Hey! Sorry for that wait! But this chapter is a bit longer so does that make up for it? Anywho I hope you enjoy and tell me about it! It might make me go faster :P. So R&R
Disclaimer: It's late.
Chapter 6: Smiling for me.
Ino awoke the day after her funeral feeling refreshed and rejuvenated in a blissful ignorance. She remembered an odd dream faintly. She remembered what she thought was a field of flowers and what sounded like sobbing but Ino simply shrugged it off as what was probably just another weird dream. She then smiled softly anticipating another nice day.
Her smile would probably fade if she had any idea that many people cried for her the day before. Probably, anyways. Ino was the kind of girl to claim they deserved it if asked when she was in the right mood. The right mood being one of anger and frustration.
One that Ino was in a good third of the day, much to the dismay of the people who lived with her.
" I'm where I belong," she murmured to herself sleepily in her- well Sasori's- bed but not like he used it. She dug her face in the pillow inhaling the scent of freshly cut wood. She guessed it was cherry only because that was what Sasori was using late last night to make puppets.
One of them had been her "good friend" Kimi. Which even if she didn't like the ninja, seeing her body as a puppet in the corner of the room freaked her out just a little bit.
Thinking of Sasori, he was always waking her up. But a part of her didn't mind. She sometimes liked to listen to him tinker with his toys. She giggled to herself. If Sasori heard her calling them toys he'd probably give her a lecture about who the puppet was and how it's art not a mere toy.
" Hi I'm Sasori," she mimicked in his tone of voice. " I make puppets all day long and yell at poor, adorable blondes for no reason at all. Hur Hur Hur."
" No, un!" She said in a adorably high voice. " Ceyah! No silly, Sasori-Danna, un! Art is a bang like us, un!"
" What about me!" Ino said trying to sound like Kisame. She did this for every member of the house, being reduced to childlike giggles at her fun. Ino then continued to make kissing noises until she heard an annoyed sigh.
" Ino," the voice that belonged to Sasori did not sound amused. " One. I yell at you because you're annoying. Two. That was the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life. And I work for the Akatsuki. Three. You are the only person in the entire world who thinks the Akatsuki base is where they belong."
Ino turned bright red as she faced Sasori, who much to her surprise, had a slight grin. Well, what looked like he was attempting a grin but couldn't get it right. Ino laughed then and help her sides.
" What" Sasori asked, beginning to go back to his normal face, annoyed at the girl for laughing. He should had been the one laughing at her for being so stupid if he could laugh.
" Oh," Ino laughed harder then finally regained her cool after another round of laughter. " Your face was priceless! What was that!"
" Fine," the puppet master frowned and began to turn away. " I might make you into a puppet now. Then I wouldn't have to listen what comes out of your idiotic mouth anymore."
" You're so childish, Sasori!" Ino laughed then regained her cool quickly knowing it would only offend him more. " Do you want me to teach you how to smile? I've seen one before but when you try they look so silly."
" Why would I need your help with something so stupid, pig?" Sasori murmured turning back to face her, only to come face with not an angry Ino like he expected but one with a crestfallen look on her face.
"Ino?" he asked reaching out a hand and then pulled it back. The coldness of his hand would provide no comfort.
" You just reminded me someone I use to know," Ino murmured, putting her own hand on her face trying to wipe off the expression. " She had the hugest forehead ever; like you could rent the space out to a small family in need of a home. And she was the biggest nerd and know it all and I wonder if she's…" Ino's voice trailed off. Then she smiled and looked up at Sasori who frowned.
" I'd like you to teach me, Ino," Sasori murmured, looking to the ground. " How to smile I was just being childish…" It took him all the will he had to say the last part but he figured it'd be worth it.
Ino looked at him and smiled. This was why she felt good here. Because of his awkward kindness. Ino swore it was there, you just had to really look for it. Really really look for it. Sometimes even Ino couldn't find it underneath all the puppet parts and metal.
" Yes!" Ino smiled and wiped her eyes. " Promise you won't complain!"
" I promise," Sasori sighed. He really wondered why he even let her get her way. In the end it always effected him somehow.
" So the first lesson of a smile!" The blonde broke out as took her fingers and demonstrated on her face the movement of a smile. " Do you still have mouth muscles?"
" How do you think I talk?"
" New rule, no ' Hey I'm Sasori and I like cynical comments' comments!"
" You're being unreasonable, Ino."
Ino sighed and put her hands close to his face but stopped short. She figured that Sasori probably didn't like being touched, he had the personality. So she brought her hands back to her own face.
"Just bring up the corners like this," she demonstrated on her face. Making an exaggerated smile bringing her mouth up higher then it could ever possibly go.
But Sasori only gave her a deep stare.
" Sasori-san?" Ino asked, trying to see if he was paying attention. He was not. This strange girl in front of him made him get lost in his own thoughts once again.
It was true. He hated being touched. He hated it more then anything. He hated it more then Deidara's stupid theory about art. He hated it more then Suna. He hated it more then most things and he sure did hate a lot.
But it kind of annoyed him that she figured it out. It kind of annoyed him because he figured that if it was her it couldn't be that bad.
" You can show me on my face," he told Ino. She raised her hands slowly unsure of herself, for once. This was much too slow for the impatience puppet master she he decided to tug on her hands with his puppet strings to bring them to his face.
" See?" He murmured. " Its not quite like your face, huh? That's a thin layer of skin so its smooth like skin but its different." he moved her hands to his mouth.
" I kept some of my mouth and my tongue," he told her sticking out his tongue. " So I can still talk." Ino blushed at her fingers caressed Sasori's face. It was different. But she didn't hate it. She expected when she touched it to be completely taken back but it didn't bother her.
" You can touch my face too," Ino murmured and the puppet master actually gave her a smile. It was a small awkward smile but Ino knew it was there.
And it was gone in an instant.
" What are you two doing, un?" Ino and Sasori turned around to the audience staring into the bedroom.
" Ino-chan!" Hinata yelled, covering her eyes. " We didn't mean to interrupt you and Sasori-sama's alone time but we were wondering when you'd be out for breakfast." Ino almost choked when she heard Hinata call it her "alone time". Hinata peeked through the corners of her fingers only to have Deidara cover her eyes with the back of his hand.
" Hinata-chan, close your eyes," Deidara spoke in an extremely solemn tone. " This is what people call lewd or risqué behavior.…you look with your bare eyes they might never work again, un."
" Stop being silly…" Hinata murmured softly, a little afraid what Deidara was saying was true so she kept her eyes shut just incase.
" Well seeing that you are busy, Ino," Kisame grinned his signature toothy grin and turned around, his arms in the air. " I guess we'll leave you with Sasori-kun. We wouldn't want to interrupt."
" Shut up!" Ino yelled. " I'll come to breakfast!"
" Why don't you take your hands off of Sasori's face first, Ino," Konan informed her friend and Kisame could be heard choking on laughter from the hall way. Ino, who was completely mortified at this point, took her hands off Sasori and got up quickly only to lose her footing and fall, luckily Sasori saw this from a mile away and use his puppet strings to keep her up. She murmured a hasty thank you and rushed out of the room most of the audience following except for Deidara who lingered in the door way.
" So what were you doing, Danna?" The blonde man asked as the other went past him. " You sure do let her get away with a lot, un."
" She was just curious of what my skin was like," Sasori murmured as he made his way into the dining room. There was no way he was going to tell Deidara the truth. Deidara lingered a moment longer.
" That's so unlike him, un," the man thought brushing his hand in his hair. Deidara stood for a moment longer before he too made way into the kitchen. " Why would Danna let anyone.." he stopped mid sentence when he ran into Hinata who fell backwards.
" Hinata-chan?" he brought his hand to her level so she could grab it. " What were you doing. Ino said just cause she healed your ankle it was a bone wound so you should still be careful, un," he lifted her up and she frowned slightly.
" Your hand licked me, Deidara-san," she murmured flushing and stuttering a bit " I just came to tell you that breakfast is getting cold and," she blushed and looked down.
" You came running to tell me that, un?" He asked with a grin on his face. " I bet its not even that cold yet, right?"
" Um," Hinata mumbled. " Lukewarm… I suppose. It was hot, though… Might still be. " She admitted and looked away from him.
" Have you eaten yet, un?" Deidara asked her lifting up her face. " Don't worry my hands won't lick your chin."
" I ate," Hinata mumbled looking into his eye. " A bite or so. Hurry up, Deidara-san! It probably is cold now cause you've been silly!" She looked at him and started to walk backwards. Only to be stopped by Deidara.
" You ran into me going forwards… Do you really think I will let you go backwards, un?"
" Deidara-san!"
Deidara laughed loudly and let her go. They walked together in the hallway.
" I think I understand Danna a little more now, un!" he laughed loudly and smiled. Hinata, who didn't understand at all, found herself smiling with him despite herself.
The two made way into the dining area to find Ino glaring ate everyone, stuffing her mouth with the stacks of eggs and bread on her plate. Throwing away all the dieting she had mastered the art of in Konoha.
" Whoa," Kisame said offhandedly. " She even eats like a pig."
" Instead of giving her a damn plate we should just put a fucking trough in front of her and fill it with some pig slop for the bitch," Hidan murmured as he walked into the dining room, covered in blood and weird writing. Everyone was used to it and didn't give him a second glance.
Save for Hinata who gave the remainder of her breakfast to Deidara.
" Shut up!" Ino was getting red in the face and she didn't know how to retaliate so she just said what came to mind. " Fish face, get a hobby and Hidan go cut yourself, you false god worshipping weirdo."
" What did you say, you pig nosed bitch?" Hidan yelled looking at Ino menacing. " What did you say about Jashin? You have a death wish? Cause I can definitely fulfill it, bitch."
" Is that all you can say?" Ino murmured looking at him. " Bitch? Can't you think of a better insult other then bitch? Or does Jashin like stupid followers?"
" You can talk all the shit you want, Pig." Hidan spat out at her. " But you're just a tool. You were the one that was fucking kidnapped. What are you too weak? I heard a rumor that the leaf village spews out a bunch of bitchy no good females like you. Looks like so many, in fact, that they don't even care about getting you back, you pig nosed slut."
Itachi took a sip of water watching the two fight. It was hard to see someone yell at Hidan. Usually he would just skip to killing people with no need for an argument. It also looked like, from the sharigan wielding members eyes, that Hidan had definitely won with that last blow. Ino would probably break down in tears or storm off. Either way, he would be left uninterested
Sasori was also watching intently. He knew Ino could hold her own but Hidan was attacking with the intent to kill. With words of course but still. Sasori had an urge to rip the mans head off and bury it in the yard. He had no idea why. He looked to Ino and knew that she would probably let her emotions get the best of her.
Probably wasn't something that controlled Ino Yamanaka though.
" Maybe I don't want to go back!" Ino screamed. " Maybe I know that I'm weak? What about that, you son of a bitch? If I'm a weak girl what does that make you? Why are you worshipping Jashin? For immortality? How lonely is that! We're the same, Hidan."
Itachi was actually interested and had to give it to Ino. She defiantly was not just some leaf village ninja. He had seen plenty of them.
Sasori gave a faint smile for a moment. That was the Ino he couldn't turn into a puppet. The smile soon vanished, but not before some of the Akatsuki did tremble at the sight of it.
" Anyways," Hinata spoke up looking to Ino then to Hidan. " Ino-chan, take a deep breath. You needn't always rely on yelling sometimes taking the high road is best. And Hidan. I am from the leaf village as well. Does that make me just some weak female?"
Now Hidan was the one at a lost for words. Because, for the most part, everyone enjoyed Hinata. And she was regarded as just a sweet girl. Yet, the look she gave Hidan was the coldest he had ever seen. It was as if Jashin himself was searching through his damned soul.
" Fucking Sorry… Hinata-chan," Hidan mumbled, not looking up.
" Thank you, Hidan-san," Hinata smiled in her normal squeaky and shaken tone of voice. Hidan shook his head, let out a few profanities, and went back into the depths of the Akatsuki compounds.
The whole breakfast crowd was left in a eerie silence when the leader walked in, looking for Hinata and Ino. He was combated with blank stares and terrified looks. The only ones that were normal were the girls he was looking for.
" What's wrong, Konan?" He asked his blue haired partner who just shook her head and looked up to him, an already exhausted look on her thin face.
" I think we choose the wrong girls to kidnap," she told him no malice evident in her tone. It was quite obvious she had grown found of the two girls, treating them like younger sisters and when she had no missions she would often check up on them and make sure they were both OK. The clothes they were wearing, after all, had been hers at some point.
She liked having women around.
"I need Hinata and Ino now," the leader murmured then looked to Deidara and Sasori who were starting to get out of their chairs. " Alone."
Deidara sat down but Sasori was still up, arms crossed and a deadly glare planted on his face. He didn't move but his eyes trailed both girls as they followed the leader.
"Hey," Konan called to Sasori and Deidara. " You two can look into the distant for those two later. But we have missions. The leader left the briefs on the table, everyone find your own and then disband." Soon everyone who had missions left even Sasori and Deidara had one.
" This sucks, un," Deidara said as he made sure his hair was fixed and packed some of his supplies. His eyes were clearly furrowed and he would probably relieve the stress by blowing something- or someone for that matter- up.
" Shut up, Brat." Sasori told him as he left the base. He would probably relieve some stress too, making somebody into one of his puppet creations.
In the other part of the base Hinata and Ino were being led into Pein's room.
Hinata was pretty sure they were going to be killed and was thinking of all the things she should have done. She was seriously starting to regret everything. How shy she was. How she never told a sort of spazzy knuckle head that she loved him. How she never got any of her family's approval. She also desperately wanted to see her team one last time.
But another blonde's face came to mind in the midst of her thoughts.
Ino, on the other hand, was anticipating nothing. She just wanted to finish this quickly. That and she hoped not to many people were hurt during their missions. She liked the work but she liked it more when they all came home fine.
" Come in, you two," Pein told the girls and lead them into his room which was dark and then the leader sat at a desk, Hinata and Ino in front of him.
" So, I've heard from Deidara and Sasori that you two have potential," the man mumbled and took out two scrolls with their briefs on them. The Akatsuki had info on many ninja all over the world thanks to members and to people who were loyal to the group. They also had many other smaller organizations backing them up. It was extremely easy to get people's information.
Especially when they came from such well known families, like the two leaf nin in front of him.
" Is that my face?" Ino asked, inspecting the picture from where she was standing and grimaced. The picture was horrid. She had her eyes closed and her mouth open like she was talking. No way would she be caught in a photo eating, hopefully.
" It says on your files that you have no potential to be threats." Pein told them, choosing to ignore Ino. She - by what the leader had been told- also had the potential to be annoying and the last thing he needed was another annoying blonde running around. Especially if this blonde also had a tendency to blow things up.
That would be the cherry on the crap sundae for sure.
" It says here that you can use the mind transfer technique," Pein read off Ino's file and then looked to the girl. " Can you only take over a mind? For how long"
" Yes and for a little over three hours," Ino admitted sheepishly. She sounded pathetic.
" We will have to increase that time," Pein told her. " That and try messing with a person's thought process, their mind, when in there. You will be surprised how much you will learn and can do." Ino smiled and mentally stored the pointer. The leader was a powerful man and she knew to take anything he said to heart.
The leader then continued to give both girls pointers and asked them about their techniques and strength. He was shocked and glad when he found out that Hinata had an elemental affinity with water and could use it to her advantage. The files defiantly had some holes in them when it came to these girls.
" I think you two might have potential despite your files and I am willing to let you both be molded into someone powerful," Pein told the girls, both looking calm, " The training will not be like any you have received. You might have been told this before. I'm actually being honest with you. I, nor anyone else in this base for that matter, care that you are females. You will be trained by various members sometimes alone and sometimes together. You will occasionally go on missions with another member; like before you will sometimes go on these missions without the other."
" If you try to escape on these missions or during training you will be hunted and killed when you are found," Pein told the girls, surprised that they kept their stoic faces. " No mercy will be given. All full members are above you and what they say during your time spent with them goes. The training starts tomorrow. Do I make myself clear?"
" Yes Leader-sama," Hinata and Ino both said, bowing to the leader. Pein was shocked to find Hinata giving a sigh of relief and Ino grinning after they bowed. They were certainly interesting girls.
" You are both dismissed," The leader told them. The girls bowed again before leaving the room.
" That was awesome!" Ino exclaimed, punching the air.
" I was expecting he was going to kill us or torture us for information about the village," Hinata admitted, taking a deep breath before smiling too. " Well, I'm glad it was quite the opposite."
" I didn't know you were a pessimist, Hinata-chan."
" I'm a Hyuuga." Hinata told Ino, smiling a bit. " We all are."
" I didn't know Hyuugas had personality," Hinata and Ino turned around to find Deidara waving and Sasori not far behind him.
" I didn't know people could have mouths on their hands," Hinata told him.
" Ow, un!" Deidara held his heart a bit, frowning dramatically. " You just broke my heart Hinata-chan."
" Oh," Hinata sounded generally upset. " I'm sorry, Deidara-san." Hinata was what you could call gullible.
" Don't be," Sasori had returned and stood next to Ino. " He's an idiot. Ino. The leader told me you two were going to be training tomorrow. Then you should probably rest today and not get into any more fights. Come with me." Sasori started to walk and dragged Ino along with him
" Bye, Hinata!" Ino yelled and waved at her friend who waved back and Hinata and Deidara soon retreated to their room as well.
" Sasori?" Ino asked as they got into their room. " Where does Deidara sleep?"
" On a bed?" Sasori asked her as well, not sure where the conversation was going.
" But then where does Hinata sleep if she shares the room?" Ino continued just having a realization.
" On a bed?"
" Does that mean that they sleep together?"
" Maybe…"
" That means that maybe they are sleeping together!" Ino yelled, jumping out of her bed.
" By sleeping together what do you mean?" Sasori asked, generally shocked the blonde as capable of even thinking of that. He regarded her as too innocent to bother herself with those thoughts.
" You know," Ino said awkwardly, her face turning red." Doing it…"
This would have made all the color fade from Sasori's face if he had any.
" I'm going to go check!" Ino announced and made her way into Deidara's bedroom, Sasori following close behind.
" Hinata!" she creamed as she opened to door to find Hinata on a bed and Deidara on a futon on the floor. " Oh. I see you are doing it…"
This cause Deidara to turn bright red and mumble incoherently and Hinata to look confused.
" What do you mean by that?" She asked, looking generally confused.
" Sleeping together," Ino told her.
" The beds too small for that, Ino-chan."
" I see that now," Ino admitted shyly. " Well carry on." and as quickly as she busted into the room, she was gone.
" Well I'm glad that's over," Ino told Sasori when they made it into his room. " Men and women shouldn't sleep in the same bed till they are older."
" That's what you meant?" Sasori asked and the blonde nodded.
" What would I have meant?"
She was just answered with laughing. It was just a soft laugh and it didn't last very long but it was most defiantly laughter. She was generally shocked but a smile came across her face when she saw Sasori smiling.
" You've gone insane," she told him plopping down on the bed.
" Puppets can't go insane," Sasori told her, what sounded to Ino almost sadly. Ino frowned again and looked out her window. It was moments like this that made her forget he wasn't a human. Made her forget where she was. But she was always reminded.
Yet, it didn't seem to bother her as much.