slinging his gun around. What a goddamn show off, Deidra thinks to himself.

"Guns are for actions, not threats. You pussy," Sasori remarks softly, while giving Kabuto's hair another tug and shoving him down again. The bullet lodged in his foot had been nothing more than pure luck in Sasori's opinion. Even if it had just been luck on Kabuto's side, being shot hurt extremely bad and would slow him down in the long run. He's winning now though, and that's enough to keep him going. Finally Sasori's long fingers drift from the silver ponytail to Kabuto's neck, where he places the string that's been clasped in his other palm the entire time. Deidra realizes what he's about to do and tries to hold back from pouting.

"No fair, you get to have all the fun with him. I get to finish this, don't I?" Deidra scoffs. He uses this opportunity to get their bags back, and his primary weapon. As soon as he and Sasori are outta here, he's blowing this place- quite literally. Kabuto tries to say something in reponse, but Sasori wraps his thin string (One obviously made for puppets) around his neck and pushes down. Kabuto's sentence comes out as nothing more than a choked gurgle as his airways are crushed with Sasori's force.

"O-Oro..chimaru would be.. proud," Kabuto chokes out in a near whisper.

"He's crazy, Sasori. Hurry up, kill him," Deidra insists. What was all this Orochimaru bullshit? He knew that guy must have been some government official, no doubt one of the higher ups if he was in charge of the program. Kabuto wasn't some goody goody who followed the rules, so was he wasting his breath on talking about Orochimaru of all people? It was giving Deidra a bad vibe.

Sasori nods and applies more pressure, earning a gasp from Kabuto who's now struggling for air and has dropped his gun, sending it clattering to the ground. Thankfully the safety was on, so Sasori doesn't have to worry about losing another appendage right now.

"I-I sacrificed.. myself.." Kabuto trails off. Deidra shrugs it off as idiotic rambling. Most people responded like this when they were near death, it was normal for them to start spewing their last regrets and other sentimental bullshit. The first person Deidra had killed had done the same thing, except they bad bawled about their family the whole time and how they'd screwed up their future. Victims were getting so predictable. Deidra didn't really have much empathy for a guy who was wasting his final words on Orochimaru and 'sacrifice', but then again, Deidra didn't have much empathy anyway.

"You'd be more tolerable if you were quiet," says Sasori. Kabuto is still trying to wriggle free from his death grip, and the small string that's sliced through the thin skin on his neck. It won't be long till he chokes, and Deidra will have one less annoyance in his life. From the pained noises he's making, Kabuto is a goner. His eyes look like they're about to pop out of his head, and a mixture of blood and spit is coming out of his mouth due to the gagging.

"This guy seriously thought he could kill us," Deidra murmurs in disbelief. He reaches into his bag and grabs a grenade, preparing for the aftermath of the other two's fight. Even with his injury, Sasori is the clearly the winner. Kabuto was a nothing more but prey to him.

He'd managed to trick them earlier, but that was way over by now. Sasori takes a moment to study Kabuto's pained face as he strangles him. His hands are spasming, and his body is twitching more than a caffeine addict. The sight is pathetic to Sasori, but humorous to Deidra.

Kabuto's eyes have squeezed shut now, he no longer is trying to fight back. He's accepted defeat, like anyone else in his shoes would. Sasori tries to imagine what he's feeling right now besides unbearable pain and the darkness of looming death. Regret? Anger?

Sasori didn't exactly understand other people's emotions, so he doesn't know why he's searching Kabuto's face for them. His face is scrunched up like he's trying to hide the pain, as Sasori expected. Beads of sweat are mixing with the trickle of blood on his forehead, making him look almost pitiable. The shirt and pants of his uniform are coated with dirt and specks of Sasori's blood.

The only way Sasori can describe him is absolutely disgusting.

"Burn in hell," Sasori says calmly, and then he ends it. Kabuto gasps for air one more time, and then his limp body is dropped to the ground. He dies with his mouth and eyes wide open. Sasori steps on his corpse and crushes the remaining parts of his glasses.

"I don't want to look at this-" Sasori gestures to Kabuto's dead body. "-anymore." Deidra knows the signal and stands up. He's taken quite a beating, but nothing too serious besides his wrist. He slips the grenade into his pants pocket and wraps his arm around Sasori's shoulder to support him.

That short battle had already drained Sasori, now the adrenaline was wearing off and he felt nothing but the stabbing throb of his foot. Deidra was helping him walk, but if they ran into anyone else right now, they were fucked. Fortunately, Deidra could fix this problem. The two make their way out of the endlessness of trees slowly, making sure they keep their distance.

Deidra counts how far they walk while helping the limping Sasori along. They don't really care about what they've just done, and by the time they're finished with this spot, Kabuto's body will be unrecognizable. They won't have much of a body left to send home to his family.

"Oi, Sasori. Why was that freak talking about Orochimaru or whatever his name was so much?" Deidra asks, when they've walked a few meters. Sasori just shrugs from underneath his arm.

"I know as much as you. Perhaps they had some kind of connection, family or something like that. I don't really care." Deidra smirks at that reply. He doesn't really care either, he's just curious. Kabuto could be involved in whatever it was that caused them all to end up on this island. Not like Deidra minds too much, he's getting some cheap thrills and making some good art.

"We may never know, till we kill that greasy haired dick ourselves," Deidra snorts. Sasori just nods like always. He doesn't talk a lot, so Deidra doesn't mind having him around. He's much better than that Tobi weirdo who used to accompany him on his 'activities' with Akatsuki.

Finally the two reach a small clearing after wandering around for awhile, and Deidra helps Sasori sit down near a flower covered bush. He takes the grenade out of his pocket with his good hand and smiles.

"Think we've come far enough?"

"Mhm." Deidra nods and starts fiddling with the grenade. It's timed, so he's got a few seconds before it goes off. He looks at Sasori and grins. Sasori knows what's coming and leans back against the bush to brace himself for the 'art'. Deidra raises his arm and slings the grenade into the thicket of trees they were in previously.

The explosion incinerates everything in sight. Anyone on the island could hear the thundering boom that the grenade had caused. If there were any living things around, they were long gone by now. Flames are flickering in Deidra's eyes, and he feels a sense of accomplishment seeing his creation.

He hopes he's turned someone besides Kabuto into a masterpiece. Just imagining their burnt flesh and last moments makes him feel as giddy as a schoolgirl. Back when he was in school, he'd make sure to make holes in his pottery so whenever it was in the kiln, it would destroy everyone else's. The feeling is identical to what he feels like now. Satisfaction, what every artist craves.

Playing the game seems even more fun. He can't wait to do this again. Maybe their next target won't be someone as sneaky as Kabuto, but can still be entertaining. Too bad Sasori had to steal all of his thunder. Next time, Deidra will be one to turn their blood into paint. The person he really wants to be his new canvas is probably hiding well, but he will find him.

Deidra just can't wait to paint with Sasuke Uchiha's blood.


37 students remaining


Author's note: I stayed up till 4 AM writing this, so I hope its decent. I don't have a beta reader, so there might be a couple of typos hidden in there somewhere too. This chapter is kinda short, just because I wanted Kabuto dead sooner and didn't want to move onto another character this quickly. I didn't make up the thing about blowing up other kid's pottery, I used to mess everyone else's up too. At least I'm not as crazy as Deidra. Don't forget to review, suggestions are also appreciated!