Akatsuki - DFME: Ch. 10

Chapter 10: Akatsuki no Naku Koro ni!

It was a dark and stormy night... when Hidan decided he REALLY wanted to watch a horror movie.
“Guuuuuys!” he called out with a grin. “Hey guuuuys!!!!”
“What is it now, Hidan?” Konan asked without a single change of tone to her current monotone voice.
“I have something cool for us to do!”
Kakuzu looked up from a small pile of money he had accumulated from a side mission he had done with the silver-haired idiot. “Just tell us what it is so I can get back to counting.”
“I have.... SCARY MOVIES!!!!!” he announced, holding out a good-sized pile of horror films.
“Scary movies?” Aina asked, looking up from the love catcher she was making. “Which ones?”
“The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Dark Water, One Missed Call, The Ring, The Great Yokai War, Kill Devil, Masters of Horror: Imprint...” he started listing, without looking at any of the movies. The gruesome priest obviously knew his horror films well...
“I’m game, un,” Deidara smiled.
Aina also let a smile creep onto her face. “I suppose I can take the time to watch some horror films.”
“Great! What say you, ‘Kuzu?” Hidan turned his purple eyes to the other zombie.
He sighed as he got up, collecting his money. “I’m going to the family room to count, since you apparently won’t be leaving any time soon.”
“Oh poo,” Hidan puckered his lips in disappointment. “Konan?”
“I would like to,” she answered genuinely, “but Pein-sama needs me at the moment. Gomen.”
“Sasori?” Hidan asked with eagerness in his tone. The puppet master had been sitting there quietly with Emi, reading his “Puppetry for the Not-So-Average Puppeteer” book again.
He looked up from the pages. “Sure, I don’t mind watching some,” he replied indifferently.
Emi just stayed quiet. That is, until Hidan asked if she wanted to watch them.
“Um... S-sure....” the girl said in a very small voice.
“Great!!!” Hidan grinned and headed over to pursue the T.V. “We can go from the least scary to the most scary! Dark Water is first!”

Two hours later and the group found themselves looking at the credits. The black screen with white words came as a relief to some.
Sasori gently nudged at the small girl curled up in his lap. “I think it’s over, Emi.”
Slowly, the lavender-haired girl looked up. “Oh.”
“Was it too scary for her?” Hidan asked, noticing the girl curling up into the puppeteer early on.
“Yeah, I think so,” the red-head spoke up for her, realizing she wasn’t about to say much.
“Pfft! We’ve only just begun! This can’t be that scary! All the others are even scarier!”
“Hidan!” the Jashinist was silenced. Sasori’s face was filled with anger towards him. “Not everyone likes horror movies like you do!”
“Whoa, take a chill pill there, puppet boy! I’m just saying...”
“Don’t you even say another word!” He abruptly stood up, Emi in his arms. He took a deep breath before speaking again, this time much calmer. “I’m gonna take Emi to her room, then I’ll be back.”
No one objected as the puppeteer took her out of the room. A small silence took place for a moment.
“You were scared.” Aina smirked, poking Deidara’s side.
“Was not, un!”
“You were too! I felt your heart-beat!”
“I don’t get scared at horror movies! They’re fake, un!”
The green-haired girl rolled her eyes playfully. “Sure, you don’t get scared...what ever helps you sleep at night.”
“I do not, un!”
“Hey, there’s no need to hide it,” Hidan interjected. “I mean, at least you didn’t curl up and hide like Emi did.”
“That could be insulting,” Aina stated.
Hidan felt a shadow over him, and he slowly looked up to see red hair. “And I interpret it as such.”
“Gah, oh, Sasori, my man! Glad to see you back!” A nervous chuckle escaped the Jashinist. “So, we can start the next movie now, right?!”
“Yeah, let’s get the next one started, un!” the blond excitedly cheered.
“You’ll just get scared again, Dei-dei!” Aina mused.
“Will not, un!”
“All right!” Hidan shouted. “Let’s get on with this! Next we’ll watch The Ring...full volume...in the dark!”
“Yeah!” both Deidara and Aina cheered.
Sasori glared at Hidan as he sat down. There was no way he was forgetting... Later Hidan, later...

Another two hours had passed, this time, louder, and scarier than the first movie. The screaming coming from the movie (and possibly a certain blond terrorist bomber) was so loud, it echoed throughout the room and into the halls, seeping into other various rooms.
“That was great!” Aina exclaimed. “That girl climbing up that well like some deformed spider... That was just creepy!”
“Y-Yeah, it was, un!” Deidara stumbled on his words.
The girl stuck her tongue out at him. “You were scared!”
“Was not, un!”
“You stuttered just a minute ago!”
“Did not, un!”
Hidan grinned in anticipation. “Alright, enough bickering, you silly peasants! Time for The Great Yokai War, followed by The Grudge 1 and 2! And then One Missed Call, and...”
“Ok, we get it,” Sasori stated with irritation, still remembering what Hidan said earlier while getting up. “Just put the next movie in. I’m going to check on Emi real quick.”
“Ah, come on! I’ll bet’cha she didn’t hear a thing!” Hidan grinned smugly.
Sasori gave the Jashinist a death glare. “Only you would know, wouldn’t you.” And with that, he left the room to check on the probably now fear-stricken girl.
When the puppet man left, Hidan got up to put the next movie in. “Heh, either way, there’s no way I’m turning down the volume for the rest of the movies.”

Drawing was very hard to do when you were feeling scared, Emi had discovered as she tried to draw pictures of the images that magically took form in her head; especially when your hand was shaking so much. The young girl gave out a shaky sigh and jumped when she heard screaming coming from the movie. Though, she could have sworn she heard Deidara too. After a while though, the screaming finally stopped and she could hear eerie music coming from the room.
‘It must be over...’ Emi sighed again, still uneasy, but felt some relief. All of a sudden, she heard her door rattle and open.
“Emi?”
“KYAH!!!” she jumped almost completely off her bed and struggled to get a grip on her blankets. She turned to find her Danna there. “S-S-Sasori no Danna...” she blinked, trying to regain her composure, despite the fact her face obviously gave away the fact she was petrified.
He gave her a soft look of concern. “Are you alright? Did I scare you?”
“N-no,” she lied, yet she knew there was no point in it after her display of screaming. “I’m alright...”
The red-headed scorpion seemed a bit skeptical about this. “Are you sure?” he asked, walking over to sit next to her on her bed.
“Y-yeah...”
“I hope the volume out there wasn’t too loud for you,” he added. “I apologize if it still frightened you.”
“Oh, n-no, it’s fine,” she gave him a weak smile. “I was keeping myself busy...”
The man’s eyes caught sight of the sketchbook she held. It had been a while since he’s seen any of her work. “Drawing again?”
“A little.”
“May I see?”
“Ah, well, I,” she blushed a bit, looking down at her sketchbook, “I don’t think you’d like it. I probably haven’t even progressed much at all, and it’d just be a waste of your time...”
“The things you do are never a waste of time,” he opposed, reaching over and grabbing the book from her hands before she could even comprehend what was going on.
“Ah, Danna...!” Emi reached to grab it back, but he was already looking through it.
“Hmm,” he hummed as he fingered through the pages, carefully studying every bit of detail, every pose and perspective. He saw that some of the pictures were of his puppets. A smile of appreciation came onto his face as he finished looking through them and handed the sketchbook back to her. “You really have progressed. You’re a very good artist.”
This praise caused Emi to blush and she suddenly became interested in her blanket. “Ah... Domo arigatou gozaimashita,” she said shyly.
“See? This wasn’t a waste of time,” he smiled softly. “Especially for me. Thank you for giving me the honor to look at your art.”
The lavender-haired girl looked up. “Eh... No, thank you!”
Sasori chuckled. “Well, I should probably join everyone again so they don’t have to wait to start the next movie.” He stood up. “Will you be all right?”
She nodded. “I think so... Arigatou.”
Sasori no Danna kept his smile, just for her. “Douitashimashite.” With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him. He was happy to see that he made Emi feel better, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t last long...

It was now reaching five in the morning. Hidan, Sasori, Deidara and Aina were all piled up on one of the couches, watching the credits of the final movie scroll across the screen. The green-haired kunoichi had some how managed herself in her boyfriend’s lap, while the other two sat fairly close together. All four had looks of horror on their faces.
“That,” Hidan started, “was AWESOME!!!” He quickly jumped off the couch, arms raised in the air. Sasori jumped back, startled by the sudden movement.
“That was a lot of fun!” Aina agreed. “It’s been so long since I’ve stayed up this late!”
“Yeah, no kidding, un...” the blond mumbled. “I think I’m gonna head to bed now...”
As Deidara and Aina got up, so did Sasori and Hidan.
“Goodnight, everyone.” Aina smiled, leaving the room.
The silver-haired man let out a sigh. “Well, I suppose I should try to get a couple hours of sleep, too. Night, puppet boy.”
Sasori’s eye twitched at the name. “I hope you have pleasant dreams...they may be your last,” the red-head growled.
The Jashinist felt his blood pressure go up. “Heh heh, I’m sure they will be wonderful. Night!” He quickly bolted out of the room.
The puppet stood there for a moment, now all alone. “I suppose I can check on Emi, though I’m sure she’s asleep by now. Then, maybe another movie?” One of the great things of being a puppet...no sleep required.

Aina plopped down on her bed, sinking into the sheets. She always enjoyed a good horror movie, but now, she was beat tired. As she was about to drift to sleep, a gentle knocking was at her door.
Puzzled, she got up and opened the door. Before her stood the blond bomber, Deidara.
“Dei, what are you doing here?” she asked groggily.
“Aina,” the blond started. He was obviously nervous about what he was going to say. He suddenly took a big breath of air, gaining confidence. “I need you to be too scared to sleep alone and ask me to sleep with you tonight!”
The green-haired girl blinked her brown eyes a couple times. A large blush spread across her face, though it was too dark to see it. “Wait, you want me to do what?”
Deidara let out a huge sigh. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight, so I want you to pretend to be too afraid to sleep alone also and ask me to sleep with you.”
“So, basically you are asking me to sleep with you, just in a strange sort of way?”
“Well, I mean...yes, I am, un.” His head tilted down towards the floor.
Aina smiled, a chuckle escaping her. “If we sleep in the living room. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”
“Deal!” he quickly grabbed for her arm, dragging her out of her room.

Sasori made his way back to Emi’s door and stood there a moment. Wondering if she was still up, he looked towards the floor to see if there was any light. To his surprise, the light was on, which gave him the yellow light, rather than a red or green.
He knocked softly before opening the door. “Emi...?” As he peered in, it wasn’t as he expected. The small medical ninja was sleeping on her bed, curled up over her blankets in a tight ball. The puppeteer found himself chuckling as he approached her.
“Good night, Emi,” he spoke in a low tone, pulling one of her blankets over her. He stopped short just as he was about to kiss her forehead.
‘Ah, did I almost...?’ He started to turn red and turned his back on the girl to switch the lights off. ‘I really need to watch what I do and say...’ The man closed the door gently behind him and walked off to watch another movie.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a quick flash of light from the window. A few moments later, he heard a booming rumble. He turned his attention to it and saw streaks of lightning bolts tearing through the blackness of the sky.
“It’s still storming, hm?” he thought out loud as he put in another movie. The red-head took a seat back on the couch and let the movie start.
“D-Danna...?” came a small voice from behind him suddenly, after about a good fifteen minutes of movie-watching.
Sasori recognized the voice in an instant and turned around. “Emi? What are you doing up?” He could see the girl’s face from the T.V.’s glow. He noticed a sort of glaze lightly brimming her eyes. “Are you ok?”
“Um...” she stuttered, hugging onto her pillow tightly. “Y-yeah... I just couldn’t sleep...”
This caused Sasori to immediately react; he stood up and walked over to the teenager, picking her up to embrace her. It made Emi turn completely red.
“S-Saso...?”
CRRSSSH!
A gasp escaped Emi’s lips as she flinched and grabbed hold of Sasori tightly. It wasn’t like she was afraid of thunder storms, that Sasori knew; but sudden noises would startle her. Especially after being petrified from horror films.
The red-head couldn’t help but smile at the girl in his arms. “Don’t worry, Emi. It’s just the storm.”
The small girl could only nod as she let the other carry her to the couch.
“I’m watching The Princess Bride...would you like to stay in here and watch it with me?” he asked her.
A small smile appeared on Emi’s face. “Sure, I’d like that.”
The two sat in companionable silence as the movie continued, telling the story of a young woman in true love.

A massive yawn escaped Deidara as his eyes opened. From the night before, he was still tired, but the sunlight that crept into the family room had shown itself right on his face. He sat up, or more so attempted to, though a light weight on his arm stopped him.
Laying beside him, still asleep was Aina. She was known for being a pretty heavy sleeper, but she was also blessed to have him blocking the natural light source.
The blond attempted to get up again, this time gently resting Aina next to him. He would let her sleep in a little longer. Once up, he made his way to the kitchen to get cereal.
His attention was taken when he passed the living room. The television was still on, making some soft noise. Deidara entered the room to see Sasori and Emi on the couch, the younger of the two fast asleep. Her head was rested in his lap, using him as a pillow.
A grin crept onto the bomber’s face as he entered the room. “Well, good morning there, Danna, un!” he attempted to say quietly.
Sasori glared at the blond, knowing his thoughts. “She was scared last night.”
“I know, I just think she looks cute there next to you is all, un.”
“Well, don’t think anything of it. Just go get your breakfast already.”
Deidara raised an eye brow. “Who said I was getting breakfast?”
“I did, so get going,” the red-head spoke as he grabbed a pillow, tossing it at the other.
“Ok, ok! I’m going now, un!”
The blond quickly exited the room, leaving the puppeteer and the younger medic alone in the room. A few moments of silence, save for the T.V., went by before another face entered the room.
Uchiha Itachi sat down on the other couch in the room, studying the two. “Good morning, Sasori.”
“Morning,” the red-head spoke.
“Take it she had a hard time last night?”
“A little...she only watched the first movie, but it was a little much for her.”
Itachi nodded his head. “I thought it would be so. I don’t know what Hidan had in his head...”
“From what Kakuzu says, nothing,” Sasori chuckled.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” the raven-haired man smiled back. “He’s never been the brightest crayon in the box.”
“Not at all...speaking of which, may I have permission to kill him today?”
The sharingan user thought on this for a moment. “Well, I think you would have to ask Pein-sama about that one...he might not like that. We finally found him to partner up with Kakuzu.”
“I know, but I think everyone can agree that he’s more of a nuisance than anything else.”
“He’ll be fine, he’s just a little more work is all. Well, I’ll let you get back to watching T.V.” Itachi stood up, heading for the door. “I wouldn’t want to wake Emi up, either. You know...she’s kinda cute when she’s sleeping.”
Sasori smiled, not sure how to respond.
Itachi could feel the red-head’s thoughts and decided to leave it where it stood. He quietly exited the room, seeking the kitchen.
Upon entering, he found Deidara leaning over a counter, attempting to open one of the boxes of Cheerios.
“Need help, Deidara?” Itachi asked.
Deidara looked up to the raven-haired man, his eyes blood-shot red. “No, I got this, un...” he continued to fight the cardboard.
“Deidara,” he sighed, heading over to take the box from the blond. He was able to open it with virtually no effort at all. “I think you need to take a nap today...and not stay up until five in the morning watching horror movies.”
“Un, that might be a good idea,” he took the box from Itachi, pouring some of it’s contents into the bowl.
Itachi found himself a clean mug from the cupboard, then started to make some coffee. Deidara situated himself at the table after getting some milk. As the blond ate, his head would bob forward as he attempted to fight sleep.
“Good morning!” Aina chirped cheerfully as she entered the kitchen. “Wow, Dei, are you ok?”
“I’ll be fine, un,” he mumbled.
The green-haired girl looked skeptical, but let it go. She gathered herself what she needed to also have a bowl of cereal, sitting at the table along with Itachi, who’s coffee was now finished.
The kunoichi began to laugh a little. “When did you fall asleep?”
“I dunno...seven or something...un...”
“Wow, you really were that scared?!”
“I was not, un...I was...just...fine...” His head sank for the last time as his face landed in the cold cereal.
Itachi and Aina watched for a moment. A few seconds went by before a couple bubbles appeared in the milk from his breathing. However, his intake of breath, or lack there-of, caused him to wake up. His head shot up, shocked from the lack of air. He began a massive coughing fit.
“You ok, Deidara?!” Aina shouted, shooting up to get to his side, patting his back.
Itachi began to laugh at the sight before him. “I’m sure he’s fine. Milk’s good for you, anyways.”
“Itachi!” the young girl snapped. “He’s probably choking...or would you drown in milk...?”
“Either way, he needs some sleep,” the raven-haired man stood up, taking his coffee with him as he left the kitchen.
“I wanna go back to bed, un...” Deidara managed as his fit began to stop.
“Yeah, you’re going right to bed...now.” Aina smiled as she helped him to stand up, escorting him to his room. She was concerned he might pass out in the middle of the hallway.

Echoes of voices rung inside Emi’s head as she dreamt. They were soft, seemingly fuzzy; she couldn’t make out any of the words the voices spoke. What only seemed like a second later, the voices stopped, and within moments, she felt something touch her head... The feeling was warm and gave her a feeling of security. She turned and saw whom she knew was Sasori, patting her head and smiling. Emi blinked and smiled. This surely was always the best thing, to see him. She was about to say hello, when suddenly, everything became fuzzy; black turned to white...
Her eyes opened halfway to face the coffee table in front of her, the horror films laying on top from the night before. She slowly blinked, trying to comprehend her surroundings.
And there was the feeling on her head again. A consistent, yet slow motion; warm and secure.
The purple-haired girl turned her head over slightly, to see what was going on, only to see her Danna’s face staring right back at her.
“Ah,” he blinked and smiled, “you’re awake. Ohayo.”
“Mm,” she mumbled a bit, trying to find the words to speak. “Ohayo gozaimasu...”
“Did you sleep well?”
Emi blinked, realizing that this time, she didn’t have any nightmares like she did just a few hours before. Suddenly, her eye caught his hand gently tangled in her hair... Was he the one stroking her head? This thought made her face turn a deep crimson. “I-I did...” She could hear him chuckle. She wondered if he noticed how red her face felt to her.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Um...” as much as Emi was hungry, for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. Something wanted her to stay as she was for a little longer. “Not at the moment, thank you.”
“Ok,” he nodded, smiling softly. “When you’re ready, you can go.”
The girl nodded, curling up with her pillow, still letting her head rest in the Akatsuki member’s lap. As sheepish as she felt, she couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto her face. Little did she realize that Sasori, too, was smiling.
Emi now found out that maybe horror films weren’t so horrific after all...maybe.