Me: I AM BACK!
Sam: WHERE THE F*** HAVE YOU BEEN?!
Me: HIDING THE HECK AWAY!
Sam: YOUR LOYAL READERS ARE P*SSED AT YOU! YOU HAVE LET THEM DOWN!
Me: I AM SO SORRY TO MY LOYAL READERS!!
SAM: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO MAKE UP FOR IT?! FOR YOUR NEGLIGENCE?!
Me: There is only one thing to do...
Sasuke: Stop being a disappointment?
Me: I have already accomplished that by not being you.
Sasuke: You little b*tch.
Me: No, but in all seriousness, I am going to update...THIS MOTHER TRUCKING WEEKEND.
Sam: You are in college, it is okay to cuss.
Me: NAH.
Sasuke: Idiot.
Me: Which one of us sought power from a shady pedophile dude?
Sasuke: In my defense-
Me: No one cares. Anyway, I am officially in college, so I have way less time to write my stories. As an explanation for my negligence...I have to tell you guys the truth, I just stopped enjoying writing Akatsuki Orphan. Honestly, I greatly enjoyed all of your guys' appreciation for my sad attempts at comedy or heartfelt moments, but after a while I just started selling out. In the original design of my book, Shinako and Tukiko were not supposed to be romantically involved in any way. Shinako did a complete 180 from how I original intended for her to behave like, and I did not feel like that was fair for you guys...I am so sorry.
Sam: Akatsuki Orphan was never meant to be serious. It was originally supposed to be a slice of life story following a girl who was adopted by the Akatsuki. Nothing was supposed to make sense, it was just supposed to contain Manga's attempts at comedy and feel-good moments that the reader may have been able to relate to.
Sasuke: The idiot-
Me: You don't get to help explain, why are you even here?
Sasuke: Because readers like BlakeSnow like to yell at me in the comments when I degrade you.
Me: I am pretty sure my readers do not want you to degrade me.
Sasuke: You abandoned them for 2 f***ing years. They want me to degrade you. Trust me.
Me: ANYWAY, my point is that I cannot thank you all for staying with me. Probably cussed me out while you did so, but still. I greatly appreciate it. As a thank you present, I am wrapping this book up in one sloppy bow.
Sam: Keep in mind, Manga will write the epilogue with everyone grown up, and it will reference the decision that Tukiko made and what happened to everyone else. It will not take place directly after the last chapter.
Me: I am not pulling a Finding Dory.
Sam: HEY! That was a good movie.
Me: My point being, two years have passed and she is fifteen. There will be noticeable changes. Will she be in a relationship? Who knows. You'll have to find out this weekend :D
Sasuke: You heartless b*tch.
Me: SERIOUSLY. WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?
Sam: I'm babysitting for Itachi.
Sasuke: I do not need a babysitter.
Me: I don't know last time you were left alone you followed a stranger...
Sasuke: OH FOR F***'S SAKE, I NEEDED POWER!
Sam and I: Hahaha XD
Sasuke: Morons
Me: Anyway, I really can't thank you guys enough. For reading this explanation, here is a sneak peek just because you guys are awesome.
Sam: And because it has been 2 years.
Me: And because it has been 2 years.
********************************************************************************************
I remember mom telling me that people can change in just a day depending on what events transpired in that time. Dad told me that sometimes all it takes is an hour. In either case, I was taught that change is natural. It is how you change that defines you, what characteristic you dispose of and what characteristic you adopt to replace it. Will you replace kindness for confidence? Weakness for strength? Ignorance for knowledge? Innocence for power? Would you turn from those who accepted you to stay with those who gave you a place to call home? What if that meant having to one day kill those people you once called friends? Would you care?
Two years ago, this would have been a difficult decision for me to make. At that age I wanted to keep everyone in my life. Still obsessed with the idea that I could keep my childhood and my future in my life, I became greedy. Abandoned the original mission to see if I really did have a chance at finding my true family, the one that had abandoned me all those years ago. The pathetic thing about it? It was a f**king trap. That snake b*st*rd led me away from the orders I was given. That impulsive attitude of mine always had screwed me over in the past, but that time it really came to bite me in the a**.
Shinako was pregnant and I knew what this mission meant to her. Her fist mission to prove she was capable of more than just being in my shadow. She accepted without complaint giving up years of her life, and the only thing I had to do was obey the f**king rules and have fun with my childhood friends. Manipulative, yes, but I would have been fine with it later on. I let my parents down. Hidan-nii and Tobi-nii were both p*ssed off at me...they wouldn't talk to me for months after that. Shinako...when her twins were born I wasn't allowed to see them. Shinako said that if the people who left me were more important to me than her, she didn't want me in her new life.
Just like that, she left. With Hidan-nii. That was two years ago. I haven't heard from them since. Tobi-nii stayed, but he only talks to me if mom or dad has a mission for me to go on. Aside from that, he makes it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me. He blames me for everything. The worst part of it is that it really is my fault. Everything happened because I became greedy. Kakuzu-nii at least has the decency to not let his greed affect our goals. I thought of myself above everyone else.
Of course, I still blame that snake b*st*rd as well. When I find him, I'll rip his miserable guts out. I heard he has Sasuke with him now, and I'm not sure if Sasuke still thinks we're on friendly terms. To me, the only people I refuse to hurt now are those in the Akatsuki...even Shinako and Hidan-nii. Anyone who sides with the snake b*st*rd is in my way. I'll also take them down without batting an eye.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Hakai asked, peering over my shoulder.
Oh, Hakai replaced Shinako as my partner. Elena also ended up leaving because she did not want to burden Hakai. I know that Hakai acts strong, but she really isn't. Sometimes, whenever I felt broken enough, I would sit outside of her door and just listen to her sob. I haven't cried in such a long time...I'm really jealous that she has the ability to still care. To be honest, I'm jealous that she has earned that right. Hakai didn't do anything wrong, so crying is a right for her. I want that.
"Mmm...dunno. I figured maybe this time-"
"Maybe this time they might write back?" Hakai interrupted, stealing the paper that I had been using to write a letter to Shinako on.
"...I miss her..."
"Tukiko, you've sent 85 letters these past two years, how many has Shinako sent?"
"One.
"What did it say?" Hakai's tone was barely above a whisper. I didn't even respond. I just pulled out the paper that Shinako had sent to me so long ago. I have reread more than fifty times because it is the last thing that she has ever given me, but no matter how many times I read it, the message never changes.
Dear Tukiko,
Please stop. Hidan and I have two kids to raise now. We want to start over and finally be proud of something we do for once. Your letters just remind us of the past. Please, if you really do care about me, stop sending these letters. Words won't change anything.
Sincerely,
Shinako
"Tukiko, you need to move on. It will only hurt more if you continue to do this. Please, just move on," Hakai crumbled up the note I had written and tossed it in the waste basket that I kept beside my door. I suppose two years ago I would have been angry, but the only thing I felt now was ashamed. She was right, but I wanted everything to be reachable again. I wanted to have everything all at once just one more time.
"Hakai, you don't get it. You didn't f**k up so bad that it split the organization. You didn't jeopardize a mission for your own selfish desires, you didn't do a single d*mn thing wrong! Everything is my fault, and I can't fix it! I have tried every-f**ing-thing I could think of, but nothing...nothing worked. Why...why am I the way that I am? I was given another chance at a family, and all I had to do was choose them over people who never once went looking for me when I left. Why is it so hard for me to be satisfied with what I have?" I ranted.
If Hakai was going to reply, she never got the chance. At that moment there was a knock on the already-open door.
"Why the h*ll are you knocking on a f**king open door?" I asked, staring at the idiotic blonde.
"I mean...I wanted to talk, but you seemed to be in a heated discussion, yeah. I was debating on closing the door and then knocking-"
"That's stupid, why would that idea even cross your mind?" Hakai asked.
"I don't know, common courtesy, un?"
"Common courtesy only applies if the door is already closed, you could have stood outside the door and just said 'hey, I wanna talk' or something like that," I told him.
"F**k, okay, un. I just wanted ask for a favor, but I'll just wait," Deidara mumbled, beginning to step out of the doorway.
"No, wait, what did you want to talk about, Deidara?" I asked, sighing as I slunk back down into my seat. Deidara paused, stepping back into the room. He looked me in the eye and calmly began to ask me his oh-so important question.
"Can I borrow a pair of your girliest panties, hmmm?"
"Get the f**k out of my room you drag queen."
"Yeah, Deidara, you know that you're a** is way bigger than Tukiko's."