Everybody's Tired of Something

Untitled Part 14

Deidara stood outside of the building and adjusted his gloves to better cover his mouths. Now was not the time to be recognized. He sauntered in, radiating confidence that was mostly genuine. He had literally bombed entire villages and survived countless suicide missions; he could impress some idiots and handle some kids. 

A brown haired woman at a desk that was purposely arranged to look inviting, he noticed with mild disgust, greeted him in a very fake overly cheerful manner. "Oh! You must be Imanaki! It is so lovely to see you on this beautiful day!" 

"Hey, that's me. Ready to start work." He was willing to say almost anything to limit his interaction with this bubbly woman. 

"Follow me!" She showed him multiple art setups in empty rooms. He tried not to zone out but the only one that really interested him was the sculpting room. it was a bit small and the kiln was an inappropriate size and clearly an antique but he supposed that was the best this school could do. 

"The students are in this large auditorium, having group share time." He peered through the room, noticing the irritable looks on the children's faces. 'Can't blame them there, yeah. Group share, what a joke.'

"How long will they be in there?" 

"About two hours, so you'll have time to prepare your workspace." She pushed her bangs out of her face, looking serious for the first time throughout the encounter. "This is a new facility and we won't have anyone doing anything to jeopardize these children's recovery."

He nodded, a bit taken aback by her change in demeanor. "Understood yeah."

She showed him to a shabby room with a cluttered desk, dusty filing cabinets, and a few small chairs obviously meant for the children arranged in a circle. "I'll send in a few and then you can decide which room to use. We don't have many teachers yet but if the room is in use, just use another one until the hour is up! Any questions?" She grinned, sunny disposition back in full force. She turned to leave without giving him much time to protest. 

"Wait," Deidara called despite himself, "why are these kids here exactly? I read the ad but you said 'recovery' earlier." 

"Oh! Right, they have all dealt with some degree of trauma in their lives. Most have failed with psychiatric treatment or other methods so this is their last chance." She nearly sounded sad at the last sentence.

He cleared his throat. "Last chance?"

"At being reintegrated into society without being placed into an, asylum." She turned to leave without another word.

The blonde inhaled sharply. 'They still use that antiquated practice in this village?' He was relieved that himself and Sasori weren't staying here. Even in a backwoods area like Iwa, he could recall the day those were banned. They had always been advertised as safe havens for people who didn't fit into society but usually were hovels of abuse and experimentation. To make matters worse, the people usually sent there had no friends or family who would even bother trying to ensure they were in a remotely decent environment, meaning these institutions were able to further operate under the radar.

He smirked as he began to clear the desk up a bit. He was generally a messy person but this was pushing it. 'It's not like Danna and I couldn't handle ourselves if they even dreamed of trying to institutionalize us.'

Assuming he would be bored for two hours, having to clear up his office if it could be called that kept the blue eyed man more than occupied. In fact, he was so absorbed in his task that he didn't notice the soft, reluctant knock at first. 

He looked up and quickly sat down, trying to look as professional as possible. "Come in yeah."

Two small boys and an even smaller girl entered the room. The two boys were nearly identical, both shared the same brown eyes and white streaked purple hair. They held each others' hands tightly. The little girl also had a unique appearance. She had long flowing blonde hair that was intersected by green sections on one side and blue on the other and piercing blue eyes. Even Deidara had to admit he had never seen anyone quite like them.