Begin Arc One: Nightmares

Notice: Several things are different between Canon and this.

Deidara didn't destroy the city on the night he left.

Sasuke didn't succeed in getting away from Konaha

Orochimaru still has his ring even though Deidara is an instated member of the organization.

Deidara sighed as he looked around his room for the thousandth time that night. He had woken up at around eleven and started packing, working by candle light so that the bright light from his lamp wouldn't disturb his parents or little sister. His eyes roamed over the things that sat on his various shelves, he could barley imagine leaving them behind but he needed to travel light. He sighed again and went back to packing trying to completely block off all the emotions that were screaming at him. The thought of what he was doing scared him more and more each minute but the ever constant thought of what else can I do kept him moving.

Walking over to his closet he pulled out another set of clothes and began to fold them into squares. The familiar motion made it easier for him to block out his thoughts and just concentrate on the task at hand. Turning back to his bed he jumped out of his skin when he saw his younger sister sitting on his bed rubbing her eyes, his skills as a ninja were the only things that kept him from overreacting. He cut his eyes over to the door and was relieved to see that it was still shut. He quickly made his way across the room and sat down on the bed beside her, pulling her into his lap.

"Hey it's one o' clock in the morning what are you doing up? A growing girl like you needs her sleep." Deidara tried to inconspicuously push the bag off the bed but it didn't work out to well when she reached over and grabbed it, dragging it closer to the two of them just as it would have fallen onto the floor.

She stared down at the bag for a moment before reaching her small hands in and starting to rifle through all the items in there. Deidara let out a small sigh as he watched her in silence. She finished fast and neatly slid everything back into the place that she had found it before looking dead ahead at the door. She took a deep breath and tried not to start crying as she opened her mouth.

"You promised me you wouldn't leave me Deidara. You said that no matter what we were in this together. That no matter what you would always be here to protect me." Her voice was dead and more hallow than any child's voice should ever be.

Deidara shook his head and tried to stay strong. He couldn't let her weaken his resolve no matter what. He made a quick decision and decided that even if he had to hurt her he wouldn't be giving in. "After the events of today do you honestly think I'm still cut out to be your protector Winter? Because I personally don't think I am."

Winter turned around and looked at him. Deidara could barely contain the shudder that ripped through him when he saw he eyes. "So you're going to let one little fault run you off? One day's mistake kill your promise?"

Deidara sighed and took a deep breath to calm himself. "It wasn't just one fault and you know it. You need someone better equipped to protect you. Someone with more experience. I mean god Winter I couldn't even protect you from a mob of rouge ninja! When it came down to it I wasn't enough of a ninja to deliver the killing stroke! I froze and if Hitomi hadn't jumped in you could have been seriously hurt."

Winter furiously shook her head. "Everyone has an off day Dei. You can't hate on yourself just because you required help. In the academy they say that you can't always depend on yourself. Sometimes you have to just trust your team. Even when you're not sure you can. And it's not like you can't kill. If anything it's just that you were hesitant to kill in front of me because your brotherly mind wondered how I would view you after I saw a life lost to your hands."

"Winter…today isn't the only reason that I need to leave. Dad - I can't take him anymore. It's just getting to hard to put up with his constant pushing. Maybe if I run away I can show him what happens when you push too hard. Hopefully he won't take the same route with you."

Winter shook her head and jumped out of his lap. She stood in front of him and Deidara nearly reversed his plans when he saw the unshed tears in her eyes. This wasn't the Winter that he liked to see. Any day he would rather have her pissed beyond seeing reason than have her crying. "You can't leave I forbid It and you have to listen to me!"

Deidara slid off the bed and kneeled down in front of her, pulling her into his arms. He gently ran is hand over her back. "Winter I have to but…I'll tell you a secret. I'm not just leaving. You've heard of the Akatsuki right? Well I'm hunting them down. I'm going to join. And then I'm going to train and then I'm going to come back for you. By the time you're twenty I'll be back and I'll rescue you from this horrid place. You'll come live with me and after that I swear I'll never leave you for the entire world. No matter what I won't let anything separate us. Not even if it means my death yeah."

Winter pushed away from him and walked to the door. She turned around, her tears shinning in the light of the candle, and cast him one last glance before throwing the door open and running back to her room with the light steps of a Genin. Deidara watched her go, wiping away the one stray tear that slid out of his eyes. This is for her benefit, I have to leave. As it stands she'll be safer here until I can settle.

Deidara turned around and went back to packing; he locked his emotions behind a wall as he slowly put the final items in his bag. If he was going to become the cold blooded killer that he needed to be then he couldn't feel anything. Especially not sadness and grief.

Across miles two people tossed and turned in their beds. They sighed as they briefly woke up and walked around their respective homes to calm their nerves. Each was on edge and knew that something big was underway, something that would spark danger. Each returned to their beds after getting a quick drink to calm their nerves. Whatever was coming wouldn't be moving any faster just because they deprived themselves of sleep.

Each closed their eyes but returned to sleep only hours later, once their ninja training had assured them that the coming threat would take it's time and wouldn't care if they were sleep deprived.

Deidara threw his bag over his shoulder and strapped his clay pouch to his leg. He scooped up the clay animals that he had made earlier in the day and walked outside his door to his sister's room. He contemplated knocking on it for a second before quickly shaking that thought lose. It would do neither of them any good. A simple departure with no goodbyes would scar them both but in the long run it would be better. It would give them something to talk about when they were once again reunited.

Shifting his bag around again he dropped down to one knee and lined up each of the animals in a nice formation outside of her door. They would be there to protect her even when he couldn't. As he sat each one down he gave it a quick check to make sure that the little scroll that he had stuck in it stayed firmly in place. They were for her eyes only and each would only show up when she really needed it. When he was satisfied that their formation was perfect and that no one but Winter would ever see the scrolls unless she herself showed them to the person he stood back up and returned to his room. He pinned the note he had written for his parents to his door and then shut it without so much as a click.

With one last glance around the room he blew out the candle and jumped from his window. Landing lightly on the ground he took stock of where the guards that patrolled his house were. They were several feet away and left a wide gap in their patrol. He took off in the direction of the city gates. The buildings that blurred past him helped to sooth his nerves as the icy air of the night bit into his lungs. Now he had to worry about being caught and getting in trouble for being out after curfew in addition to trying to become a missing-nin.

It was a short run at the speed he was going and before long he was standing on top of the city wall glancing back at Iwa and wondering if he could really do this. This would be his last chance to change his mind. He quickly banished his thoughts of returning though as his eyes landed on the ninja academy. The building alone inspired a great deal of rage to spark up in him but he held it back. If it weren't for the fact that Winter was still in the city he would have happily demolished half of it without a second thought. It no longer had control over him.

Deidara let out a breath that he had been holding as he watched two figures jump up onto the wall a few feet away from him. The white puff had an odd effect on him. Turning to his left he came face to face with his ex partners. "Hitomi. Aoi. Here to stop me are you?"

They both shook their heads and jumped off the wall, landing on the dirt outside of it. Deidara allowed his eyes to sweep over the city one last time before following them down. He thought he had seen lights on in his home tower but he knew he couldn't have been right, no way would Winter have betrayed him by telling and allowing an alarm to be sounded. It was more likely that he had seen lights from another building and projected them onto the tower because he had glanced so fast.

When he landed at the bottom of the wall he turned around and waited for them to make the first move. If they weren't there to stop him then why else were they there? "We're not here to stop you. We just need to know. We have to ask that is. Are you really going to do this? Are you really going to go rouge just because?" Asked Aoi as he threw his hands in the air. The three of them had been partners ever since their days in the academy.

"It's not a just because anything. You know that as well as I do. Don't try to even make it out like that. I have to do this." As he spoke Deidara took a bird out of his pocket and enlarged it. "This is neither a choice nor a decision I made lightly. I don't want to do this but what other path can I take? I can't bear the thought of suffering through his training anymore. But right now I can't take him on and we all know it. And Winter. My only chance for her is to do this. You have no chance of talking me out of doing this so don't even try. Plus you said you weren't here to stop me."

Before Hitomi could speak a small figure flew over the wall and landed on his head. He wobbled for a second before regaining his balance and looking up. "Hey you shouldn't be out here! How did you even get past the guards hime-chan?"

Winter jumped off Hitomi's head, choosing not to acknowledge him or his comment for the time being, and landed on the ground right in front of Deidara. Her eyes were cold and guarded now. "Don't' worry about coming back for me. I don't want a cold blooded killer for a brother. Just promise me that when you die, and god knows that you will because you're playing with fire near drums of gasoline, you'll go out in a semi decent way. Not as some rouge hunted down by ANBU." Both Aoi and Hitomi winced at her harsh words. Aoi looked like he was going to say something but Hitomi held him back, shaking his head to indicate that they should stay out of it.

The four of the may have been like family to each other but they also knew when it was time to just butt out and let a problem amongst themselves play out between the people fighting.

Deidara matched her stoic expression and nodded. "I promise that I won't die as some stupid rouge hunted down. Promise me that you won't believe everything that you learn in the academy. You have to know how to decipher the bull from the good if you ever want to be a good ninja. Like what you said earlier. Not all of its wrong but at the same time surely you can see how it leads one in circles."

She gave a curt nod and then returned to the wall. Slowly she climbed over it, the three boys on the ground watching until she was safely on the other side. She was trying to be silent but they heard the soft thump! as she hit the ground.

Deidara returned his attention to the two in front of him, his mask crumbling in a second. "Swear to me that you'll watch out for her until I return. She's too young to be closing herself off like that. She…I know I'm breaking her heart but I can't let her become so cold just because I'm screwing up my life."

"We swear so long as you don't keep that promise that you won't come back for her. Otherwise this is all pointless and we will have to stop you."

Deidara nodded his head and jumped onto his bird. Just as he would have taken off he turned back to them and just stared for a moment. They both sat and waited for him to speak; they could see that he was having an internal battle over whether or not he should ask something of them. Finally Aoi stepped up and made the decision for him.

"Ask us."

Deidara looked down on him and stared into his eyes. "I need to know that she can depend on you. That you're willing to take care of her to the point of becoming missing nin for her. That if she's ever in true danger you won't wait for me to come back, you'll take her and get as far away from the god forsaken village as possible. And if he ever even looks like he's going to put her through what he did to me you're willing to try and kill him."

Aoi nodded his head. "I give you my word as a Jounin that we'll both take care of her. In the event that we do leave the village though how should we get word to you? None of us thought that we might need a system to communicate by."

"I'll figure out something and send you a message explaining it. But never tell Winter if we do find a way to keep in contact. It's better that we part like this."

With a wave of his hand he said good bye to his best friends for who knew how long and took off into the sky. Friends or not they would be on different sides the next time he saw them. He may have asked them to dissert for his little sister but he could never ask them to go against their village for him. If they ever met on the battle field he would expect them to attack him like any other rouge. He would want them to fight with the intention of taking his life.

As he rose further and further up he caught sight of Winter standing on a roof watching him go. Spitting a clay bird out of his hand he sent it flying back to her and then turned his back and took off. This was all for her. All for her benefit even if she doesn't see that. Even if she hates me.

"Goodbye love."

Two people once again woke up. This time neither of them would be falling back to sleep that night…well morning. It was just before dawn. One moved from his bed and walked into his bathroom to run through his morning routine. The other was quickly pulled from her bed by guards that were calmly telling her that she needed to be taken to safety. The thoughts that had kept them awake for most of the night not forgotten for a second.

Deidara stepped out of his room and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. The whole way his mind was preoccupied by his thoughts and wonderings about his dream last night. He nervously shifted from foot to foot at he thought about his younger sister. It had been nearly three years since he had last seen her. Three years was all it had taken him to truly complete the first part of his plan. All the same it was a shorter amount of time than he had thought it would take.

Reaching into the cabinet he grabbed coffee and a filter and popped them both into the coffee machine. Spinning around he ran back to his room and quickly began to strip. Jumping into the shower he pushed his thoughts about Winter away and focused on his current life. He would be keeping his promise soon. He just needed to put a few more pieces into their proper place in his oh so time consuming puzzle. All he really needed now was to approach Leader-sama. As soon as that was done he would be that much closer to his goal.

Deidara sighed as he rolled his shoulders around and stretched in the shower, loving the feeling of the near scalding water running over his body. He heard the coffee maker beep and turned off the water. Sliding out of the shower he quickly threw one towel around his waist and used another to pat his hair dry. He dried his feet on the rug and then walked back to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Why are you running around naked brat?" Deidara spun around to fast and the towel in his hair fell apart, he grabbed it just before it hit the ground.

"Hello danna. I just got out of the shower, I didn't want anyone else to drink my coffee so it seemed like this was the best route. Why are you up so early? Usually you don't leave your room for another four hours." Deidara took a sip of his coffee as he waited for the answer.

Sasori jumped off the counter he had been sitting on and walked to the door on the south side of the kitchen. "Leader wants to see us. He told me to come find you. And heads up he sounded pissed so I suggest you hurry up." There was a bit of humor in Sasori's voice and he even gave Deidara a slight smirk before walking out the kitchen door. Sasori always had the sickest sense of humor when it came to Deidara.

Deidara closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He put down his empty coffee mug and walked in the opposite direction his partner had taken. What the hell could I have possibly done now?

He ran over his movements for the last forty eight hours and found nothing that should have caught the attention of Pein. Well that was he found nothing that should have warranted pissing him off, Pein saw and knew everything that his members did. He hadn't done anything other than train with the other members and a few personal activates. He threw his towel on the bed and quickly put on a pair of black pants and a black shirt with a mesh shirt on top of it. Taking a deep breath he walked back into his bathroom and tied his hair up into a ponytail, parting a small amount of it to cover his scope eye. He gave his reflection a once over and then walked out of his room and off to the Leader's office.

He was mildly surprised when he arrived to find all the other members present as well. "What's going on un?" He asked as the door slammed shut behind him, that was most definitely not a good sign.

"Deidara where have you been these last couple weeks? Have you been leaving the base at night? Going to Iwa?" Pein asked. He hadn't even bothered to open his eyes when Deidara walked into the room.

"No un. I've been here every night." Deidara was becoming more and more confused by the second. He truly hadn't done anything let alone gone near the village that he had forsaken.

"Then explain the recent attack on Iwa. Attacks actually, but last night was the worst to date. Several of my spies swear they saw someone flying around on a bird dropping bombs. And the destruction is a perfect match for your fighting style." Now Pein had opened his eyes and was staring straight at Deidara who was simply looking around puzzled. Deidara hadn't even been out of the base besides training in the last six months. Every since he joined he had only been training and well training. He hadn't even seen a scrap of news let alone heard about an attack on Iwa.

Before Deidara could answer Kisame cut in. "That attack was three nights ago. Itachi and I heard about it on our way back from Suna. Deidara was pretty badly hurt when we got back the next day. Hidan was bragging about how he had beaten him in battle even after having both his arms blown off."

"Damn straight I did! And I did a god damn good job of it. Nearly sacrificed him, if it hadn't have been for Sasori. The little bastard definitely deserved it though, all his bragging and shit. Someone needs to take his little ass down a peg-." Hidan was abruptly cut off when Kakuzu reached over and smashed him across the head.

"Shut up already." Konan stepped in before a fight could break out amongst the two of them.

"They're both right Pein. He couldn't have done this even if he wanted to. Plus the logs say that he hasn't gone anywhere." Konan said. To prove what she said she handed him one of the files she had been carrying. He gave it a once over and nodded.

"Logs can be altered."

Deidara tried to defend himself. "But you yourself watch over everything we do! And even when you're busy the other members would not let me get away with anything. No one here likes me enough to cover for me like that."

All the members gave small sounds or motions of agreement.

"You give me your word that this was not you?"

"Yes Leader-sama, my word."

"Fine, I choose to believe you but remember what I told you when you joined Deidara. I won't stand being lied to, if I find out that you were in fact part of this you will be in hell." Pein's ringed eyes stared at Deidara almost as though he could see into his soul.

Deidara nodded and then his blood ran cold as a thought popped into his head. "I didn't do this but can you tell me, the Tsuchikage and his family. Did they survive?"

Pein looked up at him with softer ringed eyes. "I believe you. But that brings me to a question of my own. Do you know anyone in Iwa who could have done this? As far as the Tsuchikage goes all I know at the moment so far is that his wife is dead and his daughter escaped uninjured. He himself suffered some bad burns but beyond that he is fine. It wasn't anything serious and he's going to live. From what the spies tell me the attack was concentrated on his tower so this is someone with a grudge. Despite my knowledge of your movements I still had to ask. I know you're not the only person with a grudge against Iwa and him but all the same I needed to ask. Honestly I wondered if you would lie and take credit for it."

Deidara closed his eyes in relief and took a second to calm himself down. His heart had been racing the whole time he waited to hear what had happened to her. When he was sure that he could talk without giving away the relief he felt he answered the question before him. "When I was in Iwa there were several explosion experts but none that could do something like this. They were all fiercely loyal to the Tsuchikage. By now several of them have probably died for him so that takes the number down. There are a few others spread out in the other hidden villages. I know each of their styles. Do you have any details on it? The more I know about the actual explosions the more I can narrow it down and pick someone out for you. Also any files you have on a few people that I can name for you would be helpful."

Konan walked over and handed him the other file she had been holding. Deidara opened It briefly and gave it a once over before tucking it under his arm. "I'll look at it as soon as we're done here yeah."

"Actually you'll be looking at it while we're on our way to Iwa." Konan cast a grim smile as Pein stood up from behind his desk. All the other members looked confused as they waited for him to go around to the front of his desk. Finally Itachi, surprisingly, was the one to break the questioning air.

"Why are we going to Iwa? With this recent attack they're going to be on high alert. Aren't we still trying to keep a low profile?"

"We are trying to keep a low profile yes. But there is a person of interest that I wish to take from Iwa and now seems like the perfect time. Hit the village while it's weak that is. We will be going in disguise. And it's going to be the perfect time for another reason also. Konan if you will."

"In a week the funeral for the Tsuchikage's wife will be held. The village will be finishing it's clean up between today and tomorrow. Starting tomorrow foreign diplomats will begin pouring into Iwa in order to pay their respect and give condolences. High alert or not they won't notice a few other diplomats popping up. We're going to…take out one set on their way to Iwa. To be specific we're going to take out the diplomats from Kumogakure. They'll be easy to impersonate."

"We need to be at a certain location in exactly seven hours which means we will be leaving the base in two. You have the next two hours to pack anything and everything that you're going to need for this mission. We could be gone for awhile so pack heavily. Take nothing that can identify you as the criminal you are or your village. Are there any questions?" Pein halted and looked around the group. No one said anything. "Very well. Go pack. Put your cloaks and the rest of your uniforms in your luggage under a concealment jutsu. You may or may not need them. I haven't decided yet. You're dismissed."

All the other members quickly left the room until only Deidara, Konan, and Pein were left. Pein raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Yes Deidara?"

"You're going after Winter aren't you? You knew I didn't do this but you had to make sure because you think it may have been her."

Pein nodded his head. "Yes but you have no reason to become hostile. I in no way intend to harm her. But at the same time I don't intend to recruit her. I simply don't want her running around as a possible weapon for Iwa. She's dangerous. Just like you were. All I want is for her to be here, with us, and out of the way of my oncoming storm. Plus you made a promise to her remember? You told her that you would go back for her after you joined the Akatsuki and were strong enough to protect her. Well I think it's time to fulfill that little promise don't you? And you should definitely pay respect to your mother."

Deidara set his legs in a stiff stance as Pein spoke, his breath was taken away when Pein mentioned his promise. "How did you know about that? All of that?"

"I told you I have my spies. That's no secret. But I also have other ways that you don't need to know about. Maybe one day I'll tell you. For now go pack and don't spend too much time thinking on it. It'll throw you off when I need you to focus. I need to know if seeing Winter again is going to be too much for you though. Tell me now because the role I need you to play cannot be blown just because you can't contain yourself."

Deidara rapidly shook his head as he finally relaxed. "No I'm going to be just fine I swear. I feel that you should know though that her bloodline limit hadn't manifested while I was there. And considering she was nine and that's about the time when mine became fully active I should think that if it was going to appear it would have by then." Deidara turned around and headed for the door, he paused just as he was going to pass the threshold. "I know this is a sign of weakness and stuff but… Thank you Pein-sama." That said Deidara exited Pein's office and ran off to his room to pack, a slight hop in his step. Parts of his puzzle were falling into place and he didn't even have to move them.

As he went he couldn't help the happiness that he felt but the darker part of his mind kept reminding him that this much good could never happen without some form of a bad repercussion.

In his office Pein turned to Konan and spoke. "Yes Konan?"

"If you're not recruiting her then why do you really want her here? It can't seriously be plainly because you don't want Iwa to have her. If that was the case you would have wiped out ever single secret weapon of every hidden village long ago. And Deidara said so himself. She didn't have a bloodline limit. So what is it really?"

Pein gave a chuckle and turned his back on her heading for his own room. He was already packed but he was going to double check. "Even you will have to wait to find out the truth on that Konan. Don't fret. All will be known in due time. As far as her blood line limit. Well you of all people should know that bloodline limits don't always show up at the same age. What's with the questions, normally you don't really wonder this much. On a side note you need to grab all the files on explosion experts and such that we have, pack them in your stuff so that Deidara can read them as well during the trip."

"I do not doubt your leadership or anything Pein. I just wondered why you were risking this after you stressed that we should keep our heads down. And I will make sure that I have them all." Konan gave him a polite nod and then excited the office.

Pein chuckled to himself. "All in due time."

In Iwa Winter paced her room from wall to wall. Well that is the room that she had been shoved into. Her room had been destroyed in the attack and her whole family had been relocated to a safe house that only the higher ups in the government knew about. It was still in the city but it was somewhere random. Hell she had grown up running around Iwa and even she didn't know where she was.

All the same the room was more of a cell. There were no windows and the living room was combined with the bedroom to make it one giant living space. Unlike prisoners though she had a walled off bathroom and a kitchen with a little dinning set, the room was also decorated in a way that was designed to make her feel comfortable. It would have been the perfect one room apartment if it weren't for the no windows thing.

Winter picked up the nearest thing to her which happened to be her coffee mug and threw it at the wall. She grabbed the purple lamp that had been next to it and was about to throw it when the door burst open and in stepped Aoi. She stopped her arm mid throw and glanced at him before sending the lamp to shatter inches from his head.

"Hi would you like to tell me what the fuck is going on? No one has talked to me since they put me in the god forsaken room hours ago! Not even the servants who bring my food talk to me."

Aoi leaned against the wall and waited for her to put down the vase that she had picked up and was prepared to throw before speaking. "You need to calm down. The whole city is under lockdown and all of this is being done to keep you safe. By the way, I heard you managed to escape and get outside. And instead of running you trained." He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Care to explain that?"

"Keep me safe? What the hell? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself thank you! In case you haven't noticed I'm not some spoiled Kage's daughter who can't handle her own in battle. And I went outside to train because it made me feel a little better. Although I see now that I should have run. They dragged me back here kicking and screaming when they found me. BUT! I did manage to do some damage to one of them so yay for me." Winter picked the vase back up and threw it down at her feet.

"Yes I'm aware of this. But they aren't just worried about you being physically hurt. They worry about how you're going to react when you find out that your mom is dead."Aoi broke out laughing as he finished his statement, he knew he should have no sense of humor after delivering the news that he just did but he couldn't help himself. Winter stilled her pacing and turned to fully face Aoi.

"My mom is dead?" She waited for Aoi to nod and then continued. "Okay wonderful fuck it. Honestly you can't expect me to actually care. Please tell me you aren't expecting a breakdown or even a tear. Cause newsflash it isn't going to happen. And is it safe to assume that that laughter is your way of celebrating her death?"

"Oh I'm not. The village elders are but I'm not. The funeral for your mom will be a week from now. And you know I'm laughing at you not the death of your mom. I'm sorry but my sense of humor isn't quite as dark as yours kiddo. Starting tomorrow the cleanup will be complete and the funeral plans begin. So seeing as your father will want you by his side to receive the foreign diplomats you're probably going to be released tonight or early tomorrow. So stop going nuts. Next order of business, try not to be a heartless bitch when it comes down to things. If you have to fake the hell out of it but don't be heartless."

Winter started pacing again, rolling her eyes as she went. "I make no promises. And father dearest. How is he doing?"

Aoi glanced over his shoulder and looked down the hall. His time was running out. "Your father is fine. He suffered some burns but all things aside he's still alive. And my time has run out because here come the village elders. I know you don't feel it but at least try to forge some sadness or something."

Winter shook her head and went to sit down on her bed. Aoi joined her there a second later, placing his hand on her back in a consoling gesture. She counted down the seconds until the elders arrived. She could hear their footsteps already. Three seconds later they were standing in the doorway looking puzzled and wondering what Aoi was doing there. Winter was doubled over with her face in her hands, making the smallest of whimpering noises.

She gave them a second to stand dumbstruck before looking up with tears running down her cheeks. "He says my mom is dead, is that true?" Her voice quivered perfectly and one of the female elders rushed over and swept her up in a hug. The head elder turned scolding eyes on Aoi.

"You told her?"Aoi nodded and waited for hell to break lose.

The elders all seemed to let out a slight sigh of relief because they didn't want to deal with an emotional Winter but then they all seemed to quickly flash to rage. "We were supposed to tell her not you Aoi. You're overstepping your bounds."

Aoi stood up and walked to the door, stopping to stand right in front of them. "I just thought it would be better for her to hear it from someone she knew better. Someone who had a good idea of how she would react. Obviously she's upset but taking it like a good kunoichi. I suggest you let her out of here sometime soon though because she's going stir crazy." With a condescending smile he side stepped them and continued out the doorway.

The elder holding her asked Winter if she wanted to leave. Her answer was just to nod and stand up, whipping in vain at her tears as if she was trying to bottle up her emotions.

"I suppose you can leave. But be careful and stay with your security detail. We don't want anything to happen to you. You'll be staying somewhere else tonight since everything has calmed down." That said they each gave short nods and shuffled out of the room. Winter took one last glance around and then quickly ran out of the room and out into the hallway. She stopped only for a second to make sure she knew her directions before running to the exit. Her tears instantly dried up and she actually dared to let a smile split her face.

Deidara sighed as he finally finished packing. Everything he needed had been consolidated into two bags. One of which was filled with just a ton of extra clay. He checked his bags over one last time to make sure he had everything and then threw them both over his shoulder and headed to the main exit.

Pein glanced around to make sure everyone was there and then nodded as Konan stumbled into the room.

Sasori stared at everyone's bags. Each of them hadn't packed many, the largest amount that anyone had was four. Konan on the other hand seemed to have packed a ton of things. She had only two bags but each was bulging with a ton of stuff in it and the weight of them seemed to be throwing her off balance. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

She heaved a sigh and explained. "Each bag contains a ton of shrunken other bags that contain all the costumes and stuff we could possibly need for this mission. I wasn't entirely sure what we would need so this might be overkill. Much better safe than sorry."

Sasori excepted the explanation with a nod and went back to minding his own business,

Pein turned around and headed off into the night, the members fanning out and following him. They had left ten minutes earlier than scheduled which would mean they had a little wiggle room when it came to how fast the needed to move. But only a little.

As the door to the Akatsuki's base slid shut each member was engulfed in the night.

-x-
Author's Note: I had to do it! I really did. I just couldn't stand the bad writing I had done for this. But I promise no more rewriting, at least not for a long time. After I redo chapter two. Then we get to move onward. I swear it. So in reality you may be getting a new chapter today.