Title: Religion and Music

Chapter 4: When I Hurt Her

I should have run. I should have fucking run.

But my head wasn't working. I wasn't fucking thinking straight.

My mind had been fucking tortured for the past two and a half, almost three months, and I couldn't fucking take it anymore.

I turned.

"Hey, bitch."

Tayuya smirked. "So what's up with you lately?" she asked. "You punch me in the chest, I tell you I want to see you again, and you suddenly avoid me like I'm some serial rapist." She stood. "Yes, I admit that I was mind-molesting your chest. You get blue balls?"

I immediately flushed. "NO, I DID NOT, BITCH!!" I lifted my middle finger. "Damn you, but at least now I know you're interested in men."

"What do you mean, asshole?"

"I mean that, based on how you talk and act, you're practically a lesbian."

It was her turn to flush. "BASTARD!!" she cried out, sending my middle finger message back. "You STILL don't know how to present yourself to a lady!" She crossed her arms and sighed. "What really made you avoid me? You find out who my father is?"

My eyes widened. Was this something she was used to?

"Yeah, I found out," I murmured. There was a long, awkward pause. "It doesn't have anything to do with you though." I shoved my hands into my pants pocket as Tayuya rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit," she spat. "That is absolute bullshit." She sent a glare in my direction. "Do you know why I don't have any friends? It's because everyone is so damn scared of my father."

"Or it could have something to do with your mouth."

"No, really?" she ask sarcastically. "I never would have guessed." She frowned deeply.

My head spun. What was up with this chick? She had just used her father as an excuse as to why she didn't have friends, so I had immediately assumed that she wanted friends but couldn't have them because of her family. But she had just said that her mouth was another reason for not having friends. If she really wanted friends, she should have started by being, oh, I don't know, POLITE?! Or maybe not cursing everyone off every two seconds would have been a good start.

"Do you even want friends?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Tayuya's answer was short and sweet. "No."

Well, that cleared up EVERYTHING!

She looked back at me, but I sensed something strange about the look. She almost looked as if she were about to cry or, at the very least, whimper. I never thought I would see that look on her face. She always had that "I hate you" expression, so it was weird to see her looking like this, to see her so vulnerable.

"I don't even know your name," she finally told me. "I've been cursing you to Hell for months, and I don't even know who you are." She paused. "Would you tell me?"

My mouth suddenly went dry. She wanted to know my name? That was...almost polite! Was she trying to be friendly?

Nah, she just wanted to know the real name of the guy she was sending to Hell.

"I'm Hidan," I replied. "I'm a third-year at Shinobi High."

She nodded. "I'm Tayuya Sound," she introduced back. "I'm a first-year there."

My mind was suddenly clear as glass. It was so strange. It was as if all my frustrations about Tayuya had immediately left with just those few sentences. I felt as though we had started over. We had met quite strangely by bumping into each other and cursing each other off. Introducing ourselves so formally just felt so...normal. It was really like we were starting over! I didn't care what her reason for wanting to know my name was. She had asked for my name! I knew her full one! Tayuya Sound. It had a nice ring to it.

"Are you planning on going to college next year?" she asked me.

I gave her a thoughtful look. "I haven't really thought about it, "I confessed. "I don't know if I'm cut out for college..."

Tayuya snorted. "Lazyass."

News flash: The real Tayuya was back.

I shook my head. "Whatever." I started walking towards the door, but Tayuya caught the arm of my leather jacket. I turned to see her with determination in her eyes.

"Get me into this bar," she commanded. "I want a drink."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen. I have a fake ID though."

I sighed. "My best friend works here. He won't kick us out." With that, I opened the door to the bar, shuffled my way through the crowds, and sat down next to where I saw Kakuzu working. Tayuya sat down next to me. As soon as she did, she slapped her head into her palm and glared at my friend.

Kakuzu's eyes went wide. He hurried over to me. "Stupid!" he whispered urgently into my ear. "I told you to stay away from her! You know who her father is!"

"She found me," I whispered back. "Just act normal, okay? Give her what she wants, and I'll make her leave."

Kakuzu sighed. "Fine. But you owe me one hell of a tip for this." He stood normally and looked at the both of us. "What can I get you?"

"A rum and Coke," I told him, "with plenty of ice."

My friend nodded. "And for the lady?"

Tayuya's face was still in her palm. "As many vodka shots as you can fit on this table."

There was a long, LONG moment of silence until Kakuzu shuffled towards me and whispered, "That chick is fucking PSYCHO." He stood up straight. "I'll start you off with three," he insisted. "If you want more, you can have more." He shook his head. "How old are you anyway?"

"Forty."

"Okay. Now answer honestly."

"Eighty."

Kakuzu groaned. "Smartass bitch," I heard him mutter. He turned towards me and shook his head again. "You really picked up an awesome one here," he growled. "She makes me want to copy the art brothers with you." He turned and got to work with our orders.

I looked at the pink-haired girl. Damn, she had to have been in a bad mood. Of course, I had seen her angry, but her behavior was just crazy. At that point, I was convinced that she really WAS insane. Yeah, she had much less sense than the founder of our school, definitely. I frowned at the thought of how much she had to have been hurting though. Even crazy people only acted like that when something was bothering them.

"What's wrong?" I asked as politely as I could.

Tayuya slowly lifted her head. "I hate my family," she told me. "I hate my father, and I hate my brothers."

So she was one who was used to a lot of hate, too. I felt sorry for her. I knew how THAT felt, and, trust me, it's not a great feeling. I think it was only made worse though because of the fact that Tayuya actually had a family. For me, who had no family, life was always lonely, sure, but I did have friends. I always claimed to hate them, but there were a few things I liked about them. My friends had actually become my family. Being in a gang had helped me forge bonds with other people in a way I never could before. Yes, sometimes they weren't the greatest bonds, but, regardless, they were bonds. Having some bonds was better than having no bonds at all.

I guess I felt the sorriest for Tayuya when I remembered her saying she didn't even have any friends. To not have friends and to hate one's own family...that must have hurt. It had to have hurt more than any physical damage I could ever do to myself or a sacrifice during a ritual. To have all those people around you and feel alone must have been the worst kind of pain anyone could ever feel.

"Order up," Kakuzu announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. He pushed the mug of rum and Coke towards me and set the shot glasses down in front of Tayuya. She gulped one down quickly but hesitated before taking anymore. I took a sip of my drink and glanced back towards the girl.

"Why do you hate them so much?" I asked.

Tayuya looked up. "I hate them because they're all trying to make me play my flute for reasons I don't want to," she explained rather calmly. "Father is the worst. He wants me to learn that garbage you saw on those papers from a few months ago. He wants me to play that trash for a living."

I stayed silent for a moment. "What do YOU want to do?" I finally asked.

As soon as I posed the question, Tayuya's eyes began to sparkle. I don't mean they just brightened. No, the sparkled like the damn sun was shining out of them. "I want to play my way," she replied, almost giddy. "I want to show the world just how shitty that junk is and show them what can be played if you think of the music for yourself." She was practically grinning from ear to ear, just like a kid.

Needless to say, I was a bit freaked.

I took a big gulp from my drink. "So what about this family of yours?" I asked. "Full of assholes?"

The sparkles and grin disappeared. "And retards," Tayuya hissed, pulling a napkin towards her and taking a pen out of her pocket. "If you're that interested, here's the explanation on my idiotic brothers." She doodled a picture at the top of the napkin and wrote a name next to it. Actually, she wasn't half-bad at drawing. "The oldest is Kabuto," she explained. "He's in graduate school, learning about medicine. He wants to be a surgeon. He's twenty-seven."

I almost fell off the stool. "WHAT THE HELL?!" I shouted, balancing myself. "That means that he's eleven years older than you!" The gears in my head started turning. "Just how many brothers do you have?!"

"Six. They're all older than me."

The gears in my head came to a screeching halt. I don't think I've been that brain-dead since I was once stuck listening to Tobi tell me how much he loved being part of the Akatsuki.

Tayuya continued. "Right underneath him is Kimimaro. He's twenty-five." She drew another picture. "He's also studying medicine. He wants to specialize in treating bones. The only thing that's really ironic about him is that he's never been in the best health himself." I watched as she gulped down another vodka shot. There was something about Kimimaro that must have hit a sore spot. After a moment, she continued, drawing another picture. "Underneath him are the twins, Sakon and Ukon. They're twenty-three and studying together at the same college. They're studying physics with a focus on fusion...or fission...whatever. I don't know."

I nodded. That already sounded like a lot to put up with in one house.

"Kiddoumaru is under them," Tayuya explained as she drew another picture. "He's twenty-one and studying biology. He wants to focus on arachnids though, so he'll be working on that throughout graduate school." She drew another picture. "Right under him is Jirobou, who is nineteen, making him one year older than you. He graduated from Shinobi High last year, but he's not in college. He was discovered and became a pro wrestler."

My jaw dropped. "At nineteen?!"

Tayuya smirked. "Yup. He's alright but he's pretty stupid. He probably couldn't have gotten into college if he tried, so he's lucky he became what he did when he did." She suddenly frowned and drew one last picture. "And then there's me, the baby of the family at sixteen. Because I was so much younger than the oldest child, my brothers have always beaten the crap out of me, and that's how I learned to defend myself. Though my father has always doted on me, and I hate it." She slammed the pen down and gulped down her third shot.

I had practically forgotten about my rum and Coke; I was just so damn absorbed in what Tayuya was saying. She seemed vulnerable again, and it was almost as if she could burst into tears at any given moment. I was quiet as I watched her face twist into pain.

"It was all because Mom died giving birth to me."

My heart stopped beating, and when it started again, it went into overdrive.

"He thinks that he has to give me everything I want and shit I don't even want to keep me happy. He thinks that that was all Mom wanted. He probably does it because he doesn't have any other women in his life to dote upon. He swears upon his damn life that he doesn't have any mistresses or work with any women in the yakuza. That's absolute bullshit." She slammed her palm on the table. "More shots!!" she shouted.

"Hey, hey!" I scolded. "You shouldn't drink anymore, damn it!" I reached out for her. "No more drinks for her, Kakuzu! She can't hold her liquor; she's drunk!"

"LET ME THE FUCK GO!!" Tayuya screamed, swatting my hand away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" She suddenly lost her balance and fell to the wooden floor. I gasped and hopped off my stool to check on her. I barely noticed that everyone in the bar had become very quiet; they were watching us.

"Tayuya!" I shouted. "Don't move! Don't move, damn it! You're drunk! You don't know what you're saying or doing!" I tried lifting her, but she started flailing around, screaming like an absolute moron. I braced myself against the bar table and held onto her, not daring to let that psycho bitch go.

"Hold on, Hidan," I heard Kakuzu sigh, "I know what to do." He stood behind Tayuya and slapped the back of her head. Suddenly, the girl's head dropped, and she was motionless. Quietly, I set her down on the floor. Her cheeks were flushed, and her skin was warm to the touch. It was so painful to see her like that.

Though, at the time, I couldn't figure out why it was so painful.

I shook my head silently and picked her up. "Kuzu," I murmured, "could you help me get her on my back? And could you call a taxi...please?"

Kakuzu's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Uh, sure," he replied, assisting me in getting the girl on my back. As soon as he was done, he pulled out his cell. However, he didn't dial right away; I think he was shocked that I had actually said "please" when asking him for something.

I slowly walked outside the bar and out onto the sidewalk. I knew it wasn't a good idea to put an unconscious chick on a motorcycle. Besides, chances were good that if I had taken the taxi home, Kakuzu would have driven my bike back to my apartment. He himself didn't have a bike, so he would probably have ended up staying the night since his apartment was a good walk away from mine. I still keep telling him that he should get a bike, but he keeps refusing. He says they cost too much money.

I looked up and saw a white-haired man getting out of an expensive-looking car. His eyes softened when he saw me.

"I believe that's my sister you have there," he told me, smiling faintly. "Somehow, I knew she'd be here. It was the type of night where she'd want to get drunk." He walked up to me and took a hold of Tayuya. "I'll take her. Don't worry. She's in good hands. I'll bring her home and put her to bed."

I blinked a few times. "Uh," I stuttered, "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but who exactly are you? I mean, which of the brothers are you?"

The man grinned. "So she got drunk enough to tell you about our family, huh?" he asked. "I'm Kimimaro, the second oldest. Who are you?"

"Um...I'm Hidan," I replied. "I'm...uh..." What was I supposed to say? I wasn't Tayuya's friend, was I? "I'm Tayuya's..."

"You don't need to explain it," Kimimaro told me as he placed his sister in the back seat. "You go to Shinobi High, right? Then we'll just say you know her from school." He shut the door and walked back to the driver's side of the car. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her," he sighed. "I'm just sorry I couldn't get here before the hysterics started. It looks like she threw another temper tantrum. I'm sorry."

"Uh, no, it's okay," I insisted.

Kimimaro smiled. "I owe you. See you around, hopefully another time when I'm home from college." He quickly got into the driver's seat and sped off.

I suddenly realized that I had asked Kakuzu to call a cab, so I ran inside the bar to stop him. When I got in there, he didn't have his phone. "I saw that guy come," he told me. "Just get on your bike and go. Pay for the drinks later."

I wanted to kill that greedy bastard. He still wanted me to pay after all THAT!

But I wasn't in the mood to argue. I left the bar and got on my bike. After placing the helmet on my head, I started the engine and headed for home, vowing to never drink vodka as long as I lived.

TO BE CONTINUED