QOTC

"Think about it. I've heard rumors and stories everywhere. If Pinky and that spoiled Jinchuriki gets a child, that'd be a bad thing, because that child is going to be the second savior that'll kill us all. Let's call it an angel. This child will not stop until he kills anyone he sees because that's just the way he's supposed to be. A monster. The Third Uchiha. And I'm not gonna sit here and watch that happen. That child must die." 

- Deidara to Hotaru

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Chapter 80: We Were Monsters

"I know you have your doubts. You've always despised me as a leader. Which is why I have a favor to ask. I think you are going to like it, though. I've sent you on far too many S-rank missions and none you haven't succeeded upon, compared to the Reanimated fellows we have. You and I are the last remaining survivors of the Original Akatsuki. Operate with me and the Akatsuki will be born anew. I came to you once, do you not remember? You accepted my offer half-heartedly simply because you had no purpose."

"Anata no pointo wa [And your point is]?"

"You have become a very important asset of teh Akatsuki. In fact I might consider you the most loyal of them all. You and Taka saved Kakashi's daughter. I owe you forever."

"Spit it out, Madara." The six-foot man chuckled.

EARLIER

The picture of Team Minato had been the first thing Zetsu laid his eyes upon. He liked touching things, he felt sometimes as if everything he touched would turn inevitably into gold. Zetsu stood morbidly curious inside Uchiha Obito's office with that fickle face of his.

He waited for an answer.

"So... He was gone. Gone like the wind." Obito said, staring an old painting in the wall. It was colossally extensive. It was the picture of his grandfather. Uchiha Madara.

"He couldn't have gone that far." Said White Zetsu.

"What are you suggesting?" Obito sat back to his sliding chair childlishly. He was wearing his plain attire: plain white shirt and jeans. There was a silver chain necklace that hung upon his neck--he looked younger, the face of a dreamy Hokage. His tattoo was his apparent signature. Back in the days, Obito barely revealed anything and kept everything to himself. Now everyone knew his story, his bipolar attitude. Not everyone knew Nohara Rin, what was she like--but what about the rest of the world?

You are acting like a complete child. Grow up. That's what Hotaru said to him. Obito couldn't help but smile since he was crunching chips--she was probably mad at him for crushing Gaara's oblivious mind, and she couldn't do anything. He couldn't have done anything--Sharingan Compulsion was a hellacious Jutsu.

"We go after him." Black Zetsu smirked.

"That mission was for my nephew to succeed on. My request is that we shouldn't intervene."

"Day by day we're wasting time. You're being too soft."

Obito glanced up to him with two bloody red eyes; one from him, one from Shisui. "What has gotten you undone?"

The wall clock ticked loudly inside Obito's room like a horror film. The downpour of Takigakure hadn't come to an end, in fact everyday it rained. Cold chilly driblets smashed upon their door steps that the soles of their galoshes would brush mud into the floor every time they went in and out. Chiruka and Kisame were one of those impatient travelers. Always getting out for a hunt, always wandering into the unknown. One time Wakana asked to come with the maroon-haired impure, but Chiruka shook her head to the little girl with an apologetic smile.

Kakashi's daughter wanted to grow up. She would wake Obito by the sound of her singing; it was something that reminded the raven-haired of Kakashi directly.

"It has taken too long."

Obito chuckled, saying, Impossible. "As if he'd find a way to succeed against the Nine-tails."

"And what if he already did? I could feel it."

Obito frowned. Never underestimate the logic of a Zetsu.

NOW

"You've fought Gai, haven't you, Kisame?" Said Obito. "The man who calls himself the Leaf's Green Beast."

"We come back from time to time." Kisame said, his voice cooling down.

"When your partner was still alive." This made Obito smirk. Death was never easy.

Kisame rolled his eyes. "So what do you want me to do?"

"How would you want to silent Kakashi's partner? Go there, wait for them to get on the island until Naruto gets his training. When no one is looking, I want you to kill him. Spare the rest as long as you deliver me his legs. Chopping will do, so I suppose this is where you are really good at. Live a life of tremendous shaking horror-story battles, my friend. I might want to offer you something you couldn't possibly deny."

"What's that?" Kisame asked, looking directly at Obito who had been quiet and smiling devilishly the whole time.

"We'll talk about that when you get back. You'd go down heaven and hell to piss off a Jinchuuriki, wouldn't you?"

"Don't ask questions you already know." Kisame said, standing to grab his energetic Samehada.

"Very well." Obito pictured Gai, who was never an acquaintance. Gai who assisted him one time to get a hundred leaps around the village, now recorded as a stranger. Obito had had one friend in his life among million people, a friend Obito considered an antagonist--someone to go to when things got tenebrific. When he was younger he saw Kakashi cry due to his father's death--Obito never cried, he got used to people dying that lately he wasn't surprised that God had to pull someone away from him--the girl he would have written poems around her neck with kisses and hickies. Obito went staring into space a little bit until finally he woke up. "Make sure you deliver Tsunade our message: there's no place they can hide."

It was Kisame's turn to simper with poise. "With pleasure."

❁ ᏆhᎬ ᏆhᎥᏒᎠ uᏟhᎥhᎪ ❁
SAIL AWAY

PLAY SONG (Waiting for Love by Avicii)

It's been two weeks.

The sun was shining aristocratically as the waves crashed higher underneath. Yamato and Aoba were the coastguard watchers. The wood-user kept looking after what seemed he and Kakashi had encountered several years ago: pirates.

The Black Bone was a group of Rogue Sea Ninjas, who, unfortunately were rumored to be around the Northern Peninsula of the Land of Stone. The Raikage was precisely one of the reasons Tsunade had to send the blonde away--he reassured her of Naruto's safety. Black Bones were thin dark people who bathed through water and sun, as the Mizukage once referred as parasites. They lost their home to war, still they wouldn't be silenced and would choose to make one for themselves. They never leave the ocean. 

A sweat dropped upon Yamato's forehead, simply remembering the stakes he and the silver-haired Hatake had had ten years ago. It all seemed likely from a dream--the very bright afternoon, the gold and pearls they had found on their stash and the blood that colored the waters. What a dreadful discomfiting flashback. 

And so he stayed like that for days. Sometimes Aoba and Gai offered--Yamato only said yes to Aoba. Gai's sea-sickness was like an incurable disease. It never went away. 

He took the watch, despite Naruto and Hinata seemed to be doing fine on their own. They were educated Ninjas who grew on a paramount community--they were expected to act without fear, without waiting. Still it was inappropriate to keep on relying to teenage students who'd yet seen war a couple of years from now, maybe months. 

No one said the sea was never full of wonderment. 

I am the one who will establish peace and order. Naruto rarely stayed indoors, but he stayed this time carrying a bunch of Jiraiya's books. It's what he usually did when sleep came to him like a cat.  A blue-haired girl caught his sight. He had been watching her for minutes (not that she was aware of); until he looked away. Love is so stupid. He closed his book and zipped his orange jacket. He went outside.

He looked oddly at Hinata from behind. A few months back he remembered the feeling of being in love; how everything he saw was bright and neon. Everyday was a new day to look forward to. A few months back he would recall the sound of his own voice over the phone, saying, Baby I love you and I don't ever want you to go. A few months later he caught himself realizing that it all happened a few months back. 

"Quite a lovely day, isn't it?" Yamato said, approaching him. Naruto looked away and spotted a tiny island that stretched a hundred kilometers from the ship they were boarding. "If you're curious to go there, don't."

"Why? What's wrong with that island?"

"Pirates run these coast. Better if we keep off trouble so we can get to our destination safely."

"Pirates?" 

"Rogue-nin sea criminals. Anyway, it was a long time ago, not sure if they're still there but they could be. They believe that they're bounded by the ocean. Nothing makes any more sense to them other than sinking boats and stealing possessions. They're kind of like the Akatsuki, you see. The only difference is their love for sailing." Naruto went grumpy from moody as he laid his chin on his folded arms. Yamato chuckled. "Some tales are better left untold, huh?"

"Captain Yamato, did you ever get to meet your parents?" Naruto asked which made the wood-user tinge. He rested his elbows on the arms of the boat. 

"Nope. Never met them." 

Yamato's eyes were staring at the coast, black and heavy. Naruto frowned.He felt sadness overcome him, an anchor crashing down on his chest. Naruto got close to the wood-user and listened, but nothing came out after that. His silence was his answer. 

"But you want to meet them." Naruto pressed gently. It was like holding a newborn. 

"Of course." Yamato smiled, looking back at him. "I'd go back to being Orochimaru's prisoner if that were the condition."

It was then Naruto couldn't sleep. Thirtieth night and night time was beautiful around the horizon. He went out and watched a shooting star pass by. Hinata was sleeping inside her room. She looked tired. 

"We're almost there." Yamato said.

Naruto stood next to him with his hands in his pocket. Yesterday Tsunade called and asked how the crew had been doing. He told her he still hadn't settled things between him and Hinata. He said he just didn't want to talk about it. 

"Well you're not talking. Did you Rasen-pee already?"

"Already done it a while ago. I was avoiding someone."

"If it isn't obvious." Yamato sighed, rubbing his cold hands. "You really are prideful when you're angry."

"I am not! Who's side are you in??"

"Of course I'm on your side, Naruto." Yamato reminded him, looking at him in between pauses. "You want to talk about your marriage?"

"No," Naruto said straightforwardly. The answer was no, end of discussion. "I just want to drink and be like granny." 

"You can always file for divorce, you know."

Naruto kept a fierce mouth. "Never."  

Yamato made an oh well gesture. "Come on, Naruto. I know how hard this has been on you. How old are you again? Sixteen. Sixteen and you already have a family. The law says you are married, but what about your heart? Are you truly in love with her because of you?"

"I'm not dumb, Kyaputen [Captain]. I know what I want and who I want to be with." 

"You're saying you've always wanted to get married to her."

Naruto looked down. "Since the day I saw her in class." 

Yamato looked at Naruto's crystal ring. It was still there. No wonder he kept his hands undercover.

"You're being pressured. This is the last time I'm going to say this, but, take it from me. Sakura leaving can be the best thing that can happen to both of you." 

"Captain, can I ask you a question?"

"Sorehanandesuka [What is it]?"

"Do you think I'll ever see my baby?" 

Yamato smiled at him genuinely. "Hope, Naruto. Hope can make even the impossible things possible. Hope has made us all carry on. If you've run out of it, look into the brighter side."

...

Deidara woke up to Konan sleeping in cessation at the living room, her hair indigo by the midnight light. One of the things he loved about Taki was the albino lanterns. He called Hidan and the others to carry the paper angel back to her own room where origami surrounded her.

Ever felt lost in ecstasy? Ever felt as if you had been stripped off by your good will? That was Obito sitting on the chair that was Uchiha Madara's several decades ago. He never slept. If there was a time doze felt in him, he would lose a bet to Wakana. Forcing himself to be teeming, he lowered down his sleeve to get a fleeting look upon his emblem. Rin.

There were times Hidan would experiment on his new human body. He laid on his bed staring at the ceiling, while Kakuzu pretended to be asleep in his side. There were so many ways to die; the silver-haired's eyes grew sprightly at the mere knowing. The Red Moon was yet to arrive in days and he thought of using Kakashi's daughter as a sacrifice. Still, he longed for pain. He woke up to mornings searching for physical woe, but there was none, and he kindled on nights searching for it tremendously since he envied people who were riven. Humans. Such irony made Hidan shake his head.

Shit. Sakura screamed silently, her hands placed tirelessly around her waist. It was the baby again. It was becoming worse from bad, evil from little and most likely small but terrible. She wanted help from Sasuke but at the same time she didn't want to--she had to prove herself independent for an unrealistic reason. Crying without a sound, Sakura made it out of bed as she reached for her medical kit that was inside her immeasurable dresser. Be patient with me, baby boy. Be patient with momma.

However Sasuke didn't recall the way he slept over his terrific self-plagues. He just slept like that, shirtless and he was sweating from the training. Dragons entered his mind today. Even fireflies. Dreams were very enigmatical chattels; they filled your head like those Escape books he remembered clocking on Sakura's bookshelf. He remained undisturbed in his bed until the door creaked and a caramel-headed girl entered. She was only a silhoutte. Sasuke moved to his side.

Hotaru steadied her kunai before Sasuke's chest, as if she were imagining there were circles of bulls-eye upon his bloodless skin. The remains of Itachi Uchiha lingered there right in his raven hair; dark as night, the pair of scars on the sides of his nose bridge, the Uchiha crest in his back that looked more like blood drained.

This was how Uchiha Sasuke would die.

"Oh you stubborn bitch."

"Get off me, Deidara!"

"I'm trying to save your life, idiot. You know what happens to people who mess with the Uchiha? All of them goes to hell. They won't take a pregnant girl as an exception. Especially you."

Hotaru didn't really know. She just knew Kabuto would be there to guard her and to not let anything happen to his future prisoner (nomatter how small it was). Sasuke didn't move an edge. "He killed his brother. He killed the only thing that was protecting him, and now where the hell is Itachi's body? Dumped somewhere in Oto?"

"I don't care about Itachi. I care is, oh, so what, your plan is to kill Sasuke like that? Seriously??" Deidara asked in his sarcastic voice, debating and quite effective to hear.

"Do you have any better idea?"

"We had a plan. We poison Sakura and get rid of that baby, only she doesn't die."

"I'm not going to kill an innocent child."

Deidara laughed, and somehow it reminded Hotaru of an incident the blonde had had his third victim and blood splattered in his face and there it was--the face of a monster. In fact they're all the same--the Akatsuki, all working for crime and self-preservation. "You think that baby is not going to be five times worse as its daddy? Doesn't it ever occur to you that Sakura might even die if that thing goes out? You've seen her in her own room. She barely goes out, huh? I wonder why." Deidara looked at her now with two glowing blue eyes. "Maybe it's because she's been trying so hard to keep it as a secret. She uses Tsunade's technique to keep her stomach hidden. What kind of mother doesn't want to see the shape of her first child?"

"What are you trying to prove here, Deidara?"

"Think about it. I've heard rumors and stories everywhere. If Pinky and that spoiled Jinchuriki gets a child, that'd be a bad thing, because that child is going to be the second savior that'll kill us all. Let's call it an angel. This child will not stop until he kills anyone he sees because that's just the way he's supposed to be. A monster. The Third Uchiha. And I'm not gonna sit here and watch that happen. That child must die."

"What about Obito and Kabuto? Why won't they do anything? Why won't Kabuto come up with some potion or anything?"

"That's the point, fairy. Obito and Kabuto knows," he said, "but they're just too damn curious. They don't care if they die. Not that they're intending to end themselves, but those two are almost far from impossible of dying. All they know is that it's gonna be twice as the forces of Akatsuki. They need Sakura to be in their side."

"Why can't we just kill him and be done with it?" Hotaru mumbled as she stabbed the knife into Deidara, making the blonde moan in excruciating pain. Deidara jabbed it out. He waited for blood to flow but again he was disappointed. Hotaru was crossing her arms. Ten minutes had passed since the storm--Sasuke still remained vulnerable. "I hate this. I hate being pregnant. I f*cking hate this generation!"

Deidara looked down to the floor. He didn't get up from kneeling--he just sat there. A good boy. Artists wouldn't have become artists if they never learned from their surroundings. Everything around them must be considered spontaneous.

"I helped you in getting the poison. It's your turn to finally get what you want. Though you might want to reconsider."

"I already know what I want."

"Don't you see hope in this baby? Don't you think this could be the reason Obito was willing to wait? That Sasuke stopped with the murders ever since he knew the mother of his child lives in his own house now? This baby could still change. He could be the change in everyone. It's what we're all waiting for."

"Prophecies can't be changed. If you're looking for redemption, search elsewhere."

"Deidara, stop acting like an Akatsuki for once. We were monsters before our society labeled us."

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7.25.15

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